Southern Govs Meet In Enugu

Southern governors are currently meeting in Enugu State. The meeting is coming about two months after their last meeting in Lagos State.

Among the governors who have arrived for the meeting include: Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, and Bayelsa’s Douye Diri.

They were received at the Enugu State Government House by Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the host governor.

While there is no officially published agenda for the meeting, it has been speculated that the governors are likely to discuss the ongoing drama surrounding the Value Added Tax (VAT) between states and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), open grazing and security issues.

The meeting is coming just over two months after the governors met in Lagos, where they made a series of decisions including banning open grazing.

The governors had set September 5 as the deadline for states in southern Nigeria to promulgate the anti-open grazing law.

Although only seven states – Ebonyi, Abia, Bayelsa, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo – beat the deadline, more states have enacted the law banning open grazing.

Enugu, Lagos, and Akwa Ibom were the latest states to enact the law against open grazing.