The new Lagos law, which mandates N800 daily payments by commercial buses in the state, has stirred mixed reactions even though the state government said it is designed to ease transportation cost in the state.
Many believe that the law will compound the transportation fare burden that is taking a toll on Lagosians, because it does not address the major reason for the high cost of transportation fares in Lagos – the fees collected by the transport union.
The new levy was introduced under the Consolidated Informal Sector Transport Levy, and imposes about N24,000 monthly fee, N290,000 annual fee on each commercial bus operator in Lagos State.
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The state government said the move is designed to harmonize dues collected by the government from commercial motorists at parks and garages.
Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, asserted that the levy covers monies for local government, clearing of waste from the motor parks, which was being paid to the Lagos State Waste Management Agency, and pollution dues which were collected by Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
“Personal income taxes of the drivers will also be deducted from the N800 levy which commences with immediate effect,” Olowo said.
“The new development is a form of revenue assurance that would have a strong implication on reduction of levies paid by bus drivers at different points/parks before now.
“It will drastically reduce the suffering of the people as it is expected to reduce the cost of road transportation,” he added.
This could have been the solution to the issue of extortion faced by commercial bus operators in Lagos, which has greatly contributed to the high cost of transportation fares in the state. But as also learned, the new flat rate levy by the government doesn’t stop the tickets issued by the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) across the state.
Chairman of Lagos State Chapter of NURTW, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as ‘MC Oluomo,’ said the transport union had approached the state government to consolidate the fees collected by different LGAs and agencies to make the collection easier for the governments. But it does not affect the operation of the union.
While the move will make it easier for both the state and local governments to collect levies from commercial bus operators, the concern is that it will change nothing as long as NURTW remains a force to reckon with.
The NURTW generates about N123.08bn annually from levies it collects from transport operators in Lagos, according to data released last year by International Center for Investigative Journalism. The levies, which come in proportions (from N3,000 to N9,000 per bus) daily, have been largely impacting the economic wellbeing of Lagosians.
The huge revenue, which goes into the coffers of non-state actors, is a big loss to Lagos State government that has been repeatedly urged to abolish the union and set up a state-backed one that will collect the levies on behalf of the government. It was a step taken by the Oyo State government that has put it in the map of most internal revenue generating states in Nigeria.
In 2019, the Oyo State government took a bold decision to ban the NURTW, with the government taking over parks, garages and all the Union’s areas of operation. As of 2021, Oyo State’s Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) has grown by more than 42% without the state increasing taxes.