Worried by the deplorable roads condition across the country, the Niger State Governor, Mallam Umaru Bago, has called for a return of the tollgate regime.
Bago said this would ensure the enforcement of weight limits to avoid overloading and damaging of highways in the country.
The governor made the call when he visited the Director General of the Bureau for Public Procurement, Mamman Ahmadu, in his office in Abuja, where he noted with dismay the continuous damage of roads by those involved in overloading trucks and articulated vehicles.
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He said fees should be paid by road users for yearly maintenance of the roads, stressing that he would present the issue to the leadership of the National Economic Council.
The governor also said he would personally inform NEC to consider having a National Policy on weighbridges considering the unregulated volume of content plying the roads in the country.
“Nigeria must resume the regime of toll-gating; we cannot continue as a country to fix roads and the people who are into overloading will continue to damage our roads. So, people should pay money for using road infrastructures so that the proceeds can be used to maintain the roads year in and year out.
“Again, we will take it up with the National Executive Council leadership. I will also personally inform NEC on the need to have a national policy on weighbridge,” Bago said.
He disclosed that the Niger State would partner the BPP in terms of providing a roadmap and training of procurement officers in the state to understand that transparent and efficient procurement practices are crucial for the growth and development of the state.
In his remarks, the BPP DG decried the poor state of road infrastructures in the state, especially the federal roads despite the state having the largest landmass in the country and more spread of federal roads.
While assuring the governor of his continued support to bring about the needed infrastructural development in Niger State, he called on the governor to introduce a weighbridge to ensure proper regulation of the weight of goods carried by heavy-duty vehicles and ensure good road maintenance in the state.
(Punch)
