Toll Collection at Lekki/Ikoyi Plazas

The most compelling among the numerous reasons advanced for the suspension of tolling on Lekki/Ikoyi toll plazas for now is the fact that traffic in Lekki corridor has become an intractable conundrum. Vehicular movement on the road has doubled since the #EndSars instigated closure. To compound the situation, Eko Bridge is now statutorily blocked. Resuming Lekki/Ikoyi toll collection any time soon would be tantamount to subjecting Lagosians to an Armageddon.

 The reason for traffic conundrum in Lagos is not far- fetched. The city  has become the receptacle for Nigerians escaping the biting economic realities from almost every part of the federation, a huge stretch on the meager infrastructure. This economic migration has necessitated a smarter denouement for Lagos government to make a much aggressive move towards achieving a special status for the state in the distribution of the commonwealth. The Lagos members of National Assembly should take advantage of the APC’s suzerainty at the center to achieve this. In every developed clime a corridor as busy as the Lekki-Epe axis cannot be serviced with a single boulevard or superhighway.

 Rather than Lagos government being upbeat about resuming toll collection at the plazas, it speaks to a more strategic tectonic maneuver to suspend the resumption and put pressure on the contractors handling various arteries in Lekki corridor to deliver.

 The toll plaza users would resonate with the Lagos government’s sincerity and empathy and would be malleable to pay toll fees when there are alternative routes which though may be longer in travel hours and more susceptible to bottlenecks but give room for faster, efficient and business friendly tolled journeys.
 
 Bukola Ajisola,
 bukymany@yahoo.com