Bauchi Says FG, Rivers VAT War Affects Budget Proposal

Segun Awofadeji

The Bauchi State Government has said that the disagreement between the federal government and Rivers State over who should collect the Value Added Tax (VAT) affected its projections in the budget proposal for 2022 fiscal year.

Speaking with journalists Friday at the Bauchi Government House shortly after the State Executive Council (SEC) adopted a budget proposal, the Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Aminu Hammayo said that “The fight between the federal government and Rivers/Lagos as to who is responsible for collecting VAT was taken into consideration and that has affected our projection.

“We have also defined what our priorities are. Our focus is to try to complete every project that has been started. New projects will only be considered where they become absolutely necessary.”

The Commissioner who stated that Governor Bala Mohammed will present the proposed budget before the Bauchi State House of Assembly next week, explained that the government will focus on completing all its projects next year rather than embarking on new ones.

According to him, “We will look at those things that we consider critical to guide us in the budget. While It would be premature to state the amount of the budget at this stage, we considered a lot of things in arriving at our projections as to the proposed budget.

He added that “We based our assumptions on the oil production benchmark at 1.9 billion barrels per day. We also assumed that the crude oil price would remain at 57 dollars per barrel.

He reiterated that “The fight between the Federal government and Rivers/Lagos as to who is responsible for collecting VAT was taken into consideration and that has affected our projection.