By Olasunkanmi Akoni
All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos governorship candidate and incumbent Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has pledged to eliminate unauthorised roadside collections and multiple taxation schemes burdening Lagos road operators and businesses if elected.
Hamzat stated this during a governorship candidates’ town hall meeting in Lagos on Thursday.
Responding to the issue of arbitrary fee collections across the state, Hamzat stated that commercial operators, popularly called Danfo, deserve clear, predictable financial obligations rather than facing continuous collection points along transit routes by some road transport agents, otherwise called “agbero.”
To tackle the systemic overlap between state and local government charges, Hamzat proposed establishing a state economic council.
The body, Hamzat said, will coordinate revenue policies directly with local council leadership to harmonise levies which will ultimately eliminate ad-hoc junction collections.
”One of the things we will create is a State Economic Council where, as a government, we meet with all local governments to streamline the process.
“We know they are independent, but we are attending to the same citizens. No one should stand at junctions collecting anything from anybody,” Hamzat stated.
He stressed that once commercial operators pay their designated official fees, they should be free from further roadside interference: “Businesses must know what they are required to pay.
“The moment they pay it, they must be left alone so we stop pulling the rug from under them.”
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