Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy president of the senate, has
advised the national assembly not to embark on any legislation over the
collection of the value-added tax (VAT) and stamp duties.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and some state
governments are currently embroiled in a legal tussle over VAT collection.
Last month, a federal high court in Port Harcourt restrained the FIRS from collecting VAT and personal income tax (PIT) in Rivers state.
But Ikweremadu said that allowing the litigations to run the
full course could be a major step towards strengthening the nation’s
federalism.
He argued that any constitutional amendment to transfer VAT
collection to the exclusive legislative list, as requested by the FIRS would
amount to “changing the goal post in the middle of a game.”
He recalled that he had for over a decade been warning the
nation against what he had since termed a “feeding bottle federalism”.
According to him, the term refers to a situation whereby
states depend on redistributed resources of other federating units for
survival.
The senator, who chaired the constitution amendment process
in the sixth, seventh, and eighth senate, said that since past legislative
efforts to get things right had failed or were scuttled, it was natural and
imperative to allow the judiciary to play its role in shaping the nation’s
federalism.
“I commend Governors Nyesom Wike and Babajide Sanwo-Olu as
well as the Rivers and Lagos Houses of Assembly for their courageous moves,”
Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ekweremadu, in a statement on Sunday, quoted him
to have said.
“It is by so doing that our constitution or laws can be
tested and our federalism strengthened.
“In April 2012, I delivered a lecture at the Osgoode Hall
Law School, York University, Canada, entitled ‘Nigerian Federalism: A Case for
a Review’.
“On the occasion, I forewarned that Nigeria would surely run
into stormy economic weather unless we reinvented our federalism, steering the
country away from a military-imposed ‘feeding bottle federalism’ to one
predicated on self-reliance, hard work, enterprise, and resourcefulness.
“This I believe, will catalyse national development and
economic prosperity.
“Many others have also made related calls. Unfortunately,
only a few people were interested in what we were talking about.
“Although we achieved a number of successes, perhaps my
worst experience at the helms of the constitution amendment process was in the
Seventh Assembly.
“We recorded the most elaborate amendments to our
constitution, including the rearrangement of the Legislative Lists to devolve
more powers to the subnational governments by moving certain items like
Aviation, Railway, Power, Stamp Duties, among others to the Concurrent
Legislative List. Unfortunately, the amendments were denied assent by the
President.
“But as a lawyer and lawmaker, I know that case law or
judicial precedent is also a veritable source of law.
“So, I think we should allow the constitution and the laws
of our land to be tested in the courts of law.
“It is untidy for the
presidency or its agency to come through the backdoor to seek legislative
intervention in its favour on the same matter that is prejudice.
“The ball is now in the court of the judiciary and all we
should seek at this juncture is an expedited and courageous adjudication of the
lawsuits.”
Ekweremadu also advised every state to look inwards to boost
its revenues since every part of the country had what it takes to prosper.
“Rather than begrudge states like Rivers and Lagos, all
federating units should be encouraged and enabled to look inwards to reinvent
themselves,” he added.
”They should be encouraged to boost their respective
competitiveness through improved security, human capital development, industry,
and building of egalitarian and cosmopolitan societies.
“This would enable them to attract more investments and
economically viable populations. That is how federations are meant to
function.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com