The Lagos State Government (LASG) has appealed to property owners to voluntarily comply with payment of the Land Use Charge as a civic responsibility for the further development of Lagos State.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Abayomi Oluyomi made the appeal recently during the Parkview Residents’ Association’s General Meeting in Ikoyi.
The Commissioner advised the property owners in the estate on the need to pay the Land Use Charge (LUC), adding that the payment would enable the government to address all challenges that may arise in the State even within the community.
Oluyomi urged residents to pay their LUC as a civic responsibility to support the state government’s development initiatives, adding that a 15 per cent discount had been attached as an incentive to encourage payments.
“So, I am just here to appeal to you, compliance rate is too low for particularly elites. We shouldn’t see that in elites”, he said.
The Commissioner explained the legal implications of total refusal to pay the charges while listing categories of elderly citizens and conditions for exemption for them and a few other groups. He noted that the government decided to change its strategy to begin visiting residents’ associations on the axis to boost compliance.
According to him, the Ministry would prevail on residents’ associations to appeal to property owners who refused to comply. If they still refused to comply, the Ministry would go further to publish the names of recalcitrant owners.
The Commissioner for Finance averred that the government wanted to use sensitisation and awareness campaigns to improve voluntary compliance, before exploring legal options as a last resort.
