Ubong Sampson – Uyo
Governors of southern states in Nigeria under the aegis of Southern Governors Forum (SGF) have maintained that the next president of the country must be a southerner.
The position was taken, Thursday, during a closed door meeting of the forum which held at government house, Enugu, Enugu State.
Reading a 6-point communique drawn from resolutions reached at the meeting to journalists, Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, noted that it was in line with politics of equity, justice and fairness that the forum reiterated their earlier position that the next president of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of the country.
Akeredolu stated that the forum resolved to encourage the full operationalization of the already agreed regional security outfits; which he said, would meet, share intelligence and collaborate, to ensure the security and safety of the Southern region of Nigeria.
While stating the forum’s resolve to support the position that the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) falls within the powers of the states, he noted that the forum had met to review the state of the nation and the progress of implementation of the decisions reached in her previous meetings.
He said the meeting reaffirmed the southern governors’ commitment to fiscal federalism as resolved at the inaugural meeting of the forum held earlier in May this year in Asaba, Delta State.
According to him, the forum emphasized the need for the southern states to leverage on the legislative competence of their respective states houses of assembly, as well as representation in the national assembly to pursue the inclusion of fiscal federalism in the Nigerian constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment.
“The meeting resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States.”
Akeredolu said the forum expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the states in southern Nigeria are enacting or amending the anti- open grazing laws which he said, align with the uniform template and aspiration of the southern governors, while encouraging the states yet to enact this law to do so expeditiously.
On the Petroleum Industry ACT (PIA), the chairman said the forum expressed satisfaction with the handling of issues around the PIA and ownership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
The meeting had the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and that of Osun State, Isiaka Oyetola.
Others were the host, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Bayelsa, Duoye Diri; Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Oluwaseyi Abiodun of Ogun State, while those of Oyo, Ekiti, Edo, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states were represented by their Deputy Governors
