Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday said the ongoing legal battle between Rivers State Government and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on the Value Added Tax (VAT) will strengthen the rule of law.
He said the state’s decision to seek judicial interpretation on VAT collection was aimed at deepening democracy.
Wike spoke when the Managing Director of BusinessDay newspaper, Dr. Ogho Okiti, led a delegation to present a letter of nomination to him as the “BusinessDay Most Impactful Governor Award” at Government House, Port Harcourt.
The governor commended the management of the newspaper for acknowledging the numerous projects his administration executed since 2015 and dedicated the award to the entire people of Rivers.
Wike stated that besides the implementation of physical projects in the state, he was also concerned about ensuring the application of the rule of law in the country.
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He explained that when the legal issue on VAT collection came up, some people accused him of trying to divide the country, even when they had not bothered to check the provisions of the 1999 Constitution on VAT.
He said: “I am happy today that the Attorney-General (of the Federation) has gone to the Supreme Court to sue Rivers State government over VAT. Now that Attorney General has gone to court, we are happy.
“But, nobody wants to talk about him dividing the country. It is only when the Rivers State government goes to court that they will say we want to divide the country.
“There is nothing wrong in interpreting the law. The judiciary has been given an assignment and they took an oath of office to interpret the law.
“If you don’t go to court, how will we know the position of the law? How will democracy thrive? How will we know that this country respects the rule of law?”
The governor said the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, was among those that commended him for approaching the court over the VAT matter.
Wike recalled that during the just-concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference, Senator Enang also commended his administration for implementing full autonomy for the state judiciary.
He said it was, however, baffling that the same presidential aide could turn round to accuse him of treating judges badly in the state.
The governor reiterated that the Rivers government would not succumb to any committee set up by the Federal Government on the autonomy of the state judiciary.
According to him, such a committee is unnecessary since the 1999 constitution explicitly guarantees the independence of the judiciary.
To him, though the Federal Government claims to support the autonomy of the judiciary, in reality, it had deliberately stifled that arm of government.
He said: “Fake autonomy which they are brandishing for the judiciary is not true. If the judiciary has autonomy, go and check the status of the federal courts. If judiciary has autonomy, would they have invaded the house of a Justice of the Supreme Court?”
Wike said the BusinessDay award would spur his administration to do more for the people.
He said: “So many people talk about when you’re in the second tenure, it is a period for you to relax, it is a period for you to take stock. I believe that it is a period for you to do more for your people, for the state.”
Okiti said the award was conferred on Wike based on the newspaper’s observation of his achievements since 2015.
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