By Dave Osho

Manufacturers under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Ikeja branch, have called on the Lagos State government to further reduce the rates chargeable in the 2018 Land Use Charge, which came into  effect in March this year.

The Association’s Chairman, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made the call at the association’s 51st Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, urging the state government to consider only 20 percent increase from the previous rate in 2017.

He decried the expansion and astronomical increases of taxes, levies and fees payable to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs and local governments within the state without due consultation with the relevant stakeholders, saying that it has been a recurrent challenge to the manufacturers.

He said: “While we appreciate His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State for quick action in reducing the chargeable rate when stakeholders cried to the state government, business organisations, inclusive of this association awaits a reduction of the land use charge to 20 percent on what was paid in 2017.”

Meshioye said the theme of the AGM: “The Future of the Manufacturing Sector: Current Issues”, is premised on the fact that some current challenges, if not adequately tackled will not only negatively affect the future of the sector, but will also affect the stability of the economy.