By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government will toll all major roads in the country upon completion of construction and renovation to generate funds, the Minister of Works, Mr Dave Umahi, has disclosed.
The move is the latest effort that the central government is taking to increase the nation’s revenue base, which has taken a hit in recent years.
“We have the Lagos-Ibadan (Expressway), we are completing it and we are tolling it,” Mr Umahi said on Thursday in Abuja at an Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing, part of activities to mark Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary
He listed some of the roads as Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and Makurdi-9th Mile, among others.
The former Ebonyi State governor said the tolling of federal roads “is going to bring a lot of money to the Federal Government”.
Mr Umahi said private sector members have been engaged “to bring in funds, construct these roads, work with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Works to toll these roads”.
The minister said the government would start with the Keffi-Makurdi Road that has been completed, stating that his ministry has been engaging with the Ministry of Finance for a paperless mode of payment.
“For example, we are completing the Lagos-Ibadan, we are working on Makurdi to 9th Mile in Enugu State, we are working from Abuja to Lagos. These roads are going to be tolled. But we are not just tolling them, we are bringing confidence in the use of these roads.
“If people can travel at night because we are bringing security, where the response time will be 10 minutes on the entire corridor, where you have solar light permanently there and then reduce travel time, and through the tolling, the roads are maintained, then, there will be confidence because Nigerians will pay if the roads are good,” he said.
He said before now, road developments have not been handled as investments but the administration of President Bola Tinubu has been handling road developments more professionally.
He said the present administration inherited a total of 300 damaged roads and bridges, adding that more road constructions would commence from October 1, 2024, across the six geopolitical zones of the country.