This is as the agency also accused some illegal private park operators of damaging government property used in clamping vehicles and controlling indiscriminate parking.

The General Manager of LASPA, Adebisi Adelabu, who was represented by the Director, Operations of LASPA, Ayokunle Akinrimisi, said these during the monitoring and enforcement exercise in Marina, Lagos, on Wednesday.

Adelabu said the private car park operators were operating illegally and this would have a negative effect on Lagos residents who parked their vehicles within their premises and gave out their car keys to operators at owner’s risk.

She further stated that the Authority was saddled with the responsibility of regulating and managing all forms of parking and registering all existing private and public parks.

She said in a bid to ensure a coordinated parking management system, LASPA had issued several warnings to car park owners to register with the authority and ensure proper operation of the business environment.

Adelabu said the operations of the car park operators should be well structured to meet the business requirements, for the benefit of the populace.

She reiterated the authority was working towards promoting parking policies tailored to suit the peculiarity of the state in line with modern international standards, towards achieving a smart city.

“LASPA is empowered to remove all impediments arising from indiscriminate parking on roads and in car parks, improve the flow of traffic and reduce travel time,” she said.

The general manager urged anyone interested in car park business to register with the Lagos State Parking Authority and get a parking permit to operate.

LASPA had, in a letter addressed to a firm, stated that it had charged the company N290, 000 for the parking lot outside the business premises.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had, on Sunday, described the policy as illegal and urged the state government to withdraw it without delay.

“The Lagos State Government and all other authorities, as well as other persons, are bound by the valid and subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal on the exclusive power of local governments to regulate and collect parking levy in Lagos State.

“To that extent, the purported parking levy fixed by the Lagos State Parking Authority cannot be justified under Section 7 of the Constitution. It should be withdrawn without any delay,” he had said.

However, in its reaction to Falana’s remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adebayo Haroun, on Tuesday, noted that the Local Government and Local Council Development Areas have assigned their powers to the state to collect fees.

The statement read, “The attention of the Lagos State Parking Authority has been drawn to a statement credited to Mr Femi Falana (SAN) on the power of the agency to collect parking levy in respect of parking spaces in Lagos State.

The Lagos State Parking Authority Law, 2018 empowers the LG and LCDAs in Lagos State to assign their powers in respect of collection of fees relating to parking to the state government. Accordingly, by a mutual agreement, the LGAs and LCDAs in Lagos State have assigned their powers to the state government to collect fees on parking in Lagos State.

“In a similar circumstance where the Court of Appeal was called upon to interpret Section 7 and Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) with regards to the Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State, the Court of Appeal in Ola Animashaun Harimot Oluwabukola v. Attorney General of Lagos State and 5 Ors in Appeal No CA/L/1046 delivered on November 19, 2018 held as follows:

“The intendment of Section 1(3) of the Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State is clearly not to take away the function constitutionally donated to the local government but to give powers to the local government to permit a contractual relationship between it and the state on the issue of collection of taxes which is clearly within the responsibility of the local government without breaching any law or constitutional provision.

“The constitution recognises that any person that has power can exercise such power through other persons or institutions. For example, the Attorney-General can exercise its powers through other persons.

“It is therefore constitutional for the state government and, by extension, the Lagos State Parking Authority to demand and collect fees in respect of parking in Lagos State.”