The Ogun State government has announced a 75% discount to operators of hotels in the state, towards settling arrears of their outstanding Land Use and Amenities charges.
The waivers cover the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Finance, Alhaji Hassan Adekunle, said with this gesture, all hotel owners are expected to pay the current year charge in full in addition to payment of 25% of all arrears owed by such operators.
Adekunle who made the position of government known in Abeokuta at a meeting with members of the state chapter of Hoteliers Association of Nigeria said the decision was a further demonstration of the current administration’s commitment to further entrench a friendly environment for investments and businesses to thrive in the state.
He recalled that as a means of coping with the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 virus, the state government gave hoteliers 90 percent rebate last year, maintaining that the enforcement of the Land Use and Amenities Charge was being pursued with a human face.
“I want to remind us that in 2020, the government approved two categories of incentives to hoteliers in the state – 90% rebate on the year 2020 charge, and an additional 75% discount on all arrears up to December 2019 to help them stabilise in the face of the biting effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
In his remark, the representative of the Consultant to the State Government on Land Use and Amenities Charge, Mr Ayo Ladigbolu, disclosed that to address the issues generated by the enforcement, a Customer Care Centre and Phone numbers have been made available in the Ministry of Finance to entertain complaints and suggestions from the public.
The president of the association in the state, Otunba Segun Timi, who had earlier appealed for reopening of the sealed hotels, expressed his delight on the concession granted their members and commended the state government for the provision of various infrastructural amenities, which he noted had impacted positively on their businesses.
