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Nigerians back Wike’s VAT war, a good step to restructuring

Nigerians are backing Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has started a mild revolution in what he called injustice in the country especially in the area of resource allocation.

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If I am owing you, come and defend it before me -Wike tells Doctors

Nigerians are backing Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has started a mild revolution in what he called injustice in the country especially in the area of resource allocation.

While speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Wike ordered companies based in the state to start paying their Value Added Tax to the state government beginning this September.

Lamenting on the injustice in the country, he said Rivers State generated N15bn VAT revenue in June this year, but got N4.7bn in return, while Kano generated N2.8bn in the same month and got the same N2.8bn back.

Adding that N46.4bn was collected from Lagos State in the same month but the Federal Government gave Lagos N9.3bn. “Sometimes, you don’t want to believe these things exist.”

Last month, the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, in a judgment in suit number FHC/PH/CS/149/2020, held that the Rivers State Government had the powers to collect VAT within its territory.

Although the FIRS applied to the court for a stay of execution, Justice Stephen Pam rejected the application, saying granting it would negate the principle of equity.

Meanwhile, the Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya has admonished Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos to back down on their demand for state administration of Value Added Tax (VAT) across the country, warning that such policy could leave people of his state worse off.

“The VAT issue will have adverse effects not only on Gombe State but almost all the states of the federation,” Mr Yahaya said at an event in which he was represented by Gombe finance commissioner Muhammad Magaji on Wednesday.

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