The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos state and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have clashed over the new parking policy in the state.
Both parties in separate statements issued by their State Publicity Secretaries exchanged words on the policy.
In a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Seye Oladejo, the party noted that the Lagos PDP criticised the policy so as to curry the sentiments of Lagosians, saying that the establishment of the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) by the government was to respond to the growing need to regulate the chaotic parking in the state.
” With an estimated 1.2 million registered vehicles, about 224 vehicles per kilometer of road space and a population of over 24 million people, Lagos State surely needs a sustainable statewide parking policy to complement the renewed urban development plan and the ever competing needs for space especially in the city activity centers and Central Business Districts.
” According to recent statistics by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), there are more than 13 million active vehicles plying Nigerian roads today. Out of that figure, more than 2 million cars are in Lagos. About 10% of the cars require parking each day”, said Lagos APC.
The party explained that the visionary drive of successive governments made Lagos gradually emerging as a true 21st Century city state, with burgeoning economy, saying that this was beyond the impaired contemplation of the PDP.
” What occurs to PDP in its renowned shortsightedness is politics and money making. In a most ridiculous manner, the opposition party is rather seeing an opportunity to pool a wool over the eyes of the people of the state, pretending to have any altruistic interest in their wellbeing. It is easy for the discerning people of this state to see beyond the hypocritical sympathy of PDP. Otherwise, if the leadership of PDP had any such genuine concern for Lagosians, it should be demonstrated towards alleviating the untold hardship many people of the state are facing on the road on daily basis.
” It bears repeating for the information of the general public that LASPA or any of its staffers or agents will not charge on cars parked in any compound. However, any car parked on the setback, such person, organization or group of persons will be charged accordingly”, said Lagos APC.
Condenming the parking policy, Lagos PDP in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Mr Hakeem Amode, said that the policy was aimed at filling the gold pot of an individual, saying that it was to milk Lagosians in order to finance the individual’s ambition.
The party said ” The current economic situation occasioned by the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of the ruling party APC had continuously push people into poverty and had rendered a lot of business moribund thereby increasing the number of unemployment in our dear Lagos state.
” Recently, the state increased the public transport fares and waste collection rates without recourse to the fact that the state economic crunch had prevented employers from increasing the salaries of workers. A government that is sensitive to the people’s welfare should know that the current economic situation required government to shore up compliance in the area of revenue generation, encourage voluntary tax payment rather than levying surviving businesses and individual through the exorbitant parking fee which its calculation had no justification”.
” We would like to also state that the APC government should run a government with human face because the government is primarily for citizens’ welfare and capacity development which eventually helped the society to have citizens who are committed to the development of their community and the state at large. The habit and attitude of the state government to turn every department and agency of the state to revenue generating centre shows that APC government does not care about the welfare of the people in the state but bent on making money from them at their individual detriment.
” In view of the foregoing, we asked Lagosian to free the state and the people of the state from the hands of the entitled emperor and his cohorts who are bent on impoverishing the citizen to achieve their selfish ambitions”, said Lagos PDP.
