Northern Governors Forum has rejected the call for rotational presidency by their southern counterpart, noting that it is against the constitution of the country.
The governors also opposed the position of their southern counterparts on value added tax (VAT).
This decision was reached after a meeting of the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Monday in Kaduna.
The chairman of the forum, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, issued a statement on the outcome of the meeting.
He said “some Northern States Governors had earlier expressed views for a power-shift to the three geo-political zones in the South with a view to promoting unity and peace in the nation.
“Notwithstanding their comments, the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the Presidency must go to the South.
“The statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:- score the majority votes; score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.
“In the case of run-up, simple majority wins the election,” the statement said.
The governors also deliberated on the controversy on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on which Lagos and Rivers States have made laws.
“As responsible leaders, while we are constraint by the fact that the matter is subjudice, we however for the purposes of educating the public make the following observations:
“The judgement of the Federal high Court calls to question the constitutionality of VAT, withholding tax, education tax, Niger Delta Development Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, 13% derivation, National Economic Development Council and many other currently levied and collected by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Federal Inlands Revenue Service.
“Rivers and Lagos State Governments had enacted their own VAT laws and the Southern Governors Forum have expressed support for this course of action”
