Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has expressed frustration over remarks accusing Northern governors of laziness in generating revenue, calling such statements uninformed and divisive amidst the ongoing debate on the Tax Reform Bill.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News from 9:40, Governor Sule recounted an upsetting comment that spurred his defense of the North’s contribution to Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue. “Let me tell you one statement that absolutely got me so upset. Someone said these Northern governors should stop being lazy and focus on making money instead of worrying about other people’s money,” he said.
Sule argued that such statements reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of VAT, which is primarily a consumer tax. He explained that Northern states are significant contributors to VAT collections due to their high consumption of certain products.
“Some of the biggest companies paying VAT are the cement companies and sugar companies,” he noted. “60% of the VAT from these companies goes to the Northern part of the country. The sugar alone, roughly 65% of it, is consumed in the North. They’re the ones paying the VAT.”
The governor emphasized that dismissing Northern states as non-contributors to revenue generation undermines the broader understanding of VAT’s mechanics. “The debate has been hijacked by someone who has zero knowledge of what VAT is and how it’s generated, and that’s the problem I have,” Sule remarked.