Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has demonstrated that he is a listening governor by reducing the Land Use Charge following public outcry.
Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode
Following public outcry and protest, the Lagos State Government has reduced its Land Use Charge. This was made public today during an executive council meeting held at the State House.
According to the state government, commercial fee charge is reduced by 50 percent, while owner occupier third-party fee is reduced by 25 percent and the owner-occupier fee charge is reduced by 15 percent.
Earlier in a report by Channels Television, the Lagos State government had clarified the figures on the rate for the newly reviewed Land Use Charge Law of 2018.
The state government said that many of the numbers were based on several years of arrears on the levy not paid by affected property owners.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, made the clarification to newsmen.
He decried the misconceptions and misinformation about the new law, describing the law as a progressive enactment duly made by the House of Assembly and handed over to the executive for implementation in the overall interest of the people.
The commissioner specifically dismissed the humongous figures being bandied about on the social media, saying many of the calculations were based on arrears of many years of non-payment.
But these clarifications did not go down well with Nigerians as members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch on Tuesday staged a protest over the reviewed Land Use Charge Law in Lagos State.
The lawyers during the protest marched to the Governor’s Office in Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital, carrying a banner and various placards with inscriptions lamenting over the law.
They also chanted solidarity songs expressing their disapproval over the increase in the land use charge.
The lawyers were joined by other civil society groups as they walked from the Bar Centre of the Ikeja High Court and then to the Governor’s office.