The Lagos State Government Wharf Landing Fee Collecting Authority (LASGWLFCA) has approached the State Assembly for an upward review of the wharf landing fee collected on all imported goods into Nigeria through Lagos ports.
The Chairman of the agency, Adegboyega Adebayo stated this on Tuesday when he received executives of the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) led by its National President, Kingsley Chikezie at the agency’s corporate office in Apapa Lagos.
The Wharf Landing Fees Law No. 5 of 2009 was introduced during the regime of Babatunde Fashola to empower the Lagos State Government to collect various sums of money as fees from goods that land at the ports in Apapa and Tin Can Island.
Under the law, various levies, which vary from N300 to N1, 000 were imposed on consignments transported from Lagos ports to other parts of the state and the country.
According to Adebayo, after collecting the fee, it is shared among the 57 local government areas in the state, explaining that the money is paid directly to the government purse.
He, however, lamented that after 13 years of collection, the funds are no longer adequate and there is a need for an increase.
“For 13 years now, we are not supposed to remain on the same amount of N300 to N1000 because the dollar exchange rate is no longer the same, the value of the collection is no longer the same, the local government areas are crying, that is why you see their touts outside along the roads.
“If the Chairman of any local government area tells you that they do not know about the presence of these boys collecting money from vehicles, they are lying, this is because the money coming to them is no longer adequate.
“So, definitely, we need to review the collection, so that the local government receiving N5million can collect N15million or N20million, with this, there would be no illegal collections on the road,” he said
