Against the backdrop of complaints over alleged multiple taxes by the Lagos State government and its agents, Akinwunmi Ambode, gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, has pledged that, if voted into power as governor in the February 28 election, his administration would look into the matter.
Ambode, who addressed the business community in the state at the Lagos Oriental Hotels, noted that taxation, from time immemorial, had always evoked serious sentiments, describing it as “a sore issue” which must be looked into.
“We must harmonise and also consolidate our taxes so that people will know at the beginning of every year what they are supposed to pay as taxes, not that at the middle of the year somebody is bringing some other figures that were not originally there. We shall make it so comfortable that people will be happy to pay; we shall do it in such a way that we will not impose unnecessary burden on our people”, he assured.
The event was an interactive session tagged ‘An Evening of Lagos Business Leaders with Akinwunmi Ambode’, organised by Round Table Forum.
The gubernatorial candidate assured further that, if elected, his administration would work towards increasing the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which, he noted, was about $91 billion. According to him, “The current GDP could be doubled because it does not take into account the informal sector.”
He disclosed that at $91 billion, the state’s GDP was higher than those of about 42 countries in Africa, adding that it was more than the GDP of 19 African countries put together.
He also pledged to continue with the tempo of seriousness and commitment with which the current administration has, over the years, handled the security issue with the collaboration of the private sector.
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Expressing gratitude to the private sector for the partnership in this regard, he said that his administration, if elected, would consolidate on that collaboration and would also deploy CCTV in all parts of the state, adding that he would continue the use of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), a strategy, he said, was geared towards discouraging criminal propensity.
Ambode also deplored the meagre amount of electricity supplied to Lagos, saying that whereas the state needed about 9,800mw, it was being supplied with 1000mw, a situation, he said, had impacted negatively on businesses, particularly, manufacturing.
“We need to change the situation. The only way to do it is to change those at the centre. We need to vote for General Buhari on February 14; with that we shall then be getting power in Lagos. We are not getting enough from the central government,” he said.
He stressed that adequate power supply was very important in every business, expressing the optimism that his election as governor would see the end of all that.
He also spoke on his plan to deploy technology in the running of the state. “I will drive e-governance in Lagos so much that the private sector will be happy about doing business in the state,” he said, adding, “I have business mentality in my head and I want to drive it”.
On the controversy over ‘okada’ riders in the state and the alleged hide and seek game of government in that respect, Ambode said the law was very clear and that the areas that were prohibited for ‘okada’ riders.
He wondered why ‘okada’ ban was an issue since the restriction affected only 530 roads out of the several thousand of road networks in the state, noting, however, that it is unfortunate that “overzealous” security officers were taking advantage of the ignorance of the ‘okada’ riders to harass them.
“We shall enforce the law and get the security officers not to take advantage of the ‘okada’ riders, but who want to ride ‘okada’ in the first place? We want to create job opportunities where people can have something reasonable to do,” he said.
Earlier, Emeka Okonkwo, speaking on behalf of the Round Table Forum, said the essence of the programme was to give the business people opportunity to interact with the candidate so that, if by tomorrow he (Ambode) begins to falter, he could be reminded of his promises to the business community.
