The All Progressives Congress (APC) has cautioned the Federal Government against the release of N7 billion Value Added Tax (VAT) refund to the Bayelsa State government for now.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Yekini Nabena, in a statement yesterday, said that the call was aimed at averting a situation whereby the monies could be squandered on vote-buying as the governorship poll in the state is around the corner.
The party urged the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to delay approval of a N7 billion VAT refund to the Bayelsa State government until after the conduct of the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state.
“There is a N7 billion VAT refund to Bayelsa State awaiting the Minister of Finance approval. The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has committed to a commercial bank to give him the N7 billion with an agreement that the ministry will in turn pay the money to them,” the APC chieftain said.
The APC deputy spokesman said that if the money is released to the outgoing government in the state, it would not serve the purpose it meant to achieve.
“The minister is advised not to approve the VAT refund until after the governorship election. Governor Dickson has recently been in the news on account of several schemes to raise money through diversion of state funds to fund the election of his stooge and Bayelsa governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),” the party said.