Agbaje denies tax evasion allegations

THE Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has denied allegations of tax evasion by the state government.

   The Lagos State government had accused Agbaje’s company, Jaykay Pharmaceuticals of owing the total sum of N1.6 million being the backlog of three years’ Land Use Charge tax.

   The state government recently stated that the PDP governorship candidate had paid N500,000 of the amount reportedly being owed.

   Agbaje reacts thus: “There is no truth in this misinformation that the governor is spreading around, giving the impression that my company paid money after his initial outburst. Jaykay Pharmaceuticals has not paid a kobo since the day Fashola launched his initial allegation. To say that I have now paid N500,000 is a lie. My company sticks to the facts contained in its initial publication, which encapsulated its reaction to the governor’s initial falsehood. 

   “The fact remains that Mr. Jimi Agbaje has never stopped to acknowledge Mr. Fashola’s efforts at improving Lagos. But the result of all his efforts still remains that Lagos in the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) is still ranked 137th out of 140 cities listed in the liveability index. This means that if you take 140 cities worldwide where people consider good to live in, Lagos is the fourth worst place to live in. Apart from this, a World Bank survey shows that of the 36 states in Nigeria, Lagos is still the worst state in terms of the ease of securing Building Permits.”