Category: Politics

Comrade Lekan Badmu is a Columnist With Oduduwa News And a Public Opinion Analyst.

The fact that Nigeria was left off- hook from the claws of colonial rule in October 1st, 1960 is incontestable. It is interesting to note that no contrary story has ever countered the ember date but what is still shrouded in confusion is the mover of the motion that set the agitation for self rule.

History is important. A nation that does not give priority to history is at the precipice of extinction. However, history cannot be re-written but could be distorted. Thus, the need to unravel the controversy trailing the identity of the parliamentarian that raised motion for independence. This is so important and inevitable in view of the academic relevance of the subject matter.

From the time immemorial, it has been stated that Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in 1953 at the floor of the Federal House of Assembly, Tafawa Balewa Square; popularly known as Race Course in Lagos State. Enahoro was a member of Action Group, AG. A political party under the leadership of late sage, Obafemi Awolowo.

Recently, I stumbled on a contrary account. The music is changing but the lyrics and rhythm are incoherent. The account was given by that vocal lawyer cum politician, Femi Fani-Kayode who claimed that his father; not Enahoro, moved the historic motion for independence. FFK could not be said to be loquacious at this time. Without being prejudicial, his account could not be ignored judging from the raw information at the disposal of FFK in respect of his vantage positions as the son of Chief Remilekun Fani Fakayode.

This issue has become a matter of supreme importance in our quest towards putting the record straight without necessarily misleading the unborn child. It would be foolhardy to beckon on our former colonial masters to write our history. That would amount to an absurdity and abberration.

According to FFK; “On August 2nd 1958 my father successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule. The truth is that almost 90 per cent of Nigerians have been brought up to believe that the motion for Nigeria’s independence was successfully moved by Chief Enahoro, a man that is undoubtedly one of our most revered nationalists and founding fathers.”

“Though, nothing can be taken away from Enahoro in terms of his monumental contributions in our quest for independence. I would argue that he kicked off the process for that struggle with his gallant efforts in 1953.”

An examination of the above statement shows that FFK was absolutely correct.
Meanwhile, like the police would admonish someone under arrest; ” you had better don’t say anything because whatever you utter would be used against you in the court”; as a lawyer FFK is, the facts he adduced to establish and substantiate his claim are substantial enough to give a fair judgement. FFK has covertly or overtly provided the answer to the lingering question. There is a self-admittance to the obvious fact of who moved the motion in reference to the year. By simple calendar, 1953 preceeds 1958 !

Dissecting the second argument which bothers on the word; “successfully”; this is inconsequential. It is rather a matter of semantics. The 1958 motion was at the instance of 1953 agitation. FFK has given judgement in his own case when he posited above that; ” though, nothing can be taken away from Enahoro in terms of his monumental contributions in our quest for independence. I would argue that he kicked off the process for that struggle with his gallant efforts in 1953.” This is a statement made under no duress.

The truth, without any ambiguity is that, in July 1958, the former deputy premier of western region, Chief Remi Fani Fakayode successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the Federal House of Assembly in Lagos. He argued that independence should take place on 2 April 1960.

In 1959, there was a further motion that was moved in the Nigerian Parliament asking for a slight amendment to the Fani-Kayode motion of July, 1958. This new motion, which was moved by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, asked that the 2nd April, 1960 date for independence, which had already been accepted and approved by Parliament and which had been acquiesced to by the British colonial authorities should be shifted from the 2nd of April of that year to the 1st of October instead.

This motion of amendment was subsequently passed and approved by Parliament and it was acquiesced to by the British. That is how the date for Nigeria’s independence, 1 October 1960, was finally arrived at. Evidently, Enahoro’s motion preceeded the two from Fani and Balewa viz; 1953, 1958 and 1959.

In a plain language, Enahoro was the first to move the motion in 1953 but which was not approved then. Fani re-opened the motion and wanted April 1960. This was approved but Balewa moved for a shift of date from April to October. Logically, the motion could not be ascribed to Senior Fani because his projected date of April was eventually jettisoned. It would have been better if Balewa had laid claim because it was he that suggested October.

Candidly writing however, history has not been fair to Fani power. He has not been sufficiently celebrated in this country like other heroes; even from south-west. A significant percentage of the people are not aware that FFK’s father was Awolowo’s deputy.

The reason for this may not be unconnected with his defection from AG to NCNC. Politics of that era was filled with acrimony. Awo was a deity and woe betides any member who decamped into opposition party. It is also on record that senior Fani was the Deputy National Chairman of NPN. All these are inconsequential to the fanatical fans of the late sage as long as you jumped ship. No matter your good antecedents, you remain a villain in the comity of Awoist as much as as you derailed.

In conclusion, the first two paragraphs of the statement of the motion for independence by Chief Enahoro is hereby reproduced for archive.

“Mr. President, sir, I rise to move the motion standing in my name, “that this House accepts as a primary political objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria in 1956.

Sir, this motion is an invitation to the Honourable Members of this House to associate the highest legislature of our land with the expressed desire of the peoples of this country, whose views we all represent, for political autonomy in 1956.”

For Comments:
lekanbadmuscolumn@gmail.com

The Alaafin of Oyo has conferred a chieftaincy title, Aare Baasofin of Yorubaland on the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

In a communication signed by the Alaafin on September 7, 2021 and official letter presented on Thursday September 30, 2021 to the 4th Citizen of the country by the emissary of the Alaafin led the members of the Oyomesi Council and leadership of the Oyo Development Association led by Bishop. Ayo Ladigbolu ; Alaafin writes:

“Since your victory at the polls and subsequent swearing in as a member of Federal House of Representatives representing the good people of Surulere Federal Constituency of Lagos State in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and eventual emergence as the Rt Hon. Speaker of the 9th National Assembly House of Representatives via an overwhelming 283 votes out of 360 members. “

“I have watched with keen interest your unquantifiable contributions on the floor of the House as a member with the highest number of Bills and Motions, to your rise from a Member to Minority Leader, Leader of the House and eventually the Rt. Hon. Speaker, and your Centrality in the federating unit Nigeria have placed you in the legislative realm just like our forefathers who were actively involved in nation building. “

“….Going by the above, you have demonstrated as a Legislator the uniqueness inherent in the Yoruba race participating effectively in nation building; you have participated in ensuring that the practice of separation power to check abuses of the Executive and ensure smooth running of government. “

“After due consideration and indeed consultation, the Alaafin in Council has identified you with the aforementioned attributes and considered you worthy of being honored. It is on this basis that I have decided on behalf of Yoruba land to pick you as ‘AARE – BAASOFIN OF YORUBA LAND’ “

“This new title bestowed on you is a clear reflection of your outstanding success as an astute legislator accomplished Legal Luminary, successful Representative of Yoruba race and Nigeria in general. With this title, you are placed in the rank of great Empire builders and defender of Yoruba race. The least I can expect from you in your new title is to put all the states attributes of yours for the service of Yoruba land and advancement of balanced system of government. “

The hullabaloo on which zone will likely produce president might have prompted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to have recently concluded the zoning of National Chairmanship Slot to the North.

This development may pave way for the South to produce the presidential aspirant of the party as the National Chairman is emerged from the northern region of the country.

This decision was announced today by the party’s National Zoning Committee.

The decision was contained in a communique issued on Thursday following the meetings of the committee held in Enugu and Abuja.

“The decision of the PDP Zoning Committee is in line with the Constitution of the party on zoning and rotation of party and national offices in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness,” the statement read.

“Consequently, the current offices being held by officers in the southern zones of the country, namely South West, South East, and South South zones, should swap places with the offices currently in the northern zones of Nigeria, namely North West, North East, and North Central zones.”

The government of Oyo State has asked the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for joinder in the suit instituted by the Rivers State government against the Attorney-General of the Federation in respect to the bid by the state to take over the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from the Federal Government.

The suit, instituted by the Attorney-General of Oyo State, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, is seeking an order of the Appellate Court to enable Oyo State to join the suit as an interested party.

In the suit, the government of Oyo State is seeking two orders, viz: an order of the Honourable Court joining the Attorney-General of Oyo State as a respondent on the appeal with suit number FHC/PH/CS/149/2020 and appeal number CA/PH/282/2021, and any other order the Court may deem fit.

According to the Attorney-General of Oyo State, the government of Oyo State was unaware of the suit between the Attorney-General of Rivers State and the Federal Inland Revenue Service at the Federal High Court until the judgement was delivered.

Other grounds upon which the application was based include that the decision of the appellate court will affect the collection of VAT by the government of Oyo State, being one of the States which the judgement of the lower court recognised as entitled to collect VAT within its territorial jurisdiction.

Oyo State government also indicates that the applicant (Attorney-General of the State) “represents the interest of the Oyo State government, whose interest in the collection of Value Added Tax within Oyo State will be impacted one way or another by any judgment delivered by this Honourable Court in this Appeal.”

The grounds claimed by the Oyo State government include that: “The Applicant is a necessary party to this suit being a party who will be bound by the judgment of this Honourable Court in this Appeal.

“The interests of the Applicant and that of the Respondent, in this case, are similar, being States within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

In a 12-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, which was filed by the Director of Civil Litigation in the chambers of the Hon. Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ministry of Justice, Oyo State, Olatunji Sunday Thomas, the government of Oyo State said that it is in the interest of justice that the Honourable Court grants the application, adding that the joinder would not prejudice the Appellants/Respondents.

It stated that the state, being one of the 36 states of Nigeria, will be affected by the decision of the Appellate Court, adding that joining the state to the suit already instituted by Rivers State will help to avoid multiplicity of suits by the states against the Federal Government.

In a motion on notice also attached to the proceedings already filed before the court, Oyo State said it relied on eight grounds and declared that the state is a necessary party to be joined since it has sufficient interest in the outcome of the appeal.

The state further argued that after going through its processes, the Appellate Court will find that the application is necessary and that it has sufficient interest in the determination of the appeal as one of the states of the Federation.

It quoted several legal authorities and concluded thus: “We, therefore, urge the honourable court to resolve the sole issue raised in this application in favour of the Applicant and hold that the Applicant is a proper, desirable and necessary party to be joined in this appeal…

“In conclusion, we humbly urge your Lordships to grant this application in the interest of justice and effective determination of the issues before the Court.”

Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai has stated that it is foolish for anyone to opine that the north must give power to the south in 2023.

This was stated by Nasir El-Rufai while speaking with journalists in Kaduna on Monday.

This was in response to the demand of southern governors who had said power must go to the south in 2023.

According to the governor, rotational presidency is possible but there has to be an agreement between the north and the south.

He added that no one has the right to sit in any part of the country to make the demand.

“We are not saying there cannot be a rotational presidency,” he said.

“It can be done but you have to come and sit with the politicians in the north and dialogue and then we agree to give our support to the south but no one has the right to sit in Lagos or Port Harcourt and say whether northerners want it or not, they must relinquish power to the south, that is wrong.

“It is not how we do politics and in fact, it is foolish.”

El-Rufai in August 2020 said the next president of Nigeria should come from the south.

The Oyo State House of Assembly Wednesday approved the appointment of all ten Commissioner designates forwarded to the State Legislature by Governor Seyi Makinde.

The list which was submitted to the House on the 22nd of September, 2021 contained names of five returning Commissioners and another five new ones.

The Lawmakers while welcoming the Commissioner designates to the hallowed chamber said they were all eminently qualified to serve as Commissioners in the State having been part of the present administration in one way or the other.

They therefore unanimously agreed that all of them should take a bow.

The Speaker charged the Commissioner designates to justify the confidence reposed in them by the State Governor which made.

Hon Ogundoyin urged them to support the agenda of the present administration which he noted were aimed at boosting the socio-economic activities of the State.

The former Commissioner for Information, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, Former Commissioner for Education, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye and Prof Misbau Babatunde pledged to use their offices to further advance the growth and development of Oyo State.

The five returning former Commissioners are Mr Seun Fakorede, Mr Adeniyi Adebisi, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, Mr Wasiu Olatunbosun and Mr Abdulrahman Abdulrahim.

Other five new Commissioner designates screened by Governor Seyi Makinde are Mr Abiodun Oni, Prof Misbau Babatunde, Mr Segun Olayiwola, Dr Bode Ladipo and Alhaja Kafilat Omolabake Olayiwola.

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde on Tuesday presented the Appropriation Bill of two hundred and ninety-four billion, five hundred and sixteen million, four hundred and forty-five thousand, one hundred and seven naira to the Oyo State House of Assembly.

Christened Budget of Growth and Opportunities, Makinde said N156 billion will be injected into the economy through investments in infrastructure and ensuring that Oyo residents have higher purchasing power.

Speaking further, Makinde affirmed that for the first time, the proposed capital expenditure is more than the recurrent expenditure.

For the 2022 fiscal year, the governor projects N79.5 billion for the internally generated revenue which he noted that his administration intend to achieve without increasing taxes but will continue to expand the tax base to include more in the informal sector.

The budget Presentation had in attendance, Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, Olubadan of Ibadanland who was represented by Otun Olubadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun, Soun of Ogbomoso among other traditional rulers in the state. His words:

“Last year, we presented to you our budget on Continued Consolidation. I had a chance to present to you a report of our accomplishments over the previous budgetary cycle and our plans for the 2021. Mr Speaker Sir, Honourable Members of the House, this year, it gives me great pleasure to be with you again this year for the presentation of the 2022 Fiscal Budget which we have tagged a Budget of Growth and Opportunities.
But before I make this presentation, let me express my gratitude to Mr Speaker, Right Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin and all Honourable Members of this 9th Assembly for your continued support of our policies and programmes in Oyo State. Let me also use this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to a stronger working relationship with the legislature as we strive to move Oyo State to prosperity.
Mr Speaker Sir, Honourable Members of the House, the last time I was here to present the State of the State Address, I took the opportunity to invite you to the commissioning of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba. Let me thank you all for honouring that invitation. You must have been as proud as I was to see our darling Shooting Stars get the first feel of the turf and beat their opponents in an international friendly.
We know that bolstered their confidence to go on to secure a return to the NPFL after four years of relegation.

As we complete projects, we start new ones.
Last year, we promised that we will continue to invest on infrastructure in the state. We have worked hard to ensure that infrastructural development is not restricted to just one zone of the state.
In education, we have continued to make investments at all levels. At the primary level, we completed 26 model schools across all zones in Oyo State, we built 57 classrooms, installed boreholes and improved the sanitary condition of existing schools through the construction of toilets. We have also continued to improve the quality of education in Oyo State. We not only recruited teachers as reported, but we have also trained them on best practices.
More recently we completed the recruitment of 692 education officers in the state.

In Healthcare, we have continued to keep our promise of one Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in each ward in Oyo State. In the past year, we have completed the renovation, upgrade and equipping of 40 PHCs. Secondary healthcare facilities have not been left out as we continued to upgrade and rehabilitate existing facilities to serve the good people of Oyo state.

On Security, we have made provision to recruit more Amotekun Corps members and we will continue to make investment on technology that supports our security architecture in Oyo State.

We have always prioritised infrastructural development in Oyo State. And last year was not an exception. We have recorded strides in the development of infrastructure which we believe will generate more income for the state. The Challenge Bus Terminal is 70% complete, while the other three terminals at Iwo Road, New Ife Road and Ojoo are ongoing. The Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub is at about 40% completion. Significant progress has also been made in reconstructing the 21km Airport- Ajia-New Ife Express Road with a spur to Amuloko, 12km Apete-Awotan-Akufo Road and the 44.7km Saki-Ogbooro-Igboho Road. The Idi Ape-Basorun-Akobo- Odogbo Barracks Road and the 5.2km Gedu-Oroki-Sabo-Asipa Road are nearing completion.

There is still so much more that needs to be done. We are aware of the complaints of our people regarding roads in Oyo State. We are determined to meet their yearnings for high quality infrastructure in the state and that is why we continually embarking on road rehabilitations and reconstructions. In the immediate, we are carrying out palliative works on these roads.
Mr Speaker, Honorable Members of the House, in keeping with our tradition in the last two years, we again embarked on a Townhall Meetings on the 2022 budget and given stakeholders the opportunity to contribute towards the direction of this budget. The people have again spoken and based on their feedback; we have prepared our budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year. I have the honour of presenting to the House this Two Hundred and Ninety-Four Billion, Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Four Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, One Hundred and Seven Naira (N294,516,445,107.00) 2022 Budget Proposal.

As stated earlier, this is a budget of growth and opportunities.
Growth, as we inject One Hundred and Fifty-Six Billion, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-One Naira (N156,000,136,971.00)into our economy through investments in infrastructure and ensuring that our people have higher purchasing power. For the first time, our proposed capital expenditure at 52.97% is more than our recurrent expenditure. A major project we will be carrying out in 2022 is 110km Ibadan Circular Road. This tolled road will be a major economic boost as it will create an alternate entry and exit point out of Ibadan and connect the new economic corridor and business district, we are building at Moniya. Also, we will commence the reconstruction of the Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road to further boost economic activities in the state.
Opportunities, as we continue to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and open our doors to both local and foreign investors in agribusiness, tourism and other sectors. We are also exploring new areas of comparative advantage and encouraging investments in them. As we always say, our doors are open, come and talk with us. In the next few weeks, we will be welcoming the world to Ibadan as we host the Oyo Agribusiness Summit 2021. This is a collaboration between the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Let me use this opportunity to invite you all to come and be part of this three-day event.

Of course, we have maintained a lower recurrent expenditure to capital expenditure ratio. For the 2022 fiscal year, our recurrent expenditure isOne Hundred and Thirty-Eight Billion, Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Three Hundred and Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Naira (N138,516,308,136.00). This represents 47.3% of our total budget.As with the 2021 budget we used the tenets of the Federation’s Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) and other development aspirations as a guide.

Mr Speaker Sir, Distinguished Members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, please permit me, at this point, to give a report on the performance of the 2021 budget going by half-year analysis.

The Oyo State Budget performance stood at 60%. We still have our sights on raising this to 75% before year-end.
On the revenue side, the state’s actual aggregate revenue was N78.2billion.The sum of N16.2 billion representing 31.49% was realized as the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) while Statutory Allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee was N17.13 billion representing 62.29%.

For the 2022 fiscal year, we are projecting and Internally Generated Revenue of N79,796,513,040.00 (Seventy-Nine Billion, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Six Million, Five Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, and Forty Naira). This is a tall order, but we intend to accomplish this without increasing taxes. As in the previous years, we will continue to expand our tax base to include more in the informal sector. We already see this working to our advantage as the recently released figures shows that our contributions to Nigeria’s Value Added Tax shot up to over N64 Billion.

“We have continued to follow the Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State, 2019-2023 which highlights the four sectors that our administration has prioritised in engineering a prosperous Oyo State.

For the 2022 Budget proposal our budgetary allocation to the Education sector atFifty-Four Billion, One Hundred and Sixteen Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-three Thousand,Seven hundred and Sixty-four Naira (N54,116,773,764.00) represents 18.37% of the total budget. As can be noted, we have continued our tradition of keeping the education allocation above UNESCO standards.

The highest allocation of Ninety-Six Billion, Six Hundred and Eighty-Six Million, Five Hundred and Thirty-Four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Seven Naira (N96,686,534,987.00) goes to Infrastructure. This is 32.83% of the total budget. We will continue to reduce the infrastructural deficit in Oyo State.
Our total proposed Healthcare budget is Seventeen Billion, Four Hundred and Five Million, Seven Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Two Naira (N17,405,741,792.00) that is or 5.9% of the budget.”

“Finally, we continue to use agribusiness as one of the main drivers of the Oyo State Economy. To this end, we propose an allocation of Eleven Billion, Three Hundred and Nineteen Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Seven Naira (N11,319,289,737.00) which is 3.84 % of the budget to this sector.

Mr Speaker, Honourable members of the Oyo State 9th Assembly, we firmly believe that our 2022 Budget of Growth and Opportunities will keep Oyo State on the track to prosperity. We are resolved to continue to make the lives of the good people of Oyo State better. And I once again thank you for your noble role in making this possible.

It has been an honour to make this proposed budget presentation to you, Mr Speaker Sir and Honourable Members of the House. We are assured you will give our proposal the usual timely consideration, as we work together to engineer a modern Oyo State.”

Senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu has condemned Yoruba nation agitators and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for protesting at the United Nations.

Recall that the self-determination groups had protested in New York, US during the 76th general assembly of the UN.

The protest was described as “tribal bullying of government officials” by the presidential spokesman in an article titled ‘My takeaways from the 76th UN general assembly session’.

He said: “While President Buhari was focusing on the problems plaguing the nation and in some instances asking for international support to deal with such, a coalition of groups protested outside the UN building.

“This happens with all countries- the United States, UK, India, Iran, China, Egypt- about everyone and about every conceivable issue but most especially climate change, gender and animal rights among others

“There are some from the so-called “Yoruba nation” group and the so-called “Indigenous People of Biafra” (IPOB) terrorist group who worked together to protest outside the United Nations building in New York.

“They sought to claim astonishingly that, somehow, they have earned rights through violence, murder of law enforcement agents and the innocent, and extortion to run their own affairs.

“Many Nigerians at home were disconcerted by the tribal bullying of government officials as they moved to carry out their diligent work between the Nigerian Mission in New York and the UN building, a walkable distance of less than 400 meters.

“Protests are allowed by all who had anything to say. Tribal bullying is uncivilised. So is any effort to strengthen insurgency in the country.”

Shehu praised the pro-Buhari protesters for “the maturity and decorum with which they carried on” during their solidarity march.

He criticised the Yoruba nation agitators for associating with IPOB, saying they are “demonstrating there is little difference in their beliefs or their intent”.

NORTH’S governors yesterday kicked against the establishment of Value Added Tax (VAT) laws by Rivers and Lagos states.

They claimed that the enactment of VAT law by states will lead to multiple taxation and push up prices of goods and services.

The governors under the auspices of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), said VAT laws in states would lead to the collapse of inter-state trade.

In a communique read by its Chairman, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, they described their southern colleagues as confused on VAT collection.

Rivers and Lagos states have enacted VAT laws. The VAT has become a legal issue between the Federal Government and the two states over which tier of government has right to collect the revenue.

The NSGF said Lagos accounts for over 50 per cent of VAT collection because most of the telecommunication companies, banks, manufacturing and other trading activities have their headquarters domiciled in the state.

Noting its constraint by the pending VAT matter before the courts, the forum stressed the importance of speaking on it to educate the general public.

In the communique, the governors said they will only respect the outcome of Supreme Court’s ruling on the VAT row.

The communique reads: “The Northern State Governors Forum considered the on-going National debate on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT). As responsible leaders while we are constraint by the fact that the matter is sub judice we however for the purposes of educating the public make the following observations:

“The judgement of the Federal high Court calls to question the constitutionality of VAT, withholding tax, education tax, Niger Delta Development Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, 13% derivation, National Economic Development Council and many other currently levied and collected by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Federal Inlands Revenue Service.

“Rivers and Lagos State Government had enacted their own VAT laws and the Southern Governors Forum have expressed support for this course of action;

“VAT is being confused by these State Government as a sales tax. If every State enacted its own VAT Law, multiple taxation will result in increases of prices of goods and services and collapsed in interstate trade. VAT is not a production tax like excise, but terminal tax which is paid by the ultimate consumer.

“Another confusion is ignoring observation above and its ‘overall effect’. The reason Lagos account for our 50% Vat collection is because most of the telecommunication companies, Banks, manufacturing and other trading activities have their headquarters in Lagos with the resultant and wrongful attribution of VAT.

“Until and unless the Supreme Court pronounces judgement on the substantive matter between Rivers State and Federal Government, the matter is subjudice and Northern States Governors Forum would respect this.”

The Governor traveled out of the country shortly after his late father’s burial ceremony.

Abiodun was said to have left Oke-Mosan, the seat of power for the United Kingdom from where he went to visit the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

It was gathered that contrary to the requirement of the constitution which empowers the deputy governor to take charge from the governor in his or her absence, the governor reportedly handed over to Tokunbo Talabi and ignored his deputy.

The governor’s action reportedly infuriated Salako-Oyedele who hurriedly took a trip to London until further notice.

Newsmen further gathered that the deputy decided to avoid allowing the matter to degenerate into a full-blown crisis.

Earlier, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo had also left the state to attend a conference in the United States of America.

The annual Independence church service was attended by the SSG who represented the governor.