VAT: Without the north, you’re nothing, Masari blasts Sanwo-Olu, Wike

Katsina Governor Bello Masari has chewed out his Lagos and Rivers colleagues for insisting on raking in their value-added taxes.

According to Masari, both Rivers and Lagos States would not have huge revenues without contributions from other states.

“What is Lagos without the rest of Nigeria? The market Lagos is boasting of is dependent on the larger part of the country,” he told the Daily Trust.

“Benin Republic has a port, Togo has a port; do they have the population to back up the ports? Without us providing the demand part, what will be Lagos?

“VAT serves them and us. We provide the bulk of the market because without the rest of the states, what is Lagos or Port Harcourt?

“Any state that thinks it can survive in isolation is joking. We provide the demand that makes Lagos what it is.”

As the two state Govs Bbajide Sanwo Olu and Nyesom Wike battle the federal government in court, many southern governors have started preparing their revenue collection agencies to join the two pioneers.

The case is now at the Supreme Court.