Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has said Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) lacks the constitutional power to collect levies in respect of parking spaces in the state.

On Thursday, Mr Falana made reference to the response by Adebayo Haroun, senior special adviser to the Lagos State Commissioner for Justice.

Mr Haroun had earlier claimed that the state government is legally backed by the law to collect fees on parking space in the state.

Mr Falana asserts that the state government failed to make reference to the relevant portions of the Constitution which empowers it to make laws on private parking.

He stated that the Constitution only permits the local government to deal with subjects regarding tenement rates, noting that the local government has no authority to transmit its power to the state government.

“I believe that once the State passes a legislation assigning the functions of valuation of tenement rates to the Local Government as the Constitution has directed, only the Local Government Council will have the power to deal with that subject,” Mr Falana reckoned. “The State has no power to deal with the matter and the Local Government Council cannot, even if it wants to, divest itself of those powers.”

He added, “In view of the authoritative pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the illegality of usurping the powers conferred on local governments by state governments, it is indisputably clear that the local governments cannot be legitimately divested of the powers conferred on them by Section 7 of the Constitution to fix and collect parking fees in Lagos State. Therefore, the Lagos State Parking Authority lacks the power to fix and collect parking fees in Lagos State in any manner whatsoever and howsoever.” 

In a viral post on social media, LASPA sent a memo signed by Adebisi Adelabu, its general manager, to a Lekki-based company informing its owner that they were charged the sum of N290,000 for parking outside their company premises.

The levy sparked public outbursts but the state government insisted it has legal backing by the Constitution to issue.