Northern governors divided over power shift to south, oppose states collection of VAT  

The 19 governors of the states in the North at their emergency meeting in Kaduna on Monday were divided over power shift to the south in 2023 after the second tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Some of the northern governors opposed the demand of the southern governor for zoning of the president to the south in 2023. They are argued that zoning is unconstitutional.

Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, at the end of the emergency meeting with traditional rulers in the North at the Government House, Kaduna State, on Monday, reading the communique of the resolutions at the meeting, noted that the northern governors agreed that zoning the office of the President as being agitated by southern governors is against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The governor emphasized that an elected president of Nigeria must meet the basic constitutional requirements – must have the highest number of votes cast, and must secure at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in two-thirds of the 36 states of the Federation.

The Northern Governors chairman, however, admitted that some governors in the north have already supported the zoning of the president to the South in 2023, in a seeming contradictory statement, Lalong said that the governors of the northern region collectively condemned the demands of the southern governors for power shift.

Governors Lalong also acknowledged that dispute between the Federal Government and states on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT), saying that the northern governors are aware that the case is before the court. He stated that it will amount to subjudice to take a decision on the matter. So, the northern governors were silent on the matter.

Lalong, however, noted that governors should not mistake VAT for sales tax, arguing that if every state should enact law on VAT, it would lead to multiple taxation, increase in prices of goods and services, as well as a collapse in inter-state trade. Invariably, the northern governors covertly opposed collection of VAT by state governments.

The northern governors also commended the military onslaught against bandits and insurgents in the north towards restoring security in the region.

The expanded meeting which included traditional rulers was not outspoken on the killer herdsmen in other parts of the country nor the dwindling economy of the country.