The Lagos State Government has said it shut the Park View, Ikoyi, Lagos State home of a former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, for defaulting in the payment of his Land Use Charge.
The Land Use Charge is an annual fee paid by all landlords for their property in Lagos State.
A statement by the state government on Tuesday evening said that contrary to the political undertones read into the sealing of the property, Kalu had failed to pay the fees despite the three notices served on him.
However, with the sealing of the house coming less than two weeks after Kalu criticized the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, for deporting residents of the state from the South East, a correlation was drawn between the closure and the comments of the Coordinator of Njiko Igbo, a group fighting the cause of the Igbo to produce the country’s president in 2015.
The statement by the state government, however, said following the intervention of Fashola, Kalu has been granted another 14 days grace to pay the LUC.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to a misleading claim by a businessman, Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu that his Ikoyi home has been sealed off following a threat to sue the Lagos State Government over an unrelated matter.
“We wish to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu’s property in Park View Estate, Ikoyi was distrained pursuant to Section 40 of the Revenue Administration Law of Lagos State for failure to pay the statutory annual land use charge despite three separate notices delivered to the said property.
“As a government driven by law and process, the Lagos State Government will ordinarily expect all law abiding residents to discharge their responsibilities to the state.
“If, in spite of failing to do so, Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu wants to give ethnic colouration to a routine performance of its duties by an agency of the state government, which in this case is the Land Use Charge Office, under the Ministry of Finance, he is welcome to do so.
“However it should be noted that when the issue was brought to the attention of the Governor, Tuesday evening, he directed the agency to unseal the property and that an additional 14 days grace period be given to Mr. Kalu to pay the said charge.
“It should be emphasised that notices like these are served on defaulting property owners on a regular basis who either comply or contact the Agency to raise any objections they might have to such notice. Mr. Orji Uzor Kalu, like every other citizen, must fulfil his obligation to the State.”
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