The Southsouth Governors’ Forum (SGF) has expressed support for states to collect Value-Added Tax (VAT).
The Forum resolved that the six states in the zone would join Rivers State’s suit asking the Supreme Court to quash a Court of Appeal’s stay of execution order granted in favour of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
At the meeting in Rivers State yesterday, the Southsouth governors stated that they were unequivocally in support of states collecting VAT as agreed to by the Southern Governors’ Forum in Enugu last month.
The Southsouth governors met under the BRACE (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, and Edo) Governors’ Council to approve regional security architecture for the zone. They announced that the framework would be launched soon.
The governors also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to obey the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by constituting its board.
Chairman of the forum and Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, read the communiqué issued after the meeting.
He said: “The council unequivocally supports the decisions of states to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) and resolved to join the suit at the Supreme Court.
“Bearing in mind that most of the Brace states have established their state security organs, we approved the regional security architecture which will be launched very soon.
“Council calls upon the President and the Federal Government to uphold the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission by appropriately constituting its board.
“In addition, we express the hope that the Federal Government will make the forensic audit report public and deal justly and fairly with the report with a view to strengthening the capacity of NDDC to meet its obligations to the people of the region”.
