The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Olubunmi Kuku, has rejected suggestions that FAAN’s policies forced Uber out of the Nigerian market, insisting that the authority’s intervention in e-hailing operations at airports was driven by passenger safety, accountability and concerns over touting.
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Kuku, speaking with journalists on Friday, said Uber’s decision to leave Nigeria was entirely a business decision for the company, adding that FAAN’s primary responsibility remained the protection of passengers and the provision of a seamless airport experience.
The clarification followed controversy over FAAN’s earlier decision to temporarily stop e-hailing drivers from carrying out commercial pick-ups at airports pending the finalisation and execution of licensing agreements.
The restriction had prompted claims that the authority was attempting to sideline established e-hailing companies in favour of its newly introduced airport transport platform, ACHRAMS.
Kuku, however, denied that the airport authority had any role in Uber’s exit.
“Regarding Uber, I can’t speak to their exit from Nigeria. I’m sure they have their own economic and regulatory considerations as to why they chose to exit,” she said.
According to her, FAAN’s intervention followed numerous complaints from passengers, particularly during the December holiday period, about their experiences with some e-hailing and traditional car-hire operators.
She said complaints ranged from alleged intimidation to passengers being dropped at unintended locations, while some incidents were described as more serious.
“We received a lot of complaints, especially around the December holiday period, from passengers who used some of the e-hailing services, as well as car-hire services, and had very unpleasant experiences,” Kuku said.
The FAAN boss also alleged that some drivers operating through e-hailing platforms had abused access to airport facilities by entering as legitimate ride-hailing operators before abandoning their platforms and joining conventional car-hire operators to charge passengers higher fares.
“We also had situations where some Uber and Bolt drivers would get out of their cars under the guise of coming into the airport as e-hailing drivers, and then join the car-hire operators to charge higher fares,” she said.
Kuku said complaints over touting and passenger exploitation made it necessary for FAAN to introduce regulatory oversight within the airport environment.
She explained that the airport transport application introduced by FAAN was not designed to operate transportation services or replace e-hailing companies, but to improve transparency by allowing passengers to identify the car-hire company and driver transporting them.
“The app that was developed was strictly focused on ensuring that passengers have visibility into who the car-hire companies are and who the driver taking them from Point A to Point B is,” she said.
Kuku also stressed that FAAN does not collect fares on behalf of drivers and does not employ the car-hire operators.
“FAAN does not collect money on behalf of the drivers. Those car-hire drivers are not FAAN drivers. All we do is provide an indication of the rates based on the destination you are travelling to,” she said.
Addressing complaints about the higher cost of airport car-hire services, the FAAN MD said passengers retained the freedom to decide whether to pre-book transportation, use an e-hailing platform or patronise conventional airport car-hire operators.
“It is the passenger’s choice whether to pre-book a car, use an e-hailing app, or use a car-hire service. We have no jurisdiction over that,” she said.
Kuku maintained that FAAN’s responsibility was limited to ensuring that passengers knew who was transporting them and that persons operating within airport premises could be held accountable where necessary.
She further disclosed that a major point of disagreement between FAAN and e-hailing companies centred on liability for drivers operating on their platforms.
According to her, e-hailing companies had requested dedicated pick-up areas at airports, a request FAAN was willing to accommodate. The authority, however, wanted the companies to accept greater responsibility for drivers using their platforms.
“One of the issues we were struggling with the e-hailing companies over was largely around liability clauses,” Kuku said.
“But we also wanted them to take responsibility for the drivers. However, we were told that those drivers are not Uber’s drivers; rather, they are independent drivers.”
She said FAAN was uncomfortable with a system in which companies relied primarily on in-app safety features while declining responsibility for the conduct of individual drivers.
“They did not want to take on that responsibility, and we had a major issue with that,” she added.
Kuku consequently dismissed claims that FAAN’s airport policies prompted Uber’s withdrawal from Nigeria, saying the company had been considering an exit for some time.
“I’m sure they had their own reasons, and I know they had been considering exiting Nigeria for a while, which is why we had a stumbling point with them.
“So, it has nothing to do with FAAN. Again, the airport is just a small part of the wider area in which they operate within Nigeria,” she said.
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