Governor Nyesom Wike has called on other states in Nigeria to join Rivers State in the fight to take control of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Nigeria.
Governor Wike made the call while presenting the 2023 Appropriation Bill before the Rivers State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
The governor noted that the funds generated from the collection of VAT will form part of the funding from the budget for 2023.
The case against the Federal Government on VAT is currently at the Supreme Court after a Federal High Court ruled that the states in Nigeria reserve the right to collect VAT.
The governor while speaking on the floor of the House, however, explained that the move is dependent on the Supreme Court doing justice to the matter.
Wike said: “We will continue to intensify our fight to significantly improve IGR by expanding opportunities for more investment, industrialization and efficient tax collection.
“While we are yet to achieve the projected milestone, we will not relent in our determination to reduce the state dependency on statutory federal allocation to finance this budget.
“We call on our sister states to join us in this struggle to secure the right to impose and collect VAT at the sub-national level”.
The governor also called for the establishment of a new revenue-sharing formula in the country, saying it is long overdue.