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Ikeja – The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said it has filed an appeal against the court judgment which declared collection of toll on the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge as illegal.
Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), the Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Justice, made this known in a statement.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a Federal High Court in Lagos had on March 27 delivered the judgment in a suit filed by a lawyer, Mr Ebun Adegboruwa, against the government.
Justice Saliu Saidu had held that there was no subsisting law authorising the collection of toll on the bridge by the government.
According to the statement, the notice of appeal dated March 28, 2014 was filed on the same day at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
“The state government is challenging the decision arrived at by the court to the effect that the fact of payment by its contractors to National Inland Waterways Authority was an admission by the state that the Federal Government had constitutional or legislative authority to regulate inland waterways throughout the country.
“We want the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision of the court to the effect that there was no law enacted by the Lagos State House of Assembly authorising the state to impose tolls on public infrastructure,†it said.
According to the government, the State’s Public Private Partnership Law of 2011 empowers it to specify the service charges, user fees or tolls which are payable in respect of designated public infrastructure or public assets.
The government also asked for an order of stay of execution of the judgment.
It further asked the appellate court to restrain the respondents from giving effect to the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application. (NAN)
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