The call was made by a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo while speaking with journalists at the weekend on the state of roads in major cities in the country.
Ajadi noted that the roads are impassable and have been causing damage to vehicles on a daily basis, wondering why the government is forcing motorists to cough out huge money as road worthiness fee, while in actual fact the roads are terribly bad and are not adequately maintained.
He said the current rainy season has exposed most of the Nigerian roads which are impassable.
He cited the penultimate Saturday experience on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway all in Lagos, which were flooded and constituted hindrance to vehicular and human movements after early downpour.
Ajadi said he appreciates the demand for vehicles to be roadworthy before plying the roads, saying it was aimed at providing lasting solutions to the historical antecedents of dangers posed by having vehicles that are not road worthy on the roads.
He however insisted that for governments to have the moral right to collect road worthiness charges, it must make the roads smooth and well maintained.
According to him, “Government must ensure the roads are motorable. Government cannot be demanding road worthiness charges from vehicle owners whereas it is the bad roads that make motor vehicles not being roadworthy.
“It is like vehicle owners are suffering from two ends. The bad roads damage their vehicles and the government is collecting fees from them as a way of certifying that their vehicles are road worthy.
“He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. For government to collect road worthiness fees, it must make roads very smooth and motorable.”