Press Releases

Lagos: Executive/Legislative Parley Calls For Repeal Of VAT Act

Apr 5, 2008 - Resolving to work to strengthen the practice of Federalism in Nigeria and protect the constitutional rights of Lagos State, an Executive and Legislative Parley ended in Lagos at the weekend with a call for the repeal of the Value Added Tax Act.

Rising after two days of brainstorming sessions, the Parley, organized by the Political and Legislative Powers Bureau in the Office of the Lagos State Governor Office, in a 12-point Communiqué contended that the Sales and Consumption taxes on which the Act was based were neither on the Exclusive nor Concurrent Lists of the nation’s Constitution.

The Parley called for the review, amendment or repeal of taxes and levies (Approved List for Collection) Decree of 1999 which encroached on the residual taxing powers of the state houses of Assembly. It also called for the repeal of the National Sports Lottery Act which the Parley said is a residual matter, adding that it was conceptually wrong to impose national lottery on every state in a Federal Republic like Nigeria.

The Parley, however, opposed the call for the repeal of the Land Use Act in view of the salutary effect the Act has had on Land management in the country. It also sought the application of derivation formula in the distribution of all taxes collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service within the State.

While reinforcing the case for a Special Status for Lagos State as a former Federal Capital and the economic nerve centre of Nigeria, the Parley also asked the Federal Government to ensure that the proceeds of privatization and sale of Federal Government assets be paid into the Federal Account.

The Parley resolved that the two arms of government, the Legislative and Executive, continue to work in harmony and greater commitment to promote good governance and therefore recommended that a Think-Thank saddled with the responsibility to research and impact on Legislation be set up with members drawn from the Office of the Attorney-General of the State, the State House of Assembly and the National Assembly under the Office of the Special Adviser, Political and Legislative Powers Bureau as well as agreed to promote a legislative Agenda for Lagos State that would include, among other things, facilitation and disbursement of revenue especially personal income taxes and stamp duties collected by the Federal Government on behalf of the States.

Earlier in his address at the Parley, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) had reiterated his call for true Federalism, pointing out that the States as the components of the Federation were the true donors of the power and therefore should exercise more of it.

The governor lamented that over the years, the Federal Government has appropriated to itself power meant for the constituent states as a result of which the nation now has an almighty Federal Government.

“This should not be so”. The Governor said pointing out that the Federal Government which is the recipient of powers from the states should not have less of such powers.

The Governor said the difficulty in implementation of any budget could always be traced to the planning adding that the inability to devote sufficient time to planning the budget was the bane of effective budget implementation.

In his remarks, the former Governor of the State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, observed that although the Legislature and the Executive should work together, there was a critical interface between the two bodies that must not be blurred, pointing out that the rule of control was very important in the relationship between the two.
He particularly criticized the Senate for taking money for a seminar from the Ministry of Health on which, according to him, it is supposed to perform an oversight responsibility, describing it as unethical.

He commended Fashola for what he has achieved so far “in terms of vision, consultation, networking and resource control, pointing out that the most critical ingredients of development was management of human resources.

Others who spoke at the seminar were Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora who spoke on Executive/Legislative Parley: an Imperative for Good Governance, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Sosan who gave an overview of the achievements of the Ministry of Education and the commissioners for the ministries of the Environment and Transportation who also spoke on the achievements of their ministries among others.