The managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, has dismissed reports linking the agency to Uber’s decision to exit Nigeria, saying the ride-hailing company had been considering its departure from the country for some time.
Kuku, who spoke on the development in a chat with journalists, said Uber’s decision was based on its own economic and regulatory considerations and had nothing to do with FAAN.
“I can’t speak to their exit from Nigeria. I’m sure they have their own economic and regulatory decisions as to why they choose to exit,” she said.
The FAAN boss explained that the agency’s primary responsibility was to ensure passenger safety, protection and a seamless experience within the airports.
She said FAAN had received several complaints from passengers, particularly during the December holiday period, over unpleasant experiences with some e-hailing and car-hire services.
“We did receive a lot of concerns, especially around the December holiday period, about passengers who took some of the e-hailing and even the car hire services, who had very terrible experiences,” Kuku said.
According to her, some of the complaints involved intimidation of passengers, passengers being dropped at unintended locations and other extreme situations.
She also alleged that some Uber and Bolt drivers had been getting out of their vehicles and joining airport car-hire operators in order to charge passengers higher fares.
“We did have situations where some of the Uber and Bolt drivers would get down from their cars under the guise of coming into the airport as e-hailing drivers, and they would join the car hires to charge higher fares,” she said.
Kuku said the development, coupled with complaints about touting at the airports, prompted FAAN to introduce regulatory oversight for car-hire operators.
She explained that the car-hire application introduced by FAAN was designed to provide passengers with visibility on the companies and drivers operating within the airport environment.
“The app that was developed was strictly to focus on the fact that you have visibility on who the car hire companies are, you know who the driver that is taking you from Point A to Point B is,” she said.
The FAAN MD stressed that the agency does not collect payments on behalf of car-hire operators, noting that the drivers are not FAAN employees.
“FAAN does not collect money on behalf of the drivers. Those car hire drivers are not FAAN drivers. All we do is to give you a sample of the rates based on the destination that you’re going to,” she explained.
Kuku said passengers remained free to choose between pre-booked car-hire services and e-hailing platforms, adding that FAAN’s responsibility was limited to ensuring visibility and safety within its airport jurisdiction.
“It is the choice of the passenger whether you want to pre-book your cars, whether you want to use the e-hailing app, or you want to use the car hires, we have no jurisdiction over that,” she said.
She, however, disclosed that FAAN had encountered disagreements with e-hailing companies over liability for drivers operating at airports.
According to her, while the companies sought dedicated pick-up zones for their services, FAAN also wanted them to accept responsibility for the conduct and safety of drivers using their platforms.
“One of the things that we were struggling with the e-hailing companies was largely around liability clauses. So they wanted us to give them dedicated pickup zones, which we agreed to, but we also wanted them to take responsibilities for the drivers,” Kuku said.
She said the companies maintained that the drivers were independent contractors rather than their employees, while FAAN was concerned about passenger safety and accountability.
“But we were told that those drivers are not the drivers of Uber, rather they’re independent drivers. So any safety concerns that we had, they wanted the passengers to use the safety features; they did not want to take up that responsibility, and we had a major issue with that,” she said.
Kuku maintained that Uber’s exit should not be attributed to FAAN, noting that the company had been contemplating leaving the Nigerian market for some time.
“I’m sure that they had their own reasoning, and I know that they had been considering exiting Nigeria for a while, which is indeed why we had a stumbling point with them,” she said.
She added that FAAN’s role was limited to airport operations and that the agency did not determine the broader regulatory or commercial decisions affecting e-hailing companies across Nigeria.
“Again, it has nothing to do with FAAN. The airport is just a small jurisdiction of the area that they cover within Nigeria,” Kuku stated.