₦airaland Forum

*LAND USE CHARGE: AMBODE SHOULD GO BACK TO SCHOOL*

I have watched Governor Ambode’s video where he made a failed attempt to defend the obnoxious land use charge.

To start with, Governor Ambode does not know mathematics and does not understand economics. And he claims to be a chartered accountant.

The growth in Land Use Charge from N50,000 to N250,000 is 400% increase. Current Inflation rate is 15%. How can you increase a charge by 27 times the current inflation rate?

An increase of 400% overnight is called financial shock. When financial shock to people’s income is higher than inflation rate, people are effectively impoverished

If the government wants to go from N50,000 to N250,000, it must be *graduated* over the 15 year period for which the rate should have been reviewed as shown below:
Year-0 (2017-last year): N50,000
Y1-2018: N63,333
Y2-2019: N76,666
Y3-2020: N89,999
Y4-2021: N103,333
Y5-2022: N116,667...
...
Y10-2027: N183,333
...
Y15-2032: N250,000...
...
Y16-2033: N250,000
Y17-2018: N250,000
...

If this 400% land use charge is enforced, all landlords and commercial property owners will increase their rents/fees thereby further impoverishing the people.
1. A landlord will increase his rent,
2. The event centre operator will increase his hall rental fee for a conference/symposium/wedding/birthday
3. Owners of shopping complexes will increase the rents of the shops they have let out
4. Commercial property owners will increase rents on lease office spaces
5. Business/shop owners paying a higher rent on leased office spaces will pass on the higher rent to their customers by increasing the prices of their goods and services.

This is how inflation worsens and people are systematically impoverished to fund Tinubu’s money-hungry pocket.

We must bear in mind that Ambode has already increased BRT/LAGBUS fare, Toll tariff, water rates, vehicle licence, introduced Radio tax, vehicle registration, road worthiness etc.
Now Land Use Charge!

This is the same governor whose government created and legislated monopolies —Alpha Beta (revenue collection), Visionscape (waste management).

Where in the world does government create and legislate monopoly in a free-market economy?

Ambode must go back to school to re-learn economics

Are people made for the government or government is made for the people?

Must people be taxed to death because we want to feed Tinubu’s Alpha Beta?

*By Yomi Oladele*