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Afenifere hails court ruling on VAT, says it enhances true federalism
Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has hailed the ruling of a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, on Value Added Tax (VAT), saying it will enhance true federalism in the country.
The group also commended the Rivers State government for initiating the legal process.
In a press release issued by Afenifere, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, the group called on the Federal Government to stop its actions and policies that are impeding the practice of true federalism in Nigeria.
Afenifere noted that the rulings by Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, on August 9 and on September 6, 2021, have shown the Judiciary as an institution not only capable of ensuring justice but working to deepen true federalism in the country.
The statement read in part: “The rulings by Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on August 9 and on September 6, this year have earned the Judiciary in Nigeria an epaulette as an institution that is not only capable of ensuring justice but is actually working on deepening federalism in the country.
“Afenifere observes that the manner of distributing VAT revenue is patently unfair, unjust and is pitched against the hardworking while rewarding the indolent by a manner of speaking. For instance, Lagos State which generates as much as 55 per cent of this revenue receives less than 10 per cent while most states where less than 5 % is generated get the same amount that Lagos gets. It is quite distasteful.
READ: 7.5% VAT: Stop increase, collapse National Assembly, reduce cost of governance
“The sum collected by the FIRS is shared among the three tiers of government, with the Federal Government taking 15 per cent, states 50 per cent; local governments, 35 per cent. From the foregoing, it would be seen that the federal government is taking an undeserved larger chunk because when 50% is shared among the 36 states, what each state gets is a paltry sum. Same for 774 local government councils that share 36 per cent.
“State governments to use the opportunity provided by these landmark judgments to explore other areas that the Constitution empowers them to assert themselves as federalists. In other words, they should step up actions that will liberate the states from the stronghold of the federal government that has turned Nigeria into a Unitary State – in contradistinction to the federal spirit prescribes by the Constitution.
“Areas in which the states need to assert themselves include agriculture, health, education, electricity, physical planning, title registration, registration and production of vehicle number plates and casino licensing etc as Lagos State Government did in the past.
“To us in Afenifere, the attempt by the federal government to establish so called Farm Estates in all the 109 Senatorial Districts is another way of imposing the rejected cattle colony and RUGA on Nigerians.
“We call on the FIRS to resist the temptation to keep appealing the judgment that empowers states to collect local taxes as such a step is another assault on the federal system that we are supposed to be running,” Ajayi noted.
