Southern Governors insist on States collection of VAT, ban on open grazing

The Southern Nigeria Governors Forum has supported moves by States to take over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), noting that it’s within the power of States to collect VAT.

This was contained in a communique issued after the meeting of the Forum in Enugu on Thursday.

The communiqué, which was read by their chairman, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), resolved to support the position that collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal federalism and the return of the presidency to the South in 2023.

The Governor further commended the Southern States for enacting anti-open grazing law, urging them to implement the law to the letter.

Parts of the communique read: “The meeting expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the states in the Southern are enacting or amending the anti-open grazing law, which aligns with the uniform template and aspirations of the Southern governors and encourages the states that are yet to enact the law to do so expeditiously.

“The meeting agreed to encourage the full operationalisation of already agreed regional security outfits, which will meet, share intelligence and collaborate to ensure the security and safety of the region.

“Following from the above, the meeting resolved to support the position that collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States

“The meeting expressed satisfaction with the army of issues around the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and ownership of NNPC by the larger Nigerian Governors Forum

“The meeting reiterated its 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.”

 

(The Nation)