Northern governors meet today over VAT war
By Matthew ELOYI
The Northern Governors’ Forum will on Monday (today) hold an emergency meeting to discuss issues relating to the Value Added Tax.
It was gathered that the planned meeting, which would be hosted by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, would be presided over by the Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong.
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The Coordinator of the Northern Governors Forum Secretariat and Secretary to the Plateau State Government, Professor Danladi Atu, confirmed the planned meeting in an interview with newsmen in Jos on Sunday.
Recall that the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had in a judgment last month held that Rivers State had the power to collect VAT within its jurisdiction. But the Federal Inland Revenue Service headed for the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment.
At the Appeal Court, Lagos State filed an application that it should be joined with Rivers State as a co-defendant in the appeal filed by the FIRS. The appeal court ordered parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the determination of the appeal.
Malami, in an interview with Channels Television on Friday, said the collection of VAT in the country was on the exclusive legislative list, adding that only the National Assembly had the power to make laws on VAT.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Northern Governors’ Forum Secretariat, Atu said that the forum would take a position on VAT at Monday’s meeting.
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In his words, “The northern governors will be meeting in Kaduna on Monday and I’m sure one of the items on the agenda is about the issue of VAT.”
Asked whether the northern governors would be going to court to join the FIRS in the suit against Rivers and Lagos states over the VAT collection, the forum’s coordinator said, “You will get to know the position of the northern governors on the issue because I’m sure their resolution will be made public after their meeting on Monday.”
