Senators vote for return of tollgates on highways

Senators have unanimously voted for the re-introduction of tollgates on the country’s highways to generate revenue for the maintenance of roads. It would be recalled that the country’s tollgate policy was scraped during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo. The recommendation was sequel to the report of the adhoc committee on Works, chaired by Senator Barnabas […]

Senators have unanimously voted for the re-introduction of tollgates on the country’s highways to generate revenue for the maintenance of roads.
It would be recalled that the country’s tollgate policy was scraped during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.
The recommendation was sequel to the report of the adhoc committee on Works, chaired by Senator Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue North-East).
Delivering the report of his committee on Thursday, Gemade said many federal roads are poorly designed and that some were constructed without design.
According to him, the problem of inadequate funding is compounded by the ineffectiveness of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
It was against this backdrop that the senators voted for the re-introduction of the tollgates.
The senators said if re-introduced, the tollgates will assist the government generate funds for the maintenance of roads.
The lawmakers also recommended that more investment be made in rail, air and waterways to provide alternative to road transport.
In his remark, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki noted that government alone cannot fund the country’s roads.
“It’s clear that government alone can’t fund our roads, the private sector must be involved. The general view is that we must find a way to bring tollgates back,” he said.