NBA Gives Ambode 7-Days Ultimatum To Reverse Land Use Charge, Others
The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch yesterday threatened to organise massive protest if the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode refused within the next seven days to revert to the old land use charge, car registration and filing cost of litigation.
The association, which made the threat at a press conference addressed by its chairman Adesina Ogunlana in Lagos, lamented that if these regimes of tax were allowed to stay, Lagos State would be a living hell.
Ogunlana said the branch would on Tuesday embark on street protest tagged “walk the talk” to protest the over 400 per cent increment in land use charge and another over 300 per cent in car registration without consulting the people.
He said, “To the horrible shock of Lagosians, they woke up a few days ago to learn about the hyper-inflated rate of the so called land use charge which the Governor of Lagos state has escalated upwards 400 per cent.
“Another notable tax increase is in the car registration fee, another wacky 300 per cent or so. In judiciary, filing cost of litigation has jumped astronomically, pushing genuine but financially weak grievances away from employing and enjoying access to legal and judicial justice.
He said, “Even ordinarily in Lagos State accommodation is only cheap and easily affordable, that is for those who have the parks and under the bridge to sleep or dwell.
“Clearly the sharp increase in ancillary property tax of the land use charge will have a bandwagon effect on all other services and function in Lagos State as owners of properties and services will automatically transfer other financial burdens to other cashmeres who will have to bear the burden or crumble under the weight.”
Adesina said that the government could not hide under developing Lagos into mega-smart city to kill Lagosians with what he called “pharaoric taxes”.
“Must Lagos become a so called Paradise at the expense of lives and limbs of Lagosians” he said.
