The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday, said the Federal Government has concluded arrangements to reintroduce toll gates in 38 points across the country.
Highlights: The reintroduction of the toll gates will be consummated after completion of major highways.
The minister who appeared before Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) told the lawmakers that the toll gates would be managed by the private sector while the government would design software to monitor vehicles passing through the roads.
He said that road users would be able to pay toll on through their phones.
Fashola 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 procurement law in order to fastback contract approval by the government.
On the budget release to FERMA, Fashola noted that out of N25 billion budget for the agency in the 2017 budget only N800 million was released so far by the federal ministry of Finance to the agency.
He admitted that the worst roads in the country are located in South-South and South-East geopolitical zones.
Fashola added, “When we did the audit of our roads, we discovered some sections are bad. Many roads have outlived their lifespans. Many roads in the South East and South South were built before the Civil War. They are among the worst in the country. They need to be replaced.
“Funds generated from Sukuk have not been released because of the conditions tied to it. We will try and repair the roads before people start travelling for the festivities in December. We are doing something about that.”
Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram
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