Business
Uber’s exit from Nigeria has nothing to do with FAAN – Official
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has rejected claims that its restrictions on e-hailing operations at airports contributed to Uber’s decision to leave Nigeria.
FAAN Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku, said the ride-hailing company’s exit was a business decision and was unrelated to the authority’s efforts to regulate commercial transportation within airport premises.
Speaking with journalists on Friday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, amid renewed questions over the timing of Uber’s departure and the recent disagreement between FAAN and e-hailing operators.
Uber announced on 2 September that it was discontinuing operations in Nigeria after 12 years in the country, saying the decision followed a review of its evolving business priorities and investment focus across Africa.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the company specifically said its exit was not related to the recent FAAN directive on e-hailing operations at Nigerian airports.
FAAN Managing Director said the airport authority had no control over Uber’s wider operations in Nigeria.
“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,” Ms Kuku said.
She added that Uber had been considering its departure for some time and that airports accounted for only a small part of the company’s activities in Nigeria.
“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 noted.
Why FAAN restricted e-hailing operations
The controversy over e-hailing services at Nigerian airports began weeks before Uber’s departure.
On 30 July, FAAN directed airport managers to stop Uber and Bolt from conducting commercial operations at airports under its management pending the finalisation and execution of licence agreements with the companies.
The directive raised concerns among passengers and operators, particularly after travellers reported difficulty accessing familiar ride-hailing services and paying higher fares for alternative airport transportation.
PREMIUM TIMES reported at the time that the development also prompted Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to direct FAAN to address passengers’ concerns. Bolt subsequently reached an operational agreement with FAAN and was cleared to resume services at airports managed by the authority.
FAAN later said the directive should not be interpreted as a blanket ban on e-hailing services.
The authority said its concern was how commercial transportation activities were conducted within a highly regulated airport environment, particularly issues of passenger safety, identification, accountability and solicitation.
Ms Kuku said the authority had received several complaints, particularly during the December holiday period, about passengers’ experiences with some e-hailing and car-hire services.
She explained that the complaints included intimidation, passengers being taken to unintended locations, and other incidents that raised concerns about the ability to identify drivers and hold them accountable.
According to her, there were also cases where some e-hailing drivers allegedly operated alongside car-hire operators and charged 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.
She noted that the complaints prompted FAAN to seek greater regulatory oversight of commercial transportation within its airports.
What ACHRAMS is for
The dispute also drew attention to FAAN’s Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, known as ACHRAMS.
Some passengers and industry observers had questioned whether the platform was designed to replace existing e-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt.
FAAN has repeatedly denied this.
The authority said ACHRAMS is not an e-hailing application but an airport-specific system designed to provide operational visibility, tracking, driver identification and oversight of commercial car-hire activities within FAAN-managed airports.
Ms Kuku said the system was introduced primarily to ensure passengers could identify the company and driver conveying them from the airport.
“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 stressed that FAAN does not operate the car-hire services or collect fares on behalf of drivers.
“FAAN does not collect money on behalf of the drivers. Those car-hire drivers are not FAAN drivers,” she said.
According to her, FAAN only provides passengers with indicative fares for their destinations, while passengers remain free to choose among pre-booked vehicles, e-hailing platforms, and car-hire services.
Dispute over liability
Ms Kuku said another major point of disagreement between FAAN and e-hailing companies was liability for drivers using their platforms, adding that the companies wanted dedicated pick-up areas at airports, which FAAN was willing to provide. Still, the authority also wanted them to accept greater responsibility for the conduct and safety of drivers operating through their platforms.
READ ALSO: Uber exits Nigeria after 12 years of operation
According to her, the companies argued that the drivers were independent contractors rather than their employees.
She said this created a difficulty for FAAN because passengers were directed to rely on the platforms’ safety features, while the companies were reluctant to accept responsibility for the drivers.
“One of the issues we were struggling with the e-hailing companies over was largely around liability clauses.”
She maintained that FAAN’s central concern was ensuring that people providing transportation within airport premises could be identified and held accountable when problems arose.
“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 said.
Despite the dispute, FAAN has said it is not opposed to e-hailing services and wants to reach an operational framework that allows them to continue serving passengers while meeting airport safety and security requirements.
Uber, however, has now ended its 12-year presence in Nigeria, maintaining that its decision followed a review of its business priorities and was not caused by the FAAN directive.
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The Federal Government says Fitch Ratings’ decision to revise Nigeria’s credit rating outlook from Stable to Positive reflects progress in economic reforms, foreign exchange market adjustments and efforts to strengthen the country’s external position.
Fitch announced the revision on 9 October, retaining Nigeria’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at ‘B’.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said Fitch cited increased foreign exchange reserves, easing inflation and improved economic prospects among the factors supporting the outlook revision.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s gross foreign exchange reserves rose to $54.9 billion as of 25 September 2026, from $32 billion in mid-April 2024.
He attributed the increase to more formalised foreign exchange transactions, portfolio inflows, higher exports and remittances.
Fitch also projected that Nigeria would record a current account surplus equivalent to 6.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2026.
Economic growth and inflation
The ratings agency projected that Nigeria’s real gross domestic product would grow by 4.3 per cent in 2026, compared with 4 per cent in 2025, with growth remaining above 4 per cent in 2027 and 2028.
Fitch expects non-oil activities to remain the main driver of economic expansion.
The projection comes as Nigeria’s economy recorded growth of 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figure was higher than the 3.89 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2026 and the 4.23 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update projected average annual economic growth of 4.4 per cent between 2026 and 2028, identifying services and agriculture among the contributors to economic activity.
On inflation, Fitch projected an average rate of 15.4 per cent in 2026, less than half the level recorded in 2024.
The NBS reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026, from 15.43 per cent in July.
The figures provide recent context for Fitch’s assessment of inflation, although the agency’s annual average forecast is different from the monthly inflation rate reported by the NBS.
Reserves, oil production and public debt
Fitch also noted developments in Nigeria’s oil sector, including crude oil production meeting the country’s OPEC target of 1.5 million barrels per day from May 2026.
Mr Oyedele said increased domestic refining was helping to reduce fuel imports and foreign exchange demand.
On public finances, Fitch expects Nigeria’s tax reforms to increase non-oil revenue relative to the size of the economy.
The agency projected that general government debt would average 32 per cent of GDP between 2026 and 2028, below the median of 56 per cent for countries with a ‘B’ rating.
Fitch also highlighted Nigeria’s domestic debt market and the banking sector recapitalisation exercise, noting that many banks had capital adequacy ratios above 20 per cent.
However, the agency identified persistent challenges, including inflation remaining above levels in peer countries, government revenue being low relative to the size of the economy, and interest payments accounting for a high proportion of government revenue.
The minister said the federal government would continue implementing reforms aimed at increasing revenue, improving spending efficiency, strengthening debt management and supporting non-oil economic growth.
Other rating developments
The Fitch decision follows other developments in Nigeria’s international credit assessments.
READ ALSO: FG to negotiate ₦1,350 petrol price ceiling as global oil shock drives pump prices
In May 2026, S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s credit rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’. In August, Moody’s revised its outlook on Nigeria to Positive while retaining its ‘B3’ rating.
Mr Oyedele noted that the government’s medium-term objective remained to improve Nigeria’s credit standing and work towards investment-grade status.
He said the administration would continue to focus on foreign exchange market reforms, tax revenue mobilisation, fiscal governance, more efficient public spending and growth in non-oil sectors.
The minister said its broader objective was to “translate economic reforms into jobs, food security, support for small businesses and improved living standards”.
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