News
South-South Govs Join Rivers On Vat Suit, Plan Security Outfit
- The forum also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to respect the law establishing the Nigeria Delta Development Commission…
Governors of the South-South have resolved that states in the region should join the suit filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) challenging the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) by states.
This formed part of the resolutions reached at the meeting of the South-South Governors’ Forum held on Monday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The governors present were the host, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Douye Diri (Bayelsa).
The Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, was absent at the meeting and did not send a representative to the meeting.
Delta State Governor and Chairman of the forum, Ifeanyi Okowa, disclosed this while briefing reporters at the end of the closed-door meeting.
While Rivers was initially the only respondent to the suit pending before the Court of Appeal, authorities in Lagos and Oyo states have already filed applications for joinder in the appellate court.
Meanwhile, the forum deliberated extensively on regional and national issues and resolved to approve the establishment of a regional security outfit to be launched “very soon”, noting that the BRACED (an acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta states) have set up their security units.
Read also: VAT Saga: Appeal Court Grants LASG’s Request To Join Suit
Okowa said, “One: Bearing in mind that most of the BRACED States have established their state security organs, we approve the regional security architecture which will be launched very soon.
“Two: Unequivocally support the decision for stated to collect the Value Added Tax and resolve to join the suit before the Supreme Court.
“The council urged the President and the National Assembly to take necessary measures to review some unfair aspects of the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act to ensure fairness and equity.
“It urged that the amendment should include a clear definition of host communities and that the Trustees should be appointed by state governments.
“The council call upon the President and the Federal Government to uphold the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission by appropriately constituting its board.”
On the management of the nation’s economy, the governors called for the relocation of the headquarters of the Niger National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and head offices of international oil companies to the states in the Niger Delta region.
According to them, the request has since been made during a dialogue between stakeholders in the geopolitical zone and a Federal Government delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Oyo To Join Rivers’ VAT Suit Against FG
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
