Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection - Politics - Nairaland
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| Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by babapupa: 6:25am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday ordered the indefinite suspension of toll collection on the Eti-Osa Lekki Epe Expressway. It was originally billed to commence on January 3, 2011 but the state government succumbed to appeals and complaints on the toll. The suspension, according to the governor, is to enable the government to further engage with the concessionaire, the Lekki Concession Company Limited, and the concerned stakeholders on the proposed toll. In a statement signed by the Director-General, Lagos State Public-Private Partnership, Ayo Gbeleyi, the government said it would use the intervening period to address the financial implications of the suspension with the concessionaires and their financiers to maintain the integrity and investor-friendly posture of the administration Gbeleyi added that the government would also take advantage of the period to work with the LCC to ensure that the road works advanced considerably and that alternative routes pledged by the state government were completed. He said, “This will ensure that road users who desire not to pay tolls have the option as well as the benefit of enjoying a significant part of the completed road sections. “The government would like to seize this opportunity to once again thank all citizens and stakeholders who have been very supportive of the administration’s effort for a radical transformation of Lagos State for their continued understanding and support towards the successful delivery of the road infrastructure.” Culled from The Punch. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Onlytruth(m): 6:33am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Postponing the evil day. Nothing changes. The toll is coming . . Maybe that will slow some folks down a bit, and allow them think twice about buying waterlogged properties. Nonsense. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 6:49am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Frustrating, this is going to scare away investors from other infrastructure projects . Terrible news for a capital-starved country like Nigeria. If the LCC fails in Lagos (the most business-friendly region in Nigeria), then why would anyone want to fund roads elsewhere?  Also, the tolls iirc are not that high. Why do people want to have good things (nice roads) w/o paying for them? Finally, what penalties (if any) will the Lagos State gov't have to pay for violating their agreement with the LCC? |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by babapupa: 7:26am On Dec 30, 2010 |
eku_bear: Obviously, Nigerians are not ready for prime time. There's nothing good about this news, many are to ignorant and shortsighted for their own good. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Onlytruth(m): 7:26am On Dec 30, 2010 |
eku_bear: Well, does it occur to you that the citizen already pay taxes and have daily expenses to take care off? Why should any sane person toll an ordinary road? Out here in the states, most tolled roads I know have bridges. Why are you tolling an ordinary road? I'm even saying these because I don't want any Igbo or Eastern state to copy that nonsense. Government build roads and maintain them. That is why people pay taxes. How can any sane person pay N120 each passing on a road he rely on daily to earn a living? Supposing he has to pass that gate 10 times a day; it is conscionable to charge him N1200 on that day? Eastern governors: [size=14pt]DON'T COPY THIS S%^T! [/size] |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Nobody: 7:34am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Doesnt sound like a bad idea to me. Aint it like most toll gates around here? I pay toll on the turnpike, doesnt matter how often you use it. eku_bear: Exactly. We scream bad roads etc, yet we dont want to pay to fix it. As long as the toll amount is reasonable, and it is used reasonably at the end. As long as the police bribery cease around this area. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 7:37am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Onlytruth:One way or another, citizens will pay for roads. If the government builds a road and provides it for "free", you'll pay for it through taxes, interest payments on the money the government borrows to finance the loan (roughly 22% is the rate in Nigeria, iirc), loss of other services, etc. LCC was financed through banks in South Africa and Australia, where interest rates are much, much cheaper. I'd much rather finance capital-intensive projects with cheap credit rather than expensive credit. Long story short, nothing in the world comes for free. You'll pay for it one way or another. There is obviously a discount for volume usage. Did any of you guys actually look at the rates before complaining about the prices? 10 times a day is at least 250 times a month. You get a 20% discount on mnotorcycles and 50% for most other classes of vehicles: http://lcc.com.ng/News/NewsContent.aspx?newsid=27 |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 7:41am On Dec 30, 2010 |
babapupa: No joke. I want this project to succeed so it can be replicated elsewhere in the SW. I'd be happy if the 3 or 4 hour drive from my village in Ekiti to Lagos were cut to 1 hour with a tolled expressway. Imagine how beneficial that would be for both Lagos (cheaper farm goods) and Ekiti (cheaper goods from seaports.) And that is just two benefits, there are tons of others. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Onlytruth(m): 7:46am On Dec 30, 2010 |
eku_bear: My math was off a little so I fixed it. But you get the idea. Yes, I read in the newspaper about the proposed tolls. Cars are N120 a pass. My relative owns a house at Lekki and he is complaining bitterly. Charge the damn thing on taxes, but leave folks alone to go about their business. Tolls are for specific things like bridges. I know they have started adding other things like ordinary roads, but must we copy every idea without thinking.  |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by luvinhubby(m): 7:50am On Dec 30, 2010 |
What are roads called, `PUBLIC UTILITY`, why pay toll on it when you pay taxes for it, hmnn !! Anyway, the monkey has read the handwritting on the wall through the ACN loss to PDP at Ikorodu state house of assembly re-run and now know that his and ACN unquestionable popularity in Lagos is a falacy. Spent N11billion on an 8km stretch western avenue resurfacing. Fashola is a pig (SAN). |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 7:53am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Tolls are not only for bridges. We have the Sam Houston tollway in Houston, for example. No difference in raising taxes and just directly raising money through tolls. 120 is not even a buck. GSay two trips a day, 25 trips a month, that is 50*120 = 6000 naira, $40 only. eTag knocks off 10%, dropping to $36. Factor in gas savings, the value of his time (shorter commute >> longer commute), etc, and the net cost might be more like $15 or $20. And if he is too cheap to pay for this, then he has the option of taking public transportation, or taking a longer route. Or selling his property and moving back east, if he so desires  |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by luvinhubby(m): 7:56am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Ngige gave Anambra state great and beautiful road network in 3yrs without haevy tax and toll gates, if i pay N120 on every good stretch of Nigerian road, then my family will starve to death. Turning lagos into Tinubu/Fashola &sons PLC.  |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Onlytruth(m): 8:03am On Dec 30, 2010 |
eku_bear: Believe me YOUR PEOPLE will complain about this toll before mine. We dey survive everywhere. My point is that Nigerians copy things without even thinking. Mental laziness is the problem. Tolls are serious stuff in a developing country like Nigeria. If you collect taxes, you have no moral justification to toll an ordinary road. ACN/Fashola wonder indeed! |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by luvinhubby(m): 8:09am On Dec 30, 2010 |
You don`t collect toll on an ongoing road project. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Bawss1(m): 8:16am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Are you people saying that countries where people are tolled for roads don't pay taxes or that they don't have daily expenses? Apparently Nigerians are not ready for developments like this. The fact remains that somebody has to pay for all the fancy new infrastructure we all yearn for and currently government cannot do so. The PPP debate has been carried out extensively here on NL yet people do not get the point. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by babapupa: 8:25am On Dec 30, 2010 |
luvinhubby: Why not just stay your a/ss in Anambra and quit crying as if they put a gun to your head to drive on Lagos roads.? |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 8:26am On Dec 30, 2010 |
@luvinhubby: Part of it is complete, is it not? So they are tolling the part they finished, yes? Onlytruth:They spent a lot of time thinking about how to solve this problem of raising capital for infrastructure. If you have a better solution that alleviates the fears of foreign investors (currency fluctuation, control over investment, recovering investment, good profits for the investor) while not requiring much capital, then feel free to offer it. I highly doubt you have such a solution, though. Easy to criticize, much more difficult to think up an answer of your own. First of all, what does morality have to do with anything? Second, taxes and tolls are the SAME thing. Just think of a toll as a VAT of sorts for usage. No real difference between the two, they just differ in which segment of the population ends up paying for it. Like, if the road costs $1 billion, Lagos State takes out a loan from a Nigerian bank for that much @ 22% interest, that is $220 million which it needs to raise in revenue per year to justify the project. So they'll either get that 220 mil by cutting other services, or by RAISING taxes.In other words, tax revenue will need to go up by that amoun Ah, I get it. You aren't actually interested in finding ways to develop infrastructure, just instead bashing Fashola and the ACN. Fair enough, then. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by ekubear1: 8:29am On Dec 30, 2010 |
luvinhubby:Never been to Anambra before, but if it is the typical crappy roads Nigerians rejoice over as "great", then meh. Also, how on earth did he raise the money to do this? Where did he get the $10 or $20 billion required? These are heavy capital projects. I'm very curious to know the source of money, or who he went to for financing. Or are you comparing some slapdash Anambra road that will be eroded away to what is being done by the LCC? |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by PhysicsQED(m): 8:32am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Many freeways/expressways/turnpikes in the U.S. have tolls, but there are almost always ways to get around them and get to where you want to get to slower by taking alternate routes. That might not be the case here. Just an uninformed guess, but I suspect the outcry against tolls is a combination of lack of viable alternate routes and the fact that ordinary Nigerians might not make enough for even a small toll fee (N 120) not to be a large chunk of money to them. In America, the toll fee can be what it is, because of the money earned by the average person. I think the governor should have just reduced the toll fee significantly, whatever it was, rather than suspending it outright though. TANSTAAFL, people. TANSTAAFL. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by babapupa: 8:41am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Onlytruth: Use your head. The government can not develop the state, maintain existing infrastructures, pay the civil service, vendors, utilities, build hospitals, schools, freeways, metro rail and take care of 18 million people with just 2 billion dollars yearly budget. It's not by force to sound like an ignorant cave man, everything about your existence is copied, you did not invent the freeking computer you're typing on. Apart from paying taxes in many countries, they pass bond measures to allow cities to raise public money to build new schools, roads and bridges. Many countries tax petrol to raise money for roads, freeways and bridges. American interstate freeways was built with fuel tax. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by KnowAll(m): 9:45am On Dec 30, 2010 |
[size=14pt]Good decision. The said road was already a dual carriage way, PREVIOUS Goverments built it for free, the present goverment is only re-surfacing and expanding some areas within the network, why should anybody pay for an existing facility which is only been window dressed by LCC.[/size] |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by GAR3TH(m): 10:14am On Dec 30, 2010 |
You mean that glorified dual carriage road that was there before. Isn't the lagos-benin road also a dual carriage highway, but look at its condition. The expressway's construction is an overhaul, and not a repair job. --- Fact is, if you cant afford the tolls, I wonder how you were able to buy a car. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by naso2(m): 10:22am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Election wisdom. hmmmmmmmm |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by KnowAll(m): 10:29am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Personally I welcome official opposition in d SW, PDP fits d bill being a national party, all dat remains is for credible candidates to take up candidacy of this party and discuss issue based politics. [size=14pt]I wrote the above a couple of days ago in another thread why PDP won in Ikorodu, and I am sure Fashola is a listening Governor we are in a democracy and not some authorithorian regime, concession needs to be taking from all stake holders, thank God Fashola is aware he cannot take the elections for granted hence his suspension of the tolls, this is why I love democracy, the accrued income from this project would have to be sought from somewhere else.[/size] You mean that glorified dual carriage road that was there before. Isn't the lagos-benin road also a dual carriage highway, but look at its condition. The expressway's construction is an overhaul, and not a repair job. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by texazzpete(m): 10:36am On Dec 30, 2010 |
GAR3TH: Lots of people have cars and are financially constrained. People are complaining about the tolls. One good solution would be to reduce it, perhaps down to around N50. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by blacksta(m): 10:42am On Dec 30, 2010 |
I think it is good move to suspend the toll collection - hopefully i hope it is because of the bye election loss in Ikorudu It shows that BRF and ACN are listening parties . In the developed world where are trying to copy. all lot of public consultations would have preceeded before implementation with the idea of the masses to buying into the project but unfortunately it looks like the whole process was done Nigerian flawed approach " Shoot first and Ask questions later" . and the other questions remain " how can toll be implemented on an uncompleted road network". My experience in the U.k - Toll roads are seen as a quicker alternative but in the case of the lekki no such alternative route exist. A recent American study concluded that Toll roads are an inefficient, backwards approach to providing public highways. Worse, they foster corruption, political patronage, and discourage needed improvements on the rest of the highway system. Don't be fooled by the references to "free-market principles," "proper pricing," "supply and demand," and "economic incentives" from those selling the for-profit roadways. The truth is, any resemblance to free-market principles is more illusion than fact. Toll roads are literally a monopoly that is sanctioned and protected by the state. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by TheOne2(m): 11:33am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Again, a lot of ignorance being displayed especially by our folks in diaspora. This struggle is not about the concept of public-private partnerships and what have you. It's a struggle against a cabal's intention to enslave a people, many of whom have known no other homes since their forefathers settled in the fourteenth century. If LCC had taken the coastal road, built it whichever way they liked and cahrged whatever amount they want on it, very few people would have complained and they would have been stifled easily. But for tinubu, through LCC, to take the only existing road in a neighbourhood, resurface it and add a lane on either side, build 3 toll gates within a 24km stretch and intend to collect 120 naira per pass from motorists for 30 years is something that will not happen. You are free to have your opinions, but we who are on ground and feel where the shoe pinches will not allow this injustice. They should have dared to collect the tolls on January 3rd, then they would have seen what their eyes have never seen before. Bloody rogues!!! Vagabonds in power!!! I keep asking, where exactly is my 3 million/annum tax going if govt cannot provide me an ordianry road. And I challenge any of you who is knowlegdeable about this axis to tell me just one thing that my taxes afford me in this state. Are we second class citizens even in this state? The ONLY benefit of governance we have is being taken and given away to the chief rogue, Tinubu, and you all say we shouldn't kick? Make una siddon there!! If dem born dem well dem for try collecvt the toll na. We are waiting patiently, let them finish their deligerations. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by KnowAll(m): 11:38am On Dec 30, 2010 |
Again, a lot of ignorance being displayed especially by our folks in diaspora. This struggle is not about the concept of public-private partnerships and what have you. It's a struggle against a cabal's intention to enslave a people, many of whom have known no other homes since their forefathers settled in the fourteenth century. If LCC had taken the coastal road, built it whichever way they liked and cahrged whatever amount they want on it, very few people would have complained and they would have been stifled easily. But for tinubu, through LCC, to take the only existing road in a neighbourhood, resurface it and add a lane on either side, build 3 toll gates within a 24km stretch and intend to collect 120 naira per pass from motorists for 30 years is something that will not happen. You are free to have your opinions, but we who are on ground and feel where the shoe pinches will not allow this injustice. They should have dared to collect the tolls on January 3rd, then they would have seen what their eyes have never seen before. Bloody rogues!!! Vagabonds in power!!! You are on point there, the coastal road should be their baby and not an existing road. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by Kx: 11:47am On Dec 30, 2010 |
The only road I know of that is being tolled in Lagos for now, is the NACHO-Domestic Airport Road close to the intl airport. Good enough, there are alternative free roads in oshodi and agege motor road for those connecting ikeja from say Toyota,Isolo etc. The tolled lekki road is an uncompleted road maintenence project that has no known alternatives. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by otukpo(f): 12:12pm On Dec 30, 2010 |
The should demolish the toll gates. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by revomind(m): 12:16pm On Dec 30, 2010 |
Tolled roads should have alternate routes. The situation is clear; this is a state-sanctioned monopoly. It is highly unfair. |
| Re: Fashola Suspends Lekki Expressway Toll Collection by DoubleN(m): 12:30pm On Dec 30, 2010 |
The One:Spot on! Read somewhere on this thread where a poster said '120 naira is not even up to a Buck'! My friend come to nigeria and find out how easy it is to make 'a buck'! You can't just take the only road into a neighborhood(which accounts for the highest volume of traffic on the island) and decide to impose tolls on people. They why the Hell do wey pay taxes then? |
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