The Northern Governors’ Forum has said the position of their Southern counterparts that power should shift to the south is against the spirit and letter of the constitution.
This was contained in a resolution reached by the governors at the end of the meeting held in Kaduna on Monday.
It added that it is subjudice to act on Value Added Tax (VAT) while the case between Rivers State and the Federal Government is before the Supreme Court.
On open grazing, it called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the National Livestock Transformation Programme, which would serve as a springboard in transiting from the open grazing system as widely practiced in the North.
These were some of the resolutions reached by the Governors and read by its chairman and the governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in Kaduna, on Monday.
Commenting on the security situation of the region the Forum observed the need for a sustained synergy and coordinated efforts between the Federal and Northern States Governments while noting the success of recent measures.
The meeting also noted with concern the constraint of the security services and urged the Armed Forces to embark on simultaneous operations and resolved to share the plans of the Frontline States come up with common with other Region, and assured of its readiness to work in synergy with the Federal Government of Nigeria in finding a lasting solution to the current security challenges.
The Forum appreciated the efforts of the armed forces against banditry, kidnapping, and Boko Haram insurgency especially in the North East and parts of North West and North Central. It encouraged the Armed forces and other security agencies to sustain the tempo to enable the security challenges to be permanently addressed in the shortest time.
On the debate on power shift, the Forum noted that some Northern States Governors had earlier expressed views for a power-shift to three Geo-Political Zone in the South with a view to promoting unity and peace in the nation.
It said notwithstanding their comments, the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the Presidency must go to the South, saying, the statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:-
score the majority votes; score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.ln the case of run-up simple majority win the election.
The Northern State Governors Forum also considered the ongoing National debate on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT), saying as responsible leaders while we are constraint by the fact that the matter is sub judice we however for the purposes of educating the public make the following observations:
(a) The judgement of the Federal High Court calls to question the constitutionality of VAT, withholding tax, education tax, Niger Delta Development Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, 13% derivation, National Economic Development Council, and many other currently levied and collected by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
(b) Rivers and Lagos State Government had enacted their own VAT laws and the Southern Governors Forum have expressed support for this course of action;
(c) VAT is being confused by these State governments as a sales tax. If every state enacted its own VAT Law, multiple taxations will result in increases in prices of goods and services and collapse in interstate trade. VAT is not a production tax like excise, but a terminal tax that is paid by the ultimate consumer.
It noted that another confusion is ignoring the observation above and its “overall effect”. The reason Lagos accounts for our 50% Vat collection is that most of the telecommunication companies, banks, manufacturing, and other trading activities have their headquarters in Lagos with the resultant and wrongful attribution of VAT.
Thus, the Forum said until and unless the Supreme Court pronounces judgement on the substantive matter between Rivers State and Federal Government, the matter is sub judice and Northern States Governors Forum would respect this.
The Traditional Rulers Councils appreciated the efforts made so far by the NSGF in addressing the key areas of challenges facing the Northern States, they expressed their willingness, solidarity, and collaboration with the Governors’ in addressing these challenges particularly the issue of security. It was equally resolved that perpetrators of crimes should be dealt with irrespective of their status in society.
The Forum, however, decried the high level of conspiracies being perpetrated by some judicial officers in releasing and granting bails to arrested criminals. It noted that the acts sabotage the fight against criminality, therefore, there the need to develop a good and robust intelligence mechanism amongst States was identified as a panacea.
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