The Lekki Concession Company (LCC) has again appealed for the understanding of aggrieved youths who are bent on preventing the Company from commencing the evaluation of the extent of the damage done to its assets on the night of Tuesday, October 20, 2020, citing the subsisting bank debts and the fate of its over 500 workers as compelling reasons the process ought to begin now.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, Managing Director of the LCC, Yomi Omomuwasan expressed regret that a few human beings were using faux news to misinform Nigerians approximately the organization's ownership and whip up public sentiment in opposition to its go back to commercial enterprise.
Omomuwasan stated at the same time as LCC empathises with Nigerians who suffered one loss or the other at some point of the #EndSARS protest, persevering with to punish LCC whose facility changed into forcefully taken over by means of the protesters for anything passed off on October 20, 2020, could be a regrettable double whammy for the agency.
He explained that the non-return of the Company to operation is negatively affecting LCC's subsisting loan duties to local and global creditors, maintenance of the street, its ancillary services and most significantly, the welfare of its personnel a number of whom have been domestic since the incident in October.
He disclosed that LCC owed N23.9 billion and $49.6 million to neighborhood and foreign lenders as of December 31, 2011. He, but, lamented that the forceful takeover of the Tollgate by using #ENDSARS protesters and its next destruction had affected its ability to provider its money owed.
He stated, "As of January 31, 2021, the extremely good debt liability from the local creditors is inside the place of N11.6 billion and from the overseas creditors $31.1 million (USD), with the distinction being the amount LCC has thus far paid the creditors. It is important to say that, earlier than the #ENDSARS protest, LCC had endured to meet up with servicing its loan obligations without default to the lenders.
"However, because 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've had to plead for moratorium repeatedly with our nearby and international lenders. It has been not possible to satisfy our mortgage compensation obligations- and duties to our employees- given our incapability to gather tolls, the main revenue source from which the repayment became contractually expected to come.
"Again, this explains wherein the majority of our earnings is going, contrary to the fake claims on social media that the toll plaza is a cash cow. If we default in fee of these loans, the implications for the enterprise network are too grave to be imagined."
The MD similarly explained that contrary to allegations that all the Company does is collect tolls, the LCC renders a number of price-added offerings. "Daily users of the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway would testify that LCC affords free 24/7 towing offerings, twist of fate and breakdown recovery, emergency offerings and 24-hr security patrol alongside the express street. LCC is solely accountable for the person-power and operational cost of all of these ancillary services without charge to street users," he stated.
Reacting to the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza's alleged designation as a crime scene through the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and its stated shutdown, Omomuwasan said not anything will be further than the fact.
The Toll Plaza, he defined, turned into by no means shut down. "LCC became handiest asked to go away the Plaza untouched until the of completion of the forensic audit instituted with the aid of the honourable Panel. It is crucial to remember additionally that at no time changed into the Toll Plaza ever designated 'a crime scene" by the Panel, as this would have warranted the entire stoppage of vehicular motion at that section of the road. On the contrary, vehicular movement has persevered unhindered on the road seeing that Wednesday, October 21, 2021," Omomuwasan said.
The Managing Director similarly defined that the Panel's ruling authorized it to access the Toll Plaza, examine and determine damages and essential renovation. According to Omomuwasan, "Nowhere inside the global is a enterprise shut down indefinitely over an enquiry into an incident. We should endure in thoughts that as a enterprise, we also have loads of employees, who've hundreds of dependents, to attend to and month-to-month economic responsibilities to honour. Besides, assessment and restoration require time, and further postpone can simplest get worse the Company's state of affairs as a going issue."
On allegations that the LCC can pay some outdoor advertising and marketing companies, the MD stated it become a lie and that the opposite is the case. "As part of efforts to open up other streams of profits to service our loan responsibilities and usually hold the road as accomplished in other climes, LCC partnered with numerous marketing companies, who then pay LCC from the sales they generate from their advertising systems. It gives us a experience of fulfilment to note that most of these companies are the new generation marketing corporations owned via younger Nigerians."
He gave the names of the outside advertising businesses as E-Motion Advertising Ltd, Prodigy Advertising Ltd, Loatsad Promo media Ltd and Eye Kontact Ltd. While these companies clearly pay LCC for the use of its advertising and marketing systems, some purveyors of faux information have again gone to town to misinform the general public that LCC pays such a companies and declare he described as absolutely false.
Omomuwasan also disclosed LCC's ownership structure, announcing four personal corporations firstly owned it before the Lagos State Government acquired it.
"As of December 31 2011, the shareholders of the Company were African Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF); Asset and Resources Management Company Ltd (ARM), Larue Projects Company Ltd, Hi-Tech Construction Ltd. However, in December 2014, the Lagos State Government acquired one hundred% shareholding proper inside the Company. The shares have been as a result allotted as seventy five% to the Lagos State Government and 25% to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Office. The records are there on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)' including the regular filing of returns and tax responsibilities."
Speaking at the maltreatment of some protesters at Saturday’s protest at the Admiralty Toll Plaza, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso said, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed the Lagos State Police Commissioner to fish out the perpetrator and make sure justice is served in keeping with the right rules of the Nigerian Police Force.
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