Heavy taxation driving people out of Lagos – Sambo

Vice President Namadi Sambo says many
residents of Lagos State have been fleeing the
state because of the high taxation being
imposed on the people by the state government.
Sambo said this at a reconciliation meeting of
the Peoples Democratic Party governorship
aspirants in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said the state government was misleading the
people of the state by laying claims to some
Federal Government projects, such as the deep
blue sea port.
The VP said he was surprised that with the large
revenue the state was generating, it was
unfortunate that the All Progressives Congress-led
government had failed to deliver the dividends
of democracy to the people.
He, therefore, stated that if the pdp candidate,
Mr. Jimi Agbaje, was elected governor next year,
he (Agbaje) would bring an end to the suffering
of the people.
The meeting came after the immediate Minister of
State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro,
took the party to court to compel it to cancel
the primary in which the number of votes
exceeded the number of voters.
He said, “Lagos has for years been yearning for
change from the burden of excessive taxation
and squandering, you all know about. Today,
people are leaving Lagos. The huge resources
accruing to the state are used to the detriment
of the good people of Lagos State. We are
poised more than ever before to rescue
Lagosians from the bondage and sufferings of
taking back with the left hand and then, taking
it away by the right hand.
“I will like to mention part of the tricks of the
opposition where some governors put their
pictures on projects in newspapers. In one of
them, I saw the Lekki Deep Sea port. This is a PPP
(Private-Public Partnership) programme where the
Federal Government has large shareholdings with
the Nigeria Ports Authority.
“The site of that Lekki Deep Sea port was the site
where the Federal Government was to build a
methanol plant. That methanol plant could not
continue because we had spent over $200m on
which has been converted to our share.
“Apart from that, the NPA is a 20 per cent
shareholder in that port and then the private
sector has the largest share. Some states are
claiming that it is their projects. Our own pictures
are there and we are confident that anything
that we print and show you can be verified. I
believe that with the coming of our new
governor, we will have realistic development in
Lagos State.”
Sambo added that all the aggrieved
participants had been appeased and they had
all agreed to work for the success of Agbaje in
next year’s elections.
Sambo said, “I am delighted to know that we
are more than ever before united to form a
common front in realising our objective of not
only capturing Lagos but winning all seats at all
levels in the forthcoming 2015 elections.
“The Lagos State PDP and indeed Senator
Musiliu Obanikoro, Mr. Deji Doherty, Ambassador
Tokunbo Kamson and Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi
who were our governorship aspirants have
agreed to team up together and work to win
Lagos this time around in 2015.”
However, the Lagos State Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, said he was
surprised by the claim of the VP that people
were fleeing Lagos because of high taxation.
He said he was disappointed that Sambo could
peddle lies when it was glaring that the state
government had performed better than the
Federal Government in all sectors.
He said, “Was it the Federal Government that did
the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge or the 10-lane
expressway in Badagry? Are they responsible for
the light rail? Are they the ones that have been
successfully running the economy of Lagos? I
really do not know what they want to lay claim
to except the bad Oshodi-Apapa expressway
which is a source of pain to all Lagos motorists.
“What have they ever done in Lagos? I am
happy that even Obanikoro has said Bode
George and Agbaje hired armed thugs to
disrupt the primary. Obanikoro also told us how
the federal task force was used to perpetuate
violence.
“Is that the kind of party that wants to rule
Lagos? Look at the conduct of their primary
where one of the aspirants even went there with
a bulletproof vest. Even a blind man knows that
Lagos is the benchmark of good governance.
“The PDP has not been able to successfully run
the Federal Government in 16 years and they
want to rule Lagos. They are just a bunch of
shameless people. I advise them (PDP) to start
packing their belongings from Aso Rock because
by next year, we will come to occupy the place.”
Earlier, Obanikoro had said he would work with
Agbaje to ensure victory for the PDP in 2015. He
said the success of the PDP was more important
than his political ambition.
He said the APC had put the people of the
state in bondage and only the PDP could free
the people.
He said, “Despite the inadequacies experienced
in our governorship primary, a lot has been said,
we have disagreed but we have agreed that
Jimi Agbaje is our candidate. I want to express
my appreciation to my supporters that stood by
us. There is time for everything and that is why I
want to implore all of you that yesterday
belongs to yesterday.”
Also, Agbaje said that through the intervention
of the Presidency, the PDP had become one big
happy family.
Agbaje promised President Goodluck Jonathan
that he would deliver Lagos to the PDP and also
garner votes for him next year.
He said, “Today, a new chapter is being written
in the annals of the PDP Lagos: A chapter of
unity, a chapter of power, chapter of hope, a
chapter of change, a chapter of victory. And
by the grace of God, in 2015, the PDP will
record resounding victory in Lagos.”