We Won’t Let VAT Break Nigeria- Northern Elders

The North will not break up Nigeria in the struggle over Value Added Tax, VAT or restructuring as the region is endowed enough to survive without milking the south, the Northern Elders Forum, NEF said on Tuesday.

 NEF Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spoke in a television programme on Tuesday, September 21, during an interview session on Arise TV.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the NEF assertion came against the background of discontent in some parts of the North over new laws in Lagos and Rivers States to withhold VAT within their states.

Speaking on the VAT imbroglio engulfing Nigeria which is presently at the Court of Appeal, Dr. Baba-Ahmed while giving the position of the North, said

“The thing about is: the north wants restructuring; the north wants fiscal federalism. We are a rich region and we can live on what we have, even if we don’t have the billions that accrue to others states. Our poverty is not a kind of problem that we would break this country over.”

“I will advise that we wait to hear what the court says. However, even the fact that it has become an issue suggests that we really do need to address the fundamentals and the manner in which the federation works.

“We have always supported restructuring. We have always asked that a major and genuine shift initiative either by groups or the National Assembly so that matters like this be addressed properly.

“If we don’t do that now, then we should get a leader that would do that in 2023. This administration appears not to understand the importance of restructuring; we do in the north, we recognise the fact that we need to change the manner in which we generate wealth and allocate,” he said in giving the perspective of the North on the VAT war that is presently raging in Nigeria.

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