PREMIUM TIMES

Governors of South-south states have resolved to join the suit currently before the Supreme Court over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT).

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

The governors’ intention is contained in a six-point communique they issued on Monday at the end of their forum’s meeting in Port Harcourt.

The communique was read to reporters by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

The governors declared that they support the collection of VAT by some state governments in the country.

“The Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta (BRACED) Council after an extensive deliberation, resolved unequivocally to support the decision for states to collect VAT and resolved to join the suit before the Supreme Court.

“This is predicated on the fact that most of the BRACED commission states have already established their state security outfits,” the communique stated.

The governors also called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the federal government to uphold the tenets of the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by appropriately constituting its board.

They expressed the hope that the federal government would make public the report of the forensic audit on the NDDC, and be courageous enough to deal justly and fairly with the report to strengthen the capacity of the organization.

The governors demanded that President Buhari and the National Assembly take “necessary measures” to review some aspects of the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act, “in the spirit of fairness and equity”.

They also requested Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries, and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to relocate their head office to the Niger Delta region.

The meeting was attended by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Douye Diri of Bayelsa.