The Lagos State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Obafemi Hamzat, has promised to eliminate arbitrary and unauthorised levies imposed on businesses if elected governor.
Hamzat, who is the state’s deputy governor, made the pledge on Thursday while speaking on The Platform, an Independence Day programme organised by Covenant Christian Centre.
He said his administration would create an environment where businesses could establish themselves, remain profitable and expand without being subjected to unapproved charges.
“What we will do is to make sure that any levy that is unauthorised, that is not known, that even we can’t track, must go,” Hamzat said.
The APC candidate also proposed the establishment of an economic council that would work with local governments to coordinate revenue collection and other activities affecting businesses.
According to him, the different levels of government must work together because they “are attending to the same citizens”.
Hamzat said business owners should have clear information about the taxes and levies they are expected to pay so they can properly plan their finances.
“Nobody should stand at junctions to collect anything from anybody,” he said.
“So, businesses must know: what am I going to pay? And the moment I pay it; they must leave me alone. We must not be pulling the rug on businesses.”
He further promised to strengthen training and support for small and medium-sized enterprises, saying inadequate business management skills were among the reasons some SMEs failed despite generating revenue.
“What we have realised is that a lot of SMEs don’t last long, not because they are not making money, but they don’t understand bookkeeping,” he said.
Hamzat added that some business owners also lacked the necessary skills to manage their employees effectively, promising that his administration would expand training opportunities and other forms of support for SMEs.
He said the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund was already collaborating with King’s Trust to increase support for businesses across the state.
“So, we will make sure that people know what to pay and we take it up from there,” Hamzat said.
Hamzat emerged as the APC governorship candidate in May after securing 657,917 votes at the party’s primary.
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He defeated his only challenger, Lanre Jim-Kamal, who polled one vote, while another aspirant, Samuel Ajose, withdrew before the exercise.
In his acceptance speech, Hamzat unveiled a development agenda titled “My Lagos dream”, which focuses on job creation, infrastructure, education, healthcare and security.
He also said Lagos must maintain its position as Africa’s leading commercial hub through strategic investments and governance focused on the needs of residents.