Published 2nd Feb, 2022

By Yakubu Mohammed

The Lagos State Government announced on January 18, 2022, that commercial drivers would be required to pay a new daily levy of N800 from February 1. But the drivers have condemned the development, tagging it inhumane.

Speaking with FIJ on Tuesday, some drivers said the new levy would drain their pockets. Josh (not real name), a driver working in the Maryland area of Lagos, described the new obligation as extortion by government. “Of what sense is it that informal tax collectors are extorting us and the government that is supposed to lessen our hardship is not helping matters?” He asked.

MONEY FOR THE BOYS AND THE GOVERNMENT

When the policy was introduced, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers Union (NURTW) in Lagos, said the N800 government levy would not stop his union’s statutory levy.

One of Oluomo’s boys who spoke to our reporter said the government could do better by reducing the money. He reasoned that the new levy would be a burden for drivers who already pay countless levies.

FIJ learned that a driver can pay up to N3000 every day to tax collectors in Lagos, depending on their location. Drivers in Maryland told FIJ they pay N3,200 to their union’s levy collectors at various bus stops.

A driver, who does not want to be named, gave a breakdown of their daily levies. “At Maryland, we pay N500. When you get to Ogba, you will pay N1,100 and 1, 600 at Ojota,” he said.

If summed up with the new N800 levy, the amount payable would now be N4,300, excluding amounts extorted by officers of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) and the police, among others.

‘WE WORK TO ENRICH THE ELITE’

“The union would not allow us to have our say,” said a driver in Maryland. “No! They won’t allow the drivers to form their own forum,” another driver interjected. “They decide our course, even when we grumble.”

The drivers declared that their profits are nothing. A few among them pay daily deliverance to owners of the buses they drive. “Let’s say you are paying N3,000 daily for that. Won’t you buy petrol? You will make some repairs too,” a driver said.

The drivers also said they part with some money when they enter LASTMA officers’ trap. “When you are caught, whether or not you break a traffic law, your money begins from N7,000. If you fail to settle them at the spot, you will be taken to their office, where they will give you a voucher to pay either N70,000 or N90,000,” he said.

“Just yesterday, some of our colleagues fell victim to LASTMA officers,” John Okon, a mini-bus driver told FIJ. They could not work today because of the predicament. At the end of the day, we go home with little or nothing. It appears we work to enrich the elite.”

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