Headline

Opinion: Time To Overhaul Lekki Concession Company-Michael Effiong

Published

6 years ago

July 16, 2020

Editor

By Michael Effiong

If you live in Lagos and commute around Nigeria’s commercial capital, and have any business around the Lekki-Epe axis, chances are that you would have encountered the Lekki Concession Company (LCC).

The company, which is now publicly owned, has become a huge uncontrollable monster with no modicum of respect for the very people it is supposed to serve-and is attracting very negative vibes for the present government.

Before going on to outline my angst against LCC, it will be necessary to take us down memory to the very beginning, could it be that the circumstances of its birth had led to its present show of impunity and “I don’t Care attitude”?

Established in 2006, the Lekki Concession Company began as a Special Purpose Vehicle set up to execute the Lekki Toll Road Concession Project. The Project was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme and used the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT). The Concession was for a period of 30 years.

Conceived during the Tinubu administration, it was hailed as the best thing to happen to Lagos after the Third Mainland Bridge, it was applauded as innovative and well thought out. The government got kudos for the gigantic effort to modernize the Lekki-Epe area with our own equivalent of the German autobahn.

The original stretch of road was made up of two lanes and was tarred by the Lateef Jakande administration and so this was an initiative meant at improving that impressive job by the action governor.

To begin the execution of the project, funding came from different sources including a $85million concessionary loan from African Development Bank. This loan gave the impression that LCC had enough money to complete the whole stretch plus the alternative routes that formed a part of the project’s originally- approved design. The company had indicated that it would toll the road from Kilometre 3, Kilometre 13 and Kilometre 23.

Lagosians were enthusiastic and cared less about the tolling as far as the project is completed and they can drive smoothly on well-paved expressway from Victoria-Island to Epe.

The enthusiasm of having such a fantastic road was really high and I remember having a chat with then Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LCC, Mr Opuiyo Oforiokuma on a Lagos-Accra flight. With a smile on his face, he told me that this expressway would add value to that corridor as well as enhance economic development and productivity. “Lagosians should be patient, they will thank us years later for the work we are doing there”, the urbane gentleman stated and I had no reason to doubt his confidence.

I want to say that Lagosians have been very patient with LCC for the past 14 years. Contrary to what was proposed and despite not working at the speed expected, LCC has been collecting toll. It also did not do much in the area of alternative routes.

Therefore, all road users going to Lekki from Victoria Island or residents of local communities along that corridor intending to to go to Epe or Victoria Island have no choice but to pass through this route and pay the toll.

In not time without much work, LCC decided to build another toll plaza just before Oluwanisola Estate, the impressive home of famous industrialist, Chief Rasak Okoya and begun a test run in preparation for the beginning of another tolling spree before vociferous protests stopped that misadventure, since then, it has not had the gumption to attempt it again

As if it did not have its hands full, in 2013, Governor Babatunde Fashola added the lovely Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge,a 1.36 km cable-stayed bridge to the already juicy pot of soup enjoyed by LCC. It now had bigger responsibility and making money from two fronts.

Buoyed by this monopoly and deeming itself as now untouchable, LCC forgot its responsibilities completely. The road was not being worked on at the speed expected for a private enterprise. It was in the midst of this inaction that we woke up one fine morning to be told that the Lagos State Government was buying back the LCC stake for N7.5billion.

Governor Fashola had sent a letter to the Speaker, Rt Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji for a further amendment to the year’s budget, this he said is “Predicated on the need to fund the acquisition and existing concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the Lekki Concession Company, the Concessionaire for the Eti-Osa-lekki-Epe Expressway. This will effectively accelerate the transfer of the ownership of the road to the state, leaving the state with wider policy options with regards to that all important road”. Of course there was furore in town.

In a statement signed by Ade Ipaye and Ayo Gbeleyi, Commissioners for Justice and Finance respectively, the state government said that it had engaged in buying back of the concession rights ahead of the 30-year period stipulated in the Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) Concession Agreement. This, according to the state government, is to be achieved by purchasing all the shares in LCC.

The State Government stated that its decision to “buy back” the concession rights was due to several developments not envisaged in the 2006 Concession Agreement.

According to the statement, with the devaluation of the Naira and increased costs of construction, the underlying assumptions and market indicators under which the transaction was concluded had drastically changed in a manner that it can no longer be sustained in its current form.

“The LCC, which is the special purpose vehicle representing the investors, formally brought it to the attention of the State Government that given the rapid rise in interest rates on local loans, and other cost parameters, it is compelled to raise tolls currently being charged at Toll Plaza One from N120.00 to N144.00 per Car.

“The Concessionaire also brought it to the attention of the State Government, that as provided for under the agreement, tolling would have to commence at Toll Plaza Two.

“In addition, the Concessionaire indicated that unless it realised more income from increased rates at Toll Plaza One and commence tolling at the same rate per Car at Toll Plaza Two, it would not be able to meet its commitments to investors in the project and continue to fund completion of the remaining sections of the road.

“Furthermore, the LCC stated that Toll Plaza Three, as contained in the Agreement, must be built and tolls collected for the continued viability of the project.”

The Lagos State Government said that it felt obliged to buy out the interests of the LCC in advance of the hand-over date of 2038 under a mutual settlement option also expressly provided for in the Concession Agreement.

“This is after due consultation with all major stakeholders including the Lagos State House of Assembly based on various feedback and agitation made to the Government,” the statement said.

“Contrary to the misleading reports by some sections of the media on Wednesday, August 27, 2013 from the State House of Assembly’s consideration and approval of the 2013 Supplementary Budget, the buy-back is not and does not amount to a ‘termination’ or ‘cancellation’ of the concession of Eti-Osa, Lekki-Epe Expressway.

“The significance of the buy-back, for which the State Government deserves commendation, is that it allows the Government to take full control over the determination of the toll rates in order to continue to make it affordable for road users.

“The LCC shall therefore continue to operate as a fully commercial entity for the benefit of taxpayers and the larger society,” the commissioner said.

Now, take another look at the some lines of this statement, LCC was grumbling about not collecting additional toll, imagine! Anyway, the Lagos State government said “it will operate the new LCC for the benefit of the taxpayers and the larger society”- and this is the crux of the matter and the reason for this my epistle.

Has LCC since that buy back been working in the interest of the people? I have my doubts, without breaking a sweat, I will say a capital No. Its activities to say the least has been anti-people.

LCC, for example, has completely abandoned the idea of extending the road, it is languishing around Ajah presently. Companies and commuters are groaning over loss of man hours and revenue.

Today, plying that part of Lagos is nightmarish. It is at your own risk. Many sections along the road have collapsed. In deed, it is a complete embarrassment, it is a huge insult to add the word “express” to that road, it has become that bad and people now derisively refer to it “Lekki-Epe Slowpress Road”

God help you if you are caught on that stretch of road on a rainy day, be ready to have your breakfast, lunch and if care is not taken, dinner enroute your destination.

A friend who was so unfortunate to experience LCC’s idea of an expressway wrote on facebook that his SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) was disgraced that day by the rain and the gullies, and I jocularly wrote that next time, he should ensure he rides in an HUV (Heavy Utility Vehicle). It was a joke, but for those who go through this nightmare everyday, it is not a joking matter at all.

As if that is not torture enough, on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, LCC’s incompetence is rearing its ugly head again.

As if that is not torture enough, on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, LCC’s incompetence is rearing its ugly head again.

We all know that the government has ordered that no cash payment would be accepted on that bridge currently, maybe, for the sake of probity, which is a good thing, but some people are hell bent on frustrating or should I say sabotaging that noble effort by Governor Sanwo-Olu

Can you imagine that I have been trying for over a week to use the LCC webportal to register and purchase the required toll pass to ply the bridge?

All I have seen written on the page www.lcc.com.ng is “We’ll be right back. Our site is undergoing scheduled maintenance. It won’t take long we promise. Come back and visit us in few days”.

LCC’s “few days” has turned into weeks, and waiting for the LCC site to function has become like waiting for Godot, that fictional character in Samuel Beckett’s famous play.

If not for impunity, how will such a website experience so long a downtime and the company had not deemed it fit to issue a statement, a clear lack of empathy for its clients.

How long does it take to fix such an important website? They simply do not care! In case the top shots at LCC have forgotten, it is a publicly-owned company, this kind of lackadaisical attitude is unacceptable.

I believe it is time for Governor Sanwo-Olu to reevaluate and overhaul the operations of the LCC, that monster must be tamed and whipped into shape before it throws a huge blot on his sterling record. We now pay higher tariff but get lower service, that is not the kind of legacy this government wants to be remembered for.

In the same vein, Mr. Governor should also revisit the issue of the Coastal Road that has been on the drawing board for years now. The alignment of the proposed road has been mapped out, property owners affected have been notified and many have been refused planning approval to ensure they do not obstruct this project. Perhaps if there are more alternatives to the Lekki-Epe Expressway, LCC will not threat its clients and commuters like thrash.

Finally, it is a good thing that Mr Governor has taken a bold step regarding construction of the Regional Road, which is also key in terms of the traffic congestion and movement around that axis, kudos to him, but it is obvious that he still has many rivers to cross.

Michael Effiong, a Lagos-based journalist, is Editor of Ovation International magazine

Up Next

Tributes Pour In for Helicopter Combat Pilot, Tolulope Arotile

Don't Miss

Police Release Ex-EFCC Chairman, Magu from Detention

Click to comment

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.