The state government had claimed that it was legally backed by the law to collect fees on parking space in the state.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has stated that the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) cannot collect levies in respect of parking spaces in the state.
SaharaReporters had reported that the Lagos State government started taxing residents of the state for car parks on property setbacks.
It had also been reported that the charge per slot differed depending on the location.
It could be as high as N100,000 and as low as N80,000 per parking slot annually with a nonrefundable N50,000 payment for processing charge.
Setback ordinances are property laws that govern property boundary lines. A setback is the minimum distance from the property line that a structure can be built.
A notice signed by Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu, General Manager, Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA), had said residents had only seven days to pay once served the notice.
Sequel to the report, there was public outrage but the state government insisted it has legal backing by the Constitution to the issue.
The state government had claimed that it was legally backed by the law to collect fees on parking space in the state.
But responding to the claim, Falana faulted the state government’s position, adding that the constitution did not empower state to collect parking tax but instead, the local governments.
“I believe that once the State passes a legislation assigning the functions of valuation of tenement rates to the Local Government as the Constitution has directed, only the Local Government Council will have the power to deal with that subject.
“The State has no power to deal with the matter and the Local Government Council cannot, even if it wants to, divest itself of those powers,” Falana stated in a reaction.
He added, “In view of the authoritative pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the illegality of usurping the powers conferred on local governments by state governments, it is indisputably clear that the local governments cannot be legitimately divested of the powers conferred on them by Section 7 of the Constitution to fix and collect parking fees in Lagos State.”
“Therefore, the Lagos State Parking Authority lacks the power to fix and collect parking fees in Lagos State in any manner whatsoever and howsoever," Falana maintained.