The Chairman of Mushin Local Government, Mr. Emmanuel Bamogboye, said on Wednesday that the ‘Park-and-Pay’ operation at the council’s area office at Cele was legal.
He said the operation went through the normal legislative process before it was passed as a law in the council.
Bamigboye was reacting to a publication in The Nation on Tuesday over the legitimacy of a local government council office charging law-abiding citizens driving in for a legitimate business, for a parking space.
He said a council has a right to legislate on ‘Park-and-Pay’, especially in public places.
“It is just like parks at airports, seaports and other public places. It is even at Alausa. Don’t we have a ‘Park-and-Pay’ section there? The essence is to regulate vehicles coming into the compound and ensure proper monitoring. Before enacting the bye- law, people were parking indiscriminately there, leaving their vehicles for days and if anything happens to them, they blame the council.
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“So, we felt that it is better to regulate the way people use the compound at our area office by asking them to pay for parking. This has reduced theft and unnecessary intrusion. It has allowed only those who have business to transact on the premises to come in,” Bamigboye said.
He noted that the money realised was used to maintain infrastructure.
“The N200 fee is legal. It is under the ambit of the local government. It is not an extortion.
It is a charge for service to the public. We are not extorting anybody. With it, your vehicle is under watch and no one will vandalise it. It has also reduced heavy traffic around the area,” the local government chairman said.
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