Top newspaper report-Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Opens Amid Toll Controversies.

West Africa’s first cable-stayed bridge, Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge, has finally been opened for public use amid unresolved debate in the Lagos State House of Assembly on whether it is legal to toll the bridge.

The state governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), had last week handed over the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge to a concessionaire, restating that its objective was to provide a transport infrastructure and strategic traffic management solution aimed at easing traffic congestion in the area.

Consequently
, the proposal to toll the bridge had generated protracted debate at a plenary at the assembly last Thursday when the lawmakers argued that the proposal was not in line with the Public-Private Partnership Law of Lagos State, 2011.

But in spite of the controversies the proposal generated at the plenary, the state government opened the bridge for public use on Saturday midnight, a decision which according to the state authorities, excited motorists who chose to use the route.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, quoted some road users who commended the Fashola administration for the bridge, which they said, had drastically reduced their travel time.

One of the motorists quoted in Bello’s statement, Mr. Agore Abo, expressed contentment that such a monumental feat “is recorded in Nigeria. If similar things can be happening in our country, we would be happy.

“That was why I decided to ply the road, pay the toll and encourage others to pay because the most important thing is that ‘let good things be happening,” Abo said.

Another respondent, Chief Adolo Okotie Eboh, described it as an evidence of good governance and hoped that other states would emulate the state government as everything looked good because cars were moving, people are moving freely and it showed that the state was ready to go.

Also in his testimony, Mr. Bambo Ibidapo-Obe said: “I love the new bridge. I think it is a new development. I have been waiting for them for a very long time to open it. I am glad it is open; I made efforts to make sure I pass it today on the first day it opened and I am very impressed. It is a very beautiful road.

“I look forward to the state doing a lot more of this for us. I have paid N300 (for SUV). I think it is the wave of the future. If we want good things we have to pay for it. Nigerians have shown that they are willing to pay for good services. In Lagos especially, it is clear that people are willing to pay for good services and the difference would be clear to anybody that passes it, you know you would get what you are paying for”.