“States with ethically restrictive social policies with economic consequences,” Mr Wike remarked, “do not deserve Rivers VAT.”

States that have a history of trashing alcoholic products would no longer benefit from Rivers state’s Value Added Tax (VAT), according to governor Nyesom Wike.

Mr Wike intimated that his triumph will affect states with little revenue during a nationwide broadcast after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) failed to secure a stay-of-execution to block Rivers from collecting VAT from firms in the state.

According to a study acquired from the National Bureau of Statistics, Rivers State earned the second-highest Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 2020. (NBS)

Mr Wike made a sly shot at northern states, whose insistence on being ruled by Sharia law has resulted in millions of dollars being lost due to the destruction of alcoholic beverages, while these states collect VAT from other states’ alcohol consumption.

He acknowledged that the Rivers state government’s choice to collect VAT will cause some of these Sharia-compliant jurisdictions to suffer setbacks.

“States with ethically restricted social policies with economic ramifications may, for the time being, be severely affected,” Mr Wike added.

Millions of bottles and cans of alcoholic beverages considered a sin in Islam have been destroyed by the Hisbah police (Sharia law enforcers) throughout the years.

In an interview with Punch, John Simon, a Kano-based distributor of alcoholic drinks, bemoaned how the Hisbah police destroyed thousands of his alcoholic drinks in November last year, costing him over N35 million.

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