South-South govs resolve to join VAT suit in S’Court

*To launch regional security outfit soon

Amaka Agbu. Port Harcourt

Governors of the South-South states of Nigeria have resolved to join the Supreme Court suit by the Rivers State Government demanding that states and not the Federal Government should collect Value Added Tax (TAX).

The VAT case is between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Rivers Government.

This is part of the six-point communiqué that was read out to journalists by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, who presided over the meeting of the South-South Governors Forum meeting that was held at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday.

The governors declared that they unequivocally supported the collection of VAT by State governments in Nigeria.

The communiqué read in part: “The BRACED (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, and Delta) states Council met on Monday, October 4th, 2021. After an extensive deliberation, the council resolved that it unequivocally supports the decision for States to collect Value Added Tax, and resolved to join the suit before the Supreme Court.”

The meeting was attended by Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; Chief Emmanuel Udom, Governor of Akwa Ibom State; Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State; Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State. The Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, was conspicuously absent at the meeting.

The meeting also approved the South-South regional security architecture which would be launched very soon on the basis that it is predicated on the fact that most of the BRACED Commission States had already established their state security outfits.

The BRCAED Council called on the president and the Federal Government to uphold the tenets of the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by appropriately constituting its board.

In addition, the Council expressed the hope that the Federal Government would make the forensic audit report on the NDDC public and be courageous enough to deal justly and fairly with the report with the view to strengthening the capacity of NDDC to meet its obligations to the people of the region.

Also contained in the communiqué is the demand by the Council on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to take necessary measures to review some unfair aspects of the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in the spirit of fairness and equity.

“It (Council) urged that the amendment should include clear definition of host community and that the trustees should be appointed by State Governments.

“Council regretted that the President and the Federal Government has generally failed to give reasonable consideration to requests made by the region during the dialogue with the special federal delegation led by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of staff to the President.

“Notable among the requests were the relocation of the NNPC subsidiaries and IOCs Headquarters to the Niger Delta, and a completion of a number of federal projects in the region, notably roads,” the communiqué read.

Rivers State government was initially the only respondent to the suit pending before the Court of Appeal. However, Lagos and Oyo states have already filed applications for joinder in the appellate court.