South-South States To Join VAT Suit At Appeal Court

05 Oct South-South States To Join VAT Suit At Appeal Court

The South-South Governors Forum on Monday 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 state governments.

The development was part of resolutions reached at the meeting of the Forum held on Monday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Delta State Governor and Chairman of the forum, Ifeanyi Okowa, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of the closed-door meeting.

While Rivers and Lagos States are at this time the only respondents to the suit pending before the Court of Appeal, Oyo State has already filed applications for joinder in the appellate court.

Meanwhile, the Forum also deliberated extensively on regional and national issues. It resolved to approve the establishment of a regional security outfit to be launched “very soon”.

The governors appealed to the National Assembly to immediately review and amend sections of the recently enacted Petroleum Industrial Act (PIA).

They explained that the amendment is necessary to give a clear definition of a host community and transfer the power to appoint the trustees to state governments.

The Forum also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to respect the law establishing the Nigeria Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by appointing a substantive board.

They demanded that the report of the forensic audit of the agency recently submitted to the president be made public.

On the management of the nation’s economy, the governors called for the relocation of the headquarters of the Nigerian 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.

At the meeting were the host, Governor Nyesom Wike, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, and Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.

Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, was absent at the meeting.