This is a Press by the United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC)

THE LAGOS LAND USE ACT: A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST LAGOSIANS ESPECIALLY THE POOR

We condemn the Lagos Land Use Act and see it as a declaration of war against Lagosians most especially the poor. We see in it a continuation of the organised onslaught of the rich and mighty against workers and the masses targeted at pushing them out of a city that was built on their sweat and blood. This is unacceptable and must immediately be withdrawn.

We are disappointed that Ambode and the APC that rode on the back of popular slogan of making life and living better for the masses would turn around to enact such a devious law. The fulfilment of electoral promises is really a matter of morality and integrity. Any Politician and indeed government that rides on the back of the sweet promises it made to the masses and refuses not just to implement it but deliberately goes out of its way to erect frameworks that work against the interests of the people loses the moral authority to continue occupying the seat of government.

Lagos state remains the most taxed and exploited environment in Nigeria. Its citizens and workers suffer the heaviest burden of taxation in the country. Virtually everything is taxed including the ordinary street hawker who does not have a roof over his head, the Akara seller, the Okada, Keke, Wheelbarrow pusher, the scrap picker etc. The huge funds that accrue to the coffers of the state as IGR is virtually unaccounted for as Lagosians do not see its impact on their lives rather the government keeps on raising new taxes and increasing the ones being paid before.

This is a yoke that the people of Lagos state especially the workers are tired of carrying. A sensitive government that is people oriented weighs the impact of its policies and actions on the people before ever embarking on it. In Lagos, it is as if the interest of the average citizen does not matter. All we hear is one tax or another.

We do not support this tax as it is heavily weighted against the poor who do not have their own houses and who depend on the rich for housing. A progressive government would have made the provision of housing a priority to ensure that most of the citizenry have access to quality housing but the thinking in Alausa seems to be different. Ambode should tell us how many pro-poor housing scheme that he has embarked upon since assumption of office. We can category say none because what we see are houses built for the rich.

It is on record that Nigeria suffers heavy housing deficit and Lagos as one of the most heavily urbanised states in Nigeria has one of the highest deficits. The implication of this is that the supply of housing is short and creates a Landlord’s market as it leaves the masses with little options in the face of Landlord decisions. Anything that therefore raises the cost of supplying housing by the landlords will be totally transferred to the tenants who bear its final incidence.

This Land use Act which raises land use charges payable in the state by between 400 and 500% is therefore an unmitigated disaster for the poor in the state. This is within the context that the poor does not have alternatives as would have been the case if the supply of housing by the government is adequate which would have checked the extent to which Landlords are able to offload the taxes on the tenants. As soon as it becomes operational, Landlords will immediately transfer it to their tenants by raising rents payable on their properties. We believe that this ought to be against the avowals of a government that is committed to the people that voted them into office. With this Act, Ambode’s Government is inadvertently trying to make it difficult for the poor to live in Lagos thus distances himself from them. This is also inflationary as it will also elicit corresponding increases in the price of other services in the state.

If the intention is to deprive the poor and push them out of Lagos then it speaks volume of the characters that occupy the seat of Government in Alausa and that of the party that they represent. This is not how to create a Megacity or build any city at all in the world. Governments do not intentionally exclude the poor but here, the reverse is the case. Megacities are balanced cities that are inclusive catering to both the rich and the poor. Without the people, a mega city hollows out and eventually dies. It is therefore the people that give life to the city and Lagos is not an exception.

Ambode should understand the history of Lagos and how it came to become what it is today. It was built by the people and its sustenance is based on the people. We do not therefore understand the philosophy behind the present onslaught against the people.

This is why Lateef Jakande’s regime remains indelible in the hearts of Lagosians. He never placed undue burden on the people but sought ways to reduce the suffering of the masses and workers. Massive Low-cost housing projects were strewn all over Lagos state that gave access to quality housing to the poor. What we see today is an unfortunate reversal driven by selfishness and greed.

We urge Ambode not to place politics and IGR above the people. Governance is for the people and not the people for Governance. Any governmental policy that does not factor this into its processes suffers in the long run. He should think of the workers and the poor first in his actions and policies.

ULC does not understand why the state Government will place the interest of individual organisations above that of the people. It remains an aberration that in trying to make such a law, one organisation is named to have a monopoly of collecting the taxes. This is the height of political patronage. It makes a mockery of governance and democracy and truly undermines the integrity of this government. The insertion of AlphaBeta in the Act though the LSHA has come to say that it was a mistake tells us clearly what the goal of the law is – recycling public wealth into the hands of few private citizens.

We demand an immediate withdrawal of that Act in its entirety. If the state government insist on going ahead with that Act, we shall begin the immediate mobilisation of the angst of the citizenry of Lagos state against this government. Amongst others, we shall demand the resignation of the state Governor and the Speaker of the LSHA through which the Law was passed. This is one Act that would not be allowed to remain as it has the tendency of spreading to other states of the country.

Comrade Joe Ajaero
(President)

Source: http://www.opinions.ng/lagos-land-use-act-declaration-war-lagosians-especially-poor/

cc: Lalasticlala, Mynd44

ok seen

The same poor people United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC) is fighting for will still vote for APC in lagos state in next year Election. Tinubu and Ambode don't care about the poor people because they know that majority of them are Zombies. They are used to suffering and smiling they will still vote for Ambode.

k

ok

Ambode have confirmed his tyrranic side with this singular unpopular satanic policy esp.in background of the involvement of the AlphaBeta company & state government assertion that the FOI bill does not apply to it.

I think Ambode is on a suicide mission to lose elections.

He will be shocked.


Pay tax, pay toll fee, pay for land.

They shld continue.

Ambode should understand that Lagos is not in Europe. European governments tax the people and render services to them like unemployment benefits, free healthcare, family allowances, child bonuses.
You can't introduce heavy tax on people that drink water from their own borehole, electricity with their generators, healthcare in private hospitals, children in private schools. Every family in Nigeria is a small local govt.

If you want to make Lagos look like Dubai overnight, go source investors or take loan. This youre tax madness is stupid please. It will only make things/life difficult for the poor. It must affect rent, transportation, prices of goods/services.

What did Nigerians do to APC

It is time for those people from Ogbomosho and OSHOGBO claiming Lagos to go back home

Ambode should thread carefully..

Trying to please Jagaban might end up jeopardizing his re-election into office for 2nd term. He is committing too many blunders in this first term of his.

O gba ogbon.

for sale

thank you for this, h

Let Ambode stop deceiving the whole Lagos with the need to raise taxes because he wants to develop Lagos. He should just tell us that this is an election year and APC Lagos needs money to win elections so we all need to chip in with some thousands to help them raise funds to win Lagos convincingly and to support APC at the center to win its propaganda battles. Shikena! All this talk of Eko oni baje till 2025 is just Bulls***t!

It makes no sense increasing Land use charge up to 400% out to the blue and still charge people to pay Bore hole fees to drill a well more than 600% from the original fee down to Lagos state internal revenue harassing every citizen to pay their taxes double the amount and still increase Lagos state plate number from N30,000 to N100,000. I am not even talking about Lekki toll gate increment without any warning or the constant tax collectors that pester Lagosians daily to pay environmental fees, gutter fees, Fencing permit, motor vehicle fees etc. Haba na wetin.

Later one cretin on Nairaland should shout " If you don't like it relocate to your state" As if Lagos is not living off the taxes of other non Lagos indigenes. At the rate they are going we would soon be paying taxes for owing a generator and for breathing till they kill us all.

Ambode, Ambode, Ambode...ehen..This Buffet table you are shaking.....! Issokay

The Greed and selfishness of Alpha beta Alais Tinubu caused all these

Lagos is led by lucky but useless individuals, both in the executive and legislature.



How do you explain taxing one's capital instead of proceeds. Land use charge should be based on rent accruable to a property annually and not the value of the property on the land. An easy way of telling would be investors, especially in the real estate sector, to check for alternative in neighbouring states.


This Ambode guy is just commissioning bus stops and thinks he has Lagos because of that, a shocker may await him 2019.

I thought dey say Lagos is working.......

This ULC seems to be playing the opposition game better than PDP...
If only they can give Lie Mohammadus a run for his money.

Sorry na

.

Afonjas think otherwise!
This is the best law in Lagos since sliced bread.

sekundosekundo:
It is time for those people from Ogbomosho and OSHOGBO claiming Lagos to go back home

What of those ones that cross the Niger river into another geopolitical zone entirely?
By geopolitical, I mean a different geographical and political zone where they don't belong atal, yet trying to drag ownership in a place far away from their home.

They should jump into the lagoon I guess

Opinionated:
This is a Press by the United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC)

THE LAGOS LAND USE ACT: A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST LAGOSIANS ESPECIALLY THE POOR

We condemn the Lagos Land Use Act and see it as a declaration of war against Lagosians most especially the poor. We see in it a continuation of the organised onslaught of the rich and mighty against workers and the masses targeted at pushing them out of a city that was built on their sweat and blood. This is unacceptable and must immediately be withdrawn.

We are disappointed that Ambode and the APC that rode on the back of popular slogan of making life and living better for the masses would turn around to enact such a devious law. The fulfilment of electoral promises is really a matter of morality and integrity. Any Politician and indeed government that rides on the back of the sweet promises it made to the masses and refuses not just to implement it but deliberately goes out of its way to erect frameworks that work against the interests of the people loses the moral authority to continue occupying the seat of government.

Lagos state remains the most taxed and exploited environment in Nigeria. Its citizens and workers suffer the heaviest burden of taxation in the country. Virtually everything is taxed including the ordinary street hawker who does not have a roof over his head, the Akara seller, the Okada, Keke, Wheelbarrow pusher, the scrap picker etc. The huge funds that accrue to the coffers of the state as IGR is virtually unaccounted for as Lagosians do not see its impact on their lives rather the government keeps on raising new taxes and increasing the ones being paid before.

This is a yoke that the people of Lagos state especially the workers are tired of carrying. A sensitive government that is people oriented weighs the impact of its policies and actions on the people before ever embarking on it. In Lagos, it is as if the interest of the average citizen does not matter. All we hear is one tax or another.

We do not support this tax as it is heavily weighted against the poor who do not have their own houses and who depend on the rich for housing. A progressive government would have made the provision of housing a priority to ensure that most of the citizenry have access to quality housing but the thinking in Alausa seems to be different. Ambode should tell us how many pro-poor housing scheme that he has embarked upon since assumption of office. We can category say none because what we see are houses built for the rich.

It is on record that Nigeria suffers heavy housing deficit and Lagos as one of the most heavily urbanised states in Nigeria has one of the highest deficits. The implication of this is that the supply of housing is short and creates a Landlord’s market as it leaves the masses with little options in the face of Landlord decisions. Anything that therefore raises the cost of supplying housing by the landlords will be totally transferred to the tenants who bear its final incidence.

This Land use Act which raises land use charges payable in the state by between 400 and 500% is therefore an unmitigated disaster for the poor in the state. This is within the context that the poor does not have alternatives as would have been the case if the supply of housing by the government is adequate which would have checked the extent to which Landlords are able to offload the taxes on the tenants. As soon as it becomes operational, Landlords will immediately transfer it to their tenants by raising rents payable on their properties. We believe that this ought to be against the avowals of a government that is committed to the people that voted them into office. With this Act, Ambode’s Government is inadvertently trying to make it difficult for the poor to live in Lagos thus distances himself from them. This is also inflationary as it will also elicit corresponding increases in the price of other services in the state.

If the intention is to deprive the poor and push them out of Lagos then it speaks volume of the characters that occupy the seat of Government in Alausa and that of the party that they represent. This is not how to create a Megacity or build any city at all in the world. Governments do not intentionally exclude the poor but here, the reverse is the case. Megacities are balanced cities that are inclusive catering to both the rich and the poor. Without the people, a mega city hollows out and eventually dies. It is therefore the people that give life to the city and Lagos is not an exception.

Ambode should understand the history of Lagos and how it came to become what it is today. It was built by the people and its sustenance is based on the people. We do not therefore understand the philosophy behind the present onslaught against the people.

This is why Lateef Jakande’s regime remains indelible in the hearts of Lagosians. He never placed undue burden on the people but sought ways to reduce the suffering of the masses and workers. Massive Low-cost housing projects were strewn all over Lagos state that gave access to quality housing to the poor. What we see today is an unfortunate reversal driven by selfishness and greed.

We urge Ambode not to place politics and IGR above the people. Governance is for the people and not the people for Governance. Any governmental policy that does not factor this into its processes suffers in the long run. He should think of the workers and the poor first in his actions and policies.

ULC does not understand why the state Government will place the interest of individual organisations above that of the people. It remains an aberration that in trying to make such a law, one organisation is named to have a monopoly of collecting the taxes. This is the height of political patronage. It makes a mockery of governance and democracy and truly undermines the integrity of this government. The insertion of AlphaBeta in the Act though the LSHA has come to say that it was a mistake tells us clearly what the goal of the law is – recycling public wealth into the hands of few private citizens.

We demand an immediate withdrawal of that Act in its entirety. If the state government insist on going ahead with that Act, we shall begin the immediate mobilisation of the angst of the citizenry of Lagos state against this government. Amongst others, we shall demand the resignation of the state Governor and the Speaker of the LSHA through which the Law was passed. This is one Act that would not be allowed to remain as it has the tendency of spreading to other states of the country.

Comrade Joe Ajaero
(President)

Source: http://www.opinions.ng/lagos-land-use-act-declaration-war-lagosians-especially-poor/

cc: Lalasticlala, Mynd44

why you dey their names?lalasticlala is not from Lagos o, he is a Cameroonian, only mynd44 is from one village in Oshogbo

Plot for sale b4 seun introduces land use charges law here. Any buyer in d house?

But Igbo haters here are jealously jubilating thinking they'll dubiously get back what d Igbos have legitimately acquired. Everybody, especially d poor will feel it.

Alariiwo:


What of those ones that cross the Niger river into another geopolitical zone entirely?
By geopolitical, I mean a different geographical and political zone where they don't belong atal, yet trying to drag ownership in a place far away from their home.

They should jump into the lagoon I guess

Those are not poor and the law won't affect them.

I shout shout shout before the election say make una no vote for ambode. Two times I catch am for were him drink useless himself. I know him well as. Now una don see the result of having a drunk govern a state like Lagos.
Una never see sum-tin

luvinhubby:
Lagos is led by lucky but useless individuals, both in the executive and legislature.



How do you explain taxing one's capital instead of proceeds. Land use charge should based on rent accruable to a property annually and not the value of the property on the land. An easy way of telling would be investors, especially in the real estate sector, to check for alternative in neighbouring states.


This Ambode guy is just commissioning bus stops and thinks he has Lagos because of that, a shocker may await him 2019.

You totally nailed it,I feel Ogun and Oyo state should look to partner with investors and draw up a good urban housing scheme along Lagos-ibadan express way and also Sagamu,with an effective BRT system and an efficient rail system, just like what's obtainable between Abuja and Kaduna, people can live within these areas and work in Lagos,it would also help decongest the state as well and automatically increase the IGR for Ogun and Oyo state respectively.

sekundosekundo:


Those are not poor and the law won't affect them.

You think?

So who are those living in Lagos Slums and ghettos, selling second hand okrika wears and made in Aba shoes all over SW?

Soon Lagos will demolish all their 2×2 rice, garri and beans shops and other illegal structures they erect all over Lagos.