The Chairman of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Association, Musiliu Akinsaya popularly known as Mc Oluomo has stopped the illegal collection of taxes by touts in some part of the states following a protest by commercial bus drivers days ago.
According to FIJ, the move is part of an intervention to resolve the crisis between commercial drivers and highway tax collectors who target transporters in the state.
A driver told the publication; “Mc Oluomo told us Thursday afternoon when we held a meeting with him at the state council that no driver from Oshodi to Tollgate must be compelled to pay illegal agbero taxes anymore.
We are only to buy two tickets in a day, after which we will not pay anything aside from loading fees.
The normal ticket sold and approved by the Lagos State Park Management is just N800.
He said those extra taxes imposed at Iyana Ipaja and Agbado Ijaiye were no longer valid. We can either buy our daily tickets in Oshodi or Tollgate, and either will be recognised.
Afterwards, we will buy the council ticket and booking for security, which is about N500.
The driver went on to reveal that Oluomo had directed them not to pay for tickets on Saturdays and Sundays.
For weekend jobs, Mc Oluomo has mandated that no driver should be made to buy tickets on Saturdays and Sundays.
The union should only compel us to buy tickets from Monday to Friday. We should be given the chance to take something home to our families,” he added.
The driver who also claimed that MC Oluomo donated N1 million to those who suffered injury during the attack on protesting officers.
He said; “There are no more unbearable taxes. All we have to pay in a day is a little below N2,500 compared to the N20,000 we paid previously.”