He said the association would give Governor Akinwunmi Ambode till next Monday to retrace his steps on the LUC, failing which its members would hit the streets on Tuesday. According to him, the protest will be the association’s “first phase of critical and constructive response to the decidedly insensitive, provocative, arbitrary and parochial tax agenda programme against the Ambode administration.” The NBA chairman said, “Few weeks ago, Lagosians woke up to learn about the hyper-inflated rate of the so-called Land Use Charge, which the governor of Lagos State has escalated upwards by 400 per cent. “Recently, one of our colleagues, who regularly paid the sum of under N140,000 as LUC for an office building, received a demand notice for the LUC; he is now to pay the amount of N2m. “If these tax rates are allowed, Lagos State will be turned into a toxic environment and a living hell for Lagosians.” According to Ogunlana, the new LUC will have an adverse effect on all other services and functions in Lagos State as owners of properties and services will automatically transfer other financial burdens to their customers, who will have to bear the burden. He added, “My view is that the government of Lagos State has lost sync with the difficult and harsh realities of life of the people of Lagos and has taken their support and goodwill for granted. Life will become not only too expensive, but volatile and dangerous. “The government cannot hide under developing Lagos into a mega smart city to kill Lagosians with exorbitant taxes.” Meanwhile, residents of the Lekki peninsula have revealed plans to go to the Lagos State Land Use Appeal Tribunal over the new bills being served on them under the re-enacted LUC Law. The Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association, a coalition of all residents associations along the Lekki-Epe Axis of the state from the 1004 Estate to Epe, met on Sunday and unanimously resolved that the members would not pay the new charges, which they said were four times higher than what they paid in 2017. The Chairman, VGC Property Owners and Residents Association, Mr. Olusegun Ladega, said residents found the new charges exorbitant and out of tune with their economic realities. Ladega, who is also the Vice Chairman, LERSA, told our correspondent that the charges were based on unrealistic and arbitrary valuation of residents’ properties. He stated that the residents had commenced the process of documentation and had set up a committee to take their case to the Lagos State Land Use Appeal Tribunal. Ladega explained, “We were served bills on the Land Use Charge that were about four times higher compared with what we paid in 2017 due to the valuation of our properties through a process we know nothing of and consider as unrealistic and arbitrary. “The figures with which they valued our properties are out of tune with market realities and we do not even know when these properties were valued. How do you value a property without the owner knowing? We have resolved to take our case to the tribunal shortly.” Ladega noted that residents of the peninsula were being squeezed economically as they also had to pay tolls to get to their houses despite the fact that there was only one way leading into the area. He called on the Lagos State House of Assembly to make laws that were fair, just and in tune with economic realities. “They should look at the recently passed law and see if they have acted in the best interest of the citizens,” he advised. To Receive News Alert On WhatsApp, Add 08027397554; For Adverts Enquiries, Whatsapp 08027397554, Send Articles & News Stories To editor@skytrendnews.com. READ ALSO! Between GoDaddy And Namecheap: Making The Best Choice For Domain Name Registrar READ ALSO! Google Developing New Tools To Enhance Article Search For News Publishers On Subscription READ ALSO! The Hurdles Nigerian Youths Must Cross By 2019, By Dele Momodu READ ALSO! The Internet’s Future Lies With Its Next Billion Users — Sundar Pichai, Google CEO READ ALSO! Nigerian Filmmaker, Zuriel Oduwole Makes Forbes List Of 100 Most Influential African Women READ ALSO! Woman Marries Her Son After Getting Pregnant For Him READ ALSO! Smartphone Sales Fall As Samsung, Apple Consolidate Market Share READ ALSO! The Smart CEO: Top 5 Websites To Get Cheap Domain Name Registration ]]>