The minister of Power, Works & Housing Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola said that the reintroduction of the toll gates by the Federal Government will be consummated after completion of major highways and will be managed by the private sector
Fashola revealed this to members of the Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in Abuja yesterday (Thursday).
This announcement would not come as a surprise to many. The minister had earlier in September while addressing members of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) forewarned Nigerians to expect tolls back on federal roads.
He told the lawmakers of plans by the government to design software for the monitoring of vehicles passing through the roads and for easy use. Road users would be able to pay toll through their phones, explaining that the toll collected would be used for maintenance of the highways.
He said, “We have concluded plans to reintroduce toll gates across the country and we have finalised the design. It will be managed by the private sector and it will be located in the old places, 38 points across the country. We are only waiting for the completion of those roads before we introduce the toll gates.”
He appealed to the Committee to revise the procurement law in order to hasten the contract approval by the Government, while he reminded them that out of N25 billion budget for the agency in the 2017 Budget, only N800 million has so far been released to the agency by the Ministry of Finance.
He admitted that the worst roads are located in the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, adding that an audit of bad roads showed that some of the roads were built before the 1967-1970 civil war.
Fashola, who assured that efforts are on top gear to fix the roads, also said that the N100 billion sourced through the Sukuk Bond was yet to be released to his ministry to carry out 25 major road constructions in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
“FERMA can be the largest construction company in the country. It depends on what we are willing to put into the agency. In the past, FERMA collected monies for roads they did not construct. That has to stop with this government. We are working with the Army Corps to see how we can develop local content. FERMA can be the biggest construction firm. The unemployment challenges we have can be reduced if FERMA is busy is every state,” he said.
The Nation
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