Governors from the southern region of Nigeria have reached a consensus on the subject of the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) by states and not to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
This resolution was reached at a meeting held in Enugu, a sequel to two other meetings had by the governors to discuss issues such as insecurity plaguing the country’s socio-economic development and bills on the ban on open grazing.
The governors reiterated their stance and unwavering resolve to structural and fiscal federalism and would amplify its efforts, marshalling the powers of their State Houses of Assembly and the respective states’ representation in the National Assembly.
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They agreed, “We encourage the full operationalization of already agreed regional security outfits; which would meet, share intelligence and collaborate, to ensure the security and safety of the region.
“We reaffirm our earlier commitment to Structural and fiscal federalism as resolved at the inaugural meeting of the Forum held on Tuesday, 11th May 2021 at Asaba, Delta State and emphasized the need for the Southern States to leverage the legislative competence of their respective State Houses of Assembly as well as representation in the National assembly to pursue its inclusion in the Nigerian Constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment.
“Following from paragraph 3” above, the meeting resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States.
“We express satisfaction with the handling of issues around the Petroleum Industry ACT (PIA) and ownership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
“We reiterate our earlier position that the next President of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of Nigeria in line with politics of equity, justice and fairness.”
