Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works and Housing, has stated that Nigerians would be required to pay before proceeding on their journey on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway once the ongoing road construction is completed.
In an interview on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, Fashola said no less than three toll plazas would be expected on the highway after the construction had been completed.
The minister identified the toll plazas’ locations as Lagos, Ogun (Ogere), and Ibadan axis of the expressway.
Fashola, however, explained that the ongoing construction had suffered setbacks, citing Oyo State’s construction of a drainage facility around the Ojoo part of the expressway.
While expressing optimism that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway road construction would be completed before the year (2022) runs out, Fashola revealed that plans are ongoing to complete the Second Niger Bridge project before Christmas.
“We are planning also before Christmas to open that to the public for use because that is when there is a large movement.
“Hopefully, by Christmas, it will be opened. That was the last meeting I had with the contractor about three weeks ago,” Fashola revealed as he maintained that the contractor had already been directed to see the project delivered before that time.
Meanwhile, Fashola is confident that the ruling-All Progressives Congress (APC) would produce Nigeria’s next president.
Forecasting the outcome of the 2023 presidential race, the minister explained that no government in the country’s history had faced numerous challenges as President Muhammadu Buhari had done in the last seven years of his administration.
“No government has faced COVID-19 and we did. No government faced a global scarcity of resources caused by a war that we are not involved in and we did and we are still managing that economy and providing hope and succour. I am optimistic that we will win,” he explained.
