Rivers & Federal Government are Coequals, Not at War over Tax Collection

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, said at the weekend that the state was not at war with the federal government or any of its agencies.

The clarification followed insinuations in some quarters about hostility between the two tiers of government in the wake of the legal dispute over who is authorised to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) in the state.

Wike made the explanation at a public lecture on “Taxing Powers in a Federal System.” He said Rivers and the federal government were coequals because they derived their life from the constitution.