- Lagos state governor Akinwunmi Ambode stated that Lagos state did not have enough money to build shoreline protection due to lack of adequate funds
- Ambode stated that the government was trying to be as compassionate as possible not to overtax people because the country is in a recession
- The governor appealed to Lagos state residents to trust that the taxes they are paying will be returned back in terms of infrastructure
Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagos state governor has said that out of the state’s 22 million residents, only 600,000 pay taxes, BBC reports.
Ambode made his comments while speaking during a sensitization workshop at the 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition and Conference (WATEC) which took place at Ikeja, Lagos.
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According to Ambode, the non-payment of taxes led to a shortage of funds available to the state government.
Ambode disclosed that this was why the state did not have enough money to build shoreline protection to protect against calamities like the recent flood which wreaked havoc within the state.
The governor stated: “The number of people paying taxes in Lagos is less than 600,000 people and we are 22million and then 67 percent of the people living in Lagos are below the age of 35 and even the retirees, how much are they paying? They are on pension.
“So, you have to go through your nose and you want to be as compassionate as possible that in a recession, you don’t overtax people.”
Going further, Ambode stated: “The area that we need improvement is for citizens to have trust or confidence that the taxes they are paying will be returned back in terms of infrastructure.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Lagos state government promised to prosecute tax evaders in the state and make them face the full wrath of the law.
In a statement signed by Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), he said that employers of labour in the state would be prosecuted if they failed to deduct or remit tax.
Watch this NAIJ.com TV video of a Lagos resident expressing anger at Ambode
