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Minimum wage: MAN seeks compliance exception for MSLMEs

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Minimum wage: MAN seeks compliance exception for MSLMEs

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called for the exception of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70,000, even as it awaits the promised assistance of the federal government to the organized private sector (OPS) for compliance.

 

Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, who stated this in a statement made available to Vanguard, commended President Bola Tinubu on the breakthrough in the negotiation of the national minimum wage with the organised labour.

 

His words: “We commend the President for achieving this breakthrough and look forward to the promised assistance.

 

“On the side of the private sector, we should hold on to the promise of the President that the federal government will find a way to assist us to pay the minimum wage agreed with labour.

 

“In this regard, I would assume that reference would be made to the demands made by the Organised Private Sector (OPS) at the concluding stage of the tripartite negotiations.”

 

Ajayi-Kadir further stated: “We had intimated the committee with the challenges confronting businesses in the private sector and that there was the need to ameliorate those challenges in order to improve the capacity of our members to pay the minimum wage that we offered.

 

“We maintained that those binding constraints may constitute impediments to the full compliance of our members when the minimum wage is signed into law.

 

“So, the assumption is that the President will give expedited consideration to those challenges and take necessary steps to address them. This will go a long way in onboarding the private sector in the new agreement on the minimum wage.”

 

To this end, Ajayi-Kadir said that the OPS demanded the following:

 

“SMEs and MSMEs should be exempted from compliance in view of their incapacity and prevailing operational challenges; CBN redemptions of all validly transacted outstanding forex forwards for companies in the productive sector; and the reversal of increase in electricity tariffs or only 100% increase in electricity tariff for minimum of 20 hours of supply.”

 

Others are: Duty exemption on imported conversion kits and government subsidy on procurement of the same; freeze on introduction of new taxes on businesses for the next five years; and fixed rate of N800 for the assessment of import duty on all production inputs, amongst others.

 

President Tinubu had, last week, approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers with a pledge to review the national minimum wage law every three years. He also promised to find ways to assist the private sector and the sub-nationals to pay the minimum wage.

 

Zenith Bank retains top spot as Nigeria’s number one bank by tier-1 capital for fifteen years in the 2024 top 1000 world banks’ ranking

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Zenith Bank retains top spot as Nigeria’s number one bank by tier-1 capital for fifteen years in the 2024 top 1000 world banks’ ranking

For the fifteenth consecutive year, Zenith Bank Plc has retained its position as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The Banker Magazine.

 

This ranking places Zenith Bank Plc as the 565th Bank globally with a Tier-1 Capital of $2.01 billion. The rankings, published in the July 2024 edition of The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group, United Kingdom, recognise Zenith Bank’s continued financial strength and stability.

 

They are based on the 2023 year-end Tier-1 capital of banks globally and remain the primary source for global bank financials used by most international organisations in their assessments of banks.

 

Tier-1 Capital describes capital adequacy, the core measure of a bank’s financial strength from a regulator’s perspective. According to the ranking, Tier-1 Capital, as defined by the latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) guidelines, includes loss-absorbing capital, i.e., common stock, disclosed reserves, retained earnings, and minority interests in the equity of subsidiaries that are less than wholly owned. A strong Tier-1 capital ratio boosts investor and depositor confidence, indicating the Bank is well-capitalised and financially stable.

 

Commenting on this achievement, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, said, “We are deeply honoured to be recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the fifteenth consecutive year. This recognition is a testament to our strategic focus on sustainable growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction. It also emphasises our resilience and strength in navigating the ever-evolving financial landscape. Our dedicated team of professionals has remained steadfast in ensuring that we maintain our position at the forefront of the banking industry.” She extended her profound and sincere appreciation to the Founder and Chairman, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, whose visionary and transformative leadership has played a pivotal role in cultivating a resilient and thriving establishment. She also expressed her deep appreciation for the board’s insightful governance, the staff’s relentless dedication, and the unwavering loyalty of the bank’s esteemed customers to the Zenith brand.

 

Zenith Bank’s financial performance for the year was driven by a remarkable triple-digit growth of 125% in gross earnings, from N945.6 billion reported in 2022 to N2.132 trillion in 2023. This growth led to an improved market share in both the retail and corporate segments despite a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment. The increase in gross earnings was primarily due to growth in interest and non-interest income. Interest income growth was attributed to the increase in the size of risk assets and their effective repricing, while non-interest income was driven by significant trading gains and gains from the revaluation of foreign currencies.

 

Zenith Bank recently commenced recapitalisation efforts with the conclusion of its Capital Markets Day held on 11th July 2024. It aims to raise the least amount of capital amongst its peers at N230 billion, considering it already maintains a robust capital base of N270.7 billion. The Bank remains dedicated to supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy and providing its numerous customers with innovative and efficient banking solutions.

 

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, with these latest accolades coming on the heels of several recognitions. These include being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the fourteenth consecutive year in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker Magazine. The Bank was also awarded the Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020 and 2022; and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2024 Banking Awards.

 

Further recognitions include Best Bank in Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards and Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023 in the World Finance Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for 2022 and 2023, and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.

 

The Bank’s commitment to excellence saw it being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. The Bank also received the accolades of Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards, Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards. Zenith Bank was named Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2021 by Champion Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.

Buy me out, Dangote offers to sell refinery to NNPC

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Buy me out, Dangote offers to sell refinery to NNPC

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has made an offer to sell the Dangote Refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.

 

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Premium Times on Sunday, the businessman expressed his willingness to sell the refinery to address allegations of monopoly in the industry.

 

He stated that if the NNPCL takes over the refinery, the allegations of monopoly would no longer be valid.

 

“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s OK. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way.

 

“We have been facing fuel crisis since the 70s. This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery,” Premium Times quoted him as saying.

 

This is coming after the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, made claims that the Dangote refinery had requested the regulator to stop giving import licences to other marketers to be the only fuel supplier in Nigeria.

 

“We cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation, because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop importation of all petroleum products, especially AGO and direct all marketers to the refinery, that is not good for the nation in terms of energy security. And that is not good for the market, because of monopoly,” Ahmed stated in a video interview with State House correspondents.

 

Ahmed also alleged that the refinery’s product is inferior.

 

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“In terms of quality, currently the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as the West African requirement of 50 ppm is concerned.

 

“Dangote refinery and some modular refineries, like Waltersmith refinery and Aradel refinery, they are producing between 650 to 1,200ppm. So, in terms of quality, their product is much more inferior to the imported quality,” he stated.

 

Dangote revealed to Premium Times that the challenges his refinery is currently facing have validated the warnings of his friends and associates, who advised him to exercise caution when investing billions of dollars in the Nigerian economy.

 

“As you probably know, I am 67 years old, in less than three years, I will be 70. I need very little to live the rest of my life. I can’t take the refinery or any other property or asset to my grave. Everything I do is in the interest of my country.

 

“This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery. At least the country will have high-quality products and create jobs,” he said

 

The Dangote Refinery, which started operations last year after a prolonged construction period, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

 

The refinery is aimed to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on foreign fuel imports and conserve foreign exchange.

Food security: Reps move to boost funding for farmers

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Food security: Reps move to boost funding for farmers

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Monday, hinted at plans by the parliament to enact laws that would boost funding for agricultural activities to achieve the national goal of food security.

 

Describing the fate of crude oil as uncertain, the speaker emphasised the importance of diversifying the nation’s economy, particularly in respect to agriculture.

 

Speaker Abbas made these remarks on Monday at “The ‘Second Interactive Session and Workshop on Developing Bankable Business/Proposal Business Plans for Youth and Women in Agriculture,” organised by the African Development Bank Group, in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Commission.

 

Represented by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, Abbas urged the AfDB to continue its collaboration with the Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa, noting that the partnership is vital for advancing initiatives capable of driving significant progress across the continent.

 

He said: “We are dedicated to establishing a robust legislative framework that supports agricultural banks or financial institutions, enabling them to provide low-interest loans to farmers. This framework is essential for fostering a thriving agricultural economy.

 

“As we gather here, it is crucial to acknowledge that our over-reliance on oil as our primary export has become neither sustainable nor prudent.

 

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“The future of oil is increasingly uncertain, especially as the global community shifts towards greener, more sustainable energy sources. This reality makes it not just necessary but urgent for us to explore and invest in alternative sectors, with agriculture standing out as a critical area for development.

 

“Agriculture and Information Technology offer a vast potential for economic growth and sustainability.

 

“By focusing on developing and implementing bankable business proposals, we can empower our youth and women—two of the most vital demographics in our society—to become key players in these sectors.”

 

The 10th House, he noted is committed to supporting youth development, stressing that “By working closely with the executive branch, we aim to launch public work programs targeting young people, particularly in infrastructure development and agriculture.

 

“I urge the African Development Bank to continue its collaboration with the Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa,” he added.

DStv turning into SABC

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DStv turning into SABC

DStv’s “arrogance” and “complacency” during its golden years as South Africa’s dominant broadcaster has set the company on the same course as the once-popular SABC.

 

That is according to experienced broadcasting journalist Thinus Ferreira, who shared his perspective on the reasons for DStv’s subscriber drop and declining popularity.

 

DStv parent company MultiChoice recently reported the broadcaster lost 1.62 million customers in its 2023/24 financial year.

 

It also reported a loss of R4.1 billion following another loss of R2.9 billion in the previous financial year.

 

These losses were driven by a decline in subscription and advertising revenues, largely due to many customers migrating to more affordable video streaming services.

 

Ferreira pointed to similarities in the way the SABC and DStv’s popularity declined through self-inflicted errors that took them out of people’s homes and attention spans.

 

“Businesses, like empires, eventually fall and are replaced by new ones when they become overstretched and take their customers for granted,” Ferreira said.

 

“MultiChoice shamelessly squandered its captive and loyal customers,” Ferreira said.

 

Ferreira said DStv ignored complaints about numerous repeated broadcasts over the years from what it believed would be a “forever captive” audience.

 

He said the broadcaster failed to innovate to meet its viewers’ demands and was leapfrogged by better technology — on-demand streaming.

 

Ferreira also believes that interactive entertainment like video games has eaten away at DStv’s customers.

 

“What used to be the SABC’s captive audience moved to DStv, and what used to be DStv’s captive audience now watches the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime Video because they played the game on a console or PC.”

 

Friction vs ease-of-access

Ferreira explained that a key part of DStv’s decline was the friction it created in accessing its products, including through increasing subscription prices and its controversial one-device streaming limit, implemented in early 2022.

 

He said MultiChoice should have visited real people’s homes a long time ago to observe the struggles they experienced when trying to engage with DStv, and how products and services with lower friction had invaded its customers’ living rooms.

 

“When I visit my three siblings and their families, I observe how they watch and interact with their TVs in their lounges,” Ferreira said.

 

“They all once had DStv. As DStv Premium kept getting more and more expensive, they initially kept paying, but they told me that DStv turned from a status symbol into a grudge purchase.”

 

The final straw that convinced Ferreira’s family to cancel the service was DStv’s introduction of a one-device streaming limit in early 2022, which prevented members of the same household from watching multiple streams simultaneously.

 

While it promised a proximity detection feature that would re-enable multiple streams within the same households only months after severe backlash over the feature, this has yet to be launched.

 

Instead, DStv rolled out a paid-for “Extra Stream” feature to allow for multiple streams, making what was once free more expensive.

 

Becoming an enigma

Ferreira explained how he believed DStv was on course to become an enigma to the South Africa youth, much like the SABC.

 

Ferreira’s best friend’s nine-year-old son recently asked, “What is SABC?” while they were discussing the broadcaster during a drive.

 

It turned out that none of his friend’s three children had any idea of what the SABC was.

 

Ferreira said the youth’s disconnect with the SABC was expanding to DStv too.

 

“Like my friend’s kid who doesn’t know the SABC, my family’s kids no longer know DStv,” Ferreira said.

 

“They watch Peppa Pig and Blippi and PJ Masks on YouTube and know how to find it on the TV remote control themselves.:

 

Ferreira also bemoaned the disappearance of DStv’s monthly magazine, which he maintained had enormous value.

 

“Even if people’s TV sets were not on, the magazine had a physical, ubiquitous presence next to the bed in every hotel room,” Ferreier said.

 

“You didn’t know what to watch or that there is something interesting on DStv, but the physical magazine piqued your interest and led you to switch on to watch something specific.”

 

“Look at hotel rooms now: DStv is gone. In its place is a smart TV with apps where DStv Stream is now one of many options.”

 

“And what’s next to the hotel bed? A remote control that has a bright red Netflix button, and often also an Amazon Prime Video button.”

 

“They have a physical presence, where MultiChoice took away its presence.”

 

“It’s just one example of the company’s hubris.”

Expert welcomes CBN’s directive on transfer of funds in all dormant accounts

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Expert welcomes CBN’s directive on transfer of funds in all dormant accounts

A financial expert, Okechukwu Unegbu, says the directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, that balances of dormant accounts be transferred to it, was in order.

 

Mr Unegbu, a seasoned banker and past president of Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.

 

According to him, monies in dormant accounts run into billion of Naira, which most Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, usually continue to invest without accountability.

 

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He said that the DMBs were supposed to contact the accounts holders or their representatives when bank accounts are not operated for a considerable length of time.

 

“But they usually do not make such contact.

 

“The money in dormant accounts run into billions of Naira, which the banks continue to invest.

 

“Sometimes, if the owners of the account show up,the DMB works out the interest if it is a savings account. But if it is a current account, the bank pays no interest, which is unfair.

 

“What the CBN is trying to do is to deprive the banks the monies they have been using to do business without accountability,’ he said.

 

Mr Unegbu said that the CBN might want to lend out such monies to the Federal Government to bridge revenue shortage and support infrastructural development.

 

He urged the apex bank to be particularly vigilant in implementing the directive as some banks would want to present some dormant accounts as normal.

 

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“Some of the banks might want to hide details of dormant accounts from the CBN so as not to remit all.

 

”Others might want to make dormant accounts look like working accounts to avoid transferring their balances to the CBN.

 

“The apex bank will have to do a lot of work bothering on intelligence, by engaging experts in banking operations, to be able to implement the directive effectively, ” he said.

 

NAN reports that the CBN, on Friday, announced implementation of stricter regulations for managing dormant accounts and unclaimed financial assets in banks and other financial institutions.

 

The apex bank released the guidelines in a circular by John Onojah, Acting Director, Financial Policy and Regulations Department.

 

The guidelines also reduced the dormancy period of accounts from six years of inactivity to 10 years with no customer activity.

 

After 10 years of dormancy, the guidelines allow eligible account balances and unclaimed financial assets to be transferred to a special account managed by the CBN.

 

NAN

Era of buying fuel at N750 per liter over – Nigerian Govt

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Era of buying fuel at N750 per liter over – Nigerian Govt

The Nigerian government said the era of buying Premium Motor Spirit, known as fuel between N750 to N1000 per liter, is over as it will commission 30,000 Compressed Natural Gas powered vehicles in the next 90 days.

 

The Project Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this during the Park to Park CNG Mobilisation program held at the Ojota Park in Lagos on Saturday.

 

He said the initiative is expected to gulp N36 billion for 30,000 CNG conversion kits for distribution free of charge nationwide within the period.

 

The kits and the conversion costs were valued at the rate of N1.2m per vehicle, making a total of N36bn within the next three months.

 

He stressed that the move was to ensure the adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel for transportation.

 

“Today, we are here with conversion kits. We have bought over 30,000 of these kits, mainly for distribution in the next 90 days.

 

“The President has told us that this is not just to end with 30,000 kits, the target is one million kits. We want to make sure all of you can benefit from this government initiative,” he stated.

 

“The era of buying N750, N800, or N1,000/liter fuel is over. We are not doing that again. We will start using the gas under our feet so that we can buy it at N230/kg,” he stated.

 

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had ordered all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to procure CNG-powered vehicles as palliative to ease the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

 

Okun-Ajah waterfront scheme: Lagos serves over 200 property owners notices

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Okun-Ajah waterfront scheme: Lagos serves over 200 property owners notices

The Lagos State Government has served contravention notice on over 200 property owners and occupiers in Òkun Ajah Waterfront scheme by in Eti Osa LGA, over encroachment on government land.

 

A seven-day ultimatum was also issued to all the affected property owners and occupiers in this area encroaching on government land.

 

They are required to come with relevant documents and approvals that back their occupation of the land.

 

The Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Yacoob Ekundayo Alebiosu during an inspection of the area at the weekend, said many properties and buildings in the area contravened the law by illegally taking possession of the land not allocated to them by the government.

 

He said four contravention notices had earlier been served on the illegal occupants in the Okun Ajah scheme, saying the government cannot continue to watch and see the state’s commonwealth turned to private investments.

 

Alebiosu, therefore, urged owners of such buildings to voluntarily remove their encroaching properties before the expiration of the ultimatum.

 

He also said, if they allow the government to use its funds to enforce the directive, the cost of such operation shall be recovered from the property owners.”

 

The commissioner also said that the ministry has gone through all the processes required in Okun Ajah and that this is the last one.

 

“We have served over 200 houses today alone, based on several contraventions. We’ll be coming back with the Ministry of physical planning to take possession.”

 

While speaking to journalists after the exercise, Alebiosu said, “there are several properties in Okun Ajah without waterfront clearance, a lot of encroachments have been identified with people building without approval because they would not have got the Ministry of physical planning approvals without getting clearance from the ministry of waterfront infrastructure development.

 

“We’re always guided by the law, we have issued notices, stop work orders have also been served, despite that, they kept at it, continued with their work, and we are left with no option.

 

“We have been meticulous, we had followed through all the processes before we got to this stage, we are now at the final stage of enforcement, we have been here severally, we even met with resistance from some of them, but the law has to take its course.

 

“I want to allay the fears of the people on whether government will abandon the land after taking possession. Again, I need to inform the public that a lot of people have been allotted these plots of land, and they are already waiting to take possession, but because some unknown people have gone ahead to sell the plots to people; illegally, that is why they have not taken possession.

 

“There are people with proper government allocation, but they’re always threatened by these illegal operators when they come to take possession, there have been a lot of cases, that is why we had to come here with our full enforcement team so that everything will be in order. We have taken the final step required of us.”

 

Alebiosu, thereafter, advised all other illegal occupants on other waterfront schemes in Lagos that they should approach the ministry for waterfront clearance.

 

He said that Physical Planning will not give anyone approval without getting clearance from the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development.

—

Obama praises Biden after withdrawal: “A patriot of the highest order”

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Obama praises Biden after withdrawal: “A patriot of the highest order”

Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been reminded — again — that he’s a patriot of the highest order.

 

Sixteen years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I knew about Joe’s remarkable career in public service. But what I came to admire even more was his character — his deep empathy and hard-earned resilience; his fundamental decency and belief that everyone counts.

 

Since taking office, President Biden has displayed that character again and again. He helped end the pandemic, created millions of jobs, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, passed the first major piece of gun safety legislation in 30 years, made the biggest investment to address climate change in history, and fought to ensure the rights of working people to organize for fair wages and benefits. Internationally, he restored America’s standing in the world, revitalized NATO, and mobilized the world to stand up against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

 

More than that, President Biden pointed us away from the four years of chaos, falsehood, and division that had characterized Donald Trump’s administration. Through his policies and his example, Joe has reminded us of who we are at our best — a country committed to old-fashioned values like trust and honesty, kindness and hard work; a country that believes in democracy, rule of law, and accountability; a country that insists that everyone, no matter who they are, has a voice and deserves a chance at a better life.

 

This outstanding track record gave President Biden every right to run for re-election and finish the job he started. Joe understands better than anyone the stakes in this election — how everything he has fought for throughout his life, and everything that the Democratic Party stands for, will be at risk if we allow Donald Trump back in the White House and give Republicans control of Congress.

 

I also know Joe has never backed down from a fight. For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America. It’s a testament to Joe Biden’s love of country — and a historic example of a genuine public servant once again putting the interests of the American people ahead of his own that future generations of leaders will do well to follow.

 

We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges. I believe that Joe Biden’s vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August. And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond.

 

For now, Michelle and I just want to express our love and gratitude to Joe and Jill for leading us so ably and courageously during these perilous times — and for their commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on.

Parking slot: Lagos clarifies new policy, says not imposing fees on worshippers

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Parking slot: Lagos clarifies new policy, says not imposing fees on worshippers

Parking slot: Lagos clarifies new policy, says not imposing fees on worshippers

Sanwo-Olu approves N35,000 December award, 50% bonus for workers

The Lagos State Government has clarified that the state’s parking policy will only affect motorists who intend to utilise the newly created 1,800 parking slots of the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA).

 

Mrs Adebisi Adelabu, General Manager, LASPA, made the clarification in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

 

Adelabu said the authority was concerned about a recent social media post regarding parking charges for churches and worshippers in Lagos State.

 

“The post incorrectly stated that LASPA on Saturday announced it will from October charge churches and worshippers in Lagos State, who parked vehicles on designated streets around places of worship.

 

“To clarify the matter, LASPA wishes to emphasise that this information is inaccurate and does not reflect the true intent of our communication.

 

“The Lagos State Government is not imposing parking fees on churches or worshippers for parking on streets around religious institutions.

 

“Rather, LASPA is implementing the Lagos State Parking Policy to mitigate parking induced traffic congestion across the state,” she said.

 

She noted that “Lagos is experiencing a high demand for parking spaces that exceeds available space like many other major cities worldwide facing similar challenges.”

 

She said this shortage of space prompted the agency to adopt a regulated on-street parking model to manage parking resources efficiently.

 

Adelabu recalled that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, earlier this year, approved the introduction of a regulated on-street parking, which was announced during a stakeholder’s forum on Feb.14.

 

She said that the religious organisations and other stakeholders were adequately represented at the forum, adding that the outcome was later communicated to the umbrella bodies representing these groups.

 

She added that one of such correspondences was referenced in a news release making the rounds on social media.

 

“It is important to clarify that no specific religious group is being singled out by this policy.

 

“Our aim is to ensure all stakeholders are informed and prepared for the implementation of the regulated on-street parking scheme.

 

“Additionally, Lagos State Government has designated and “lane-marked” suitable roads for on-street parking across major zones such as Ikeja, Surulere, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, and Lekki, creating approximately 1,800 additional parking slots.

 

“The communication sent to religious institutions serves to notify them of their respective roles and the financial aspects of utilising these designated parking slots,” she said.

 

Adelabu said the management of these facilities would be overseen by concessionaires under the regulation of the Lagos State Parking Authority.

 

She added that LASPA remained committed to improving traffic flow and parking management through transparent and equitable measures that would benefit residents and visitors alike.

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