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  • Twitter, Facebook, Google, others now to pay tax in Nigeria

    Twitter, Facebook, Google, others now to pay tax in Nigeria

    The Senate yesterday passed the Finance Bill 2021, transmitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, on December 7, 2021.

    The passage by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Joint Committee on Finance; Customs, Excise and Tariff; Trade and Investment.

    One of the major highlights of the Bill is the aspect empowering the Federal Inland Revenues Service (FIRS) to assess non-resident firms like Twitter, Facebook, Google,  and Netflix, among others.

    They are to be taxed  on fair and reasonable turnover earned from digital services to Nigerian customers.

    The Finance Bill further mandates FIRS to appoint persons for the purpose of collection and remittance of non-resident taxes.

    In his presentation, Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, said the Bill seeks to support the implementation of the 2022 Federal Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability by proposing key specific taxation, such as Customs Duties, fiscal charges and other relevant laws.

    Adeola, representing Lagos West, said a total of 12 Acts were amended under the Finance Bill which contains 39 clauses.

    He said the Bill seeks to promote fiscal equity, align domestic tax laws with global best practices, introduce tax incentives for infrastructure and the capital market and support small businesses with a view to increasing government’s revenue.

    “The Finance Act 2020 was predicated essentially on having no new taxes and no new incentives due to the COVID -19 impact on the economy, as such, it was structured across four broad thematic areas; Enacting counter cyclical measures and crisis intervention initiatives; Tax, fiscal responsibility and public procurement reforms; Reforming fiscal incentives policies for job creation; ensuring closer coordination of monetary, trade and fiscal policies and Enhancing tax administration,” Adeola said.

    The committee based on its observations, recommended five per cent Capital Gains Tax to be imposed on shares’ disposal transactions where gains exceed N250 million in 12 months.

    It recommended that Gaming and Lottery companies be taxable, as it applies to oil and gas companies.

    The Bill underscored the need for midstream and downstream oil and gas companies to be liable to corporate tax, without the benefit of tax exemptions for firms exporting goods to earn foreign exchange.

    The Bill equally sought more powers for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to collect the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) levies on Nigerian companies and to streamline tax, levy collection from Nigerian companies in line with the administration’s ease of doing business reforms.

    Read Also: Twitter ban: SERAP loses suit against Fed Govt

    The committee stressed the need for the Federal Government to ensure that FIRS deploys both proprietary and third-party tech applications to collect information from taxpayers, enhance confidentiality and non-disclosure and to enable them investigate tax evasion and other crimes and sanction tax defaulters.

    The Bill further  empowers FIRS to assess and tax non-resident firms on fair and reasonable turnover basis on revenue earned from digital services to Nigerian customers, with a further mandate to appoint persons for the purpose of collection and remittance of non- resident taxes.

    The committee demanded necessary reforms on securities lending transactions, minimum tax for insurance companies and companies in general, taxation of unit trust income, real estate investment trust, and insurance companies capitalization by NAICOM in line with tax equity.

    It urged the government to mandate FIRS as principal tax revenue collection agency, to collaborate with law enforcement agencies and MDAs in streamlining tax collections by enhancing public financial Management reforms.

    According to the joint committee, doing so would reduce revenue leakages and better track actual expenditure to revenue performance in line with the provision of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), Fiscal Rules and other Extant Money Acts.

    It also called for the diversification of Nigeria’s revenue from oil to other sectors to fund critical expenditures.

    The committee demanded  an increase of 0.5 per cent in education tax, pushed for close monitoring of unfolding development and policies on VAT, tax incentives, projected increase tariff on tobacco, alcohol and carbonated drinks to fund vital expenditure on health, education and security, with the possibility of introduction of new taxes, tariffs and levies as the economy recovers.

  • Who clinches APC national chairmanship position?

    Who clinches APC national chairmanship position?

    Barring any last-minute development, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appears ready to hold its national convention in February next year for the election of new members of the National Working Committee (NWC). The Mai Mala Buni-led National caretaker committee is yet to release the guidelines for the convention. JIDE ORINTUNSIN examines the chances of the chairmanship aspirants

    After the February 2022 national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the 19-month reign of the 13-man Governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention planning Committee (CECPC) will come to an end. The committee was initially inaugurated on June 25, 2020, by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), to last for six months, but through political manoeuvring and scheming in connivance with the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) had its tenure extended twice.

    Barring any last-minute change, the party looks set to make a date with history in February next year, as members will be electing its third set of National Working Committee (NWC) members. There has been a series of activities within the party in the last four weeks when the February date was announced; with more aspirants throwing their hats into the ring, jostling for one position or the other in the new set of NWC. Even without an official pronouncement on zoning arrangement, the jostling, consultations and scheming for various positions by members are instructive and indicative of the fact that stakeholders are set to have the full statutory organs of the party in place in line with the dictates and spirit of the party’s constitution.

    While some aspirants are awaiting the details of the zoning arrangement, some have declared their intentions to contest for various offices. This explains the avalanche of posters, banners and billboards of aspirants contesting every available space within and around the APC national secretariat in Abuja. As at the last count, no fewer than 10 aspirants from the North (an indication that the office may have been zoned to the region) are jostling to be the third elected national chairman of the over 40 million members strong APC. The position was vacated by Oshiomole on June 25, 2020, in a “palace coup” allegedly planned by the governors of the party and executed by its NEC.

    Though the Buni-led CECPC is yet to release the guidelines for the conduct of the national convention, the intimidating influence and control of party structures by the state governors during the party’s just-conducted ward, local government and state congresses are pointers to the enormity of the powers of the state chief executives in determining who gets what position at the convention.

    The gladiators jostling for the party’s highest office include Sunny Moniedafe; Senator George Akume; Senator Tanko Al-Makura; former Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda; former governors of Zamfara and Borno states, Abdulaziz Yari and Ali Modu Sherrif, Senator Sani Mohammed Musa; Malam Saliu Mustapha and of recent a young Minna-based politician and right activist, Mohammadu Saidu Estu joined the race.

     

    Yari:

    Yari is one of the forerunners for the plum office of the national chairman. His ambition to be the party’s third elected chairman was first made public late last year. A committed party loyalist, Yari believes he has what it takes to lead the APC to victory come 2023. He relies on his towering credentials of being a one-time chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), a position that gave him a lot of influence and respect among his former colleagues and some serving governors of clinching the position.

    Acknowledged to have a very strong base at home in Zamfara State, the defection of the incumbent Governor Bello Matawalle from the Peoples’ Democratic Party  (PDP) in June this year has eroded his influence and altered the power balance in the state; a development political pundits say may have a debilitating effect on his chairmanship ambition.

    The outcome at the just conducted congresses in the state showed that Yari may have lost control of the party structure. While Matawalle and Senator Kabir Marafa had parallel congresses, Yari’s faction, led by Lawan Mohammed Kaura, boycotted the three exercises held last month in pursuant of a court case challenging the dissolution of the state executive committee, being led by his group shortly after the governor defected.

    Recent news of a possible defection of the strongman of Zamfara State to an opposition party has dealt a big setback on his aspiration. For the pro-Yari group in Zamfara, the campaign of defection was the handy work of those who are afraid of the rising profile of the immediate past governor.

    Even his former political opponent and now ally, Senator Kabir Marafa described the defection tale as laughable. Hear him: “We (Marafa and Yari) are senior engineers and architects in the project team that designed, built, and maintained the APC from inception to date. This is the wishful thinking on the part of the minions parading themselves as the new owners of the party today. We are not going to leave the complex in the hands of those who were labourers, masons, plumbers, and carpenters in the design and construction days; no way! We are not going anywhere. Emir no de go transfer.”

    However, the Talata Marafa-born politician, who is a focused fighter, seems set to accomplish his mission of leading Africa’s largest political party. He said: “If God decides that it should be, it is going to be. People can manoeuvre and do all sorts of calculations, but they will not prevail. All I know is this, I can lead this party and they know what I can do. Some persons can fabricate lies but at the end of the day, the truth will prevail. There are so many other things they have said that is a mere tissue of lies meant to try to get a good man down but they will never succeed.”

     

    Sheriff:

    The former Borno State governor is the most controversial and visible figure in the national chairmanship race of the APC. A tested grassroots politician, Sheriff is a leader of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) — one of the legacy parties that metamorphosized into the APC. He broke the record in 2007 when was re-elected as governor; in the history of Borno State, nobody has achieved that feat before. An alumnus of the prestigious London School of Business, the Ngala-born Ali Modu Sheriff has promised to bring his wealth of experience in the private sector, as a lawmaker in the upper chamber of the National Assembly and as party administrator in four political parties to bear if elected as the chairman of APC come February 2022.

    A tested party administrator, Sheriff’s political clout in 2014 saw him emerging as the national chairman of the then ruling PDP shortly after he dumped the APC. But, his tenure was cut short by a Supreme Court order. His NWC was sacked by the apex court. By April 26, 2018, he returned back to the APC. In his bid to secure the plum job at the convention, it is on record that Sheriff has traversed almost all the 36 states, holding crucial and strategic consultations and meetings with the various blocs and tendencies in the party for endorsement of his ambition.

    A man of enormous financial and political muscle, political pundits continue to see his past in PDP as an albatross to his APC national chairmanship aspiration. Despite his measurable influence in Bornu State, it is on record that his relationship with Governor Babagana Zulum is nothing to bank on. Political mind readers said Zulum’s heart and body language are visibly in support of Senator Kashim Shettima (another aspirant from the state).

    Perceived to be a very strong-willed and bold person, some political pundits argue that the emergence of a Sheriff-led NWC will bring back the Oshiomole era. To them, the Ngala born politician may be a hard nut to crack. In the view of an Enugu based party chieftain: “As much as the party needs a firm leader now, we must also look for a person with great virtue of diplomacy. A Sheriff-led NWC will be too difficult to handle. His emergence will bring back the Comrade Oshiomole days. He may be too tough to handle.”

    But a leader of the Sheriff’s mobilization team, Cairo Ojugbo said the party needs a man of the Sheriff’s pedigree at this crucial period.

     

    Yuguda:

    A smooth and silent political operator, Isa Yuguda is a former governor of Bauchi State. The former Minister of Aviation is another gladiator seeking to lead the ruling APC NWC. An accomplished banker, Yuguda prides himself as the most qualified party man for the job of the chairman. He tells anyone who cares to listen that his mission to serve is divine and based on his knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of power.

    If elected as the national chairman, Yuguda has promised to ensure justice and equity are entrenched in the party. He has also spoken about guaranteeing party supremacy, which he assured would help put an end to the various crisis rocking the APC. He said: “I felt I was strongly favoured by the Almighty God who created us. Rather than relegating myself to the bush where I am now, I have decided to come back and offer myself because I know I have been favoured.”

    Yuguda has gone out of public glare in recent times. Indeed, he sees his chairmanship aspiration as a re-launch to politics. He recently told reporters in Abuja that despite the ‘terrible’ nature of Nigerian politics, he is happy to return to the murky political waters to offer his services because he has been highly favoured by God.

    He said:  ”I was privileged to serve Nigeria for six years as minister and eight as governor. I think I have served long enough in the Villa to know the dynamism in the power at the centre. This is why I said let me give it a shot; if it be, good and fine and if it doesn’t, the Almighty Allah will not say I did not come out.”

    His chances of clinching the position appear to be slim because he does not belong to any of the major political blocs within the party.

     

    Shettima:

    Senator Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Bornu State is a highly influential federal lawmaker whose administrative acumen, excellent human relations and intellectual capability are the unique selling points that are at play in his chairmanship aspiration.

    Barely three months to the convention, Shettima is yet to make public his intention. But, political watchers and major tendencies in the party appear to prefer his chairmanship. His supporters are quick to brandish his high sense of justice, especially in his choice of a performing successor.

    The political pedigree of Shettima as a former two-term governor of Borno State and now a lawmaker put him in high stead for the assignments and responsibilities of the office of the national chairman of the APC.

    Despite his enormous goodwill among former and serving governors, federal lawmakers and party chieftains across the board, Shettima supporters are quick to play up President Muhammadu Buhari’s one-time testimonial on the chairmanship hopeful. In a presidential congratulatory message, Buhari was quoted to have said: “I am proud of Shettima for his achievements in office as one of the best governors in the country for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “Despite the challenges of insecurity, he was able to make his mark. Because he was able to keep his key campaign promises, he proved his mettle and did not disappoint the electorate. Senator Shettima will be remembered for many things, including the fact that he handed the state over to Prof Babagana Zulum, a capable and deserving successor.”

    In a developed democracy this testimonial was enough to earn any candidate the office of his dream, but here in Nigeria, many factors will be at play. Though Shettima enjoys the backing of his successor (Governor Zulum), his strange relationship with his political godfather — Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who is equally on the ballot paper for the same office may hinder Shettima’s ambition of becoming the next APC chairman.

     

    Al-Makura:

    Tanko Al-Makura is another high contender for the job. The 69-year-old businessman turned politician was the former governor of Nasarawa State. He is of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) legacy bloc of the APC; the only bloc that is yet to have a shot at the national chairmanship seat since the establishment of the party. Promoters of Al-Makura’s candidacy also believe that he may enjoy presidential backing, owing to his CPC roots.

    Like Shettima, Al-Makura also enjoys the support of his successor, Gov. Abdullahi Sule. He also enjoys the support of some members of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF); being one of its earliest members and the Senate caucus.

    Until his recent encounter with the anti-graft agency — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Al-Makura was seen as a top contender and less controversial figure in the race.

    Read Also: 2023: Challenges before Ayu

    Goje:

    Senator Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State is another former governor seeking to lead the party during the post-Buhari era. Goje got elected as governor in Gombe State under the platform of the PDP. His political influence was instrumental to the APC taking over the state during the last general elections.

    Currently, a third-term senator representing Gombe Central and chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Goje is a committed party man. His loyalty saw him dropping his ambition to run for the 9th Senate presidency. He stepped down for current Senate president, Ahmed Lawan.

    A highly respected politician with national clout and appeal, Goje’s campaign handlers have promised that his leadership will deliver a party where the constitution, hierarchy and supremacy are respected.

    But, Observers in the Northeast have expressed fear that the cold war between the lawmaker and Governor Inuwa Yahaya over the control of the party structure may affect his ambition. They argue that the influential role of the Progressive Governors Forum in determining who gets what in the party may be deployed by Yahaya to stall Goje’s aspiration.

     

    Moniedafe:

    Sunny Moniedafe is the first to declare his intention to succeed Oshiomole as the next APC national chairman. As early as the beginning of the year, the former FCT chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has thrown himself up for contention for the office of chairman of the APC.

    Born and raised in Adamawa State by parents from Delta State, he describes himself as the best man for the job. He said his candidature will unify the party because he neither plays ethnic nor religious politics.

    Moniedafe added: “I’m vying for the office of national chairman of the APC because I want to give the party a new sense of direction. I have no godfather and I am no pushover. I will contest if it is zoned to the Northeast. If it is not zoned to us, I will contest any position zoned to us because I want to serve.”

    He may not have occupied any elective office, but Monieafe insist that his administrative experience in party management even before the APC was established is legendary. He said: “If given the opportunity to serve as national chairman of the APC, my team will, first of all, re-affirm the respect for and supremacy of the party’s constitution, and ensure its effective implementation, whilst maintaining utmost discipline.

    “I will put every bit of my energy to institute an effective working synergy among all party structures and arms of the government, which is critical to ensuring that promises made during campaigns are not mere rhetoric, but will be accelerated and fulfilled to the letter for the good of Nigeria and its citizens, as well as excellent global relations.

    “My dealings as a national chairman will exhibit absolute transparency in the party’s affairs as one of its hallmarks. We will be free of any form of influence or corruption whatsoever.”

     

    Mustapha:

    Saliu Mustapha’s name may not be very popular — he may have not been in the elite club of former governors — but he is well known in the political circle. The young and silent businessman turned politician is as good as any of the aspirants. Mallam Saliu Mustapha represents new hope in the political landscape of the country.

    An astute grassroots politician from Kwara State, he has paid his dues in political party administration. Mustapha, a founding member of the APC, was the national deputy chairman of the defunct CPC.  In his entire sojourn in the political terrain of well over two decades, he has held various administrative positions.

    A second most senior member of the defunct CPC, Mustapha may cash in on this to clinch the party’s highest office; more so when the CPC bloc is angling to produce the next national chairman. Both the defunct ACN and the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) blocs have had their slots; so it is the turn of the CPC bloc to produce the next national chairman.

    Mustapha has promised to be the bridge between the old and the young generations in the party. Rule of Law and party supremacy, as well as strict adherence to the letters and spirit of the party constitution, will be the guiding rules of his leadership. He has also promised to build on the gains so far made by the Buni-led caretaker committee.

     

    Musa:

    The 54-year old lawmaker represents the Niger East senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Fondly called “Sani 313” by his political admirers, the chairmanship hopeful represents the new political yearnings.

    He may not have the credentials of being a former governor or minister, the frontline chairmanship aspirant and Gbagyi born businessman turned politician stands out as the man to beat at the party’s February national convention.

    Sani cut his teeth in politics through his late father, Alhaji Tanko Bawa Musa, Iyan Minna who was the chairman of Piakoro Local Government Area, and from his elder brother, Abdullahi Musa, a former member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003.

    A first-timer and serving senator, Sani 313 launched himself into the murky waters of Nigerian politics in 2017. He contested for the PDP governorship ticket and lost. This forced him to return to his private business. By 2019, luck shined on him and was elected to the Senate to represent Niger East senatorial district on the platform of the APC.

    A man of proven integrity, Sani 313 who recently declared his intention to become the next national chairman said: “My experience in private and public sectors, the capacity required to manage diverse people and interests, irrespective of tribe, religion and region is already imbibed by me. I am a mobilizer, a bridge-builder, and a strategist that is passionate about the wholesome development of the nation. I possess a strong interpersonal skill by demonstrating the utmost discretion and integrity in all of my dealings.”

    Musa’s political credentials may not be intimidating, what he lacks in party politics, he has in abundance in human management. A focused and humane person, his victory at the convention will bring a new lease to the party.

    He has robust acceptability among the old and young party members, as well as among the various statutory organs of the party. This explains the increasing number of endorsements of his aspiration by many groups across the political, ethnic and religious divide in the last three weeks. He was recently adjudged as the best innovative senator by Telegraph Newspaper.

    He is believed to have the endorsement of his governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, who may use his influence as a member of the Buni-led caretaker committee to swing support for Sani 313.

     

    Akume:

    A two-term governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume is the current Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs. A distinguished Senator, Akume is seen by his supporters as the most eligible aspirant to occupy the post of the national chairman of the APC.

    A former minority leader of the Senate from June 2011 to June 2015, Akume who recently opened a campaign office for the actualization of his dream is poised to be the next national chairman of the party. One of his supporters said: “Our leader has all it takes to lead the party. Having successfully governed a state for eight years, he was a senator, where he was elected as Minority Leader because of the traits his colleagues saw in him and now a minister. This is the type of leader we need to bring his experience to bear in piloting the affairs of the party.”

    The coast is clear, the party looks set for the national convention and the job schedule for the incoming NWC is designed. What is important is the emergence of a national chairman that will be able to manage the fallout of the congresses conducted, effectively prepare and fashion a strategy that will ensure victory for the party comes 2023.

    In the words of a chieftain of the party, Abdullahi Jalo: “The kind of national chairman we need now can unite the party, he must have grassroots appeal and command the respect of all members.”

     

    Estu:

    Mohammed Saidu Etsu (popularly known as Mr. Power — for his struggle to see to the actualization of 20 hours of power supply per day in Niger State since 2018), was born on Tuesday, March 12, 1985, into the family of Alhaji Saidu Etsu and Hajiya Fatima Saidu of Etsu-Tasha, in Edati Local Government of Niger State.

    Arguably the youngest of the pack, he is the ambassador of the “Not Too Young to Run Act”. His clean record throws him up a future leader to watch. Not known to be of any major political bloc, Estu depends on the teeming young men and women to see him through in the fulfilment of his chairmanship aspiration.

    A grassroots politician and a youth leader, the 36-year-old former journalist with Leadership Newspaper, was an ANPP Youth Leader in his local government between 2006 and 2010 and a pioneer member of the CPC Youth Vanguard in 2011. Mohammed, a political upstart may not have occupied any elected or appointed position, he was a central figure in the “Big Idea” presidential campaign team of the late Sam Nda Isaiah in 2015, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2015 and 2019.

  • 14 reasons Buhari withheld assent to Electoral Act Bill

    14 reasons Buhari withheld assent to Electoral Act Bill

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday explained why he withheld assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which he has returned to the National Assembly.

    His letter on why he withheld assent was read at both chambers.

     

    Here are 14 of the reasons the President gave for not signing the Bill into law.

    1. Direct primary has serious adverse legal, financial, economic and security consequences which cannot be accommodated at the moment considering the nation’s peculiarities.

    2. It has implications on the rights of citizens to participate in the government as constitutionally ensured.

    3. Conduct of direct primaries across the 8,809 wards across the length and breadth of the country will lead to a significant spike in the cost of conducting primary elections by parties

    Read Also: Disquiet as Buhari declines assent to Electoral Act Bill

    4. It will increase the cost of monitoring such elections by INEC

    5. It will raise financial crimes and constitute further strain on the economy.

    6. It will stifle smaller parties without the enormous resources required to mobilise all party members for the primaries.

    7. It will pose huge security challenges as the security agencies will also be overstretched

    8. It will be open to participation from all and sundry and such a large turn-out without effective security coordination will also engender intimidation and disruptions

    9. It is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy which is characterised by freedom of choice.

    10. The proposed amendment may also give rise to plethora of litigations based on diverse grounds and issues of law including but not limited to the fact that the proposed amendment cannot work in retrospect given that the existing constitution of the parties already registered with INEC permits direct, indirect and consensus primaries.

    11. The direct implication of institutionalising only direct primaries is the aggravation of over-monetisation of the process as there will be much more people a contestant needs to reach out to thereby further fuelling corruption and abuse of office by incumbent contestants who may resort to public resources to satisfy the increased demands and logistics of winning party primaries.

    12. Direct primaries are also subject or susceptible to manipulation or malpractices as most parties cannot boast of reliable and verified membership register or valid means of identification which, therefore, means non-members can be recruited to vote by wealthy contestants to influence the outcome.

    13. Rival parties can also conspire and mobilise people to vote against a good or popular candidate in a party during its primaries just to pave way for their own candidates.

    14. It is undemocratic to restrict the procedure or means of nomination of candidates by political parties, as it also amounts to undue interference in the affairs of political parties.

  • BREAKING: Aisha Buhari orders staff to proceed on indefinite leave

    BREAKING: Aisha Buhari orders staff to proceed on indefinite leave

    First Lady Aisha Buhari has ordered all her staff to proceed on leave until further notice.

    This was contained in a short terse statement posted on Aisha Buhari’s official Instagram handle (@aishambuhari), signed by Dr. Mohammed Kamal, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Office of the First Lady on Health and Development Partners.

    Kamal stated that official engagements and work will continue virtually.

    “This serves to inform all staff that the office of the First Lady will be closed for the upcoming festive period of Christmas and New Year

    “To this end, all staff are requested to proceed on leave, until further notice

    “Please note that official engagements and work can also continue virtually as it was done previously”.

    This is coming amid photos of Aisha which have been in circulation on social media in connection with insinuations that she may be heavy.

    Read Also: Aisha Buhari, Alade, Mrs. Abdulrazaq for Kwara summit

    The Nation observed the photos had surfaced after the First Lady landed in Abuja on her return from the Turkey-Africa summit which she had attended with President Muhammadu Buhari

    But Sulaiman Haruna, an aide to Aisha Buhari, has denied rumours that the first lady is pregnant.

    Haruna, Aisha’s spokesperson, in a chat with BBC Pidgin, said: “I can assure you 100 per cent that our first lady is perfectly okay.

    “She is neither sick nor pregnant as some reports claim.

    “Some of these reports are from mischief-makers who don’t mean well.

    “You know, nowadays, people can tamper with photos.”

  • PERSON OF THE YEAR 2021: NOBODY

    PERSON OF THE YEAR 2021: NOBODY

    Normally, crisis throws up heroes. As the year unfolded, we looked for all the ingredients of a man or woman, or a coalescence of distinction. We peered for one to stand up and stand out, to bob a head over the ruins, to stride ahead of the pack, and to ride the storm. This newspaper searched, and there were many episodes. Storms without heroes. We sought the man of action, the selfless avatar, the David against a Goliath of evil, the imagination overturning a riddle. It was a fruitless search.

    Big events tended to be about fear and trembling. The nation, as we exit the year, is still in the grips of fear and trembling.

    Was it the firestorm of bandits? We saw the roads becoming more of rides to Golgotha than jolly rides. It was a year of many roads being commissioned across the country, from the Southwest, to the Southeast to the Northwest. Yet the year ends with so many aches in Sokoto, tears in the Plateau and blood spills in the Southeast. Ritual bloodshed in the Southwest.

    Where men of no virtue made a virtue of rampage and rapine, deaths and broken peace skulking a people on the farm and bucolic quiet.

    But it was across the country, and so bad was it that we wanted to define banditry into tranquility, barbarism into solemnity. If we gave it a name, we could make it a grave. But because the deaths still crawled, we had no sepulchre for the crime.

    The bandits came to mosques, came to churches, came to schools. They boasted and they damned, and they took the weak to the bushes. Teachers and pupils groping in arboreal glades like Hades. Their parents pined at home. Governments issued statements. The goons enlisted a cleric as public relations maven. They scandalised governors, immiserated markets, demobilised the military.

    In this, we saw no governor who cowed them. They sterilised the peace first. Then the governors sterilised the networks. But then, they sterilised their states instead, while the network of asinine men of the dark connected for monstrous consequences. So, the governors failed. The soldiers stumbled.

    The many planes, the Tucano, the many soldiers, the bales of cash to buy arms and uniforms gave birth to a breed of soldiers somewhat rejigged. The renaissance of the Nigerian foot solider did not obliterate the soldiers as zealots.

    But we went into dreary territories. Where did the bandits begin? Where did the militant end? There was a fear that one was retiring into the other. Where the militant fagged out, he became a bandit. Goodbye cant, farewell bigotry. Welcome abductions. They started by preferring God to mammon. When God failed them, they moved over to an infidel’s favourite joy: filthy lucre. In their own lights, they were raggedy soldiers of fortune.

    They had names, but no ideas. They had guns, but no enemies. They had aims but not conscience. They had a target, and nothing could stop them from getting it. Not the word of the Almighty or the order of the commander-in-chief. Just as King David said, that victory does not depend on the size of an army, so the Nigerian Army continued to seem puny in the hands of a ragtag glory of bandits.

    So, we cannot do the bandit the pleasure of giving them the endorsement of a supremo – in a year when to be one was to be monster. But we could not escape the reality, too, that while the herdsmen got a deserved tag as the profession of deathly renegades, they became also a bogeyman of another sort of monster for trade: the ritual killer.

    Tales described them in skeins of brutal magnificence. The captured. They gave five-star treatments to those who could pay ransoms, and set the poor apart for butchery: the body parts were sold for money. It was a diabolical affirmation of Marxian class discrimination, a capitalism of blood and body parts. In his novel, The Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth, now getting increasing attention around the world, Wole Soyinka lent his satiric eye for scatological details. Body parts from Boko Haram to make kilishi and in the Southwest for money, and cults were built around them.

    In the Southeast, no hero rose to delegitimise a group that earned a charisma without a constitution. People obeyed without a law, without a formalised institution. The formalised one failed to persuade. The people’s fear triumphed over law. Even when an election took place, it was at their mercy. Chukwuma Soludo won but not because of grudging berth of law and order. It was the benighted grace of the tyrant.

    We wanted to see, too, if the economy would bounce its way to happiness for the greatest number of people. But this year was no utilitarian haven or heaven. Many young could not get jobs. Many could not stay in their country. A cabinet minister wondered aloud if the economic woes and largescale graft would not corral the feathered class in an Abuja where the poor could ambush them in a national scale of revolutionary banditry. That is no testimony to a failure to put food on many tables. The banks and oil firms and tech giants preened in superfine profits. The poor watched in impotence. The politician flourished in Agbada and babaringa, et al, and half-baked rhetoric.

    So, the pandemic that soared all over the world continued to ravage in quiet at home. No story about progress in sorting out a solution. No Nigerian vaccine, even as the western top shots continued to call the shots, and the main tragedy was that our people were not getting the shots.

    A report was released after a group of lawyers and activists looked at a moment in history. They revealed a generational lack of rigour and they affirmed a culture of superstitions. They failed in math because they could not arrive at a number, in English because they did not know a word, and in government because they failed the process, as though they were students in a high school exam.

    There were cultural moments as well. Some of them often cheering, as in when Davido “conned” fans to get him money and he turned it into charity. Not so for another fellow who turned his mother’s burial into a bazaar of sorts and money became an extravaganza of vanity instead of a sombre homage to maternity.

    But we had books, too. The years tailed off with a book of the year, a memoir about a generation of politics written by a man unlikely to write and unlikely to deliver the bombshells. And former APC chairman and governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande, did it without apology, unveiling the hypocrisy, chicanery and sleaze of an age. His book, My Participations, is not only the book of the year, it will soldier on for many years as a testament on how to throw bombs with a political memoir.

    German playwright Bertolt Brecht mused in his play Galileo, that “unhappy is a land that breeds no heroes.”

    This is such a land. This is such a year. In search of stars, we saw a firmament of starlets. It is a year of also-rans. In the Milky Way, no shot of a lodestar.

    So, in this year, no man or woman scaled above. Instead of being a year of heroes and heroines, we have seen no one rising to catch the trophy.

    In 2021, when a group could not define a word, keep a building from falling, or highways from a bandit or a currency from a nosedive, or even plead guilty to a book of revelations, our person of the year is NOBODY

  • Odili: Court orders Malami to discipline Immigration’s lawyer Adamu

    Odili: Court orders Malami to discipline Immigration’s lawyer Adamu

    The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Ministry of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) to discipline a senior lawyer with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Jimoh Adamu for “unprofessional conduct.”

    Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, also ordered Adamu to appear before the court on January 21 to show cause why further orders should not be made about his unprofessional conduct.

    Read Also: Odili: When will invasion of Justices’ residence end? 

    The ruling was on an application by Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), lawyer to a former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.

    Adedipe had urged the court to among others, penalise Adamu for disrespecting the court and treating it with contempt.

    Adamu has been representing the NIS and its Director-General in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by Odili, with which he challenged the seizure of his international passport by the NIS.

    Adedipe noted that Adamu has failed to obey a subsisting order that the passport be deposited with the Registrar of the court pending the hearing of his motion for stay of execution.

    He added that Adamu has consistently failed to attend court despite being served with hearing notices on his pending motion.

    Details shortly..

  • ASUU drops strike as NITDA approves UTAS for members salaries

    ASUU drops strike as NITDA approves UTAS for members salaries

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday resolved to put on hold its decision on strike. The varsity teachers’ union took stand to give room for further consultations and after receiving reports from its branches.

    According to the union, the decision was taken after a December 18 meeting to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) of December 23, last year and other related matters.

    In a statement issued after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Sunday, ASUU welcomed the recommendation of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) that the payment platform – University Transparency and Accountability Solution  (UTAS) developed by the university lecturers be deployed in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    ASUU National President Prof Emmanuel Osodeke said areas highlighted by NITDA in its report would be addressed.

    Prof. Osodeke referred to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS), engineered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank as evil, stressing that the continuous use of the IPPIS had created distortions in the payment lecturers’ salaries.

    He wondered  why it took more than one year to get  the  needed feedback on the home-grown solution – UTAS – at  a  time  Nigeria  is  yearning for  “local  content”.

    He said: “NEC  is  pleased  that  the  end-user  evaluation  report overwhelmingly  endorses  UTAS  for  immediate  deployment  by  government  for Nigerian  universities.  On  our  part,  ASUU  is  fully  prepared  to  address  all  the technical  observations  made  by  NITDA  in  order  to  make  this  happen.

    Read Also; We will resist plot to kill public varsities, says ASUU

    “Our  hope is  that  the  National  Universities  Commission  (NUC)  and  other  agencies  of government  would  promptly  respond  to  issues  that  concern  them  in  the NITDA’s  report  to  pave  way  for  speedy  migration  to  UTAS  and  spare  Nigerian universities  of  the evil  effects  of  the  IMF/World  Bank-engineered  IPPIS.”

    The varsity teachers regretted that the Federal Government had turned its back on the plan to set up an inter-ministerial committee to review the draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.

    The ASUU boss described as worrisome the efforts made government agents to reduce ASUU’s demands to a  regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly  devalued Earned Academic  Allowances  (EAA).

    The union specifically accused the Minister of  State  for  Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, of failing to follow through with the promise made during a  meeting  with  the House  of Representatives  Speaker  on  November 19.

    Part of the ASSU statement reads: “NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances.

    “ASUU shall not relent in demanding improvement in the welfare and conditions of service of our members. However, we shall resist any attempt to blackmail the union and derail our patriotic struggle for a productive university system by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing.

    “NEC concluded that government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs.

    “However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date with a view to deciding on the next line of action.

    “The  minister  assured  us  that  the process  of  reviewing  the document  would  be  set  in  motion within one week  from that  date.  Nwajiuba’s  failure  to  fulfill  a  promise  made  in  the  hallowed chambers  of  the  National  Assembly  is  not  only  provocative  but  reminiscent  of trust-deficit  that  has  bedevilled  all  agreements  and  understandings  reached  with this  government  and  those before it  since 2009.”

    ASUU had announced plans to embark on a strike over the federal government’s failure to meet its demands.

    Apart from the EAA, ASUU list its demands to include: the review of the NUC Act to curb the proliferation of universities by state governments who are not funding the existing ones; adoption of UTAS with concurrent discontinuance of the IPPIS and distortion in salary payment.

    Others are the release of accumulated promotion arrears; and the review and signing of the draft document on the Renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.

  • Why President declined assent to Electoral Act Bill

    Why President declined assent to Electoral Act Bill

    By Yusuf Alli, Abuja Emmanuel Oladesu and Emmanuel Badejo

    • Pressure on National Assembly to override Buhari

    • Wike: lawmakers can’t constitutionally

    The 2021 Electoral Act Bill hit the rock yesterday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who declined assent to the bill, hinged his refusal on political, moral and constitutional factors.

    In his letter to the national Assembly, the President explained that he reject the bill, following consultations and advice from relevant ministries, department and agencies.

    The letter will be read to senators and House of Representatives members today at plenary session where the reasons adduced by the President will be debated.

    The reasons President Buhari induced high cost of conducting direct primaries, the security challenge of monitoring the shadow polls, violation of citizens’ rights, marginalization of political parties, likely litigation and manipulation of the exercise.

    The President reasoned that it would be better to allow each political party to determine its mode of choosing standard bearer for elections.

    There was disquiet among stakeholders, including elder statesmen, legislators, former governors, lawyers, and other notable politicians.

    The pressure on the national Assembly to override the President’s veto also intensified.

    However, some senators confided that the Upper Chamber is not likely to veto the President, following his refusal to assent to the bill.

    Also, sources close to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the agency will deploy the 2010 Electoral Act for the 2023 general elections.

    Read Also: Electoral Act: Saraki calls for more transparent electoral system

    The retention of the direct primary clause in the proposal bill, which was passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to the President, has been a bone of contention between the Federal legislators and governors.

    While the legislators pushed for a constitutional backing for direct primary, the governors had stormed the Aso Villa, Abuja, urging President Buhari to decline assent.

    The federal lawmakers argued that the direct primary will foster a popular participation and internal democracy in the political parties.

    But, the governors objected, saying that parties should be at liberty to select any mode as stipulated by their constitution.

    The bill was transmitted to the President on November 19, 2021. The 30 days provided by the Constitution for signing or rejection of the bill expired yesterday.

    There was confusion over Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.

    Senators and members of the House of Representatives were in the dark as they had no access to the letter.

    It was learnt that the letter may be delivered by hand today to Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

    It was gathered that the letter was kept under wraps to avoid leakage before the next legislative day.

    According to a source, who spoke in confidence, a veto by the President will not hinder INEC from conducting 2023 elections.

    The top source said: “There is no doubt that the new Electoral Bill  is vital to 2023 poll. INEC has been callingfor the speedy passage of the bill into law.

    “ If the stalemate persists, INEC has no choice than to use the existing Electoral Act  2010( as amended)for the 2023 elections.

    “So, in essence, our plans for 2023 poll are intact. We cannot be distracted by the politics over the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.”

    On April 29, the INEC chairman said the 2023 general elections were  exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today.

    “By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 General Election will hold on Saturday 18th February 2023 which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today,” he said.

    As at press time, the President’s letter to the National Assembly was kept under wraps.

    It was learnt that the letter will be delivered today by hand to the Senate President and House Speaker.

    A ranking Senator said: “When we asked sone of our principal officers, they said they have not seen the President’s letter.

    “We later got to know that it will be delivered by hand before plenary on Tuesday to prevent leakage.

    “We don’t know why we are experiencing a hide and seek over a presidential letter in a democracy.”

    A member of the House of Representatives said: “No one has seen the letter. It is frustrating but I hope we will stamp our feet to prove a point that we are all equal in the National Assembly.”

    Afenifere leader Pa Ayo Adebanjo faulted the President’s decision, saying that it is consistent with his style. He said President Buhari is not a democrat.

    He alleged that the president has his game plan, which many people are yet to see.

    Adebanjo said if the National Assembly is serious, they should override the decision.

    Faulting some of the reasons for rejecting the bill, the elder statesman said democracy is not cheap; hence, it was ridiculous for him to decline signing the bill due to the high cost of primaries.

    He said: “The question of high cost should not arise at all.  Any good thing is expensive and all over the world, democracy is very, very expensive. “

    He said it was wrong for the president to advance security challenge as one of the reasons for withholding his assent, asking why should we be talking security challenge six years after he has been the president?

    According to him, the reasons adduced by the President were just mere excuse for not doing the right thing.

    A human rights lawyer, Frank Tietie, said the reasons given for its rejection were not tenable.

    Tietie, Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic

    Rights, who spoke on Arise Television last night said the president should have signed the bill and Tietie for amendment as far as direct primaries were concerned.

    Tietie said: “I have taken seen those reasons and I say that they lame excuses and not tenable to have rejected that bill that would have enhanced Nigeria’s democracy.

    He added: “Those reasons are not tenable and it’s unfortunate that

    President Buhari is losing the chance to transform our electoral process. Right now, the nation is in a serious dilemma and debacle.”

    “The options available to the National Assembly are not too many. It is only to override the veto of the president, but this can only be through the two-third majority and I doubt if the current legislators can do that.”

  • Pressure mounts on National Assembly to override President

    Pressure mounts on National Assembly to override President

    By Yusuf Alli, Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja Michael Odiegwu, Port Harcourt and Robert Egbe

    There is pressure on the National Assembly to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, it was learnt yesterday.

    Civil Society Organisations, including Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) and YIAGA Africa, said that the bill should be given legal tooth by the parliament through a two-third majority vote of members.

    But, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike differed saying that the National Assembly lacked the capacity to reverse the President’s decision.

    CTA, in a statement by its Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, urged the National Assembly to, in the “spirit of patriotism, upturn the President’s decision as “a way to conducting free, fair, and credible elections that will stand the taste of the time.”

    The group accused President Buhari of taking interest in mundane things ”that will benefit a few members of his cabal, instead of improving our elections and the integrity of the electoral process.”

    CTA said that it was worrisome that Buhari decided to toe the same path as he did in 2018.

    The  statement reads in part:  ”Recall that in 2018, President Buhari failed to assent to the bill as amended then with the excuse that the time was too close to the 2019 general elections.

    “The delay until this time confirmed the fears that the provisions envisaged by the citizens and expectations thereof may be dashed by the actions of the president. Laws are made for the interest and benefit of the people and not for those in power.

    Read Also; Senate spokesman: National Assembly won’t fight Buhari over Electoral Bill

    “The reasoning by the President concerning the provisions on party primaries should not be held unto to truncate the wishes of Nigerians.”

    YIAGA Director of Programmes, Cyntha Mbamalu, said since Buhari “is failing Nigerians,” the National Assembly ought to use its constitutional power to override him.

    Mbamalu added: “The president should realise he is failing Nigerians because this is the electoral amendment that a lot of Nigerians got interested in and we have been making demands for certain things.

    “There are two options. The President had the deadline yesterday. The National Assembly has the power of veto and needs to exercise that power because they are the arm of government that has the power to actually checkmate the Executive.

    “We already know we have lawmakers who think that whatever the President says is final, but this is the time for us Nigerians to also put the pressure on them.”

    She spoke yesterday at the ‘Incredible Music Festival’ in Lagos.

    Human rights lawyer Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and one-time Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Vice President Monday Ubani urged federal lawmakers to override the President’s veto

    They said the Constitution empowers them to do so.

    Ozekhome, who spoke on an Arise TV programme, lamented that the lawmakers seemed to be always quick to grant the President’s desires.

    He, however, pointed out that Sections of the Constitution empowers them to override the President’s veto through a two-third majority vote

    He said: “You have to go to Sections 58, 59 and 4 of the Constitution. Under Sections 58 and 59, when the President vetoes a Bill sent to him by the National Assembly, all hope is not lost.

    “Those sections empower the National Assembly to override that veto by the President through a two-third majority vote. And the law is that the bill shall become law without the assent or signature of the President.”

    Ubani, who disagreed with the reasons advanced by the president, believed the lawmakers prepared the bill with the interest of Nigerians at heart and should follow it through to the end.

    The lawyer added: “The National Assembly should go ahead and override the president. They should take that line of action because they are the ones that passed that Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    “They believe in its contents. Because the president does not believe in it, should not make the lawmakers lose their belief in the bill. They should go ahead and override the president’s veto.”

  • INEC to spend N305b on 2023 polls

    INEC to spend N305b on 2023 polls

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday disclosed that it has received N100 billion out of the N305 billion it proposed for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

    INEC said President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill would not hamper its activities as an electoral umpire.

    It also said it “will never reward bad behaviour’’ by conducting a by-election in Ekiti East State Constituency before the June 2023 governorship election in the state.

    INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu defended the agency’s proposed N305 billion budget for the general elections before the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja.

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation,   Barau Jibrin, assured that the 2022 federal Appropriation Bill will be passed today.

    Yakubu attributed his inability to defend the budget proposal last week to an official engagement outside the country.

    He said: “We thank the committee and by extension, the Senate, for all the proactive measures taken, including some of the provisions in the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill, particularly Section 3, which you have strengthened to grant better financial autonomy for the commission.

    “I also thank you for the provision in the bill for ensuring that funds are released to the commission, at least, one year to the elections.

    “We made a submission for the sum of N305billion for the 2023 general elections.

    Read Also; Buhari drops Onochie as INEC National Commissioner

    “We made the submission on the basis of the N100billion as one line item, N40billion regular budget, and the 2022 Appropriation Bill, and then, there is the outstanding N205billion.

    “What we have done is to look at the activities that we have to conduct before the general elections. There are activities that must be concluded.

    “For instance, if you are going to replace some of the critical facilities like ballot boxes and voting cubicles, these things must be done before the election.

    “Party primaries must be conducted and concluded before the election and names of candidates submitted, registration of voters would have to be concluded before the election.

    “Printing of the permanent voter’s card would have to be concluded before the election and then some of the critical election technology for the 2023 general elections must be concluded and procured before the election.

    “There are activities that we have to undertake during the elections, for instance, engagement for the transporters for electoral logistics. We can’t engage them in advance, it has to be close to the election.

    “Payment of ad hoc staff, we can’t engage ad hoc staff and pay them long after  the election, it has to be during the election.”

    “In submitting the executive proposal to the National Assembly, the sum of N140billion was made available to INEC as a one-line item in the budget.

    “The N140billion was broken into two, we take it that N40billion is our regular budget as an agency of government and N100billion was the first tranche of the 2022 budget and we have gone ahead to make provisions accordingly.

    “It may interest the committee to know that we have eight bye-elections pending (three federal constituencies and five state constituencies.

    “In fact, the last vacancy occurred only last Wednesday following the death of a member that represented Jiwa West State Constituency in Kaduna State. We have other by-elections pending. We hope that these elections will hold as soon as we resume in the new year.”

    *Ekiti, Osun party primaries hold Jan, Feb

    Party primaries in  Ekiti and Osun states  will hold in January and February next year,  the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)   has announced.

    The governorship election in Ekiti is scheduled for June and that of Osun will take place in August next year.

    INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke yesterday in Abuja, also said the   Ekiti East State Constituency by-election would hold the same period as the governorship poll.

    Yakubu said: “Ekiti governorship election is holding in June. But, in about two weeks, party primaries for the state will commence beginning from January 1 to 29 next year.  The primaries for Osun State will be in February.

    “Elections are held all year round, there is no longer election season in Nigeria. Elections are held all year round as the need arises.”

    He lamented that INEC had tried four times to hold the by-election in Ekiti East State Constituency without success.

    He recalled that in the last attempt, voters, security operatives, and electoral officers lost their lives at polling units.

    Yakubu added: “INEC will never reward bad behaviour. The election can only be repeated in June next year during the gubernatorial election.”