A tax practitioner and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Dr Francis Ubani, has called on the Supreme Court to urgently deliver judgment in the long-running legal dispute between Rivers State and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, now the Nigeria Revenue Service, over the constitutional authority to collect Value Added Tax.
Ubani made the appeal in a statement issued on Monday, arguing that the five-year delay in resolving the dispute had created uncertainty for governments, businesses and taxpayers across the country.
The tax expert urged the apex court to provide a definitive interpretation of the constitutional issues raised in the case and bring clarity to Nigeria’s fiscal federalism framework.
“With humility and utmost respect for the independent judicial institution in Nigeria, I appeal to the Supreme Court to interpret the true position of the Constitution and give an urgent and swift judgment on the litigation between the Rivers State Government and the Federal Inland Revenue Service over Value Added Tax,” he said.
According to him, the matter had remained unresolved since the Court of Appeal granted a stay of execution in 2021 following a Federal High Court judgment that reportedly favoured Rivers State.
