Comedian Alibaba has reacted to Value Added Tax (VAT) controversy triggered by the Rivers state government’s win in court and insistence on collecting the consumption tax generated in the state.
Alibaba supported the move and also said that states can’t be destroying items generating funds for other states and still collect the same money when it is shared with them.
Sharing a screenshot of Governor Nyesom Wike’s Facebook post in which he disclosed that Rivers and Lagos states had their allocation slashed while Kano kept what it generated, the comedian advocated for states to control their resources and pay between 15-30% of their internally generated revenue to the centre to help run the government.
He said this will help stop the agitation for state creation, make federal appointments unattractive, reduce ghost workers, put an end to religious issues and also reveal what the true population of a state is.
Alibaba wrote “You can not be destroying in your state what is generating funds for other states and collecting same funds when it is shared to you. That’s why all states should control their resources and pay between 15-30% of their IGR to the centre to help run the government. Trust me, all the agitation for state creation will reduce. Governors who want to carry on like their states are as financially buoyant as Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta…..will know what bankruptcy is. You will see what the real population of the state is. All those crazy employment of people and ghost workers into an already over-bloated federal civil service will cease. This will put an end to religious issues. You can ban all you want to ban. Beer, nightclubs, mannequins, indecent dressing, female drivers in your state. Do all you want. But you will have to find the money to fund it. What do I know sef? Shebu I am just an ordinary comedian?”