Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of Rivers State from states that are to benefit from the projects to be executed with the fresh loan that the Federal Government is seeking to obtain from the World Bank.

This is as he observed that Nigeria must encourage federating states to harness their resources and generate revenues, including Value Added Tax (VAT) to advance their development.

He described as a sheer act of discrimination the Federal Government’s exclusion of Rivers State as one of the states that would benefit from projects for which it is seeking fresh foreign loans to execute.

The Governor made the observation when the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the SUN (Newspaper) Publishing Limited, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh led a delegation to present a letter of nomination to him as the SUN Man of the Year 2020 Award at Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday.

He said; “Look at the money that Federal Government has gone to borrow from the World Bank. Of all the projects, in all the states, Federal Government did not include Rivers State.

“Look at the list of projects that states will benefit from this money they’re borrowing from the World Bank, that they have sent to National Assembly for approval, the only states that are not benefitting is Rivers State.

“It is the prerogative of Mr. President; if he says he does not like Rivers State, if the ruling party says they don’t like Rivers State, I won’t kill myself. But leave the one that the law says I should be the one to collect so that I will be able to develop my own state,” he stressed.

The governor observed that there are mounted attempts to frustrate federating states like Rivers, to actualise the constitutional provisions that empower them to harness their resources and revenues, particularly VAT.

He decried the situation where the legality of states collecting VAT is not considered on the merit of the law by some public commentators including state executives, rather, they are politicising it and looking at it from the prism of ethnicity and religion.

According to Governor Wike, what the FIRS was doing was illegal and could be likened to robbing from the states.

He said; “You don’t even need to be a lawyer to know that VAT is not in items 58 and 59 of the second schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Everybody knows that. It is not even in the concurrent list. Therefore, it falls under the residual list. It is not arguable. That yesterday nothing happens does not mean that today nothing will happen, or tomorrow something will not happen.

“Nigeria should encourage states to be strong enough to have resources to develop their states. we are in a federal system where we are practicing a unitary system. Everybody at the end of the month will run to Abuja to share money. Nobody comes back to the state to think, how do I develop my state.”

Wike explained that the contest against the collection of the Valued Added Tax (VAT) was started by Lagos State which had sued the Federal Government at the Supreme Court. According to him, Rivers State only avoided their pitfall by suing the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, which is an agency of the Federal Government, that was illegally collecting the tax in the state.

The governor explained: “The issue of VAT did not start from Rivers State alone. It started in Lagos State when Lagos State challenged it in Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court said you (Lagos) shouldn’t have sued the Federal Government. All you would have done was to sue the agency. ”

He further observed that rather than commend Rivers State government for seeking to entrench fiscal federalism and constitutionalism, a particular state governor had threatened that the judgement of the court that declared that States and not FIRS are entitled to collect VAT within their jurisdiction, will not stand.

He urged those demanding for a brothers’ keeper consideration to first appreciate the position of the law and situate it rightly.

“Some people say, be your brother’s keeper. I have no problem being my brother’s keeper but why not come out and say, let us tell ourselves the simple truth. As it is being provided in the law, who is the person responsible to collect the VAT.

“When you agree to that, that it is the state, then we can sit down to look at the different problems of states. And not to say be your brother’s keeper while you’re doing an illegal thing, in disobeying what the law says you should not do.”

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (right) receiving a letter of nomination as SUN Man of the Year 2020 from the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the SUN (Newspaper) Publishing Limited, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh (left) at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Monday.

Speaking further, Governor Wike explained that beyond the provision of infrastructure, his administration is seeking a law that will provide comfortable accommodation for judicial officers on retirement.

The reason, he said, is to ensure that, while in service, the judicial officers can concentrate on their jobs without cutting corners and avoid corrupt practices.

According to him, Governor Wike was unanimously selected for his remarkable contributions to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and promotion of fiscal federalism with his position on VAT, which will help in the restructuring of Nigeria.

“Today, His Excellency has guided Nigeria to true federalism with the issue of VAT. Knowing what fiscal federalism should be His Excellency went to court to challenge the collection of VAT and the Court stated that actually, the States should collect VAT. And that is laying the foundation for true federalism and fiscal federalism.”

Ukeh commended Governor Wike for the sterling performance in office and infrastructural revolution taking place in Rivers State.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/wike-kicks-as-fg-excludes-rivers-from-states-to-benefit-from-planned-new-loans/


Lalasticlala

Soon Buhari Will Borrow Money To Feed Cows.

Because of VAT, they want to bully him

Na the same Rivers oil una go use pay the loan which the cursed northern desert benefit from

Wike should not be bullied he should ditch those trash and concentrate on his VAT and Oil allocation

Tekzyflex:
I won't be surprised if Rivers state is excluded from FAAC. Evil Buhari/APC government.

Buhari would have loved to, but the law doesn't just empowers rivers to receive FAAC but empowers it for 13% derivation as producer of oil

At this rate, it'll be a surprise if Bubu voluntarily leaves power at the end of his tenure.

Lol ...

Unity has degenerated from this country since Buhari started rulling us.

Wike is a strong man! Only if the likes of Hope Uzo can have this kind of audacity then the Fed. Govt and northernrs wont keep siphoning the southern resources for their pockets...

EmptyGarden:
At this rate, it'll be a surprise if Bubu voluntarily leaves power at the end of his tenure.

omo nigeria no be Uganda or Cameroon or one moi moi country. himsef go shock the way wey strong men go bundle am comot asorock. he pass Abacha?

Arean

Buhari is making government look more and more incompetent

What a petty move .

Because of the VAT issue, I see Buhari starting a coded fight against Wike..



Now we’ll get to see the man with the bigger hairy Ballz

Because of VAT? You all can see

Maybe u should ask for forgiveness

Well he should buy a plane ticket and go to London, just to ask Jagaban what he did when OBJ decided to be OBJ. Lol.

Wike should have been expecting this. It's no news the FG always tend to play dirty whenever things don't go the way they want.

There's a solution to every problem though, so Wike should start looking for how to solve this problem. First, I'll recommend Wike sue the FG because, they have no right whatsoever to exclude Rivers state from states that will benefit from the World Bank loan. Or is Rivers state not part of the federating state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

Very wrong as the same FG will still want to use part of income generated from Rivers State to repay the loan in the future.

Lol

FG wise Sha

Sharing of loans to SE,SW,SS

When you are finally set to get your new nation...

The world court will direct Yoruba Nation and Biafra to pays it's state debts or nothing will be declare

EmptyGarden:
At this rate, it'll be a surprise if Bubu voluntarily leaves power at the end of his tenure.

He is going to leave

Nigeria we hail thee .

temitope27:
Maybe u should ask for forgiveness

Forgiveness for sinning against who?

Buhari is pretty asf...

Do and go abeg...

Truthissupreme:
Because of VAT, they want to bully him

Na the same Rivers oil una go use pay the loan which the cursed northern desert benefit from

Wike should not be bullied he should ditch those trash and concentrate on his VAT and Oil allocation

yes, when FG don't benefit from you, u shouldn't benefit from them too

VAT issue don cause kasala . Please check my signature.

Wike crying wolf as usual.

Is it all the 36 states that will benefit?

Is it even all the oil producing states that will benefit?


The man should go an and employ young people in his state and stop playing to the gallery.

What a childish approach that is, from the federal Government. This Government misguided appraoche to issues is just too funny. There is a way to handle this na

I dont think the black man was wired for democratic type of rule

chloride6:
Buhari is pretty asf...

Do and go abeg...

Yeah right,,,


But when he refunded him 78 billion for projects done by Amaechi and Odilli he wasn't petty as fuc.

Yeah right!!

Wike you have not seen anything