Controversy
surrounding the management of the Lekki-Epe Expressway took a new turn on
Tuesday as the Lagos State Government announced the termination of its
concession agreement with the Lekki Concession Company.
Already,
the state House of Assembly has approved a supplementary budget of N7.5bn to
enable the government to fund the acquisition of the existing concession right
of the expressway.
The
LCC was mandated under a 30-year Build, Operate and Transfer agreement to
upgrade, expand and maintain the about 50-kilometre road (Phase I), and
construct another 20km of coastal road (Phase II) along the Lekki corridor.
But
the firm and the state government came under severe attacks when they
introduced what the residents considered as high tolls on the road in 2011
after significant progress was made in the first phase.
The
decision of the state government to terminate the concession agreement, it was
learnt, followed the lawmakers’ approval of the supplementary budget, which
gave it the right to acquire the existing concession rights and toll revenue
benefits held by the concessionaire.
What happens next? I guess that's the big question on everyone's mind. Does the charges go down, up or remain the same? In Nigeria, well we know the answer to that.
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