Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State says Lagos is the only state that can survive if crude oil supply – the mainstay of Nigeria economy- is shut down.

Fashola explained that this was possible because the government in the state had made it a policy to implement the laws on taxation to the letter, which allows it to have funds for capital project.

He spoke on Thursday during the state’s sixth Taxation Stakeholders Conference in Ikeja.

The governor said, “A life without tax is a lie. If they shut down on oil, this is the only state that can survive. Everything that we have done in the past six years was funded by our taxes.

“Since I became governor, I have not made any tax law; only implementing the existing laws on taxation.”

Fashola, however, observed that majority of the state residents had not been paying their taxes, saying the government had started prosecution to achieve higher percentage in tax compliance by residents of the state.

He said, “While our population continues to grow, one cannot see appreciable growth in tax. Our record shows that only three million people are currently paying their taxes against eight million that should pay tax.

“Since we have a population of 20 million people in this state, it means that three million people are carrying the burden of 20 million, instead of eight that should be doing so. In the last four years, we have been doing enlightenment on the need to pay tax; but now, we will prosecute.”

The governor also explained that the government had made a list of the tax regime of the local governments which had been signed into law. He advised residents to acquaint themselves with the law so there would be no confusion.

He said his administration had judiciously managed revenue generated to turn the state into a place where everything works.

http://www.punchng.com/news/only-lagos-can-survive-without-oil-fashola/

What is he waiting for?
He should set a good example and stop collecting oil money for his state
Walk the walk not just talk the talk

babyosisi: What is he waiting for?
He should set a good example and stop collecting oil money for his state
Walk the walk not just talk the talk

Easier said than done!

To an extent the governor is right.

But mehn, Lagos's strength economically won't remain the same without oil.
He forgot that directly on indirectly Lagos tax payers wealth are connected to oil.
A successful business tycoon who pays huge tax has most of his customers as civil servants.
Without oil, civil servants are definitely going broke, with the regular tax payer(business guy) having nada to contribute as tax.
Same is for industries, companies... If the larger percentage of their customers have nothing as exchange for manufactured goods due to unpaid wage(from oil) by the top government, companies won't be able to meet up with their monthly dews.

Institutions(polytechnics, universities, colleges of education) that also add up to monthly IGR won't have much to offer when over 50%(assumed) of guidances that pay kids fees are directly or indirectly employed by the FG(Nig highest employer of labor)

Not until this is put into test(Nig without oil), the effects can't be certain.

he should continue to collect the oil handouts and go aggresively after those tax dodgers. im sure there is a law. on what to do with them, enforce that law now!

babyosisi: What is he waiting for?
He should set a good example and stop collecting oil money for his state
Walk the walk not just talk the talk

]

For an entire 4 years, Lagos got nothing from FG lol! And even with the so called thieving of Tinubu, Lagos did better than Rivers and Cross Rivers collecting both FG allocation and 13% (Remember Calabar just recently became non oil producing).

So yeah! Fashola is right.

Lagosians are always on the move sun up to sun down! Economic transactions are going on 24hrs/day. Iya elewa sells till 4am and continues at 8am, some are 24/7 in Ebute Meta. Aboki sleeps in his shop so you can always knock to get anything he sells anytime, the city never sleeps.

Lagos is not your average city padi mi. It's for the go getters who can get it in a fast paced city. New York ain't faster than Lagos. I can still lay back and make $3k a week in New York. If I try such in Lagos, I'll lose $3k/week. Infact, you get addicted to hustling because you'll see the fruit of your labour.

If I lose money here, I make tripple my loss in Lagos. Lagos is the best gamble anyone can win but you gotta play!

paul,

if we shut off the oil the economy will follow the human traffic and adapt itself naturally.

that wwas the fear of southerners in america that if slavery was ended their lives will be ruined. it has been over 100yrs since slavery ended and the progeny of those rrbels are still thriving.

0lumide: ]

For an entire 4 years, Lagos got nothing from FG lol! And even with the so called thieving of Tinubu, Lagos did better than Rivers and Cross Rivers collecting both FG allocation and 13% (Remember Calabar just recently became non oil producing).

So yeah! Fashola is right.

Lagosians are always on the move sun up to sun down! Economic transactions are going on 24hrs/day. Iya elewa sells till 4am and continues at 8am, some are 24/7 in Ebute Meta. Aboki sleeps in his shop so you can always knock to get anything he sells anytime, the city never sleeps.

Lagos is not your average city padi mi. It's for the go getters who can get it in a fast paced city. New York ain't faster than Lagos. I can still lay back and make $3k a week in New York. If I try such in Lagos, I'll lose $3k/week. Infact, you get addicted to hustling because you'll see the fruit of your labour.

If I lose money here, I make tripple my loss in Lagos. Lagos is the best gamble anyone can win but you gotta play!

good one!

This hypocrit should have rather announced that the state Government will no longer take revenue from oil than come to deceive his gullible followers. Can lagos do without the tax from oil company headquaters in lagos.

kettykin: This hypocrit should have rather announced that the state Government will no longer take revenue from oil than come to deceive his gullible followers. Can lagos do without the tax from oil company headquaters in lagos.

as long as we are part of this union, we will continue to take fed allocation. you don't like this? take yourself out of the gene pool

Lagcity o ni baje o!

lagcity:

as long as we are part of this union, we will continue to take fed allocation. you don't like this? take yourself out of the gene pool

Lagcity o ni baje o!

Then why come to deceive the whole world saying only lagos can do without oil wealth when in actual sense they are the last people that would do without it .
If this is not hyprocrisy and double speak and a reflection of cowardice then what is it

kettykin:

Then why come to deceive the whole world saying only lagos can do without oil wealth when in actual sense they are the last people that would do without it .
If this is not hyprocrisy and double speak and a reflection of cowardice then what is it

It's not a lie. Lagos has done without oil funds for one full term and still did better than other states collecting oil funds.

But we will continue to collect the "oil" funds as long as it is available. More money aint too much money!

kettykin:

Then why come to deceive the whole world saying only lagos can do without oil wealth when in actual sense they are the last people that would do without it .
If this is not hyprocrisy and double speak and a reflection of cowardice then what is it

The 2.3 trillion FG generates from Lagos ports will become Lagos money and viola, Lagos will survivie.

seanet01: The 2.3 trillion FG generates from Lagos ports will become Lagos money and viola, Lagos will survivie.

Where did this figure come from please

IMHO let every state harness and use the resources in their backyard

kettykin: This hypocrit should have rather announced that the state Government will no longer take revenue from oil than come to deceive his gullible followers. Can lagos do without the tax from oil company headquaters in lagos.

Gbam

kettykin:

Then why come to deceive the whole world saying only lagos can do without oil wealth when in actual sense they are the last people that would do without it .
If this is not hyprocrisy and double speak and a reflection of cowardice then what is it

The guy is being very flippant by that utterance
lagos and other states ought to be thanking the Niger delta daily not pretending as though they could survive without the quarterly Almajiri trips to Abuja
Ingrates

0lumide:

It's not a lie. Lagos has done without oil funds for one full term and still did better than other states collecting oil funds.

But we will continue to collect the "oil" funds as long as it is available. More money aint too much money!

For the benefit of doubt lagos did not do without federal allocation what happened was that OBJ with held the local Government Allocation because Tinubu created a lot Local Councils during his Era and the allocation was given back to lagos state after Tinubu reverted back to the exact LGA number,

I think Lagos is doing fine however the growth rate of lagos is not up to that of the Oil producing states of Akwa Ibom , Rivers and Delta , lagos is doing well compared to non oil porducing states like Kogi, benue, kwara . Lagos was already a developed city before 1999 and all the Governor has done it to plant grasses , trees and make bodies like lawam and lastma and build toll gates along lekki rd, with the yearly promises of another deep sea port and an international airport and a 4th mainland bridge beyond that lagos government has not done anything spectacular

Lagos was without allocation for like 3yrs even after court rule in Lagos favour until Yar Adua released it in 2007.

If tax from oil company leaves then Lagos would take revenue from Ports 100%

dayokanu: Lagos was without allocation for like 3yrs even after court rule in Lagos favour until Yar Adua released it in 2007.

If tax from oil company leaves then Lagos would take revenue from Ports 100%

This is very laughable and a good joke , will lagos take 100 % revenue for a port it did not build , lagos can as well take 100% of the airfare from MMIA

If lagos does that all the coastal local governments from bakassi to ondo will be filled with ports .
Lagos has no economy take it or leave it .

The banks/ Media houses are owned by Delta igbos and south south , the oil the oil companies drill by Niger delta, the telecom companies by foreign investors infact a good number of the SMEs are owned by outsiders and non yorubas .
Fashola should just apologise for the gaffe to apologise for gaffes is normal.

I know youre an illiterate so I would help you

[quote]Decision to develop Apapa Port was taken in 1913 and construction of the first
four deep-water berths of 548.64 metres long at Apapa began in 1921. Twentyseven
years later (1948), an additional 762 metres of berthage were constructed
as continuation –downstream of the first four berths and about 41 hectares of
reclamation behind the wharves were formed to accommodate transit shed,
warehouses and marshalling yards.

kettykin:

This is very laughable and a good joke , will lagos take 100 % revenue for a port it did not build , lagos can as well take 100% of the airfare from MMIA

If lagos does that all the coastal local governments from bakassi to ondo will be filled with ports .
Lagos has no economy take it or leave it .

The banks/ Media houses are owned by Delta igbos and south south , the oil the oil companies drill by Niger delta, the telecom companies by foreign investors infact a good number of the SMEs are owned by outsiders and non yorubas .
Fashola should just apologise for the gaffe to apologise for gaffes is normal.

Do you have a grasp of what Economy really is?

babyosisi:

Where did this figure come from please

IMHO let every state harness and use the resources in their backyard

That was what NPA declared Last year.

seanet01: Do you have a grasp of what Economy really is?

If fashola had a grasp of what an economy really is would he have made the gaffe above.

Does lagos really have an economy just like we can talk of the oil economy of the niger delta , agric based economy of the benue area .
What really is the economic base of lagos state when the tax from an oil company dwarfs every other tax from the SMEs.

Can the lagos Government legally take 100% of the port revenue ? Considering the fact that port activities is controlled by the FG just like oil drilling and crude sale businesses is controlled by the FG

Paul John: To an extent the governor is right.

But mehn, Lagos's strength economically won't remain the same without oil.
He forgot that directly on indirectly Lagos tax payers wealth are connected to oil.
A successful business tycoon who pays huge tax has most of his customers as civil servants.
Without oil, civil servants are definitely going broke, with the regular tax payer(business guy) having nada to contribute as tax.
Same is for industries, companies... If the larger percentage of their customers have nothing as exchange for manufactured goods due to unpaid wage(from oil) by the top government, companies won't be able to meet up with their monthly dews.

Institutions(polytechnics, universities, colleges of education) that also add up to monthly IGR won't have much to offer when over 50%(assumed) of guidances that pay kids fees are directly or indirectly employed by the FG(Nig highest employer of labor)

Not until this is put into test(Nig without oil), the effects can't be certain.

The only sensible post IMHO.

kettykin:

If fashola had a grasp of what an economy really is would he have made the gaffe above.

Does lagos really have an economy just like we can talk of the oil economy of the niger delta , agric based economy of the benue area .
What really is the economic base of lagos state when the tax from an oil company dwarfs every other tax from the SMEs.

Can the lagos Government legally take 100% of the port revenue ? Considering the fact that port activities is controlled by the FG just like oil drilling and crude sale businesses is controlled by the FG

Stop lying. Lagos generates most of its revenue from non oil manufacturing companies.

kettykin:

This is very laughable and a good joke , will lagos take 100 % revenue for a port it did not build , lagos can as well take 100% of the airfare from MMIA

If lagos does that all the coastal local governments from bakassi to ondo will be filled with ports .
Lagos has no economy take it or leave it .

The banks/ Media houses are owned by Delta igbos and south south , the oil the oil companies drill by Niger delta, the telecom companies by foreign investors infact a good number of the SMEs are owned by outsiders and non yorubas .
Fashola should just apologise for the gaffe to apologise for gaffes is normal.

Why do you like lying this way? So media houses like ONTV, MITV, GALAXY, TVC, PUNCH, TRIBUNE, COMPASS, NATIONAL MIRROR, NATION ETC are owned by Niger delta? Please type something else

seanet01: Stop lying. Lagos generates most of its revenue from non oil manufacturing companies.

I was hoping you would cite an example of such firms paying tax to lagos state however let me help.

Dunlop is now. A failed business now imports tires under the business name of DN meyer.
Eleganza is now used as a warehouse for other businesses.
Unilever was run down and right now is not a profitable business.
NBL/Guiness is makind drinks in other states and paying taxes
Coca Kola is bottling drinks in other states.
VON is now a warehouse for stallion group.
A good number of other business outfits has been converted to churches by christ embassy, day star , house hold of God.
By the way the tax paid by shell or mobil or chevron alone is bigger than the tax paid by the remaining Businesses like hotels, restaurant, eateries and fuel stations .

kettykin:

This is very laughable and a good joke , will lagos take 100 % revenue for a port it did not build , lagos can as well take 100% of the airfare from MMIA

If lagos does that all the coastal local governments from bakassi to ondo will be filled with ports .
Lagos has no economy take it or leave it .

The banks/ Media houses are owned by Delta igbos and south south , the oil the oil companies drill by Niger delta, the telecom companies by foreign investors infact a good number of the SMEs are owned by outsiders and non yorubas .
Fashola should just apologise for the gaffe to apologise for gaffes is normal.

Comedian. Apologize for what? For telling you the truth.

Do you think all the businesses you mentioned are in Lagos by accident or operating without any industrial and human economy to keep then afloat and viable?

The businesses are in Lagos because Lagos is the industrial power house of Nigeria.

The businesses you mentioned can not function without the industrial activities generated by the industries and manufacturing activities in Lagos. These industries from Ikeja industrial to Ilupeju, Apapa, Matori and Mushin industrial estates was built by a very sensible and forward looking Man called Awolowo, not by all the people you mentioned or your worthless federal government.

The businesses you mentioned are in Lagos because of the conducive atmosphere and safe environment provided by the people and leadership of Lagos state, something your violent and kidnapping jungle in the east or the Violent and BH infested North can not offer them.

Lagos economy is not limited to the businesses you mentioned. Lagos is the capital of everything in Nigeria from entertainment/movies, music, clubs, shows to leisure,fashion, food, the printing capital of west africa, advertisement, insurance, transportation and the sub economy called the informal economy and on and on and on...in fact, the businesses you mentioned are minor players.

Lagos state's economy is a non dependent economy.

I know many of you empress your opinions based on your tribal considerations and ignorance, but you push your ignorance beyond obvious realities which I find amusing sometimes hence not taking some of you seriously.

kettykin:

I was hoping you would cite an example of a manufacturing firm paying tax to lagos state however let me help.

Dunlop is now. A failed business now imports tires under the business name of DN meyer.
Eleganza is now used as a warehouse for other businesses.
Unilever was run down and right now is not a profitable business.
NBL/Guiness is makind drinks in other states and paying taxes
Coca Kola is bottling drinks in other states.
VON is now a warehouse for stallion group.
A good number of other manufacturing outfits has been converted to churches by christ embassy, day star , house hold of God.
By the way the tax paid by shell or mobil or chevron alone is bigger than the tax paid by the remaining manufacturing companies .

Thanks for keeping track of failed businesses, but Lagos state's GDP is not only the largest in Nigeria, it's ever growing and growing with higher and higher projections and the tax base is expanding day after day. So you mean the steady increase is from the failed businesses you are peddling?

Btw, you know mobil or chevron pays more in taxes than the rest of Lagos because you are the state's tax collector or you are in possession of Lagos state's tax collection apparatus and if you are, do you mind showing us your facts?

What is Lagos state buying from mobile and chevron? Definitely nothing but taxes on their single location properties and payroll. They are not drilling oil in Lagos gan sef.

What a load of utter rubbish..


You are not making are sense.

seanet01: Do you have a grasp of what Economy really is?

Nothing obviously. What's oil got to do with us in Lagos state other than the oil companies paying property and payroll taxes just like any other business in Lagos?

How many properties and employees are we talking about sef?

Aderostock:
Why do you like lying this way? So media houses like ONTV, MITV, GALAXY, TVC, PUNCH, TRIBUNE, COMPASS, NATIONAL MIRROR, NATION ETC are owned by Niger delta? Please type something else

The Media houses you mentioned when added together do not measure up to Guardian or this day in Sales , Reach Acceptability and profitability.

Are you going to compare Local stations like ONTV,MITV,TVC and Galaxy with International station like AIT, channels, SBTV which presently being watched all over the Country and internationally


Tribune Compass ( which does not sell any more), are but Local papers which serves only Yorubas i mean Naional Papers like Thisday and Guardian Newspapers with Funtional offces and an Editorial Team