Toll gates, weigh bridges to return to Nigerian roads

The Federal Government on Wednesday reiterated its plan  to reintroduce toll gates and weigh bridges to the nation's  roads.

Works Minister, Mike Onolememen, while fielding questions at a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, in Abuja, said, however, that the toll would only apply to roads constructed with private sector funds.

This he said was necessary  as the Federal Government had taken cognisance of the need for private sector funding in road development.

According to him, the ministry had adopted a new paradigm for funding road development in Nigeria.

This, he said, included off-budget sources, such as funding from multilateral agencies, through concessional loans, public private partnership scheme and raising road bonds through the debt management office for the development of economic roads.

'What that means is that if you are going to source private sector funds to apply in road development project, it is inevitable that you have to toll such projects in order for the investment to be recouped.

'That is the only way; it is the rule all over the world it is not limited to Nigeria.

Onolememen recalled that the ministry had earlier organised a conference aimed at preparing the minds of Nigerians for toll and it was discovered that Nigerians were willing to pay for good services.

He said the government had already shared the green paper on the new federal tolling policy to create awareness for road users.

The minister said that construction of weigh bridges on Nigerian roads would soon be completed as the ministry had begun the distribution of such bridges since 2012.