On Saturday, the Nigerian government moved to address growing criticism over its insistence that construction of the Lekki toll gates is financially and legally necessary, as CNN reports. In a statement, the Nigerian Finance Ministry said the Toll Gate construction was essential because of the project’s possible tolling potentials.
There have been widespread concerns in Nigeria about the toll gates that are expected to begin charging motorists when roads in Lagos and other parts of the country are fully fixed. Since then, many motorists have accused the government of exaggerating the risks of tolling while robbing them of an impartial discussion about the issue.
With many in the public clamoring for the toll gates to be scrapped, the Finance Ministry announced that the government has postponed an Aug. 20 deadline for it to commence its construction, although it promised “regular updates” on its status. The Nigerian government also said it would investigate whether the CNN investigation into the gates contained “false and inaccurate” claims about the tollgate’s financing and operation.
Nigeria will consider sanctions on CNN over reports that financial investigations into tollgate are misleading https://t.co/hvmCzthK3H pic.twitter.com/9fD1AUahBM — CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 19, 2018
The news release did not provide any details on whether there would be penalties in place for CNN, and the organization said it would continue investigating the claims.
In response to the Nigerian government’s vague statement, CNN said, “We stand by our reporting. Our report confirmed that in Nigeria, there are fears about the project’s financing, potential toll revenue and risks to innocent Nigerians. Nigerians have been expressing these fears online, off the air and in the press for weeks.”
Read the full story at CNN.
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