Uber and Bolt drivers in Abuja have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike over their suspension from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The warning was contained in a statement signed by Evans Agada, Acting Chairman of the Abuja Council of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON).

FAAN suspended Uber and Bolt, two of the biggest ride-hailing platforms operating in Nigeria, from operating in federal airports in July. The authority said the suspension was intended to enforce compliance with its regulatory and operational requirements, stressing that no operator is permitted to carry out commercial activities within FAAN premises without a duly executed agreement. Technext had previously reported on the suspension of Bolt from airport operations over regulatory issues.

The practical effect is that e-hailing drivers can no longer operate at airports such as the one in Abuja, and the drivers are demanding to know why their businesses must suffer because of issues concerning the app companies. Because drivers on both platforms operate as independent partners rather than employees of the app companies, a suspension tied to the absence of executed agreements between FAAN and the platforms bears down directly on the drivers themselves. The union said its members are law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of Nigeria who contribute to the economy and to government revenue through taxes and other charges associated with their operations. Yet when issues affecting their livelihood arise, the drivers often feel their concerns do not receive the attention they deserve.

The union is therefore demanding urgent clarification from the relevant authorities on the exact reason for the ban on app-based drivers at the airport. It also wants to know the authority under which the restriction is being enforced, the conditions required for app-based drivers to legally operate at the airport, and a clear and workable arrangement that will allow drivers to serve airport passengers safely and in an orderly manner.

"We remain committed to dialogue and peaceful engagement. However, if our legitimate concerns continue to be ignored and no clear resolution is provided, the drivers may be left with no option but to consider industrial action, including an indefinite strike, as a last resort," the union said.

How the suspension unfolded

Technext reported last month that the Airport Authority had suspended the operations of Bolt at federal airports for regulatory and operational requirements. The suspension was contained in a letter signed by the Authority's Director of Commercial and Business Development, Adebola Joy Agunbiade.

"You are hereby directed to cease all commercial operations at all FAAN-managed airports in the country with immediate effect," the letter reads.

Later that month, in an internal memo signed by the Authority's General Manager of Commercial Services, U.R. Liman, the authority ordered its operatives to ensure that all operators of Bolt and Uber are suspended from airports until their licence agreements have been finalised and concluded, according to a Business Day report.

Affected airports include Murtala Mohammed in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe in Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano in Kano, Akanu Ibiam in Enugu and the Port Harcourt airport. The Abuja airport, however, appears to be the one that has always embraced e-hailing operators, following inadequacies and association conflicts involving the traditional airport taxis. This explains why e-hailing drivers in Abuja have been hit harder by the FAAN order than their counterparts elsewhere. Until those licence agreements are concluded, the order also effectively steers passengers at the affected airports back toward the traditional taxi services and other operators permitted to work on FAAN premises.

The union is also calling on the app-based companies operating in Nigeria to take greater responsibility for the drivers who generate their revenue and to resolve the ongoing imbroglio, noting that drivers should not be left alone to bear the consequences whenever regulatory or operational disputes arise. Nigeria's e-hailing sector has seen regulatory pushes before — Lagos State introduced licensing requirements and levies for ride-hailing operators in 2020 — but whereas those measures imposed licensing and levies, the FAAN suspension bars drivers from airport premises altogether. What happens next turns on whether FAAN and the app companies move to finalise those licence agreements — the stated condition for ending the suspensions — before the Abuja drivers act on their strike threat.

"AUATON is not opposed to regulation. We support proper regulation, safety and order at the airport. What we oppose is unclear restrictions without proper explanation or meaningful engagement with the people directly affected," the union said.