Lagos State has revealed that it raked in N300m from Land Use Charge in the first four months of the year.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ope George, while presenting the scorecard of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, on Thursday, during the Y2024 Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos, to commemorate the first anniversary of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu the second term in office.
Land Use Charge is a levy on all landed properties payable under the Lands Rates, Neighborhood Improvement Charge, and Tenement Rates Laws of Lagos State.
According to the statement on its website, George said that in the first four months of the year, the state government had received N300 million from the projected revenue of N700 million from the Land Use Tax for 2024.
According to him, the statistics show that the LU projections in the 2024 Annual Budget are feasible and suggest a promising path towards reaching their revenue targets.
In addition, he maintained that the Lagos economy continues to be strong and still contributes about 20 per cent of GDP throughout the entire country.
He said, “Over the last couple of years, Lagos had faced numerous challenges, particularly when COVID-19 and #EndSARS struck. And so, we have had a lot of shocks within our system over the last couple of years and with everything going on around the world. We are currently riding the curve and we are coming out on a better side. You hear sometimes when they say Lagos is one of the largest economies in Africa and truly, it is not static. We will continue to move based on what is going on in the world.
“As we speak now, I believe that we are currently ranked seventh in terms of GDP in Africa. We contribute at least a minimum of over 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and you will find that throughout review, during the first term of Mr Governor, we are moving in the right direction.
“Our GDP has moved from about N27tn to N41tn, everything shows that our indices are climbing in the right direction despite all the shocks and all the problems we have witnessed in the past.”
In his comment on the State’s N2.267tn budget for 2024, George underlined that the budget was insufficient to meet the infrastructural target of the state.
The commissioner explained, “What this implies is that Lagos can have a budget size of N4tn but going by the available indices at the moment, such projection can not be made until there are available means and revenue sources that can conveniently fund such budget size.”
George noted that the budget was focused on the completion of ongoing projects, such as the Blue and Red Line Rail System, Stadia, Lekki-Epe Road, New Massey Children Hospital, Opebi-Mende Link Bridge, etc.
“It is also geared towards ensuring that every endeavour, investment, partnership, and policy translates effectively into tangible positive outcomes in the lives of Lagos residents and its environs,” he said.
