Things are rapidly falling apart between the Federal Government and the component 36 states of the federation as state Attorneys General have sued Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami for non-remittance of stamp duties fund generated from the states.
In a court document seen by Peoples Gazette, the attorneys sued because funds generated from stamp duties are not remitted into states’ coffers.
They asked the court to mandate Malami to pay N176 billion for the backlog of stamp duties received between 2015 and 2020.
The court document reads in part: “An order of this honourable court directing the defendant to pay over to the plaintiffs all the sum of monies amounting to one hundred and seventy-six billion, sixty-seven million, four hundred thousand naira (N176,067,400,000,00) representing ascertained and admitted collected stamp duties on individual persons’ transactions within their respective states for the period of 2015 and 2020 and thereafter till the time of the judgment of this honourable court or any other sum as the plaintiffs may be found entitled by the honourable court.”
They also sought an order of perpetual injunction, “restraining the defendant by himself, privies, agents or any persons by whatever name or how so ever called from appointing anyone for the purpose of collecting Stamp Duties on individual persons’ transactions within the respective states of the plaintiffs henceforth.”
The AGs further sought to declare that the AGF had no right to withhold stamp duty transactions from individuals in their states.
In the document, the governors further argued that Malami should not be allowed to administer or collect stamp duties.
