Hamzat promises transparency, tax reforms in Lagos

Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, has pledged to make government spending and financial records more accessible to residents if elected governor in 2027.

He said his proposed administration would sustain the publication of government accounts, audit reports, procurement records and project costs to strengthen public scrutiny of the state's finances.

Hamzat spoke at a town hall meeting organised by BusinessDay on Friday, where he outlined his plans for transparency, tax administration and accountability.

He said the Lagos State Government published financial information quarterly and subjected its accounts to annual external audits.

“Every year, external auditors audit the Lagos State Government; every year, the report is presented publicly. So the bottom line is that everything today is published,” he said.

The deputy governor challenged residents who questioned the government's transparency to examine the financial information available on the state government's website.

He added that details of government procurement and public-private partnership projects could be accessed through dedicated platforms.

On borrowing, Hamzat said the state's Debt Management Office was responsible for documenting loans and the projects they financed, while relevant information was also submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Assembly.

“For every project that we do, for every loan that we get, for everything that we must do, we must send it to SEC, must send it to the Senate. So it's public information,” he said.

He cited the Lagos Blue and Red rail lines as examples of infrastructure projects whose contract costs had been made public.

Hamzat also pledged to reform tax collection by harmonising the state's tax system with the Federal Government's reduction of the number of taxes from 63 to nine.

He said the proposed arrangement would involve working with local governments to establish a unified tax schedule, taking into account their constitutional independence and status as a separate tier of government.

“What Lagos State is doing is now harmonising it. Because the Constitution and the Supreme Court's ruling that the local governments are a separate government. So that's the ruling of the land,” he said.

The APC candidate promised that residents and businesses would have access to a single list of approved taxes, adding that no taxpayer would be required to pay levies outside the schedule.

“So that's our promise, to make sure that taxes harmonise from 63 to just nine. And one schedule that everybody can see, if it's not on the list, you are not paying it,” he said.

He further promised to establish a complaint centre where residents could report multiple taxation and other irregularities involving tax officials.

According to him, complaints submitted through the proposed platform would receive responses within 48 hours.

Hamzat said the reforms were intended to address concerns among business owners and residents who often struggled to identify their tax obligations.

He recalled a conversation with a woman who asked for a clear list of the taxes she was expected to pay so she could settle them without facing further demands.

“Let me just know what I need to pay. If I pay, leave me alone. I think that's a fair request and I intend to honour it,” he quoted her as saying.

He also highlighted the difficulties faced by food traders transporting produce into Lagos, noting that the state produced only five per cent of the food it consumed.

He said traders often encountered multiple collections along their routes, although Lagos had no control over levies imposed outside its territory.