States banning alcohol sales shouldn’t share VAT on beer

A former Minister of Health under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Isaac Adewole, has called for fiscal federalism, which allows states to receive funds based on what they generate.

Fiscal federalism refers to how federal, state, and local governments share funding and administrative responsibilities within a federal system.

Speaking on Friday on “Inside Sources with Laolu Akande,” a socio-political program on Channels Television, Adewole maintained that any state prohibiting the sale of alcoholic drinks should not benefit from the value-added tax (VAT) on such products from the federation account.

“I am an apostle of fiscal and physical federalism,” Adewole stated.

“We need to look at how we share the resources of this country. If you have a law that prevents you from selling alcohol, that law should also prevent you from sharing money from alcohol.

“We should be honest with ourselves. States that prohibit the sale of alcohol should not share the VAT from alcohol. Straightforward.”

Adewole, who was also a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), supported President Bola Tinubu’s call for restructuring and resource control by sub-nationals.

He urged governors to allow local government councils to function independently.

“Then we should also ask each state what they are bringing to the table. A situation where states only share money from oil is absurd, and that is why we are where we are today because the other states are not bringing anything to the table,” he added.

“What is happening to our gold, bitumen, and lithium? The resources from all of these, where are they? The only thing we know is oil money.”