General
Land Use Charge: Lagos Assembly Holds Public Hearing
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the land use charge recently signed into law by the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
Shortly after the bill was signed into law in February 2018, it generated controversies with some people asking for its immediate repeal because of the astronomical hike in the land use charge rate.
This month, the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) staged a protest, calling on government to revoke the law.
However, some hours after the demonstration by the lawyers, the state government announced a 50 percent reduction in the rate, promising to engage stakeholders more on the controversial land use charge.
Yesterday, the Lagos assembly held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the new law, which took place at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium.
The venue was filled to capacity with key stakeholders involved in the matter, including the Ikeja branch of the NBA, which requested for a postponement of the hearing because copies of the law and the proposed amendments had not been made widely available to the public prior to the hearing.
Chairman of the branch, Mr Ogunlana Adesina, argued that it was necessary for the public to have the documents so as to form major crux of discussions.
In over-ruling this request, however, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, reminded the House that the issues being discussed are not particularly new, having been in the public domain for several weeks.
Besides, he added that of the 37 sections of the Land Use Charge Law, only 8 were actually billed for amendment. The issues, therefore, were not particularly new as to warrant further delays or postponement, he said.
Upon this pronouncement by the Speaker, which the House took well, as there were no subsequent protests or murmurs from the floor, members of the Ikeja branch of the NBA staged a quiet walk-out. About 15 or so members all dressed in red or white T-shirts, quietly walked out of the hall.
However, the walk-out did nothing to disrupt the proceedings as the public hearing continued seamlessly.
Public representation was heavy with organized groups such as the Organized Private Sector, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, different resident associations including Magodo, the Lekki Corridor, Apapa, Festac, Ikorodu etc, Estate Agents’ Association, Private medical practitioners association, hoteliers, and many others were at the public hearing and contributed significantly to its proceedings.
Some of the key issues discussed revolved around the Assembly’s intention to replace the phrase ‘market value’ of property, with just ‘value.’
Several commentators were worried that this may leave the term vague and made different suggestions as to how to get around this issue. Estate surveyors suggested that discounted market value may be the way to go.
Many respondents also hailed the impact of the Lagos State government so far especially regarding its efforts on infrastructure. They conceded that while it has done so well and they appreciate that indeed taxes make development possible, they called for moderation in the tax regime in order to enable Lagosians pay conveniently.
Commissioner of Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, announced that the Executive had proposed a general relief rate of 50 percent, up from the 40 percent of old. He added that other reliefs included the charge rate for commercial properties which had been reduced to 0.45 percent (from 0.76 percent) while industrial charge rate had also been reduced to 0.230 percent.
Speakers at the event also raised the issue of “pensioner,” adding that any pensioner regardless of whether he worked at a pensionable office before retirement ought to benefit from the reliefs in the land use charge law.
The Speaker sought additional memoranda from members of the public, adding that members of the public were encouraged to submit memoranda to the committee for consideration over the next two weeks members.
Mr Obasa hailed the session as the best attended public hearing in the history of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), Mr Joseph Tegbe, is currently visiting China to bolster China-Nigeria relations and foster economic and sustainable development between both countries.
The DG, with the Nigerian delegation, on Monday was at the headquarters of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China where the NDRC Deputy Chairman received them, Mr. Zhao Chenxin, and other top officials, as well as the Nigerian diplomatic community and the Chinese Business Community.
Mr Tegbe is expected to cement strategic agreements in line with President Tinubu’s vision, with China for national growth and in vital sectors of the economy such as agriculture, to boost food security, alternative energy for developing renewable energy sources, healthcare, mining for harnessing Nigeria’s mineral resources to drive economic growth, education to strengthen Nigeria institutions and promote cultural exchange.
Other areas include technology, to foster innovation and advancement, and the support initiative of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The visit of the NCSP ‘s DG underscores the federal government’s commitment to establishing strong bilateral relations and supporting Nigeria’s economic diversification plans, infrastructure development, technology transfer, and job creation to foster mutually beneficial collaboration between the two nations.
Through this initiative, Nigeria can leverage its resources and human capital to develop key industries, bolster infrastructure, and enhance youth capacity through skills acquisition programmes.
On Monday, the DG NCSP and his team visited the CCECC Head Office, had dinner with the CHEC, and will on Tuesday, visit the Governor of the Central Development Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China Export, Import Bank, as well as the China Development Bank. They also met with Power China Representatives.
They will on Wednesday, visit the Chief Harbour, the CHEC, CNCEC, and the CCECC Chairman, before moving to the CSCS Haishen Medical on Thursday, the CCECC, the China Building Materials, amongst others.
They will on Monday, 20th January, visit the Consulate General/Trade Mission Office, the Yang Shang Deep Sea Port, and Danghai Bridge (Sea).
The team is also expected at Huawei, before going to the CEC/ Long UAV, for a meeting with Diana Chen on Saturday, before returning to Nigeria.
This initiative comes on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s official visit to China before the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), where he had talks with China’s President Xi Jinping on improved economic cooperation, with the latter pledging 360 Billion Yuan, (about $51 billion), financing to African nations in the next three years, and support for 30 infrastructure projects to boost connectivity across the continent.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria to reinforce the growing partnership between China and Africa, especially Nigeria, with discussions on strengthening economic ties, enhancing security cooperation and mutual developmental goals.
As Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, seeks to become a net exporter to China in the next five years, the consolidated partnership is aimed at playing a crucial role in achieving this goal.
The country also remains China’s major partner on the continent for trade and technology investments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, said power generation in the country increased by about 30 per cent in 2024, but missed crucial targets in the review year.
Mr Adelabu made the disclosure during his ministry’s 2025 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Power at the National Assembly complex on Monday.
He said that when he assumed the leadership of the ministry in 2023, he met an average of 4,100 megawatts of power generation.
“I can tell you authoritatively that by the end of 2024, we had a peak generation of 5,528 megawatts of power from 4,100 megawatts that we met on ground and the reason for this is not far-fetched. We added a new hydroelectric power dam, Zungeru, with 700 megawatts.
“There was also a tremendous increase in the generation lines by other existing generation companies,” he said.
The Minister said that the target for power generation was 6,000 megawatts, adding, however, that due to the challenges experienced toward the end of 2024 in terms of grid collapses, the ministry missed the target by a minimal margin.
He further said that apart from energy access expansion, the sector had plans to stabilise the grid and other transmission infrastructure.
“I’m happy to also inform you that out of the eight collapses of the national grid that we experienced during 2024, five were full collapses, while three were partial collapses.
“Out of the five full collapses, three were actually due to generation problems. So, as against the 12 collapse that were publicised, it was just about eight collapses.
“We have been trying very hard to ensure that we manage the grid that was inherited.
“Unfortunately, it is still very old. It is dilapidated. And we are just managing it until we are able to fix it permanently.
“This is the focus of the Presidential Power Initiative, to ensure that the entire grid is revamped so that we won’t be having all this vandalism.
“So these are the summaries of our activities. And we are proud to say that we almost met all our targets for 2024.
“Our hope is that 2025 will be a better year for us, and we will be able to address all the existing issues in the sector,” he said.
By Dipo Olowookere
The governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has refuted claims that he was involved in the removal of Mr Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Mr Obasa was impeached on Monday after being on the seat since 2015 by 32 of the 40-member state parliament for alleged gross misconduct.
The action was carried out while the Speaker was away in the United States, with Mrs Mojisola Meranda elected as his replacement, becoming the first female to occupy the position.
It happened a few weeks after Mr Obasa said during the presentation of the 2025 budget by Mr Sanwo-Olu that he was qualified to be the governor of the state and even better than those who have occupied the position.
This statement by the former Speaker was seen as an affront on the previous governors of the state, including President Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos between 1999 and 2007.
It has been speculated that Mr Obasa kept Governor Sanwo-Olu waiting for long during the budget presentation last month. It was claimed that this action infuriated the governor and leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Yesterday, members of the parliament in Lagos said they had had enough of Mr Obasa, moving to remove him from office.
As this happened, there were claims that Mr Sanwo-Olu instigated members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to impeach the former Speaker.
But the governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Gboyega Akosile, distanced himself from the impeachment, emphasising that it was purely a decision of the legislative arm of government.
“This is a legislative matter, and the Assembly handled it as they saw fit. The governor has no involvement,” Mr Akosile, who once served as the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) of Mr Sanwo-Olu, said in an interview, noting that his principal does not interfere in the other arms of government.
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