Oshodi LGA bills: Show haulage permit or pay N500k

·         Protects PSP transactions

·         Makes it an offence to trade on schools’ perimeters

By Edith Igbokwe

A sledgehammer bill to nail defaulters of Oshodi-Isolo Local government’s haulage permit into line is one of the proposed laws sent to community development associations for inputs by the councillors last week.

The bill – Corporate/Mobile loading and offloading of Haulage provides for a fine of N500,000 or three months in jail for anyone who loads or offloads goods from trucks without the council’s haulage permit.

Currently, trucks within Lagos State pay N6,000 permit annually to load and offload goods and trucks which come from outside the state pay a minimum of N10,000 for the permit.

Although the amount is small, the high rate of default is responsible for the clampdown in the hope that many defaulters will play ball.

Oshodi is a major trading destination with many markets where traders load and offload vehicles by the hour and this has been a major source of revenue for the local government.

If endorsed by most of the residents through their community development areas, CDAs, the Legislative Arm will make it a law in a bid to shore up the council’s finances to meet its budgetary target.

Speaking at the public hearing last week, the chairman, Hon. Muse-Ariyoh announced the readiness of the executive arm to sign it into law as soon as the House enacts the bill into law.

The loading and offloading bill is one of the five bills the councilors are proposing to make laws.

Others are the Environmental Sanitation and Management; Prohibition of Trading around the perimeter fence of primary schools and the  Child’s Rights protection and Revenue Items.

For instance, the Bill for bye-law on Environmental Sanitation and management 2019 states that the environmental health official(s) shall ensure that:

*a person shall not dump indiscriminately any domestic, industrial or commercial waste, discarded vehicle, spare parts or tyres along highways/roads, vacant land and the like, except through private sector participants (PSP) refuse operators and only at approved designated refuse disposal sites.

*all waste from markets, restaurants, schools, shops, religious premises, other commercial institutions should be packed in nylon or waste bag before disposal.

*no burning or burying of refuse on any tenement or open place, industrial or commercial waste.

Defaulters are liable to face the penalty of fine as duly stated in the bye-law.

According to the proposed bill prohibiting trading around the perimeter fence of primary schools in Oshodi, as from commencement of the bye-law, it shall be an offence for anyone to:

* trade or create a kiosk around perimeter of any primary schools in Oshodi-Isolo LGA.

* trade against the designated areas of the school premises authorised and monitored by the school authorities.

Anyone flouting the bye-law shall be liable on conviction to pay a fine of N10,000 or be sentenced to a term of one month imprisonment or both.

Person(s) who obstruct an authorised official(s) in the discharge of his/their duties under the bye-law is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000 or to one month imprisonment or both.

Based on corporate mobile loading and offloading of haulage permit 2019 bye-law, it shall be an offence for any corporate entity to operate a fleet haulage and mobile loading/offloading without obtaining a license permit from the local government.

Such permit may be obtained on application and upon payment of the fees prescribed in the attached schedule.

Any permit under the bye-law shall be in the form prescribed in the attached schedule.

Any permit issued shall expire on December 31st of the year issued and such shall be renewed annually on payment of a prescribed fee.

Failure to obtain necessary permit under the bye-law, the authorised person shall obtain a warrant from the customary court to confiscate the haulage or fleet.

If such payment is not made after the period of moratorium, the defaulter shall be arraigned before the customary court and shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000.00.

Also any person who forcefully releases a haulage or fleet confiscated under section 2 or 3 of the bye-law is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N50,000 or to a term of three months imprisonment or both or in case of a corporate entity, it shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000.00.

Speaking on the bills, the Council Leader, Hon. Rasheed Obasa said the council was exercising the powers conferred on it by section 7 combined with the provisions of the fourth schedule to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and other relevant sections of the local government Administration law (No 7) of Lagos State 1999 and other powers enabling it.

He said the bills have been presented to the public for the input of the residents to make it all-inclusive.

His words: “Making Oshodi-Isolo Local Government better via the instrument of lawmaking remains the core function of the legislators of the council.“In achieving this, many rigorous processes have been passed through towards making Oshodi work for all through functional laws enacted at the grassroots”.