Onyebuchi Ezigbo
2 October 2008
Abuja — Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) have commenced action on the establishment of toll gates at all border posts in the country, to effect collection of international vehicle Transit charge.
Under the collaborative arrangement, FERMA is engaging the services of the FRSC to analyse vehicles inflow from the international borders, as well as the revenue implications of the venture.
THISDAY gathered that the decision to erect the toll-gates is a prelude to the planned return of toll gates, as a means of revenue generation for FERMA's road maintenance projects.
Minister of Transport, Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke, had earlier in the year, said government has decided to put on hold, the return of tolling on Nigerian roads, pending the time a reasonable level of road construction and rehabilitation was achieved.
However, Managing Direc-tor of FERMA, Engineer Olubunmi Peters, while addressing contractors handling the agency's 2007/2008 retainership programme, said the Agency hopes to utilise revenue to be sourced from the toll project to meet some of its funding needs.
He said FERMA has completed study on about 65 border routes, where the toll gates are to be erected, adding that the projected revenue to be generated from the operations of the toll has been put at N10billion per annum.
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