The federal government has approved federal roads, bridges, tolling policy and also a regulation that would provide legal framework for the tolling policy.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, gave the approval on Wednesday August 11th 2021.
The minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, made the disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents alongside his colleagues in Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, Environment, Mohammad Abubakar and Power, Mamman Sale.
He said one of the highlights of the policy is that an open tolling policy as against a closed tolling policy which Nigerians have been used to, will be adopted.
He explained that the tolling policy which was arrived at after consultation with stakeholders including National Assembly, Office of National Security Advisor, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Others are the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, which will be helping with the electronic and digital aspect of it, and Road Transport Employers Association (RTEA), the National Association of road transport owners (NARTO) and National Union Road transport workers (NUTRW), will kick off when roads are motorable.
The minister said council approved also that only dual carriageways of the 35,000 kilometers should be eligible for tolling by the federal government.
Fashola said council also approved that the toll collection which will be done electronically for the sake of audit and transparency, will be used to maintain roads, to construct new roads as they accrue and also to pay the investors who invest in building or completing a road and then concession it.
Council, the minister added, also approved that certain types of vehicles be exempted from paying tolls. Those are bicycles, pedal cycles, tricycles, motorcycles, and other two or three wheeled transport use mainly by disadvantaged members of the society, as well as diplomatic vehicles and military and paramilitary vehicles.
Fashola said council also approved that those who live around toll Plaza area will enjoy “frequent user discounts.”
The new tolling policy classified vehicles into five categories – cars first category, SUVs and jeeps as second category, private buses and commercial buses as third and fourth categories. And then luxury buses and trucks as a fifth category.
Cars would pay N200, SUVs and Jeeps N300; private busses, N300; commercial buses, N150 while luxury buses and trucks will pay N500.
“Now, when will it start? First of all, toll will not start until roads are motorable. So let’s be clear about those.”
