The management of Lekki Concession Company (LCC), the concessionaire of the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, has said it may take up to three months to resume operations.
The facility has been without control since October when #EndSARS protesters restricted movement there.
- Dozens arrested, stripped as youths defy heavy security to occupy Lekki Tollgate
- Lekki Tollgate Protesters Granted Bail
But last week, the judicial panel probing the #EndSARS crisis asked the company to repossess the tollgate.
This had sparked an outrage and protesters trooped to the tollgate on Saturday but the police prevented them from gathering for too long.
At a press conference on Monday, Managing Director of LCC, Mr. Yomi Omomuwasan, said the company, “which is 100 percent owned by the state government”, is currently indebted to local and foreign creditors to the tune of N11.5bn and $31m respectively.
According to him, as of 2011, the firm was owing commercial banks in Nigeria, N24 billion, and the International Development Bank (IDB), $49m.
He said payment of the debt has been stalled since October 2020 when the tollgate was shut due to the #EndSARS protest.
The MD, who briefed newsmen alongside Mr Gbenga Omotoso, Lagos Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said there is need to take stock of the assets that were damaged during the #EndSARS protest.
He said the tollgates were initially shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown, prompting the LCC to approach the banks for a moratorium on repayment which was granted.
“However, since the commencement of the #ENDSARS protest, the forceful takeover of the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza and the unfortunate incident of Tuesday 20, October 2020, we have had to plead for moratorium repeatedly with our local and international lenders.
Impossible to repay loans
“It has been impossible to meet our loan repayment obligations- and obligations to our workers- given our inability to collect tolls, the main revenue source from which the repayment was contractually expected to come.
“Again, this explains where the bulk of our earnings goes, contrary to the false claims on social media that the toll plaza is a cash cow. If we default in payment of these loans, the implications for the business community are too grave to be imagined.”
However, the MD explained that the lenders are requesting for the assessment of the damages to the toll gates as a result of the crisis, saying this is one of the reasons why it sought to take repossession of the tollgate.
“The banks want a formal report and if we don’t go back to do the assessment, it will be extremely impossible to give the report,” he added.
Losses at Lekki tollgate estimated at N2.5bn
Omomuwasan stated that while the LCC is yet to determine the extent of losses as a result of stoppage of operation, the losses would not be less than N2.5bn.
He explained that the company has given the state Judicial Panel of Enquiry all the cooperation needed even though there was never a time LCC was prevented from resuming operations.
“We only agreed to work together with the panel and as soon as the forensic audit of the tollgate was concluded, we attempted to go back to the tollgate. At no time was the tollgate completely shut down.
“Why do we need to go back? Our going back into operation will not be immediate. It will take some time, not one month, maybe three months. Don’t forget our assets were completely insured and our insurance companies need to go there and assess the level of damage and the assets burnt. We will require a team of engineers because we operate electronic tolling system.
“We need proper and full assessment which I believe will take some time. We are going to do civil work, some electrical cables and so on. I am not sure it will happen within three months, that is why I said we must go back. We also have some staff that were asked to stay home, about 500 of them, 90 per cent of them are youth.”
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