Olubunmi Kuku, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has denied that the agency’s limits on e-hailing activities at airports contributed to Uber’s departure from the country.
Kuku, who talked with journalists at Lagos’ Muritala Muhammed Airport on Friday, said Uber’s decision to exit the Nigerian market was a business decision, emphasizing that FAAN’s goal was to safeguard customers and provide a seamless travel experience.
FAAN temporarily prohibited e-hailing drivers from conducting commercial pick-ups at its airports a week ago while license agreements were being finalized and executed.
The action spurred conjecture that the ban on e-hailing operators was intended to make place for FAAN’s recently launched airport e-hailing platform, ACHRAMS.
However, Kuku stated that the agency’s participation was prompted by passenger complaints about negative experiences with several e-hailing and car-hire businesses operating near airports, notably during the December holiday season.
“I work for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and my first responsibility is to ensure that our passengers are safe and protected and have a seamless passenger experience.
“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 Kuku, FAAN received numerous complaints from passengers who utilized e-hailing and car-hire services over the holiday period.
“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,” she stated.
She claimed the allegations ranged from intimidation to people being dropped off in unexpected locales, with some involving more serious occurrences.
The FAAN chief also claimed that some drivers on e-hailing platforms abused the airport system by appearing as legitimate e-hailing operators before joining car-hire companies to charge customers extra prices.
“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.
“Because there were widespread complaints about touting at the airport, it was important for us to provide some form of regulatory oversight for the car-hire operators,” she said.
Kuku stated that the FAAN app was created largely to promote transparency by allowing passengers to identify the car-hire providers and drivers who transport them to their destinations.
She emphasized that FAAN did not manage car-hire services or collect payments on behalf of the drivers.
“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 concerns about the expense of airport car rental services, Kuku stated that the higher fees paid by such companies were mostly due to their business model and that customers were free to select how they traveled.
“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.
She maintained that FAAN’s responsibility was to ensure that passengers could identify the people transporting them within the airport environment.
“The only responsibility I have is to ensure that passengers have visibility into who is driving them and that there is accountability for those operating within our airports,” she said.
Regarding the conflict between FAAN and e-hailing companies, Kuku stated that one of the biggest sticking issues was liability and obligation for drivers using their systems.
According to her, while the firms demanded specific pick-up zones at the airports, and FAAN consented, the authority also expected them to assume responsibility for the behavior and safety of drivers who used their platforms.
According to Kuku, FAAN was unhappy with a situation in which the businesses would push customers to rely on safety features on their platforms while denying responsibility for the drivers.
“One of the issues we were struggling with the e-hailing companies over was largely around liability clauses.
“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.
“So, with regard to any safety concerns we raised, they wanted passengers to use the safety features available on their platforms. They did not want to take on that responsibility, and we had a major issue with that,” she said.
The FAAN chief denied that the authority’s policies influenced Uber’s decision to leave Nigeria, stating that the business had been mulling its 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.
