Fashola says VP tax comments shows ignorance

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday, described the comment credited to Vice President Namadi Sambo that industries were relocating from Lagos because of tax, as a serious display of ignorance. The governor was, however, quick to note that the statement credited to the VP might not be what he said. The governor spoke during the maiden edition of end of the year media chat in the Lagos House, Ikeja. He said, “He probably was misquoted because if it was true, it shows a serious display of ignorance. “As the Chairman of the Nigerian National Economic Council, if the VP misunderstands what is happening in the commercial capital of the country, it may be a very revealing index into their understanding of the country’s economy. “It may also confirm to you some of the things you hear from the President when he said he receives all sorts of contradictory advice; maybe this is part of it. It is a very dangerous statement to make; it is either ignorant or diabolical, or both. Either way, it is not good because it tells you why the economy is not functioning.” The governor explained that taxation was one of the instruments that Lagos developed, according to the enabling laws, to help it break even. He said the constitution allocated responsibilities to the three tiers of government on revenue collection, adding that no one should mistake taxes for administrative charges for particular services. The governor said the state economy was not based on oil revenues, but people, adding that the state had strategised against the current shortfall in the projected income from the oil revenue. He added, “Although Lagos is not immune to the national effects of the dwindling revenue, we will survive whatever happened to oil because our economy is not built on oil.” Fashola said Lagos was already feeling the pinch of revenue fall as the 2014 budget implementation had dropped from 84 per cent to 81 per cent in the last quarter. He said the state had prepared for days like these, investing in infrastructure that would sustain the economy. He added that the economic hardship before the country was self-inflicted, saying the government in power had failed to maximise the infrastructural use of oil proceeds when it was high and when the naira was more valuable. “When the price of oil was over $100 per barrel, what were we doing with it? We couldn’t record how much we were making and we were fighting over who had the most accurate record. That is why I said it was self-inflicted. Can a team that couldn’t do that now do more with less? Certainly not. Some challenges lies ahead but it is also a time for many to start being imaginative and creative.” Fashola also observed that the gradual return of commercial motorcycle riders to the state highway was due to poor enforcement by the police.