Head, Corporate Communications at Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, has defended the controversial increase in parking tariffs at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), insisting it is a deliberate demand management measure aimed at restoring the car park to its original short-stay purpose rather than a revenue-driven decision.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, Yinka-Olawuyi explained that the revised parking structure was introduced to address persistent misuse of the facility, which she said had been overwhelmed by long-term parking that disrupted airport operations and passenger flow.
“I’d like to start by saying MMA2—we’ve been in operation for close to 19 years. We’re actually a week shy of our 19th anniversary. Exactly Thursday next week will be 19. And the intended use, our focus, our main focus has always been passenger experience—seamless and secured environment for our passengers, the terminal passengers and the car park users inclusive,” she said.
She stressed that the terminal was never designed to function as a storage facility for vehicles.
“And over time what we have discovered is a misuse of the facility. The facility was designed for short stay parking—come, drop off, pick up and leave—not long-term parking,” she said.
According to her, the airport had become congested with vehicles left for extended periods, in some cases for months and even years.
“You have some three weeks, a week, in some instances six months. In fact in some cases one year. They abandon the cars there. It’s not a garage,” she said.
Yinka-Olawuyi maintained that the policy was not influenced by external economic factors.
“It’s not revenue. It’s not because of the war or anything. It’s to reinstate and restore the facility back to the purpose that it was intended for, which is short stay parking, to make accessibility into the terminal.”
She added that the congestion had begun to affect critical airport operations, particularly drop-off access.
“This thing even extends and creates a gridlock on our drop-off zone… To get to that drop-off zone becomes really difficult,” she said.
On the controversial N50,000 overnight parking fee, she explained that management had considered multiple options before arriving at the current structure.
“When we were considering this review, we had the option of eliminating the overnight parking entirely and just reverting to hourly parking strictly. But when you apply the hourly rate on a 24-hour period, what it comes to is significantly higher than 50,000 Naira,” she said.
“So this 50,000 Naira for overnight parking that you see today is a more considerate and moderated option where we have the thoughts of people in mind. We don’t want to make people suffer, but what we want is to return the parking facility to what it was intended for, as a short-stay car park, not a garage.”
She was firm that the tariff would not be reversed despite public backlash.
“So will it go down? No, it won’t. Because the moment you take it down, then we’ll go back to where we’re coming from. The problem we’re trying to solve will come back.”
Addressing criticism over communication, she said the tariff change was introduced in phases with public notices.
“Yes, we did give notice period. We started— it was phased—so we started in February. We brought out notice in our car parks, we gave out handbills, flyers… and then the tariff went up 1st of March,” she said.
However, she admitted the initial adjustment did not achieve the intended effect.
“But that tariff didn’t work. We didn’t achieve what we wanted. So people were still misusing the facility… so we had to re-strategise.”
She said the revised festive-period tariff proved more effective in controlling misuse.
“We then had this festive tariff that we introduced, and it then worked. And that was what led us—okay, this is what will work—and then we’ll retain it.”
While acknowledging public concerns, she apologised to occasional travellers affected by the sudden change.
“Yes, we apologise that maybe if you’re not a frequent flyer, you might not know. Maybe the last time you travelled was in January… and overnight was 6,000 at the time.”
She cited extreme cases of abuse to justify the policy shift, including vehicles left for years.
“At whose detriment? That is not what the car park is intended for,” she said, referencing instances where travellers left cars for weeks while travelling abroad.
“There’s been a case where somebody was parked there for over three years… we will then tow it into storage and leave it.”
She also noted issues around abandoned tickets and unpaid parking fees.
“There’s another case where people park very long like that, and they say they’ve thrown away the ticket, so they don’t even know where the ticket is.”
Despite the controversy, she said the changes have improved order and accessibility within the terminal.
“We don’t have that congestion anymore. People come in and park… you’re able to find a parking spot easily,” she said.
“You can call your passenger that you’ve come to pick, ‘I’m at pillar D1, come meet me there,’ not the chaotic situation before.”
Yinka-Olawuyi reiterated that MMA2’s design is centred on passenger convenience and safety.
“We want you to enjoy the use of our terminal… When you come inside, the way our terminal is designed is with the passenger in mind.”
She added that future developments include a hotel project near the terminal, but declined to comment on expansion of the car park, stressing again that its purpose must remain short-stay use.
Boluwatife Enome
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