FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY RE-INTRODUCE TOLLS ON HIGHWAYS.

The Federal Government may have decided to reintroduce tolling on its highways, to raise money to fix the poor state of roads in the country. A policy document known as ‘Green Paper: Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy for Nigeria.’ is to be forwarded to the Federal Executive Council by Works Minister, Mike Onolememen, for approval and implementation. The Director, Public, Private Partnership, Federal Ministry of Works, Babatunde Ekusinmi, who disclosed this to newsmen noted that Nigeria had operated some toll roads for several years, but they were abandoned in 2004, due mainly to legal disputes, revenue leakages and unmet maintenance of the tolled roads. The Paper also said the Federal Government would give preference to tolling by established and reputable private firms, and permit tolling only for specific roads and bridges, with distinguished rates between vehicle classes to reflect the cost of providing road space.If the motive really is to fix roads then it should be at a reduced and affordable rate for all citizens.The prices of tolls in Lagos are rather high in my opinion...