The return of toll gates on federal roads

The Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently hinted that government will re-introduce toll gates on federal highways in the country. The minister also explained that the current budgetary allocations are not enough to maintain and manage about 36,000 km federal roads in the country.

According to the minister, the road sector had so many road projects estimated to cost about N2 trillion. He pointed out that out of the N18 billion budgetary allocation in 2015 for the ministry, N15 billion has been spent. Fashola also disclosed that the highest yearly budgetary allocation for our roads till date was the N200 billion in2002.Inotherwords,themoney realised from the toll gates will be deployed to repair and maintain the roads.

Irrespective of what the government thinks of the proposed plan, the new initiative has elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians. Many Nigerians are worried over policy somersaults of our government, especially on the issue of toll gates. Even Nigerians who would like the project to be given another trial equally decry the high cost of road tolls in the country.

Therefore, the coming and going of the toll gates is a clear demonstration of policy inconsistency and utter confusion on how best to manage our roads by our policy makers. If the toll gates did not work efficiently before, what is the guarantee that they will work well in this dispensation?

Toll gates debuted in the country when they were introduced on the Lagos-Ibadan and Benin-Ore- Shagamu Expressways some years ago. Later, they were extended to other federal highways in the country.

But in 2004, the administration of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, dismantled the toll gates across the country due to reported huge loss of revenue to government and poor maintenance of the roads. The tolls realised were badly managed and therefore defeated the aim for establishing them.

Nevertheless, we welcome the new initiative ,but caution that government should plan it well to avoid the usual flip-flops that had characterised government planning over the years. Government should ensure that tolls work for us and the proceeds used to maintain the affected roads.

But we do not think that tolls alone will be enough to maintain these roads. In addition to tolls, government should think of other funding plans to augment what- ever it realises from tolls. Government should avoid the mistakes that made the former tolls not to work. The tolls should be afford- able so that the public should not complain of excessive taxation.

They should be people-friendly and properly managed. Government should assure the public that the roads should be in good condition at all seasons in order to avoid public protests against their re-introduction. It should educate the citizenry on the new policy through massive and sustained public enlightenment campaigns through the mass media.

It is good that Fashola, the immediate past governor of Lagos State, has sufficient experience on road tolls management to draw from. He should let such experience rub-off on the new toll gates. Beyond the return of tolls on federal roads, there is the need to come up with far-reaching plans to maintain these roads.

Unfortunately, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) that is charged with this role has not been doing it satisfactorily. There is need for attitudinal change in our maintenance culture. Apart from the fact that some of our roads are poorly construct- ed, government agencies have not paid much attention to the maintenance of public infrastructure, including roads.

While federal roads are the most neglected in this regard, it is worth pointing out that state and local governments’ roads are entirely not excluded from lack of maintenance. Let the minister ensure that the aim of bringing back the tolls is not defeated.