The federal government of Nigeria has revealed plans to reintroduce the popular toll gates along selected major highways and bridges including the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and the new bridge across
River Niger at Asaba-Apakun.
Nigeria's Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, revealed this yesterday while speaking in Abuja at a forum on roads and bridges. He said the policy would enable government to grow the economy, bring services to the communities and ensure safety of road-users.
“Currently, the Federal Government does not have enough resources to keep the roads and bridges on good state at all the times, as a result, it is attracting additional investment by increasing the role of the private sector in the design, construction, management, maintenance and upgrading of the federal roads and bridges network through Public-Private Partnership (PPPs). Toll revenue will make it possible,” he noted.
It would be recalled that most of the
federal roads across the country were in the past subjected to tolling,
which were at the time collected by the authorities of the then Federal
Ministry of Works and Housing. Unfortunately, the same tollgates were
later dismantled by former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-led
civilian administration following reported cases of massive corruption
in the system.
The minister also stated that government is now trying to correct this past mistake, hence it has begun series of consultations, including the stakeholders’ forum. He said after the wider society has submitted its reports on the workability of the policy, government will come up with a final document, which shall be sent to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the President will assent to it.
According to the minister, when the policy is
fully operational, key benefits of the tolling policy will include,
improving the quality and safety of Nigerians, as there will be
thousands of kilometers of world-class roads added to the road network,
encouraging international best practices coupled with affordability for
road-users and provision of incentives for further private investments.
He said that concessionaires will change the tolls and they will be
responsible for the building and maintenance of the roads, even as
government will give preference to tolling by established, experienced
and reputable private firms.
On when the concessionaire will start
charging toll, the minister stressed that it may only be levied once a
road is completed and integrated with the road network.
