Protesters have blocked the Lekki-Epe Expressway causing a traffic snarl on the road. The protesters bearing placards with slogans such as “No Tolling, no fencing” are against the toll gate on the road. The protest is taking place in front of Ecobank, GTBank and 1st Bank just beside Chevron roundabout and it has left workers heading from Ajah to Victoria Island stuck.

babapupa:

They do have every right to protest government actions an indaction, it's all part of democracy.

The fact is, people can not have it both ways. You want development, but you don't want to pay for it or be taxed for it. Obviously at a little over 2 billion dollars budget, the government does not have the money/resources to keep pace with  the infrastructural needs of 18 million people.

People just have to make up their minds. Development or no development.

Kobojunkie:

We have learnt by this time that when it comes to Nigeria, companies like that tend to completely ignore the poeple, unless when forced not to. It is not the private company that ought to be open on this but the government.

Am amazed that my much respected Governor Tunde Fashola has not said anything about this 'Slaving' LCC & its collaborator want to put this community into for 30 years. A quick check on the community in question will reveal the following: * No primary or Secondary Health Care System. * No Public Secondary School * Apart from the Lekki-Epe Express road, you need a 4 wheel Drive to navigate the swampy inlets. All the development on that axis are privately motivated. Lekki-Epe Expressway is the only link road in & out of these communities. This two lane dual carriage road was built a about 27 years ago by a civilian administration link this one. Why on earth will somebody wakes up one day and award a contract to add just one lane and toll the road a a 30 years period. This is highly unacceptable. The Respectable Governor Tunday Fashola need to explain to us what our taxes are used for! All the over N17.5Billion monthly tax that accrue to the state! We appreciate the great works the Governor has been doing. This particular issue has to be addressed otherwise it portends doom for this administration. My take is that the Government take drastic steps to address this. The total amount contract amount should be amortized and paid by the government over the period of 30 years from the taxes that accrues to the state. Otherwise it will lead to multiple taxation on the side of the dedicated tax payers that live around that axis. A 30 years Tolling means that Three Generations from my linage will be subjected to this. That is to say each individual from my linage (3 generations) will each pay about N19,000,000.00 for tolls in addition to the regular taxes paid to the state government, Please Governor Babatunde Fashola, rise up to this challenge and save this situation before it deteriorates.

Why on earth will somebody wakes up one day and award a contract to add just one lane and toll the road a a 30 years period. This is highly unacceptable. The Respectable Governor Tunday Fashola need to explain to us what our taxes are used for! All the over N17.5Billion monthly tax that accrue to the state! We appreciate the great works the Governor has been doing. This particular issue has to be addressed otherwise it portends doom for this administration. My take is that the Government take drastic steps to address this.

A quick check on the community in question will reveal the following: * No primary or Secondary Health Care System. * No Public Secondary School * Apart from the Lekki-Epe Express road, you need a 4 wheel Drive to navigate the swampy inlets. All the development on that axis are privately motivated. Lekki-Epe Expressway is the only link road in & out of these communities

banku:

This Babapupa is nothing but a traitor who cares only for his own pocket. He will sell sell the people of Lagos out at any price. Mercenary na im you be, u hia?

GAR3TH:

there is no such thing as a free meal. if you want development you need to pay for it. plain and simple

Dis Guy:

Babapupa, what happened to the 'alternative' route why is that suddenly being tolled as against the earlier announcement/agreement? How much will they be charging? When is the Take off?

Government is not forthcoming with answers, the Company is not giving answers- this is supposed to be the 'most' enlightened state in the land  

Kobojunkie:

Why not just ignore those who irk you and focus on the issue at hand? Is that not easy enough to do on a forum too?

ChineduEZ:

You yourself are you focusing on the issue at hand?

Kobojunkie:

We have learnt by this time that when it comes to Nigeria, companies like that tend to completely ignore the poeple, unless when forced not to. It is not the private company that ought to be open on this but the government.

Dis Guy:

Babapupa, what happened to the 'alternative' route why is that suddenly being tolled as against the earlier announcement/agreement

Aloy+Emeka:

That is not true. many toll gates in Nigeria are owned and managed by Odumegwu Ojukwu and last time I checked, he is not government and people have been paying appropriate fees for it. What is wrong in Fashola desiring to build a toll road that will make Lekki more accessible?. Nigerians are not used to paying for their bread, they want everything free yet they will be quick to use UK and US as examples when those people pay for their services.

Aloy+Emeka:

Lekki is an upscale neighborhood, why can't the residents afford the toll for their everyday commuting without the overbearing traffic hold ups. I support Fashola on this one and if needs be, he can privatize most of the alternate routes in Lagos so that investors can recoup their money overtime.

Aloy+Emeka:

Let me tell you, investing on those capital projects in Nigeria is a very big risk especially when it could take up to 10 years to break even. Our govt is not stable and irrespective of the contract with Fashola, a military junta can come and truncate everything in a jiffy.

GAR3TH:

there is no such thing as a free meal. if you want development you need to pay for it. plain and simple

Motorists to choose between e-Tag, swiftPass card

The Lekki-Epe Expressway toll plaza, which is being completed and may be commissioned for use in a few months time, will be embracing the use of modern technology in its operations as against the usual manual employed in similar facilities in the past.

As expected, private and commercial drivers who will ply the road upon completion of the plaza and commencement of tolling will have the option to either choose e-Tag or swiftPass card to be introduced by Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) to drive past the facility which will later be known as “Admiralty Circle Plaza”. LCC is the company to which Lagos State government had concessioned the express road, the first phase of which was opened to public use, last week.

Opuiyo Oforiokuma, managing director and chief executive officer LCC, told CityFile that operations at the toll gate may begin by end of May when the company hopes to complete substantial work on the road, including expansion of the ExxonMobile Bridge from four to six lanes. “We estimate substantial completion by end of May,” Oforiokuma said.

LCC’s entitlement to commence tolling is based on substantial completion of KM 0- 6 expansion of the ExxonMobile Bridge from four to six lanes, and construction of the Toll plaza by Oniru Estate. Substantial completion will be certified by the independent engineer, an experienced international engineering firm.
Lekki-Epe road toll plaza Pic by Joshua Bassey

CityFile gathered that payment of toll at the plaza would be carried out via electronic means or by cash. Motorists who prefer the electronic options will use the e-Tag or SwiftPass card. The e-Tag is a device that will be affixed to the vehicle windscreen, and will be obtainable after registering for customer account with LCC.

With this permit, and as long as, there is sufficient credit on the customer’s account, the driver will be allowed unlimited access through the toll plazas and will have exclusive use of the express lanes. The barrier will open automatically to allow his vehicle uninterrupted passage as long as his account carries sufficient credit.

On the other hand, SwiftPass is a contactless card that the customer can use to carry enough credit for a set amount of passages, even as the card balance can be topped up if needed. On approaching the toll gate, users of this will have to stop momentarily in the lane in order to point the card at the card reader. If there is sufficient credit on the card, the barrier will automatically open to allow for vehicular accessibility.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, recently justified the concessioning of the Lekki-Epe Expressway to LCC under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, saying it remains a viable option and informed by the fact that government alone cannot undertake all of the developmental projects to enhance quality of life of the people. The concession and toll arrangement, which will run for about 30 years, is to enable the investors recoup their investment before handing the road back to government.

Meanwhile, Lekki Phase 1 Roundabout, also known as “first roundabout,” which is part of the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrade of the Lekki-Epe Expressway, was last week opened to motorists. Oforiokuma said the completion of First Roundabout was in line with



http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9810:lekki-epe-expressway-toll-plaza-goes-e-tech&catid=154:city-file

Kobojunkie:

a) Toll gates OWNED and managed by Ojukwu?  Where?

b) Which of these toll gates are exactly in the way the lekki toll gates are?

c) Have you read somewhere were the people demand they pay no tolls at all? On the most part what I have heard is for an alternative route which usually comes along with tolled ways . . .

d) By the way, my response was to the post that suggested a WORLD CLASS company ought to be ope[/b]n . . . . I don't know why exactly you decided your post was good for me.

[b]That is a gross misconception. Lekki is NOT an upscale neighborhood. Plus, people living in these areas already pay taxes, so I don't understand the argument that they need to be made to pay more if they want development when many of these probably already pay their taxes as people in other places do. Drive through the area and in less than a mile, you realize that it is still a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly you find in other areas of Lagos.

This is not news and neither a good enough reason for why an alternative route should not be provided these residents/business people.

Aloy+Emeka:

I didn't say owned, I said managed. The FG contract these gates to few privileged citizens who manage it and give them dividends. The same thing they did to the ports authority in Lagos and PH recently.

Aloy+Emeka:

Again, alternative routes are appropriate but not a must because it could cost 60% more to provide them. Where are the alternative routes in the toll gates along Lagos-Benin expressway or Benin-Enugu expressway or Lagos -Ibadan?. They all have toll gates and no alternative route to maneuver them.

Aloy+Emeka:

Last time I checked, the companies managing other toll roads in Nigeria are indigenous and they are doing fine. Why call in oyibo to come take the profits when Nigerians can do the same?. Managing a toll road is not rocket science. Should we also get an expatriate for that?

Aloy+Emeka:

Todays lekki is no more maroko and very upscale. The people living around the places in the US where they have toll roads also pay property taxes yearly against Nigeria that collects property taxes once. So, I don't see the relationship between property taxes and toll roads. If you live in Lekki and you cannot afford N200 toll fee/day, then move to Akute.

Aloy+Emeka:

Well the instability in our society is another reason for investors to be wary of Nigeria. Do you think Fashola is developing Lekki with govt money?. He must have begged and assured private investors that it will be a profitable venture and they seek to take suck risk. It is not easy and i don't think you are gonna do it, if you can afford it.

Dis Guy:

Just spoke to a friend who claimed she spent[b] FIVE HOURS[/b] on that road

The government/Concessionaires have not deemed it fit to provide an alternative or exit roads?!??!so people just stay put in one place no option except you want to do a U turn facing oncoming vehicle

I'm sure the comfy elites who have been turning the noses up all this while will have a lot to say now, except theyve been using helicopter to work

ChineduEZ:

PLEASE FASHOLA GIVE ME FREE FOOD, FREE ROAD, FREE LIGHT, FREE WATER, FREE WOMAN, FREE PUSSSIE, FREE EDUCATION, FREE NEWSPAPER, FREE BACKRUBS, FREE HOLIDAY, FREE TRANSPORT, FREE!!!!!!!!


I WANT IT TO BE FREE! FREE! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!