The Nigerian Government on Wednesday said it was set to reintroduce toll collections on selected dual carriageways across the country, Guardian Nigeria reports.
This development is coming several years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo dismantled all toll plazas on federal roads across the country in 2003.
The government said only 14.3p percent of the entire 35,000 kilometres federal roads that are dual carriageways will be eligible for tolling with vehicles paying between N200 and N500 per trip respectively depending on their make.
Diplomatic, military, para-military vehicles as well as tricycles and motorcycles will be exempted.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola made these disclosure Wednesday while briefing newsmen after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja.
Fashola said his ministry presented a memo which the council approved for tolling to be reintroduced.
According to him, dual carriageways represent only 5,050 kilometres out of the total 35,000 kilometres.
“So, the total network of roads today, assuming we wanted to start today, that will be eligible for tolling on federal network will be 14.3% of the total network,” Fashola said.
“So 85.27% will not be eligible for tolling. We have seen that most of those dual carriageways also have alternative roads, but they are single carriageway that’s why we left them.
So the only exception to single carriageway are some bridges and they are listed in the regulation.”
Fashola said with the FEC’s nod for the reintroduction of toll plazas in selected roads, modalities are now being fine tuned to determine how soon the tolling arrangement will take off.
“The Ministry of works and housing presented a policy memorandum for the approval of federal roads, bridges, tolling policy, and also a regulation that will provide legal framework for the tolling policy. So we have taken another step. So let me be clear, tolls are not going to start tomorrow. So let us be clear about that.”