By Nimah Alabi
Six years after the #EndSARS protests led to the suspension of toll collection at the Lekki toll gate, the Lagos State Government has missed out on billions of naira, while motorists have been able to save money by using the road without paying toll fees.
Before the protests in October 2020, the toll gate was expected to bring in at least ₦16.6 million daily, according to a report by The PUNCH.
At the time, saloon cars paid ₦200 per passage, SUVs paid ₦250, while some large vehicles paid ₦1,000.
With prices rising across Nigeria since 2020, an estimated equivalent of the old ₦200 toll fee would be around ₦650–₦700 today.
If 80,000 vehicles passed through the toll gate daily and each paid an average of ₦700, the government could collect about ₦56 million daily.
That would amount to roughly ₦20.4 billion yearly, or about ₦122 billion over six years.
However, this is only an estimate, not the amount the government has confirmed losing.
The calculation assumes that the same number of vehicles use the road daily and that every vehicle pays ₦700, even though actual toll fees would depend on the type of vehicle.
How motorists have benefited
While the government may have missed out on toll money, motorists have been able to keep money they would otherwise have spent on toll fees.
Under the old rate, a saloon car passing through the toll gate twice daily would pay ₦400.
At an estimated rate of ₦700 per passage today, those journeys would cost ₦1,400 daily.
With petrol, food and other basic needs becoming more expensive, not having to pay toll fees gives motorists more money to spend on other things.
The closure may also have reduced waiting time at the toll gate because drivers no longer need to stop to make payments.
However, traffic can still build up at other points along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Six years later, the situation thus has two sides: the government has missed out on billions in possible toll revenue, while motorists have been spared another daily expense at a time when the cost of living remains high.
The exact amount the government could have earned, and how much motorists have saved, remains uncertain without up-to-date traffic figures and reliable toll collection data.
