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VAT Bill: Reasons ‘It’s Unfair to Our Region’ – Governor Sule”

Published by Tope Fakinlede on October 31st, 2024.

VAT Bill: Reasons ‘It’s Unfair to Our Region’ – Governor Sule”

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has revealed that the 19 governors in the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) are opposing the VAT bill due to concerns about its fairness to the northern region.

In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Sule elaborated on the NGF’s recent meeting, chaired by Gombe State’s Governor Inuwa Yahaya, where they collectively rejected the proposed derivation-based model for distributing Value Added Tax (VAT) in the new legislation currently under consideration in the National Assembly.

Sule emphasized that their stance is not a rejection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom they supported during his election. “We can’t bring President Tinubu into power and then oppose him,” he stated. He noted the diverse political affiliations of the governors present, including members from both the APC and PDP, as well as independents.

He explained, “The law as proposed would be unfair to the north. If the distribution model takes away from the sharing of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to implement a new scheme, it resembles the 13% derivation model, disadvantaging northern states that currently generate little VAT revenue.”

Sule further clarified, “Having worked with multinationals, I understand the VAT process. For instance, at Dangote’s operations at Apapa port, we paid VAT on imported raw materials, and additional VAT was applied to finished products.”