VAT: I will take over FIRS Offices in Rivers if the agency continues to bully the state –Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has threatened to “take over” all offices of the Federal Inland Revenue Service in the Rivers state if the government agency continues with its “bullying”.

The governor spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, the state capital, while addressing business owners in the state. He told the oil firms, construction companies and other business owners operating in the state to start remitting their Value Added Tax to the state government beginning this September.

Wike lamented about the injustice in the country saying Rivers generated N15bn in June 2021 but got N4.7bn while “Kano produced N2.8bn in June but Kano also got N2.8bn. Sometimes you don’t want to believe these things exist”, he said

The governor said he cannot continue to beg the Federal Government for what belongs to his state.

“I overhead the FIRS chairman saying that he will show me the powers of the Federal Government that the Federal Government will muzzle the judiciary. It is not my business. The court has decided,” the governor said.

“All these bullying (by) FIRS. They should mind the state they are bullying. FIRS should be very careful. You don’t bully a state like us…I have the political will to do a lot of things. I am not one of those governors that will shy away. If they continue to bully us, all their offices in the state, I will take,” he stated.

“From this September, we will start collecting our VAT,” Wike said, warning that his government “will not look back but seal up the premises of companies” who fail to comply with the new directive.”