Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya has expressed fears that the state may not be able to pay it’s workforce if the moves by Rivers, Lagos and other states to begin Value Added Tax (VAT) collection pull through.
He stated is on Monday when he received All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders from Gombe south senatorial district, saying the move by those states should serve as a wake-up call.
Yahaya said if the income generated from VAT ceases, the Gombe state government would be unable to pay salaries, adding that 35 percent of the state’s earnings was from the tax.
He said with what is happening with Lagos and Rivers states on VAT collection, “if they are granted the opportunity to collect VAT, what are we going to do?”
Yahaya said the reason Lagos and Rivers could boast over VAT collection was because of the industries they have in their states, hence, “we must wake up to the reality on the ground.”
