A seasoned professional revenue consultant in Mushin Local Government, Mr. Lawal Azeez, CEO of Honafis Ventures and an honourable from ward J has shown that revenue collection is a very challenging work in this part of the world where people hardly pay their taxes and levies willingly but still expect greater works and expectations from the government mostly at the grassroots. 


In this short interview, he explained how revenue can be improved upon by the government and urged people to pay their taxes. Excerpt.

Q! What are the challenges to local councils in Nigeria in generating revenue with reference to Mushin and Odi-olowo Ojuwoye?.

A! Precisely, I have to be factual and objective because there are lots of oversight functions within Nigeria in terms of revenue for local government whereby the State has highjacked most of the Local government revenue, making them handicap in executing most of their developmental projects. For instance in Lagos, most local governments are looking inward to generate more internally generated revenue to meet up with their expenditure which the state has taken away from them but the present government has relaxed the oversight functions and encourage the local council to generate revenue but some States still enforce the oversight function making it difficult for the local council in that States to carry out developmental projects. 

In Lagos State, the Councilors at the local council were allowed to make bye laws to generate more revenue and several committees were inaugurated like okada, market, traffic control and so on.

Other challenges are people's lackadaisical attitude toward playing their part by paying their taxes, people don't willingly want to pay tax despite all that government is doing both at the State and local council, we need to persuade them with some of the developmental projects going on as the they complaint of tough economy as we all know the situation of the economy in the country.

Q! How can local council look inward to generate more revenue?

A! Mushin Local Government in general including Odi-olowo Ojuwoye LCDA are lucky to have a viable situation, having industries and markets of international standard and brands and looked inward by creating committees quarterly to cover so many areas that have not been covered before and generate more revenue in that area to the local council like ticketing of Okada, markets and more companies are coming to Mushin, that's why the Chairman of Mushin LGA, Hon. Emmanuel Bamigboye is building infrastructures here and there and being awarded as the best Chairman in Nigeria on infrastructural in 2021 by a respectable international organisation development. Also, Hon. Rasaq Ajala is doing his best to have positive impact on the life of Odi-olowo Ojuwoye LCDA people, I prayed that God will be with them as they work assiduously to make Mushin and Odi-olowo Ojuwoye better, increasing the revenue base and contribute to the development of the community

Q! What do you have to say about multiple taxations that occur as local councils look inward?

A! Like I said earlier that some state have highjacked some of the local council's revenue which the local councils are collecting back gradually but some lead to double taxation where the State collect revenue and the Council also collectible like mobile advert where LASSA collect and council also charge which is not suppose to be so. What I see is that government responsibility are enormous as the Federal, State and Council and all of them depend on the oil money which comes as JAC and to satisfy the people needs, the resources are limited in supply, so technically, we cannot eradicate double taxation, it can only be minimized and I can tell you categorically that there is no act of double taxation in revenue collection in Mushin and Odi-olowo Ojuwoye because what it is accrued to our local government is what we focus on, unlike some local governments, but some people are trying to invade tax, that's why some of them called it double taxation and as far as Mushin is concern, there is no an act of double taxation in our councils as a professional revenue consultant and Special Adviser to the Chairman on revenue. Okada, motor parks, markets, haulage, entertainment are all under local government.

Q! What do you have to say about people who say they are not seeing value for the money they are paying as taxes which could be one of the reasons they are invading taxes?.

A! I believe some people will complain despite all the development taking place in Lagos, but Lagos state is overpopulated which is creating problems in maintaining so many infrastructures. Everyday, people from all over the state are trooping into Lagos city and if you look at Lagos state four-five years back, you can't hide the truth that Lagos is moving faster than other states in the country,  also at the local council, there are development here and there, check the highways and the streets, a lot of projects are being commissioned by the two chairmen from roads with streetlight to the construction of drainages, borehole water and so on as one of the highest density areas in Lagos state.

If you come to Mushin, almost every quarter, the Chairman is commissioning one or two projects and the same thing in Odi-olowo Ojuwoye, so we the citizens have roles to play by paying our taxes and whenever there is an emergency we call on the government, we as citizens are government too but not in administrative, so if the government is doing his part we as people should play our part. For instance, State and local government spend a lot of money in constructing drainages and clearing them, to say the least of the cause of drainage blockage, whenever there is a little downpour of rain, everybody turns the drainage into their dustbin, pouring refuse and this cost government a lot of money to clear from the drainages not to talk of the damage it will cause to the road and it will cost the government another money to repair the road, the money that would have been used for another purpose.

Our people need to discipline themselves on several things if we truly want a country like the overseas if you pay your tax and I pay my tax, stop all form of environmental nuisance, we will save the government from spending more money which would have been used for other developmental projects   

Q! What are the challenges in collecting revenue in Mushin and Odi-olowo Ojuwoye? 

A! First of all, our two local council chairmen, Hon. Bamigboye and Hon. Ajala's outstanding performance make revenue  collection easier  because people can see that there are development in the community and we made them understand that to have more development, they have to play their part by paying their taxes, as we know some people are not ready to play their part, blaming the government for their peril, saying the government should do this and that, even some people want the government to buy clothes for them and the population is increasing day by day, 

Our political leaders are trying but the fact remains that Mushin local government, Odiolowo Ojuwoye inclusive is very overpopulated, somebody will be coming from other states and he or she doesn't have relatives, works or qualification, just landed in Lagos and choose Mushin as their home, they are jobless and become hoodlums. This is one of the security problems we are having in Lagos now and I could remember the time His Excellency former Governor of Lagos state, Mr. Raji Fashola, advising people who don't have business or work in Lagos to stay in their hometown even gave money to the hoodlums arrested to go back to their hometown before he stopped it because more people are coming in.

Q! What areas will you advise the government at all levels to concentrate on?

A!  The government needs to concentrate on some major areas which will have a positive impact on the life of the people. The people need constant electricity, this will help our country to grow, water and good roads, if these three things are provided by the government, you will see the great turn around in our people's life even people will be less concern about who governs, light is life so also water. Our government should take these three things or areas as their priorities and leave the people to perform wonders with their life, businesses will grow and employment will be created, and the narrative will just change like magic overnight. Thank you.