Lagos State has revealed that it raked in N300m from Land Use Charge in the first four months of the year.
This was disclosed 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, at the Y2024 Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos, to commemorate the first anniversary of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu the second term in office.
In a statement on the website of the Lagos State government on Thursday, he said that out of the N700m projected revenue from Land Use Charge for 2024, the state government realised N300m within the first four months.
According to George, the statistics show that the LUC projection in the 2024 annual budget is achievable and indicates a promising trajectory for surpassing annual revenue projections.
He also maintained that Lagos’ economy remained robust and still contributed about 20 per cent of the entire country’s gross domestic product.
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.
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“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.”Related News
Speaking on the state’s N2.267tn budget for 2024, the commissioner posited that the budget was inadequate to meet the infrastructural needs of the state.
He revealed that the financial needs of government agencies were more than N4tn.
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.”
According to George, the budget performance of the state in 2023 was 87 per cent.
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.
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“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.
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.
The Land Use Charge derives its legitimacy from the Lagos State Land Use Charge Law 2020.