The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rich

  • Gap between rich, poor worries NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed concern over the widening gap between rich and poor Nigerians in accessing healthcare and other services.

    NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba made this known at the 10th National Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) in Abuja.

    The theme of the conference was: “Advancing national campaign toward good governance, poverty alleviation, health for all for development.’’

    The labour leader said in other countries, the rich subsidised healthcare for the poor, saying that the reverse was the case in Nigeria.

    “The inequality gap in health care services between the rich and the poor in our country is getting expanded whereas in other countries it is the rich that subsidise cost of care for the poor but in our country it is the poor that subsidise for the rich.

    “The conference theme is very important and strategic because there cannot be development when majority of the people are so impoverished; we cannot talk about development if workers salaries cannot even take them to their next bus stop.

    “We cannot talk about development when our pensioners after working for 35 years have a living that is difficult. What is central is for our system to bring about equity and fairness in all ramifications,” Wabba said.

    He, however, identified the existing situation as the factor responsible for the nation’s poor health indices as well as underdevelopment, stressing that the component of the conference’s theme is key to development of any society.

    According to him, some of the health indices like maternal, child mortality, disease burden, general health services and government can only achieve the desired goals when the system is working.

    He blamed the failure of democracy on the privileged few who corner the resources to themselves.

    Wabba said: “We ought not to be where we are, if we are able to do what is right.”

    The NLC chief flayed the disparities in salaries and tax payment, saying there is no justification for the lowest paid workers to pay higher taxes than the elected public office holders.

    Wabba stressed the need for the continuous review of workers’ salaries like that of political office holders.

    “If you are increasing the salary of members of the political class, you can look at the same percentage to increase the salaries of other workers because we create and promote wealth of our nation.

    “So, if we create wealth for the nation, we must be compensated,” Wabba added.

  • Favourite sports of the rich and famous

    WHEN it comes to leisure, the rich and powerful roam in two worlds. There are sports and pastimes that are exclusive to the rich. But there are also sports and leisure that the rich and poor enjoy together.

    Nigeria’s rich and powerful, especially the young and upwardly mobile, like to play golf, polo sport, boating in customized yacht and other extravagant relaxations or pastimes! But like the rest of us, they also enjoy football, basketball, boxing and other types.

    From vintage car collections and art, to golf and polo, we present to you some of the favourite extravagant pastimes and cravings of the rich and famous people in Nigeria.

     

    Exercise

    The most popular pastime among the Nigerian rich is exercise. Whether they sit atop a business empire or jump from one movie location to another, our celebrities still manage to make fitness a priority in their busy schedules. Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and chairman of Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, belongs to this class. Nollywood actress and model-Kate Henshaw is also a member. These rich and famous have some things in common: they are super fit; they take their fitness routines seriously and their skins are well textured and toned. While most of the fellows in this class only share photos of their latest cars and houses on social media, these ones share snippets of their lives and lots of exercise photos.

    But unknown to some people, these personalities did not start exercising when they became successful. They had cultivated their fitness exercise lifestyle even before the rise to stardom. They grew the habit over time, slowly and gradually. It is hard work, balanced diet and persistence.

     

    Football

    Unknown to many, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is a great lover of football. He once owned the Benue based club- BCC Lions. And another thing that he desired in life is to buy the Arsenal football club which he bided for, but the bid was rejected; something that would have been a major achievement for him.

    Femi Otedola, just like Aliko Dangote, asides enjoying watching live football matches, also likes cruising, having meetings or good times on his customized yacht.

     

    Golf

    It has long been known as an exclusive preserve of the rich and famous. The fees are high, the clubs are expensive, and skill comes with professional lessons which can cost a fortune! Golf courses in the country are the places the creme-de-la creme of Nigeria’s political and financial institutions spend their days hitting around the little golf balls, which they consider therapeutic and recreational. Admission into the club costs millions, excluding the cost of golf kits that could cost hundreds of thousands.

     

    Polo

    Polo is popularly referred to as the game for the kings, nobles and the wealthy and is considered to be one of the oldest sports in history. Known for its surrounding glamour on and off the field, polo spectators usually put their best foot-forward.  Muhammad Babangida is an avid polo player and founder of the El Amin Polo Club, a member of the Nigerian Polo Federation.

    Bode Malamutes is one of the heirs to the Caverton Group, a $1 billion Nigerian conglomerate with operations in gas distribution, offshore support vessels and aviation services. Their father, Remi Makanjuola, ranks as one of Nigeria’s wealthiest businessmen. Bode and his younger brother Rotimi, are patrons of the Caverton Polo club.

    Sayyu Dantata, a half-brother to Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, heads MRS Holdings, a leading West-African oil marketing firm which acquired Chevron-Texaco’s downstream assets in 2007. At the moment, Sayyu Dantata ranks as one of the best Polo players in the country.

     

    Yachting

    Yachts owned by celebrities range in style and size, but one thing that unites these ocean toys owners is their love for the sea. If you have always dreamt about cruising atop the ocean on a yacht, then these rich and famous yachts will spark your imagination and give you a desire to roll around in one.

    Kola Aluko once rented out his super-cool yacht to American music industry power couple, Jay Z and Beyonce, for a holiday cruise. Kola is the Co-Chief Officer and an Executive Director of Atlantic Energy, an indigenous, private upstream oil and gas company, focused on independent exploration and production (‘E&P”) participation in Nigeria. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, luxury yacht called the ‘Mariya’ and Chairman of Forte Oil, Femi Otedola yacht called Nana are very similar. There are also Jim Ovia, Mike Adenuga and a host of others in the league of exquisite class, top taste and very expensive sports lovers.

  • Cleric charges the rich over less-privileged

    The founder and General Overseer of Living Spring Church, Pastor Femi Emmanuel has appealed to well-meaning individuals to always show concern to the well-being of the less privileged and needy who are in their larger numbers in the society. He made the appeal while giving his word of exhortation at the launching of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) initiated and named after the wife of a popular gospel singer, Yinka Ayefele, christened Temitope Titilope Ayefele Foundation (TTAF).

    The event held at Music House Hall of Fresh FM radio station, located along Ibadan-Lagos expressway, Challenge, Ibadan. According to the cleric, no mortal will be remembered for the number of cars, houses, children or wives he has but rather, by the number of lives he has impacted positively, citing the examples of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, late MKO Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi and Nelson Mandela who are being remembered because of an impactful lives they had lived.

    In her remark at the occasion, wife of the former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Oluwakemi Alao-Akala, described the launching of the foundation as a welcome development which should be embraced and given maximum support by all and sundry bearing in mind the level of hunger and poverty across the country. Yinka Ayefele, husband of the convener, stressed the need for the well-to-do to always put smiles on the faces of the needy at all times as this is the only way they would be remembered when they are no more.

    Earlier In her welcome address, the convener, TTAF, Temitope Ayefele, disclosed that the vision of the foundation is to cater for the less privileged, the needy, physically challenged and the indigent in the society. She added that the foundation will move around different states in the country with the sole aim of helping the people who are in need in order to make the society better.

  • Cleric charges the rich to assist society’s less-privileged

    THE founder and General Overseer of Living Spring Church, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, has appealed to wellmeaning individuals, to always show concern to the well-being of the less privileged and needy who are in their larger numbers in the society. Emmanuel made the appeal while giving his word of exhortation at the launch of the Temitope Titilope Ayefele Foundation (TTAF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), named after the wife of popular gospel singer, Yinka Ayefele. The event held at Music House Hall of Fresh FM radio station, located along Ibadan-Lagos expressway, Challenge, Ibadan. The radio station is also owned by the gospel artiste.

    According to the cleric, no mortal will be remembered for the number of cars, houses, children or wives he has but rather, by the number of lives he has impacted positivel. He cited the examples of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, late MKO Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi and Nelson Mandela who are being remembered for the impactful lives they lived. Pastor Emmanuel enjoined all individuals to support the course of the foundation in order to make its vision a reality.

    In her remark at the occasion, wife of the former Governor of Oyo State, Oluwakemi Alao-Akala, described the launch of the foundation as a welcome development, which should be embraced supported by all and sundry, bearing in mind the level of hunger and poverty across the country. Speaking in the same vein, Ayefele, who is also the husband of the convener, TTAF, stressed the need for the affluent to always put smiles on the faces of the need, pointing out that he had also benefitted from the kindness of many people in trying times.

  • Minister: Rich can no longer evade tax

    Minister: Rich can no longer evade tax

    It will be difficult for the rich to avoid paying taxes given the plans by the government to widen the tax net and capture all those who should be paying, Finance Minister  Kemi Adeosun said yesterday in Enugu.

    She expressed regret that no fewer than 56 million Nigerians, who should be paying taxes, are not paying.

    Mrs Adeosun spoke in Enugu during a sensitisation programme on the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS). It was  hosted by the Enugu State Government.

    The minister said huge sums of money had been moved out of Nigeria without the owners paying any tax. She said such people would be fished out.

    ”The good news for government, which is bad news for the tax evaders, is that globally, nations have agreed to share data under the Automatic Exchange of Information. This means that sitting at our desks in Abuja, we are getting information about assets that the owners thought were well hidden from the tax authorities.

    “As you know, Nigerians are entitled to keep their wealth anywhere in the world, including under their mattress, but what the law requires is that they pay tax on their income as they earn it,” Mrs Adeosun said.

    The event was attended by Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Deputy Governor Cecilia Ezeilo; Speaker. Edward Uchenna Ubosi; Commissioner for Finance Eucharia Uche Offor, members of the State Executive Council, members of the House of Assembly and traditional rulers, among others.

    The minister said: “Payment of taxes is a fundamental requirement for our growth story. Nigeria has a very poor scorecard in tax payment. When oil came, we abandoned the old system of tax collection that provided most of our infrastructure since colonial days.

    ”Currently, we have just 14 million tax payers out of 70 million who are economically active. So, many people who should be paying are not paying anything. It is the development of taxes that will help the states and the Federal Government to achieve their true potentials.”

    She explained that payment of taxes had become imperative to avoid the recent collapse in oil prices and the resultant recession.

    Mrs. Adeosun recalled that after years of neglect, the Federal Government has revived some road projects, including the 9th Mile – Ngwo – Milken Hill – New Market.

    “Indeed, the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration has completely transformed road expenditure. In 2015, the figure was N19 billion for the whole nation; in 2016, we increased it to N220 billion and we plan to do much more.

    “This government has recognised that infrastructure is the key to creating jobs, growth and wealth. We have already released N1.2 trillion in capital so far for the 2017 Budget, which commenced in June 2017 and most of this was applied to roads, bridges, rail, power, our airports and other key infrastructural projects.

    “How will this capital investment translate to jobs? Not only do we get the direct jobs with construction companies and others but there is indirect opportunity for suppliers of building materials and aggregates.

    “In the longer-term, efficient infrastructure reduces the costs of doing business and makes many ventures viable and profitable. We are seeing young entrepreneurs springing up to replace imported items with locally made goods of the highest standards. We are seeing export of foods and finished goods into international markets,” Mrs. Adeosun said.

    On VAIDS, the minister said the scheme was initiated to provide an opportunity for tax payers to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods.

    She maintained that tax defaulters who failed to take advantage of the programme would be subjected to tax investigations as well as made to face criminal prosecution for tax offences.

    Ugwuanyi lauded Buhari and the minister for their “resourcefulness and dynamism” in the establishment of VAIDS.

    He enjoined all tax payers to take advantage of VAIDS to regularise their tax liability.

    The governor urged the President and the minister to prevail on federal agencies in the state to pay their taxes.

    He said the state government was committed to growing its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which had increased from N14 billion in 2016 to N22 billion in 2017.

  • VAIDS: Expert urges govt to target rich tax payers

    To achieve the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) objectives, the Federal Government has been advised to deploy more resources that will enable it capture more tax revenues from high net-worth individuals.

    Speaking at a workshop organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance for tax professionals in Lagos,  a Professor of Tax and Fiscal Matters, University of Lagos, Abiola Sanni, said high net-worth individuals control over 80 per cent of the nation’s resources.

    He said more attention should be paid to this category of people if the government intends to rake in more money through the VAIDS, adding  that as critical as the informal sector is, less emphasis should be placed on the sector, which he said, is already heavily taxed and levied.

    He explained that 70 Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOs) have already been deployed nationwide to assist the states in enforcing tax compliance in the informal sector.

    “The weakness of our system is the over concentration on the middle class that are already over taxed through various means. The informal sector is very large and critical and arrangement has been made to bring in the sector into the VAIDS.

    “While the informal sector is very important, but for VAIDS to be very successful, we must look at high net-worth, a very few individuals who control large resources. In nations where the tax system works, they focus more on those people because a  billionaire can pay much more than all of us put together,” he said.

  • ‘The rich should help the poor’

    ‘The rich should help the poor’

    The well-to-do should give the downtrodden a lift by using their wealth to positively impact them.

    That was the message sent out from the Christ Holy Church (CHC), Aba, Abia State.

    The head of the Women and Children’s Department of the church Deaconess C. E. Umeh made the call while visiting some orphanages in the commercial city.

    Umeh, who led a delegation of women on the visit, donated several items including toiletries, rice, baby wear, noodles and cash to the homes.

    Umeh lamented the lack of care and attention given to the children in the orphanage by both government and well-off individuals in the society.

    Deaconess Umeh who is also wife of the Bishop of CHC, Province III Nathan Umeh, frowned at the high rate of unwanted pregnancy in the society especially among teenage girls which she said accounts for the high number of abandoned children.

    She warned people who engage in premarital sex, especially youths, to desist from such act and avoid things that could prevent them from being focused in life and achieving their set goals. She said they should emulate Christ who lived a righteous life and used his days on earth to win souls for the kingdom of God.

    She said that the reason the church chose to celebrate Mothers’ Day after Easter was to celebrate the role women played in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    They visited Ngwa Road Motherless Babies Home, Seventh Day Adventist Motherless Home, Father Basil Motherless Babies Home, and Peace Sisters Outreach Ministry International (Abandoned Children), among others.

    Rev. Joy Igweze, proprietress of Peace Sisters Outreach praised the women for their love for orphans and the less privileged.

    Igweze recalled how she had saved many children from dying after they were abandoned by their mothers at various locations in Aba and environs, describing the job of nurturing, feeding and paying the schools fees of the children as very challenging.

     

  • ‘The rich should help youths’

    A member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Zonal Youth Leader, Southeast, Sir Paul Chukwuka Chukwuma has urged the well-to-do to support youths and help them lead productive lives.

    Sir Paul was speaking in Awka, the Anambra State capital, at the birthday ceremony of a notable philanthropist Dr Obinna Uzo, who marked his 54th birthday.  The APC leader said Uzo’s philanthropy was worthy of emulation.

    Sir Paul also spoke glowingly of former governor of the state Peter Obi, who he said would be remembered in the state and beyond for his verifiable achievements including helping to elect for the first time a governor of Anambra North extraction.

    Chukwuma, an APC governorship aspirant in the state, said his overriding interest and campaign are on policies and how to lift the profile of the state in his quest for the state’s Government House.

    He hailed Obi as well as Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, who also governed the state. He said Ngige ended the era of godfathers in Anambra politics, adding that the quality of infrastructure, especially roads put in place by the Ngige administration remains unparalleled.

  • ‘ntel’s services not for the rich only’

    ‘ntel’s services not for the rich only’

    Kamar Abass is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ntel, Nigeria’s first pure play 4G/LTE Advanced network. Popularly regarded by his colleagues as the ‘Apostle of 4G/LTE’, Abass was Country Manager (Nigeria), Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Ericsson. He speaks about the company’s emergence, coverage areas as well as its unique selling points with Gbade Ogunwale.

    The high cost of data has become a great challenge for internet users in Nigeria. What is ntel doing to make this affordable for its subscribers?

    ntel believes the greatest challenge to Nigeria’s internet usage is its chronically slow speed relative to other markets and relative to what is possible. That said, demand for internet access in Nigeria is high: some 100million Nigerians regularly access the internet, however, the majority are forced to do so using a combination of painfully slow 2G networks and only marginally better 3G networks.

    We believe this speed (and therefore customer experience) deficit has more to do with the limited availability of mass-market high throughput (or high speed) mobile broadband (MBB) networks than it does with pricing.

    Today, only around one-third of Nigeria’s 100million internet users do so on a 3G or 4G network, thus undermining the internet experience and denying users ready access to key internet use cases, like video/cloud services.

    ntel’s approach is to build Nigeria’s highest speed MBB network; focus on state-wide coverage (rather than hot-spot only); and provide high-volume internet access via unlimited usage packages.

    Customer response has been overwhelmingly positive since our commercial roll out: throughput speeds have topped 100mbps; average monthly data usage is over 2.5GB per month; and average cell throughput is 14mbps.

    These network performance values from ntel comfortably supersede the substantially lower numbers from today’s hot-spot focused 3G and other 4G networks;

    And access to ntel’s network is available for as little as N1,000 for 1.5GBs of data.

    ntel covers Lagos, Abuja and some parts of Ogun and Nasarawa states. What are the expansion programmes in place for wider coverage?

    ntel is at present Nigeria’s largest 4G/LTE network in Abuja and will shortly record this distinction in Lagos. By the end of September, ntel will be offering 4G/LTE-Advanced services in Port Harcourt and by the end of the second quarter of next year, ntel will have completed its phase two roll-out, with full coverage in 14 additional states.

    Being a new entrant into the telecom service market, what are ntel’s unique selling points?

    ntel is rolling out Nigeria’s largest and highest speed 4G/LTE network. Its network features the highest speed internet access service at present available in Nigeria which is why we say, “to buffer is to suffer!”. Average cell-level throughput rates are at 14mbps, for download, with the maximum achieved on a commercially available consumer 4G/LTE device being over 100mbps.

    ntel also provides the best value access to unlimited data, that is to say, genuinely un-metered, Internet Access for just N10,000  monthly. In addition, ntel provides crystal-clear Voice-over-LTE with its super-fast call-connect times and by the end of September, ntel will provide 4G/LTE-Advanced coverage in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt that matches 3G coverage in those states, but which far exceeds the 3G experience.

    ntel is being viewed as a network for rich Nigerians. What are the plans on ground to make call and data services more affordable?

    ntel is not for the rich. Our lowest starter tariff is N1,000 for 1.5GBs of data, which is more competitive than anything in the market today and we have multiple unlimited tariffs, for daily, weekly or monthly validity, that are more competitive. In addition, customer can choose a N500 tariff for fully 1GB data. Significantly, ntel is also rewarding Pioneer customers on its network with free calls to other ntel Pioneers, for their lifetime on our network.

    ntel’s network is being developed as Nigeria’s only truly mass-market network: because its spectrum is optimal for cost-efficient mass-market coverage of MBB services. This is in sharp contrast with the spectrum used in today’s 3G networks and earlier 4G/LTE networks that was optimal for hot-spot coverage.

    As we broaden our range of services, we will continue to provide better value recognising that our network drives much higher levels of data consumption and this is the key: high quality MBB networks deliver improved productivity, which itself improves efficiency and earnings. We therefore see our high quality network not just delivering value, but also positioning Nigerians for better productivity, efficiency and income potential.

    What is the subscriber strength of ntel so far and how receptive are the customers to ntel services?

    We don’t want to put out subscriber numbers that have not been authenticated by the regulatory authorities but let me just say that we recorded over 100,000 pre-registered subscribers during our number reservation exercise and the subscriptions continue to grow daily.

    And our services have been incredibly well received by customers: we are recognised for being the highest speed network in Nigeria today and we are working on getting a larger range of devices at lower prices to further expand access to and appeal of our network.

    What are the challenges confronting ntel as a new entrant into a growing and competitive telecoms market?

    Our largest challenge is to scale the business efficiently while maintaining cost disciplines and quality of service. While Nigeria’s market is large, there is less competition in the high throughput data space than there is with respect to voice services. So, ntel’s focus will be to continue to improve the quality and consistency of its data offering while adding new consumer and enterprise focused services.

    What are the short, medium and long-term market projections for ntel?

    ntel’s commitment is to provide 4G/LTE-Advanced coverage to meet the emerging mass market demand for MBB services.

    This means: 4G/LTE-Advanced coverage everywhere 3G is available and, in most cases, on a state-wide basis (as opposed to hot-spot coverage); a wide range of services that are uniquely feasible on a 4G/LTE-Advanced network, including, TV, subscription VOD, music streaming and cloud services; access to a wide range of devices across all price points to take best advantage of ntel’s 4G/LTE-Advanced network technology.

  • Arms deal: While the rich become richer

    SIR: The days are really perilous here. We are indeed on the brink. Else how can one explain the staggering financial mismanagement oozing like a stench from the former NSA, Sambo Dasuki’s office? How can men, given much and entrusted with positions of authority by Nigerians, choose to repay us with less?

    Nigeria is indeed in short supply of quality leadership and proper representation at all levels. No wonder the late Achebe fumed “the trouble with Nigeria is leadership.” It beats imaginations that a country that prides itself as the ‘largest’ economy in Africa is positioned at the lowest ebb of development as a result bad leadership.   Little wonder a fellow Nigerian suggested the late Dora Akunyili could have dubbed her re-branding campaign slogan ‘Nigeria, good people, great nation, corrupt leadership.’

    The problem with Nigeria is not that ‘officials of government are corrupt, but corruption has become official.’  This pervading cankerworm has eaten into the fabrics of the society; penetrating government institutions like hypodermic needles.

    Is it not despicable and loathsome to charge a group of patriotic boys with mutiny, while the money meant for their motivation is frittered away by a group of individual operating ‘a government of cronyism and favouritism?’ More Worrisome is the fact that Dasuki has revealed he acted under the instruction of President Jonathan. The question that defies answers is ‘if a president and commander- in- chief ever design his government for failure?

    Our leaders have lost touch of focus, as well as lost the template of our collective aspirations. Little wonder unemployment increases geometrically, while its solutions are churned out arithmetically. This is more reason armed robbery and kidnapping are now sources of employments to the willing tools (youths). In this clime, deplorable roads and unstable electricity, unequipped educational and medical institutions are well, parts of life.  These are realities we have come to live with, all because our leaders lust after wealth. It is self evident they have no reason working for the people, whose mandates they hold.  But why would they? While they fly to their destinations, their followers are locked in a pot-hole ridden road. While their wards school in Oxford and Harvard Universities, their followers’ wards are stuck in dilapidated and glorified citadels of learning here.

    Indeed the lure and love of class seem stronger than patriotism.  While the people groan in penury, the rich become richer. And the richer they become, the richer they want to become.  It doesn’t matter the number of soldiers killed in the field of Borno or in the markets of Yola and Kano, all they want is the sustenance of their bourgeois class. While avoidable road accidents commit Nigerians to the land beyond, and poor Medicare, as well as avoidable infernos consume their followers, all the rich want is more money. And the more money they have, the more money they want to have.

    What is more insensitive than throwing a party while our boys are felled in Sambisa by the rampaging sect in the North East? How can over $2.1 billion meant for the procurement of arms be shared by folks while Nigerians die on daily basis?

    I stand with President Muhammadu Buhari when during his 2016 Budget presentation speech to the National Assembly, he said: “we will pursue the recovery of everything that belongs to the people of Nigeria. No matter how long it will take.”

    The President cannot be more correct than this.  This is because “evil thrives when the good do nothing.” We must stand in frontal collision with the wicked.

     

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    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.