Lagos govt knocks Sambo over allegation of tax imposition

Lagos State government on Monday slammed Vice President Namani Sambo over the statement credited to him to the effect that residents were leaving Lagos in droves in the bid to escape taxation burden imposed on them by the state government.
In a statement signed by Lateef Raji, the special adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola on information and strategy, the state said in Sambo’s claims were lacking in fact.
“The vice president is not known for courting controversies, but as a junior partner in Nigeria’s uninspiring presidency, he cannot but speak during public engagements. Rather than join the gabby gang in Abuja, simple greetings and a few compliments will do instead of making non-residential claims that are lacking in facts.”
The government said it was no surprise that the steadfastness that it has brought to the management of its internally generated revenue and the attendant improved and consistent performance over the years will continue to be mind boggling for those who do not appreciate the need to move from the past and adopt innovations in order to improve the lot of the society.
“The fact remains that Lagos, the economic and social hub of not just Nigeria, but the entire West African sub-region, continues to attract an inflow of people like the bee to the honey, in pursuit of their means of livelihood daily.
“For whatever it is worth, Sambo deserves to be pitied. If his itinerary coming on this trip in an election year had included the inspection, not even commissioning, of any ongoing ambitious programmes or projects initiated by the Federal Government for the good of the people of Lagos State, he may have been better preoccupied and avoided the gaffe.
“It will be good to share with him and his fellows a simple narrative of what was done differently in Lagos State. It is never too late to learn.
“The Lagos State government had for long realised that the state, with its enormous social and economic potentials, cannot continue to depend on the allocation from the Federation Accounts if it must deliver on the popular expectations. Measures were then introduced to drive efficiency in the tax assessment and collection regimes by effectively plugging loopholes and leakages in the system. The result was the leap in the accruable to the coffers of the state government.”