LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
- Receives 2,082 complaints over Land Use Charge
By Oyebola Owolabi
The Lagos State government has since 2019 paid N4.43 billion as insurance death benefits and claims to beneficiaries of deceased civil servants.
Commissioner for Finance Abayomi Oluyomi also said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2019 began payment of Group Life insurance premium and non-life premium for all government assets within state.
According to him, insurance death benefits paid from 2019 till date to beneficiaries of deceased civil servants amounts to N2.67 billion, while N1.76 billion was paid as claims.
Oluyomi, at the ongoing ministerial press briefing to mark the first year of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s second term, added that 2,082 complaints were received over land use charge fees and were resolved using the administrative, mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.
According to Oluyomi, the Land Use Charge Assessment Appeal Tribunal (LUCAAT) established pursuant to the Land Use Charge Law has consistently provided avenues for persons dissatisfied with the LUC imposed on their properties to appeal. He added that the complaints were received via walk-ins, letters, petitions, referrals, telephone calls, WhatsApp, Resolution Week programme among others.
Oluyomi said the tribunal introduced remote resolution to afford property owners in diaspora the opportunity of resolving their complaints/disputes without physical attendance.
He added: “The tribunal’s impacts within the review period include cleared backlogs of property owners who had high land use charge arrears using mediation efforts to resolve long-standing issues; improved service delivery through the introduction of e-channels as means of initiating and resolving complaints.”