Lagos State Insists Use of Setbacks as Parking Lot, Levies Legal
Segun James
Lagos state government yesterday said its decision to levy users of setbacks for parking lots was legal and that it was not out to extort residents in the state.
The State Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde’s clarification followed a government circular circulating on social media, in which the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) had issued a letter signed by its General Manager, levying a Lekki-based company the total sum of N290,000 for a parking lot outside their premises.
The Commissioner explained that contrary to claims, LASPA, the government was empowered by law to collect park levies.
He pointed out that the agency was created to find lasting solutions to the issues of indiscriminate and illegal parking across the state.
Oladeinde said the operation of LASPA would aid in the prompt reduction of traffic gridlock experienced by residents, even as he urged Lagosians to cooperate with the agency and other similar stakeholders.
“As it is usually the case, especially in a political season, political jobbers and people with limited knowledge on the constitutional mandates of LASPA have tried fruitlessly to exaggerate the issue by playing to the gallery.
“LASPA was created to find lasting solution to the issues of indiscriminate and illegal parking across the state. This will aid in the prompt reduction of traffic gridlock experienced by everyone. We, thus, enjoin Lagosians to cooperate with the agency and other similar stakeholders in carrying out its laudable mandate.
“The agency was established, among others, to promote parking policies tailored to suit the peculiarity of the State in line with modern international standards towards achieving a smart city.
“LASPA is also empowered to remove all impediments arising from indiscriminate parking on carriageways, thereby increasing the carriageway capacity on the roads, improving the flow of traffic, and reducing travel time.
“First our mandate is to improve the parking culture. We also believe that the establishment of the Authority also enables employment opportunities for the youths. In doing so, it is expected that revenue generation will come naturally.”
Speaking further, he said: “We have the mandate to charge fees on private commercial parks, non-commercial parks, and other parking lots on any facility provided by the Authority.
“Let me emphasise that most private commercial parks charge Lagosians between N500 to N1,000 parking dues per hour and each person parking at these respective parks can have four stops over which sums up to N2,000 or N4,000 daily.
“At the end of the year, the commercial park owner will realise over N182,500 or N365,000 if charge is per hour or gain a total N730,000 or N1,460,000 for 4 stopovers. This is the price most Lagosians pay to commercial park owners.”
The Commissioner however stated, “LASPA levy of N80,000 divided by the number of days in a year result to N219 only against the above charges of commercial park owners. The difference is clear as the government is quite considerate and responsive in making the environment conducive for all.
“It is important to restate that, being a government that respects the constitution as the sole source of its engagement with the public, the state government will never resort to any unconstitutional means in its dealing with the people.”
In her contribution, the General Manager, LASPA explained, “most Lagosians don’t have residential parking. We’ve chosen to try and mitigate on non-residential parking. It is not just unfair to the government but also unfair to the residents of the State as people do not make provisions for parking spaces.”
