2011: Fashola Panics, Stops Toll Collection On Lekki-Epe Expressway

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) today suspended toll collection on the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway until further notice, a decision he said, was necessary to allow for due consultation.
 
But we gathered that the state government was compelled to reverse its decision to commence toll collection on the highway from January 3 after taking into consideration the impact it might have on the re-election bid of the governor in 2011.
 
It was also gathered that the loss of Ikorodu Constituency II to a candidate of People Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Olugbenga Oshin, last week in a by-election formed a major reason for the suspension.  
 
The decision was conveyed in a statement by the Director General of the State Public-Private Partnership, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, citing the need to widely engage stakeholders before it starts toll collection from the motorists and other road users.
 
In the statement, the DG said Fashola (SAN) had directed the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to immediately suspend toll collection on the highway as originally planned.
 
Gbeleyi said the suspension "is to enable the government to further engage with the concessionaire and the concerned stakeholders on the proposed toll which elicited hue and cry from residents within the area recently.
  
He said the government 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 state.
 
He added that the government would also take advantage of the period to work with the concessionaire and ensure the construction of the road works continue without any hindrances.
 
The DG said the alternative routes, which the government was supposed to construct, had been completed to provide other routes for those who are not willing to use the tollgate.
 
He said the alternative routes "will ensure that road users who desire not to pay tolls would 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," he said.

Before the suspension, the State House of Assembly had raised concern over the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) operations as the Fashola administration failed to set up a board to monitor and supervise LCC activities, which was in the 2004 Bridges, Roads and Highway Infrastructure (Private Sector Participation) Development Board Law.

The House Ad-hoc Committee on Lekki-Epe Expressway Expansion Project then expressed the view that the state government should, as a matter of urgency, constitute the board for Lagos State Roads, Bridges, and Highway Infrastructure (Private Sector Participation) Development Board Law, 2004, to monitor LCC activities.

The committee recommended that the state government should review the concession agreement with the Lekki Concession Company with a view to making the project more acceptable to the people and residents of the state. But none of the recommendations of the committee has been implemented.
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