The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has been urged to intervene in the banning of Uber, Bolt and other e-hailing platforms at the nation’s airports by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
This is as the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, Henry Agbebire, said the agency’s measures were aimed at ensuring passenger safety, security and accountability, rather than restricting access to alternative transportation.
He also assured that the present disruption would be resolved very soon as FAAN and the e-hailing platforms are reaching some compromise.
The former Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Samuel Caulcrick, said that this was necessary following the hike in fares of road transportation by the newly introduced app of FAAN, the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System (ACHRAMS).
For instance, a frequent foreign traveller on his verified X handle, who claimed that he used to book on the app of one of the e-hailing services for a trip within Ikeja at either N6,000 or N8,000, lamented that it now costs about N30,000 on ACHRAMS.
Caulcrick wondered why FCCPC was yet to intervene on the issue, stressing that the new policy was to the detriment of passengers who FAAN claimed to favour and protect.
He said: “Where is our FCCPC? If an organisation can ban Uber and Bolt to favour its own interests, ignoring the passengers who sustain the entire aviation industry, then who safeguards the public interest?
“This is not a new issue. Modern antitrust and competition laws were designed precisely to prevent this: private entities prioritising privilege over the common good. The Le Chapelier Law of 1791 was enacted by French revolutionary leader Isaac Le Chapelier to abolish old trade guilds and corporate monopolies.
“His principle was straightforward: only individual rights and the general interest should prevail. No intermediary body should be able to hold the public hostage.”
Agbebire, in an interview with The Guardian yesterday, said its measures were aimed at ensuring passenger safety, security and accountability, rather than restricting access to alternative transportation.
Agbebire explained that the agency recognised the growing importance of e-hailing platforms to passengers, but maintained that airport transportation must operate within a regulated environment.
Agbebire insisted that the issue was not whether passengers should use Uber, Bolt or similar platforms, but how commercial transportation could be safely managed within security-sensitive airport environments.
According to him, airports are different from ordinary pick-up points because thousands of passengers, employees, vehicles and service providers interact within them daily.
Agbebire noted that airport-specific controls were not peculiar to Nigeria, pointing out that Uber itself recognises that airports operate under designated pick-up locations, staging areas and other specific requirements.
He emphasised that the convenience offered by digital mobility platforms could not eliminate the need for safety and operational controls within airports.
Agbebire maintained that the fundamental concern was visibility and accountability, particularly when incidents involving passengers occurred.
He added: “It is within this wider context that FAAN’s position and its ongoing engagements with the e-hailing operators should be understood. Indeed, the authority has never been opposed to e-hailing services.
“The issue before us is not whether passengers should be able to use Uber, Bolt or other platforms. It is how commercial transportation operates within a highly regulated airport environment. That distinction is important.”
He expressed that there must be an operational framework through which FAAN could establish the identity of the vehicle and driver, the circumstances surrounding the pick-up and the appropriate channel for intervention for every passenger.
According to him, this was why FAAN had been engaging e-hailing operators on an arrangement that would give it adequate visibility over commercial transportation activities within its airports.
He reiterated that the objective was to strengthen accountability and security while protecting passengers.
He further restated that FAAN’s ACHRAMS was not intended to compete with Uber or Bolt.
“Whether the vehicle is an airport taxi, an e-hailing vehicle or any other authorised commercial transport service, the same basic principles should apply: safety, security, identification, accountability, orderly operations and protection of passengers,” he added.
He canvassed for collaboration between FAAN and the operators to establish an operational framework that would allow e-hailing companies to continue providing convenient transportation while meeting the airport’s safety, security, accountability and operational requirements.
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