ACTVISTS PROTEST AGAINST ‘OBNOXIOUS’ LAGOS TAXES
“I know of a school given N5 million for borehole permit. Are the parents of the students not in trouble? Ambode’s tax is illegal, toxic, satanic and we are not going to accept it. We voted for him and now he wants to vote us out of Lagos’,Ogunlana declared
“Our purpose here is two-fold, to communicate the grievances of Lagosians vis-a-vis the new directory of revenue generation of the government and also to present a letter to the Governor and the Speaker.”
He said the governor should not to be like the Biblical King Jeroboam who said ‘my father whipped you with iron but I will whip you with Scorpion.”
Similarly, Secretary, Joint Action Front, Abiodun Aremu posited that the only solution is to reverse the increments, adding “this is not about negotiations, it is about a total reversal,”
“We resisted Fashola on the doctors’ strike. NBA was with us at Ojota in January 2012. This protest today should not end up like the Ojota charade. It is their plot that the poor people must be driven out of Lagos and we must resist them.”
Penpushing recalled that, the Lagos State government last week introduced a new fiscal regime that saw a hike in property taxes in the state, prompting a backlash from residents and activists. The government defended its actions arguing that the funds generated from the increase in taxes, such as the land use charge, would be used to build infrastructure.
The lawmaker who is the Majority Leader of the Lagos House of Assembly ,Sanni Agunbiade in his response welcomed the protesters and informed them that the Speaker and other members of the House were on an assignment outside the state.
“We thank you for the peaceful presentation of your position. The clerk will receive the letter on behalf of the Speaker and the Commissioner for Information will receive the letter on behalf of the governor,” he said
Agunbiade added “We want a good relationship with the NBA especially when bills are to be passed into law. We expect you to state your position in the public hearing.”
