Akinsanya made this known while addressing newsmen at the signing ceremony of the harmonised levy and ticket unveiling at Ikeja on Tuesday.

MC Oluomo noted that the consolidated levy for transporters in the informal transport sector will be overseen by the state government, adding that it will not in anyway hinder the union from collecting its own existing levies.

MC Oluomo added that NURTW and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), will continue to support Lagos state government policies that are geared towards reforming the transport sector and developing the state.

Major transportation stakeholders in the state like, the NURTW and RTEAN were involved in signing of the policy.

Speaking at the event, Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, said the promulgation of the consolidated fee was consequent upon a survey conducted by the state government during which it discovered that average transporter paid N3,000 daily as levies.

He added that a large chunk of these daily levies are unaccounted for as they are pocketed by unknown agents. This, he said, necessitated the need to revamp the sector.

Olowu disclosed that the reform in the transport sector would help to get an all encompassing database of transporters for better planning.

He said the harmonised levy would also put an end to the humiliation suffered by bus drivers and ensure productive synergy among stakeholders.

What this means

For years on end, transporters have bemoaned the cost of multiple levies they are forced to pay by transport unions and their agents, the burden of this anomaly has been passed on to the residents and commuters in the congested city, leading to high transport fares in the state.

The introduction of this consolidated levy could address the issues of exorbitant fares, it will also address various incidents of conflicts between these transporters and agents of these unions who are always at loggerheads over the levies.

However, observers have said the move could be counterproductive. They shared their misgivings and raised questions about the ability of the consolidated fee to tackle critical issues that have plagued the informal transport section, noting that essence of the policy will be defeated if ubiquitous unions and their agents are still at liberty to collect levies imposed by them on the transporters.

The post MC Oluomo: Sanwo-Olu’s N800 Daily Levy Is Different From NURTW’s appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

In order to clear all doubts, in a statement obtained by Unmask NG, the oil & gas company stated that the Lagos State Government followed due process before demolishing its property.

The statement partly reads: “This is to inform the shareholders of 11 Plc, stakeholders and the general public that the demolition of the Mobil Service Station at Maryland, Lagos State on 7th of December 2020, was carried out pursuant to the valid exercise of the right of compulsory acquisition for public purpose by the Lagos State Government following due process.

“This notice is for proper guidance and information of the public and to eschew to form of speculations regarding the incident.”

What this means

It’s no longer news that all land in the country belongs to the government, including states. Although the constitution gives the state government right of compulsory acquisition of property, individuals still have Right of Occupancy, that identifies the person as owner of the property.

This right of compulsory acquisition allows the government to request for the land, demanding the individual with Right of Occupancy to vacate the land or premises.

However, in this case the demolition was executed by the Lagos State Government. So this means that the government is compelled to compensate the owners of the property.

The post Here’s Why Lagos State Demolished Mobil Filling Station appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

For months now, the government has been considering ways to regulate the industry. And with approval from Governor Babajide-Sanwo-Olu, the state government has now drafted its license and renewal fees which the tech-driven taxis will have to pay in order to operate within the state.

The financial regulation follows the Lagos State government banning motorcycle operations on its highways, and in most local government areas.

The New Financial Regulations

With the new regulations, car-hailing services that have been operating without much state regulation will be made to pay N10 million as license fee if they have about 1000 registered cars, while companies with over 1000 registered cars will pay N25 million as license fee.

In the same vein, these car-hailing companies must renew their license annually. The renewal attracts another fee, with app-based services with 1000 and below cars paying N5 million, while others with 1000 and above registered cars paying N10 million yearly.

While the license and renewal fees are for the companies, the state government also regulated the drivers as well, with drivers expected to remit 10% of each trip to the state government as service charge.

Most importantly, the car-hailing services are also compelled to obtain LASDRI cards and also carry a badge issued by the department of public transport and commuter services of the state ministry of transport.

What this means

The license and renewal fees might chase some car-hailing services out of the Lagos state, especially the smaller services like Oga Taxi, and InDriver, which are not raking the number of trips Uber and Bolt are recording each day.

These smaller services are projected to have less than 500 cars registered on their app. And as a result, their incomes may be lesser than the market leaders. So the payment of N10 million might drill a hole too deep for them to fill in time for the renewal of their license.

The post Lagos Government To Charge Uber, Bolt N25m, N10m For License appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Yetunde Arobieke, the Honourable Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, made this disclosure via a statement she shared on social media.

In the statement, she wrote: “As part of efforts to reduce the rate of unemployment in Lagos state, Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu has approved Internship Programme for 4000 unemployed graduates in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of the present administration and the Youth Development Programme of the State.”

Arobieke explained that the internship programme is designed to give candidates the opportunity to develop employability and work-ready skills that are needed in securing gainful employment.

According to her, producing graduates with relevant employable skills is important because the labour market has become a lot more competitive. With employers looking for people who are flexible and have the ability to undertake multiple tasks with little or no supervision.

To qualify for this programme, you need to consider having the followings:

• Applicants must possess NYSC certificates or letters of exemption
• Applicant must be registered residents of the state with LAGOS state residents Registration Agency LASRRA
• The graduate internship placement programme is for a period of six months .of which a monthly stipend of 40,000 will be paid for the duration of the internship.
• Interested candidates can apply through the dedicated link for the programme: http://gipplasg.lagosstate.gov,ng

An applaudable programme?

The graduate internship programme is expected to play a major role in curbing the rate of unemployment in Lagos. It will provide candidates the opportunity to develop key skills that will boost their employability and will help them secure gainful employment.

At the end of the programme, it is expected that beneficiaries would have gained enough valuable work experience, built up their professional skills and would have been exposed to entrepreneurial opportunities, which will strengthen their professional skills and interpersonal relationship.

The post Youths To Get N40,000 Monthly Stipends From Lagos Govt appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.