Press Releases

Lagos Planning Laws: Fashola Insists On Full Compliance

Sep 9, 2008 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday insisted on full compliance to the state planning laws saying the protection and preservation of land and property in the state depended on it.

Fashola who spoke while receiving a delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Government would find it difficult to discharge its responsibility to the citizenry if development were carried out in the state without regulation.

According to the Governor, the importance of regulating development in the state lies in the fact that it assists the Government in planning infrastructural development and other social obligation such as security.

“That is why we insist that when you want to develop a property, apply formally to us first so that we know that you are in a particular place and all our plans will envelope you rather than reacting to your presence when the deed has been done,” the Governor said.

Governor Fashola further explained that the capacity of Government to protect and preserve land and property depended on knowing that the properties were there in the first place adding; we cannot discharge our responsibility to you if we do not know where you are.”

According to him,” we want to know what properties are springing up and where, that is the only way to plan roads that will serve those tenements, that is the only way to plan the hospitals to serve the people, that is the only way we will tell the police that we will need more men there, because there are more people.”

He said if Government does not regulate how business is done in the state, it would be carried on at the expense of the people adding,” a business that goes on at the expense of human life and human safety is no more a business. It is racketeering or profiteering.”

Explaining further, Governor Fashola stated: “it costs us more money to protect undeveloped land. It cannot be in our interest not to support development. We want property to be developed, but in an orderly and safe manner where they support rather than endanger life.”

Throwing more light on the issue of taxation, Governor Fashola argued that what people have come to refer to as multiple taxation was no multiple taxation, pointing out that some of those payments classified as taxes were only payment for services.

Citing the taxation model in the city of London as example, Governor Fashola explained, that except Council and Poll taxes other fees paid in the city such as congestion were regarded as payment for services.

“But if you do services with the Local Government and do business with the state Government at different entry levels, there will be fees or services that must be paid,” Governor Fashola insisted. He said instead of condemning the initiative of the immediate past administration on land use charge it should be recommended, “because the financial obligation that existed before the land use charge with regards to property were two levels of obligation - the ground rent which was payable to the state and the tenement rate which was payable to the Local Government.”

“if you factor the cost of compliance and cost of transportation by consolidating these two levels into one law you have put back money into the tax payers pocket because it has saved you the obligation of traveling twice”, the Governor said adding that Government has also made compliance easier.

He said Government has no intention of increasing tax but simply saying that if the value of assets of property owners has increased as a result of what Government has done in the last 16 months the gross payout must also increase.

“As a result of what we have done in the last sixteen months property values have risen tremendously. We are simply saying, as those values rise, we are not increasing your tax but your gross payout must increase. Because you have taken more benefit more rent as a result of what we have done, give us a little more to do a lot more”, the Governor said, adding “if you say rents are due let me pay in installment, can I provide security in installment?”.

The Governor commended the Chamber for its initiative at the Lagos State University (LASU) Teaching Hospital where it has established courses to train students to be self employed saying it was in line with the policy of the State Government which, according to him “has gone further to institute micro-credit funding to assist the graduates of its various skill acquisition centres across the State immediately on graduation.”

“In a few weeks we will be graduating about 4,000 of them and they will have access to our micro-credit funding to get capital to start their business, assisted by our consultants in the Ministry and outside”, he said.

Earlier, in his remarks, President of the Chamber, Asiwaju Solomon Kayode Onafowokan commended the Governor for initiating the Private Public Partnership (PPP) initiative and pledged the Chamber’s readiness to collaborate with the State Government in the process of developing the State.

Describing the State Government as transparent, Asiwaju Onafowokan declared, “You have gone all the way to publish your telephone numbers and e-mail of yourself and those of your Commissioners, Police Officers and all that have to do with the State. This is what we call promotion of good governance and governance is all about transparency”.

“When we were coming in, I saw the word Actualizer and I think this is the appropriate word to describe you. Your immediate predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu prepared the ground for the Actualizer to put it into effect”, the Asiwaju Onafowokan said.