In 1980, Alhaji Lateef Jakande started the construction of the then non-existent Lekki-Epe Expressway, to connect the Eastern axis of Lagos State by road to the rest of Lagos.
By December 1983, when Muhammadu Buhari & his band i of coupists struck, he had completed it to up to 53km, at Ibeju-Agbe town.
Buhari ordered a stop to ALL development works in Lagos State, including the Metro Rail Line Project that had already been paid for in full, & the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru, appointed Governor by Buhari, an indigene of Ikorodu, Lagos State, instead reduced the scope of the project to single carriageway and connected Ibeju-Lekki to Epe regardless.
In 2003/2004, Tinubu, from Iragbiji, in Osun State, signed the Lagos State PPP board. In 2006, he suddenly announced that LCC had “won” the concession for the Lekki-Epe Expressway, with no public or private bidding process, & the project was valued at ₦50b at the time.
He then also announced the transfer of 1500 hectares of prime, beach front land to Messrs ARM Ltd, gratis, as Lagos State’s “contribution” to the funding of the Lekki-Epe Expressway “expansion” project. Lagos State was selling plots at Abijo Residential Scheme at the time at ₦5m per plot. The 22,500 plots at Lakowe would therefore cost about ₦67.5b, with a 40% discount off Abijo, just 10 minutes away.
Not long after, a $42m “mezzanine loan” was granted to LCC/ARM by LASG! Again, more state contribution to the ostensibly “private” project.
The concession agreement grants sweeping powers to LCC, & is reminiscent of colonial “protectorate” agreements in its letter and its spirit, but that was always the intention, as we have seen over time.
The Lakowe land was used as collateral for a $340m syndicated loan, provided in tranches of $85m each by UBA Capital (Elumelu – now you understand the “Prezzdential” visit), Stanbic IBTC, Standard Bank of South Africa and African Development Bank (years before Akinwunmi Adeshina).
Tolling began when construction barely reached km 6, and the construction remains UNCOMPLETED till date. 17 years under construction, for a dual carriageway that was at 53km within 3 years, FORTY YEARS AGO!
I keep hearing 4th Mainland Bridge, at almost ₦1 trillion as of 2019. With the devaluation of the ₦ since then, we’re looking easily at over ₦1 trillion now, plus another 20 years to complete, based on their record on Lekki-Epe Expressway, plus 50 years tolling, and the near complete demolition of Ikorodu, Badore and parts of Lekki from behind the Lagos Business School.
If you still vote for APC in Lagos State after reading this, you deserve everything that will surely befall you if they win.
Postscript: At the height of Tolling of Lekki-Epe Expressway & Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, a certain individual was earning a fantastic sum running into hundreds of millions DAILY in CASH. Now you understand the kerfuffle surrounding the new notes.
You also understand the why of the #LekkiTollGateMassacre
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By Babatund Gbadamosi
A vote for APC anywhere in Nigeria and especially in #Lagos,Rivers,Edostate this weekend is a vote for monumental #corruption .
