Lagos parking defaulters owe N500m – LASPA

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The General Manager, Lagos State Parking Authority, Adebisi Adelabu, has said the agency will begin enforcing against organisations and businesses defaulting on parking fee payments by the end of September.

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Briefing journalists on Tuesday at the agency’s office in Ikeja, Adelabu said parking fee defaulters in the state owed between N400m and N500m as of last year.

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She said the agency had initially planned to begin the enforcement earlier but decided to intensify advocacy to give businesses and other organisations more opportunity to comply.

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According to her, the decision to delay enforcement was aimed at ensuring that defaulters could not claim ignorance of their obligations.

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Adelabu said 2025 was unusual for the agency because of internal restructuring.

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She said, “Last year, I think we had about N400m or N500m in defaulters. Last year was an unusual year for us. Also, there was a lot of restructuring that we wanted to do.”

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Adelabu said that while the agency made a giant stride in its first full operating year, it was hoping to triple the amount in 2027.

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“We made over N1bn in our first full operating year. We’re hoping that by next year, we should be able to triple that.

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“We just want Lagosians to continue to partner with us. Pay your dues, let’s create the greater Lagos we all dream of,” she said.

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She maintained that payment of parking fees was not a new requirement, explaining that businesses had previously made payments to local governments before LASPA took over the responsibility.

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“Paying for parking is not new. Payments were made to the local government before we came to take on that responsibility,” Adelabu said.

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She warned that businesses that fail to pay their outstanding fees could face enforcement, including shutdown of businesses.

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“Enforcement is anything from clamping to towing. We also have the right to close the business. We’ll apply through the courts, and get that done,” Adelabu said.

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However, she said the agency preferred compliance to punitive measures.

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“We want businesses to thrive. Lagos thrives because you can come, you can dream, and you can succeed,” Adelabu said.

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She urged businesses to treat parking payments as part of their annual financial obligations.

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“There are companies that, even before we send a demand notice, they have paid. So, why should we have companies that have to be subjected to embarrassment before they would think they need to pay?” she asked.

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Adelabu expressed concern that some of the defaulters were not small businesses but multinational companies and large corporations.

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“These are not one-man businesses or SMEs. Some of them are multinationals. Some of them are corporations. Why would you not want to pay? I’ve never been able to understand it,” she said.

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According to the LASPA GM, the agency is also preparing to expand on-street parking and introduce technology that would enable motorists to identify recognised parking spaces and make cashless payments.

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