Lagos residents spend N1Bn monthly on
merriment -Govt Tweet 62 May 17, 2013 | 1:51 am News By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Monsur
Olowoopejo Lagos state government, yesterday, said that over N1 billion was spent monthly by residents on merriment and entertainment in the state.


The state government however, said
advocators for Local Government autonomy
were insincere, saying “they were only pushing for it to score political points.” Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Ademorin Kuye, made the remarks at the 2013 ministerial Press Briefing held in Alausa, Ikeja, to commemorate the sixth year anniversary of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration. Kuye said the statistics was a product of a recent research conducted by the State’s Ministry of Economic Planning and Budgeting, saying “this justified the reason why local Governments demand that anyone organising
events in the state must pay the Merriment Tax


.” According to him, “There is merriment tax in
that constitution, its part of the rate Local Governments can collect. We have not fully
utilised the benefit of the entertainment industry in this state”. “Over N1billion is spent monthly in Lagos state on entertainment and parties, we have the records to confirm this and this people, how many of them pay tax? The money goes into drinks, wine, food, aso-ebi and all of that and when they spend all of this money; they do not want to pay anything to the government”.


He lamented that the benefits of entertainment have not been fully tapped and utilised in the
state and the country, stressing that taxes accruing to the government are spent on merriment..