Toll gates are set to be back on federal roads all over the country as the Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Ezekiel Adeniji, has said the Federal Government will soon reintroduce tollgates to federal roads across the country.
Adeniji, who spoke in an interview with online journal, Economic Confidential, on Saturday in Abuja, said it would generate revenue for government and jobs for Nigerians.
He did not, however, give a specific date for the reintroduction of tollgates.
Adeniji said, “Tolling is universal for revenue generation and job creation. In developed countries, there is no place you go to that you don’t pay toll for the roads you use.
“If you are paying for water, electricity and communication, why can’t you pay for good roads? We will have more revenue to maintain the roads.
“Because when you toll, you get more revenue, you create more jobs and you have funds to maintain the roads.”
Tollgates were scrapped by President Olusegun Obasanjo during his tenure. However, since his exit in 2007, there had been reports that government was considering the return of tollgates to federal roads, especially as some states like Lagos had successfully introduced such on their roads.
The FERMA boss also said the agency would recruit 10,000 Nigerians from communities where it would be engaged in major road maintenance work before the end of the year.
Adeniji said, “We intend to employ 10,000 youths along our routes before the end of the year. I mean 10,000 youths to work as labourers.
“They will have identity cards. They don’t even need to open bank accounts as they could be paid in cash.
“We want to hire indigenes living along federal roads as labourers. Those indigenes will be working on roads that affect their lives directly. The labourers should be the indigenes of the localities, while the leaders and head of the team could come from anywhere as far as they are Nigerians.”
He also said federal road maintenance engineers had been deployed in the 36 states to manage 95 road camps, adding that these would soon be increased to 500.
He said, “We are working towards having about 500 road camps where the indigenous population would be recruited to monitor the roads and report to FRMEs towards the maintenance of the roads.”
He said the efforts would reduce crime on the highways and create job opportunities for unemployed youths within the communities.
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NOT GOOD TO QUALIFIED THEM AS LABOURERS. BE DIGNIFIED,
ReplyDeleteThe whole system is warped, why cant youths be engaged properly, Labourers? Chei, we need to revolt against the present ruling class.
ReplyDeleteCall them HELPER instead of labourer
ReplyDeleteWhy did Olusegun Obasanjo remove tollgates? Its time our leader realise that nigerian citizens are not fools. This means construction of toll shelters that were distroyed. Such money should have been used for more important things.
ReplyDeleteIT WILL BE GOOD, IF ONLY U CAN IMPLEMENT UR PROMISES.......
ReplyDeleteDs is a sad news. 'introduce tollgate, Labourers? Paid cash?' nonsense.FERMA IS 2 MANTAIN FED ROAD. Check their efficiency on Lagos-Ibadan, Shagamu-Benin, Lagos-Abeokuta express road. U said advance countries collect toll, do they errect toll-gate on bad roads. Come home, u cited Lagos, was d toll-gate at Epe on bad road? Think right and do d right thing.
ReplyDeleteVery confused goverment!
ReplyDeleteWether they referred to them as workers or labourers should not be an issue here.
The goverment should think of the billions of naira wasted when Obasanjo started removing tolls from our highways. These are tolls built with our money across the country that ran into billions when Babaginda was there. Now nobody in goverment then had the foresight to hope that this toll gates could be useful to us in the future, they started demolishing it. I could remember vividly those days as I thought why are we so wasteful. Now contratcs will be awarded to tunes of billions in the name of rebuilding those tolls. THIEVES! ROGUES!!
And did you all forget why this tolls were removed? Nobody, even the government mentioned it now in their release, but somebody should please correct me here if am wrong: when obasanjo removed this toll, it was during one of his foolish hikes he placed on fuel pump price. After several delibrations and grammar they came back to tell us that instead of Nigerians paying tolls on the federal roads which according to them was being used to maintain the roads, Nigerians need not pay the tolls again and that part of the money realized from the increase in the fuel will be put back to road maintaince.
Another reason Obasanjo gave was that the money generated from the toll is not getting into the FGN purse. Some fraudulent people are circumventing the funds. Now with all this, the goverment is coming back to say Tolls will be brought back. Where then is our money which has already been factored into the pump price. And how are they now intending to curb the same fraud they demolished the tolls for? Like someone said: "...this is characteristic and symbolic of an institution devoid of concrete ideas and in-depth knowledge of the actual problems of the nation".
Who told the goverment that employing 10,000s of youth will alleviate poverty? Is this not an extension of several poverty alleviation programs we have been hearing since babangida era and into the Oligo-Plutocracy we called democracy? The other day, I read in the news that goverment of some northern states will recruit thousands of youths as personal assistance and pay them 10,000 naira each to alleviate poverty. They will be PAs to the governors, but my question is: DOING WHAT? Why would a goverment do such things? All those you have in the ministries already, we all know they do nothing, now you are adding to and encouraging laziness. VERY VERY CONFUSED GOVERMENT.
Productivity is defined as OUTPUT per HOUR. Where is the productivity of the Nigerian nation in all this recruitments they are doing in the name of alleviating poverty? Instead they are puting the country into more woes. Americans will never do such, if you don't work, you don't get paid and that's what make that nation great.
My suggestions: if they want to create wealth for the common men, they should first stop their corruption and heartless, dubious acts. Then develop your infrastructures, most especially invest on Technology and Education. Technological development is a panacea to economic depressions. China is a good example for Nigeria to look at incase American development is too fast paced for them. China invested (not sure of the figures right now) quite a big percentage of the goverment expenditure on Technological development in the 80s and even now. A study I did then in school showed how Cisco systems entered China, how the goverment embraced them and developed China's Internet to become one of the best in the world. Virtually everybody had access to a high speed Internet and the ripple effect went into virtually all the sectors of the economy. SMEs started moving their businesses online. Automation of processes sets in and both the goverment and the people were encriched.....
Adeyinka Fadehan
To Cont....
Contd...
ReplyDeleteOur goverment are so Myopic that they still cannot see the vast wealth the Internet has in stock for them and the people. Instead of encouraging Telecoms companies in building a world class service to its citizenry, they are busy embezzling. Whoever is advising them should go and read studies of the INTERNET BOOM in the 1990s in the United States to see what wealth it brought upon America and its populace. None of our goverment sees even yet that Nigeria is about entering that boom too. I see it already, but I cry because the nation is an Innovation killer. No enabling environments that could empower youths to take advantage of this Great Wealth (we are not talking of Yahoo! Yahoo!! Here pls. Nor are we talking about spending productive hours facebooking or twitting all day). We are entering our own Internet Boom too but am afraid, there is no preparedness for this.
And let me also remind them, did they ever read Richard Brandson's comment about them? I don't think so because when I read it, all because of my love for this nation, I was almost weeping. That airline according to him would have been the best in Africa if not for their corrupt, dirty and heartless dealings. And when I read it, one thing that came to my mind is that hundreds of thousands of Jobs had just been killed by our leaders, yet they cry about creating Jobs everyday. Somebody should tell them, creating Jobs is not about giving people free money and encouraging laziness, nobody needs their money.
And as I round up on this, my advice to youths out there is to focus on their persona/career development. Think about your future and not the now now thing. Focus on your education, read well and burn midnight candles where necessary. Pray and believe in God. As a Christian He is the only anchor I have. Spend time on the Internent to research, not only facebooking. Think of ideas that can help people and not even the money in it for you will be surprised that money will come later. If you are a graduate with no job and at least you know what you know, check out schools in the United States, take their GRE or GMAT exams and apply to schools. I tell you, there are scholarships waiting for you in several U.S schools free of charge. You do not need to know anyone, all you need is your good scores. Take advantage of such. And even if you are still in school or serving, start looking in that direction too. And when you get your degree, you can think of returning home to make an impact too -hopefully you won't join them too. And if you choose to stay in Nigeria, all well too, but please let's drop the idea of the now now wealth. All this fast wealth with no hardwork, it leads us to nothing. Think of the future and build your way to it. God I trust will help you get there.
Adeyinka Fadehan
One of the best piece I've seen lately. True talk Yinka! Kayjoe
DeleteObasanjo should be made to pay for the rebuilding of the toll gates.
ReplyDeleteY waste our resources and where are we heading tobackward or forward?
ReplyDeleteAn electronic toll collection system, if implemented properly can generate revenue that will be used to mantain roads, pay salaries and generate business opportunities for Toll tag replenishers. Much likt tohse who sell cell phone cards. The issue of toll workers.management is eliminated using the electronic toll collection system developed by TCC. A US based company managed by nigerian engineers.
ReplyDelete