Governors back state in VAT collection

Governors of Southern Nigeria have expressed their support for the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) by state governments.
Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo disclosed this while reading a communique at the end of a meeting of the Southern governors on Thursday in Enugu.
Akeredolu said that the Southern governors resolved and affirmed the position that the collection of VAT fell within the powers of state governments..
“We resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the state.
“The meeting reaffirmed its earlier commitments to fiscal federalism and emphasised on the need to pursue its inclusion in the Nigerian Constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment,” he said.
Akeredolu urged the Southern states to leverage on the competence of their houses of assembly and representation in the National Assembly to pursue such goal.
He said that the meeting reviewed the state of the nation and the progress made in the implementation of ban on open grazing of cattle in Southern Nigeria.
“The meeting expressed satisfaction with the rate at which states in Southern Nigeria are amending or enacting the anti-open grazing law.
“This aligns with the uniform template and aspiration of Southern governors and we encourage the states that have yet to enact the law to do so expeditiously.
“The meeting agreed to encourage the full operationalisation of the already agreed regional security which will share intelligence and collaborate toward the safety and security of the region,” he said.
Akeredolu said that they were satisfied with the handling of issues surrounding the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and ownership of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors Forum.
“The meeting reiterated its earlier position that the next president of Nigeria will come from Southern Nigerian in line with the politics of equity, justice and fairness,” Akeredolu said..
The nine governors and seven deputy governors out of the 17 states in Southern Nigeria attended the meeting.
The governors present were Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom, Babajide Sanwolu of Lagos and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta.
Others are Governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun.
The deputy governors are Mr Bisi Egbeyemi of Ekiti, Mr Rauf Olaniyan of Oyo, Dr Kelechi Igwe of Ebonyi, Chief Ude Oko-Chukwu of Abia, Mr Philip Shuaibu of Edo, Prof. Ivara Esu of Cross River and Prof. Placid Njoku of Imo.
Meanwhile, Anambra was not represented in the meeting.