LUC: Ambode means well for Lagosians – LASG

Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government on Monday said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode meant well for the people as the proceeds from the Land Use Charge, LUC, are meant to upscale infrastructure in the state.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Communities and Communications, Akeem Sulaimon said this while addressing thousands of Community Development Associations, CDA members at a stakeholder’s meeting at the Blue Roof, Lagos Television in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

He said the current administration had been working and that to further revamp infrastructure in the state, there was the need to review that LUC law which had not been reviewed for the past 17 years.

Sulaimon stated that because the current administration listened to the people, that was why the LUC was reduced by 50 percent with lots of incentives attached, saying that it was not meant to impoverish the people.

According to him, in spite of the fact that the LUC charged had been reduced, government had made room for installment payment so that people could spread their payment at ease.

“For government to continue to deliver and upgrade infrastructure in the state, government needs money. Since the advent of this government, the value of properties has gone up. The government means well for the people, whatever issues you have, we ill continue to engage you in dialogue,” he said.

The Special Adviser also disclosed that the state government had approved 270 projects to be executed across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, saying that 100 of the projects selected would soon be released.

“This shows the state government’s commitment to the grassroots development which will transform the state into an enviable haven, a suitable place for business, investments and for the overall prosperity of the residents,” he said.

He said the stakeholders’ meeting was to make government feel the impulse of the people at the various communities so as to find out their various challenges and identify the way out.

According to him, several projects had been completed while many were still ongoing across the state, adding that the construction and rehabilitation of 181 inner roads had commenced across all councils.

Sulaimon charged the CDAs to guard jealously and project government projects in their communities from vandals and miscreants as development was a collective responsibility.

Also speaking, Lasisi Abdul-Fatai, Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue Matters, said the LUC had been packaged in such a way that property owners would pay with ease.

He said with the new provision, property owners could calculate how much they would pay without anybody cheating them.

However, some of the CDA members said they were happy that the government reduced the payment by 50 percent.