TheCable

Lekki Estate Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) has lamented the hardship encountered by its members while using the tollgate in the area.

Olorogun James Emadoye and Gbemi Adelekan, LERSA president and general secretary respectively, said in a statement on Sunday that the tolled road caused a great deal of inconvenience prior to the #EndSARS protests.

The #EndSARS campaign against police brutality had ended with a military invasion on October 20, 2020. The incident led to the vandalism of the tollgate and a subsequent government take-over of the structure.

On February 6, the judicial panel established to investigate cases of police brutality returned control of the tollgate to LCC. This resulted in the renewed protest which held on Saturday.

LERSA, an association of over 80 estates and communities, called for calm amid “security siege and disruption of movements” in the Lekki area.

“We also request that the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) should create an enabling environment for people and businesses along this axis. Our road experience prior to the October 20th shutdown of the Toll gates, have been hardship and suffering, with the long traffic at the Toll Plazas. A tolled road is supposed to provide a quick, safe and motorable experience, where users will be happy to pay for,” LERSA said in the statement.

“The Government, through LCC must realize that the Toll Gate operation cannot resume, back to the old ways of distress for users of the Toll Plazas. Without a doubt, we are the only citizens in Nigeria that are forced to pay toll on a road that is less than 25KM, completed in 14 years.

“With the poor experience and services at the toll plaza, we are actually paying for inconveniences rather than for convenience as we spend on the average of 20 to 30 minutes on the toll to pay.”

The association called for the provision of an alternative road to the tollgate, and also demanded an improvement of the tolling system technology.

“We affirm therefore by asking for viable alternative roads to the tolled roads, implementation of round figure fees at the toll and immediate improvement of the tolling system technology to guarantee free flow at the Tollgates before commencement of tolling,” the association said.

“Our intent with this request to the Government and LCC, is for services to be reviewed and improved, in addition to listening to the peaceful agitations and concerns of our youths and citizens, before embarking on reopening the Toll plazas.”