The Lagos State Honourable Attorney General and Minister for Justice Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN has said that the State’s Parking Levy is constitutional. The above statement was in response to the demand by Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN that the levy should be withdrawn without delay as same is illegal.
In his statement the Attorney General noted that the Lagos State Parking Authority Law 2018, empowers Local Government to assign their powers to among other things collect fees on parking in Lagos State.
The statement reads in part:
The attention of the Lagos State Parking Authority has been drawn to a Statement credited to Mr. Femi Falana SAN on the power of the Agency to collect parking levy in respect of parking spaces in Lagos State.
The Lagos State Parking Authority Law, 2018 empowers the Local Government and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State to assign their powers in respect of collection of fees relating to parking to the State Government. Accordingly, by a mutual agreement, the Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State have assigned their powers to the State Government to collect fees on parking in Lagos State.
In a similar circumstance where the Court of Appeal was called upon to interpret Section 7 and Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) with regards to the Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State, the Court of Appeal in Ola Animashaun Harimot Oluwabukola v. Attorney General of Lagos State & 5 Ors in Appeal No CA/L/1046 delivered on 19th November, 2018 held as follows: “The intendment of Section 1(3) of the Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State is clearly not to take away the function constitutionally donated to the Local Government but to give powers to the Local Government to permit a contractual relationship between it and the State on the issue of collection of taxes which is clearly within the responsibility of the Local Government without breaching any law or constitutional provision. The constitution recognizes that any person that has a power can exercise such power through other persons or institutions.
For example, the Attorney General can exercise its powers through other persons”. It is therefore constitutional for the State Government and, by extension, the Lagos State Parking Authority to demand and collect fees in respect of parking in Lagos State.