Ayade Missing As South South Governors Tackle FG On VAT, PIA

By James Orji

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers state absence from the meeting held by south south governors in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Monday failed to make any meaningful impact as the governors agreed to join Rivers in its litigation against the FIRS over the power of state government to collect the Value Added Tax, VAT.

Other critical issues discussed at the meeting attended by four other governors apart from the host include the establishment of a regional security out and the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA law recently signed by President Muhamamdu Buhari.

Those that attended the meeting included Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Godwin Obaseki of Edo; Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, Douye Diri of Bayelsa and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom.

Sources informed the magazine that his decision not to attend the meeting may not be unconnected with his recent defection from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, the party on whose platform he rode to power. Other governors on the region are of the PDP. The Cross Rivers helmsman had recently defected from the PDP to the ruling APC citing the need to assist President Muhammadu Buhari’s in his quest to unite the country.

His absence at the meeting, however, did not stop other governors from the region from presenting a united front on the issue of VAT. The governors also resolved to set up a regional security outfit to tackle the problem of insecurity in the region.

The meeting comes many months after the governors agreed to come under an umbrella body known as BRACED, an acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Edo and Delta – the six states in the region, to advance the cause of the region.

Governor Okowa who briefed the media after the close door meeting said the regional security outfit will be launched soon to combat the spate of insecurity affecting the region. He said the joint security body will compliment those already established by the six states.

According to him “after an extensive deliberation, the Council resolved: that bearing in mind that most of the BRACED states have established their security organs, we approved the regional security architecture which will be launched soon.

“To equivocally support the decision of states to collect the Value Added Tax by states, we resolved to join the suit at the Supreme Court.”

The Delta governor said the governors “urges the president and the National Assembly to take necessary measures to revisit some unfair aspects of the recently signed Petroleum Industry Bill, now Act, to ensure fairness and equity.

“We urge that the amendment should include a clear definition of host communities and that the trustees should be appointed by the state government.

“The Council called on the president and the federal government to uphold the law establishing the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC by appropriately constituting its board.

“In addition, we express the hope that the federal government will make the forensic audit report public and do justly and fairly with the report with a view to strengthening the capacity of NDDC to meet its obligations to the people of the region.”

Meanwhile, Okowa said the governors are not happy that the federal government has not taken action on requests made by the region during a dialogue with the chief of staff to the president, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, when he led a special delegation to the region.