On Thursday, September 16, governors in Southern Nigeria held a meeting in Enugu to discuss critical issues facing the region. One of the most important issues they discussed is the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
VAT used to be collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) until recently when the Rivers state government challenged the federal agency.
The Lagos state government followed suit as governors seek to take power to collect VAT from the federal government. The matter is currently at the Court of Appeal after the Rivers state government won at the Federal High Court level.
While many governors seem to be in support of states collecting VAT, there are also a few who believe the FIRS should continue collecting the tax.
At the southern governors’ meeting, media reports state that they collectively backed VAT collection by states. Legit.ng, however, notes that some governors were curiously absent at the meeting, opting to send their deputies.
Considering this move, it is difficult to ascertain if truly all the southern governors are in support of states collecting VAT. It is also important to note that one of the southern governors, David Umahi of Ebonyi, had earlier backed the FIRS to continue collecting VAT.
Here is the list of governors who have expressly backed states to collect VAT, rather than the FIRS:
Oluwarotimí Akeredólu (SAN) – Ondo state governor
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi – Enugu state governor
Nyesom Wike – Rivers state governor
Emmanuel Udom – Akwa Ibom state
Babajide Sanwo-Olu – Lagos state
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta – Delta state
Adegboyega Oyetola – Osun state
Douye Diri – Bayelsa state
Dapo Abiodun – Ogun state
Governors not in support of states collecting VAT
Yahaya Bello
Just like Ebonyi, the Kogi state government has said it will not involve itself in the pursuit to collect VAT as embarked on by the governments of Lagos and Rivers. The move by both states was opposed by Kogi state through the commissioner of information, Kingsley Fanwo, The Punch reported.
Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya
Similarly, the Gombe state government is against VAT collection by states. The Punch reported that the state’s commissioner of finance and economic development, Muhammad Magaji, appealed to Lagos and Rivers to be their brothers’ keeper by contributing to the centre.
David Umahi, Ebonyi
Ebonyi state governor, David Umahi, said he is not in support of Rivers, Lagos and other states in their moves to collect VAT Umahi said Ebonyi state would continually throw its weight behind the FIRS’ collection of VAT.
This article was originally published in LegitNG on September 25, 2021