The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has dismissed claims that northern governors disagree with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the tax reforms he is spearheading.
Governor Sule addressed the issue on Tuesday while hosting a coalition of denominations under the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Government House in Lafia during a thank-you visit.
He described the insinuations as baseless, stating that Northern governors remain supportive of President Tinubu’s administration.
“It is only in a country like Nigeria that you see people who fought against the coming of President Tinubu now claiming to love him more than those who stood for him and fought to bring him into office,” Sule said.
The governor clarified that the Northern governors’ collective stance on the need for wider consultations regarding the tax bills before the National Assembly, particularly concerning Value Added Tax (VAT), is being misconstrued as opposition to the President.
“Our call for more consultations on the tax reforms is about ensuring inclusivity and fairness. It has nothing to do with fighting the President,” he explained.
Governor Sule further praised Tinubu’s leadership, noting that his policies have made governance easier and more beneficial for the states.
He said, “I am happy that you are following up on the tax reforms because you called for more sensitization. That is all we ask for. That is all the grammar that you hear back and forth. It is not that any governor has anything personal against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We love our President.
“It is because of the President that today, all the projects we are executing, I am not borrowing one naira. All the work that you see going on, I did not borrow one naira. I cannot therefore turn around and fight the President who has helped me to look good.”
Governor Sule, however, insisted that there are hidden issues about the tax bills which needed to be explained for better understanding.
“Just like I have never been a teacher, I have never been a legislature. Because of that, we called for the withdrawal of the bills to look at it again. They said it’s a wrong language. You can actually make amendments to the bills without necessarily withdrawing it. I said that is what I am looking for. I am not looking for any trouble,” he stated.
On the aspect of VAT, the governor expressed confidence that he knows a lot more than most of those arguing in favour of the tax reforms, considering his background from the organized private sector.
“The aspect of VAT I understand more than most of them. I didn’t even know how VAT was being utilized. I only knew how VAT was generated. As a CEO of some of the companies, we collected by invoicing customers at the time VAT was 5 per cent, collecting it from the customers and remitting to the Federal Internal Revenue Service. That was my work. Who was using it, how it was distributed, I didn’t even know until I became a governor. That was when I knew that we could collect VAT, and it would help the state towards capital projects.
“When I talk about VAT, I talk with authority because I know what it is. I know how it is generated. I know how much it is. Today, it’s VAT that is making every state shine. Because the amount of VAT at 7.5 percent is what is making every state comfortable.
“Nasarawa State, since they started this, we have not received less than N4bn from VAT alone monthly. We are rightly apprehensive that all these projects we have, and now they are saying they will remove VAT from FAAC, I had to raise my hand because I have sworn by the Quran to defend the people. I can’t keep quiet,” he stated.
He described as unfortunate attempts by some vested interest to want you turn around the issues by saying that Northern governors are fighting President Tinubu.
“For some people making noise and saying the Northern governors are fighting the President, nobody is fighting the president. How could you fight a President who has made you look good? This is the truth. All we are saying is that some aspects of it, we need to look into it.
“But you know, in this country, there are a lot of people looking for jobs. So, they want to show the President, they love him more than us. And we are the ones who fought some of those people in order for the President to get elected. We fought them, and they fought us back until he is elected. Today, they are on the other side. They are saying they love him more than we do love him. It’s only in Nigeria that you will see this kind of thing,” he added.
Governor Sule insisted that they are not fighting the President but that they only wanted him not to take decisions that could impact negatively on their chances for another term in office.
“They now are saying they are the ones protecting him. We that are saying, Mr. President, don’t do this because it may affect us in the next election, if you do something that is not going to be conducive to certain parts of the country or certain states. It may be injurious to us. We are the ones who truly love the President for saying what we are saying.
“Not somebody because they are looking for jobs to come and tell you that the Northern governors want to fight the President. Fight him how? If APC does not win and Nasarawa State is APC, we are in trouble. No matter what happens, we prefer APC to win as long as we are also APC,” he stated.
He appreciated the call made by the leader of the delegation and Chairman of CAN in Nasarawa State, Very Reverend Dr. Sunday Emma, who appealed to both the federal and state governments for more sensitization on the tax reforms.
“I love the part when you called for continuous sensitization on the bills. For me, they do the sensitization, they remove that language about VAT, I will be the advocate of the tax reforms. But the VAT aspect, all things around the VAT are going to be difficult for people who don’t have jobs, especially in our own part of the country. What is the IGR of Nasarawa State. Have you ever thought about it. Those are the difficult things we are talking about,” he said.
The post Governor Sule Dismisses Claims Of Rift Between Northern Governors And Tinubu appeared first on Naija News.