Wike Threatens To Seal Companies Remitting VAT To FG

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has warned oil companies and business owners in the state  not to remit their Value Added Tax (VAT)to the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) as from September this year.

The governor said any company or business owner who did not heed the verbal directive will no longer be allowed to operate in the state.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with business owners in the state on Wednesday, he told oil firms, construction companies and other business owners to start remitting their VATto the state government beginning this September.

  “I will seal off your premises if you continue paying VAT to FIRS.

“From this September, we will start collecting our VAT, we will not look back but seal up the premises of companies who fail to comply with the new directive,” Wike said..

He also threatened to take over FIRS offices in the state if the agency continued to “bully” companies and business owners..

The governor said he would not beg the Federal Government for what belongs to his state and accused the FIRS of bullying the state with federal might.

He  lamented the “injustice in the country” which gives Rivers State that generates N15bn in June 2021 only N4.7bn while Kano, which accrued N2.8bn in the same month got N2.8bn.

He said, “Have you seen the injustice in this country? I would not be governor forever, it’s not about me but about the system.

“Sometimes you don’t want to believe these things exist, he said”.

“We filed the Value Added Tax (VAT) collection action against FIRS and the Office of the Attorney General representing the Federal Government in 2020.

“In July 2021 the Chairman of FIRS wrote to the National Assembly through the Office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to amend the Constitution and empowered the Federal Government to collect VAT. They knew what they were doing was unconstitutional that’s why they wrote for the constitution to be amended to Include VAT in the exclusive legislative list.

“This was exactly what we were challenging in Court, so they tried to include it through the back door. Corruption is not only about people collecting money, corruption is also doing things illegally.”.