The federal government should not release the N7 billion VAT refund to Bayelsa State government for now to avoid squandering of the money on votes buying, the All Progressives Congress (APC) warned yesterday.
APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena, who gave the warning in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said withholding the refund was important because the governorship election in the state is less than a month away.
The party’s demand is coming barely weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari requested the approval of the National Assembly to refund N10bn to Kogi being the amount of money the state spent on the execution of federal projects in the state.
Nabena specifically 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 governorship election in the state.
He said if the money was released to the outgoing government in the state, it would not serve the purpose it meant to achieve.
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