The Nigerian Southern Governors’ Forum held a meeting today, Thursday, 16 September 2021 held in the Government House, Enugu, Enugu State reviewed the state of the nation and the progress of implementation of the decisions reached in her previous meetings and further resolved as follows:

1. Expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the States in the Southern Nigeria are enacting or amending the Anti- Open Grazing Laws which align with the uniform template and aspiration of Southern Governors and encouraged the States that are yet to enact this law to do so expeditiously.
2. Encouraged the full operationalization of already agreed regional security outfits; which would meet, share intelligence and collaborate, to ensure the security and safety of the region.
3. Reaffirmed its earlier commitment to fiscal federalism as resolved at the inaugural meeting of the Forum held on Tuesday, 11th May 2021 at Asaba, Delta State and emphasized the need for the Southern States to leverage the legislative competence of their respective State Houses of Assembly as well as representation in the National assembly to pursue its inclusion in the Nigerian Constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment.
4. Following from paragraph “3” above, the meeting resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States.
5. Expressed satisfaction with the handling of issues around the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and ownership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
6. Reiterated their earlier position that the next President of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of Nigeria in line with politics of equity, justice and fairness.

Arakunrin Oluwarotimi O. Akeredolu, SAN
Governor, Ondo State and Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum

Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi says the state is not in support of Rivers, Lagos and other states in their moves to collect Value Added Tax.

Umahi stated this at a dinner organised in honour of a former Chief of Army Staff and Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Amb. Tukur Buratai, on Monday night.

Umahi said Ebonyi was solidly and would continually throw its weight behind the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s collection of VAT.

Speaking at the dinner held at the Governor’s Lodge, Centenary City, Abakaliki, Umahi reiterated that state would not support any of the states collecting VAT, adding “Evil will continue to thrive if good people keep quiet.”

He said, “We must make Ebonyi State very exceptional by rising to the challenges. When we shout true federalism, I say, I agree; but it should be administrative restructuring.

“Ebonyi State is not in support of any state collecting VAT. We are in support that FIRS should continue to collect tax and share.”

South-South Govs should embrace VAT collection now -Orbih
While urging the country’s leaders to speak up against dissenting voices that were capable of polarising the nation, Umahi stressed he was open to debate with any governor from the stable of the Peoples Democratic Party, who felt he had delivered more democracy dividends to his people than the APC-led administration in Ebonyi State.

“People are taking special interest in Ebonyi State and her Governor, positively and negatively; but it is very important to be in the news than for you to say there are 36 states, you will name 35 and say what is the other state?

“We have aborted it; we are now a state to reckon with and we have no apologies.

“When I say I have no apologies, you can talk everything about me but you can not say we have not delivered and so when people open their mouths in PDP to talk about APC, they should know that I belong to APC and if they like, let PDP offer any of their best Governors to come for debate with me and I will defeat any of them; it’s not just to be talking and talking. You don’t sit on people’s sweat and resources and be talking nonsense.

“We have no regrets taking our people to the centre. We have always played at the centre. We are not playing party politics, we are playing politics that will be an advantage to our people, criticise me; no problems. But we need resources, we need friendship with the centre,” Umahi stated.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, has ordered the Judicial Service Committee (JSC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to immediately initiate disciplinary action against the Upper Area Court Judge who issued direct criminal summons against a former governor of the Central Governor of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

The judge, whose name is being withheld, issued the criminal charges against the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra State over alleged serial abuse of office and breach of Code of Conduct for public officers when he was the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria between 29 May 2004 – 29 May 2009.

The Upper Area Court had on 23 August 2021 issued a direct criminal summons against Soludo over perjury, corruption and false assets declaration which is completely outside the jurisdiction of the Upper Area Court.

FCT Judicial Service Committee is under the Chairmanship of the Acting Chief Judge, Hon. Hussein Baba Yusuf.

Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, says the All Progressives Congress is not looking for an Igbo president for the 2023 elections.

Asked whether the APC is committed to zoning 2023 presidential ticket to the South-East on Channels TV on Friday, Mr Uzodinma dismissed speculations on his party zoning presidency to the South-East, saying the APC is not interested in an Igbo presidency.

“We are not looking for an Igbo President. We are looking for a President of Nigeria,” Mr Uzodinma said. “We as a party APC we believe what we are practicing here is partisan democracy and every politician must be loyal to his party. At the end of the day it is the decision of the party that you belong to that will matter.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has stylishly lambasted his Ebonyi State counterpart, David Nweze Umahi during interactive session with Rivers State stakeholders over lingering crisis between the state government and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.

Speaking during the interactive session, Wike said he is not one of those Governors that run to Abuja to praise President Muhammadu Buhari so that they can get more money from him.

Wike also said a psychiatric check should be conducted on the Governor that said God should give Nigeria another President Like Buhari In 2023.

Recall that Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi State during a media chat with State House correspondents in Abuja after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari said the President is a good man with a good heart and prayed to God to give Nigeria another President like him in 2023.

Reacting, Wike said,…some Governors run to Abuja and say they want another President like Buhari in 2023 just to get money from the President….”

Wike also said the other day he overheard another Governor saying God should give Nigeria another President like Buhari.

“…. psychiatric check should be conducted on the governor that said God should give Nigeria another Buhari in 2023” Wike

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has tagged the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra a mere social media propaganda as he, lauds President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Imo state.

Uzodinma who spoke on Politics Today, a Channels TV broadcast on Thursday said the IPOB sit-at-home order was not effective in Imo.

“You could see that the sit at home order is only a social media sit at home order,” the governor said, “the sit at home order is not in Imo State because we never issued any sit at home order, Imo people are excited, Imo people are happy that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one united Nigeria with common destiny, visited Imo state, commissioned projects and spoke to his people,” he added.

President Buhari on Thursday visited Imo State to inaugurate key projects embarked upon by Mr Uzodinma’s government.

The visit had raised security concerns following the IPOB’s sit-at-home order against the visit.

However, Uzodinma discarded the threat, saying that there was no form of security breach or violence during the president’s visit.

Imo is considered to be the epicenter of secessionist agitations by the Igbos led by IPOB.

Adamawa State has announced its preparedness to consider the stance of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the state, making it the first northern state to show interest in the move.

The Rivers Division of the Federal High Court in August held that the state government should take charge of VAT instead of the federal government, after Mr Wike’s administration filed a suit seeking the power to do so, over illegality claims.

The court, presided by Justice Stephen Pam, noted that the Rivers government and not the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was authorised to collect VAT.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has stated that what Nigerians need in 2023 is someone who can unity the security and tackle Insecurity.

The governor called for the jettisoning of zoning, stressing that such is not found in the constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the 1999 constitution.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust published on Sunday, the APC chieftain stated that today there is poverty everywhere and insecurity is almost everywhere.

According to him, if the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which has been tagged a failure had practice zoning, then the ruling APC should not follow such part.

He said: “I have gone through our party’s constitution and did not see where zoning of the presidency is stated. I do not know of any party’s constitution where zoning is stated. I have also read the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and did not see where zoning was mentioned. So we should not import what is not in the constitution.

“If a party like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which we say did not govern this country properly, practised it and it seemingly did not work, why should we consider it? We are practising democracy, and from what we know, zoning is against its principle. It is purely about number and merit.”

Yahaya Bello urged the ruling party to simply look at who can do the job and pull Nigeria out of the woods –someone who will unite and secure the country.