THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday, announced President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the implementation of a Zero Percent Duty Rate (0%) and Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on selected basic food items. Customs spokesman Abdullahi Maiwada said in a statement said the presidential approval was communicated through the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun. This policy is effective from 15th July 2024 and will remain in force until 31st December 2024, Maiwada added. He said the move would alleviate hardship faced by Nigerians due to high prices of essential food items. “However, it…
Author: Hamza Rufai
Read More
THE Senator representing Kano South, Senator Sumaila Kawu, has revealed that he earns over N21m monthly as a total take-home package. This revelation is coming barely 24 hours after the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission said that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06m in salary and allowances per month. The RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, said this as a form of clarification in response to recent controversies over the real amount each lawmaker earns per month. Based on Shehu’s disclosure, it would mean each lawmaker earns N12.72m in 12 months and the…
THE National Judicial Council is set to meet on Friday, August 16, to decide on the successor of the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Ariwoola is billed to bow out on August 22, when he will attain the mandatory retirement age of 70. An impeccable source at the Supreme Court told our correspondent on Tuesday that the NJC had fixed a meeting for Friday to deliberate on who becomes the next CJN. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press, noted that whatever name(s) was decided on…
A HIGH Court of the Federal Capital Territory presided over by Justice Sylvanus Oriji has extended the order restricting participants in the #EndBadGovernance protest against the Federal Government to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. Justice Oriji extended the order on Tuesday following an application to that effect argued by Dr Ogwu James Onoja SAN on behalf of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike. At the proceedings, all 11 defendants were absent in court and were not represented by any legal practitioner. But the FCT minister through his lawyer drew the attention of the judge…
THE Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Monday, said the police are on the trial of a man who was actively involved in the Sudan war but is now in Nigeria. Egbetokun, although he did not disclose his name, said the suspect was mobilising to destabilise the country. The IG stated that the suspect was traced to a shop he was using as a decoy, which is located within the Nigeria Labour Congress building. He denied that the raid was targeted at the NLC leadership. Egbetokun spoke while responding to a question on why the police were against the…
FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for caution on the part of the federal government, over ongoing public arguments between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over crude supply to the refinery. In a series of posts on his X handle on Saturday, Atiku urged the federal government to ensure the success of the 650,000-capacity refinery. “Each parent eagerly awaiting the arrival of a child will dutifully undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the nurturing and development of this precious blessing remain a primary focus,” he stated. “With this understanding, I am cautious in…
POLAND has denied that its nationals who were arrested by security operatives in Kano, Nigeria, waved the Russian flag. The detained Poles were arrested on August 6 in Kano for allegedly displaying Russian flags during the #EndBadGovernance protest held by some Nigerians against economic hardship in the country. Also arrested were six Spanish nationals. The spokesperson for the Department of State Services, Peter Afunanya, at a meeting of diplomats in Abuja, said the Poles were arrested “because of where they were found during the protests and for displaying foreign flags.” However, the Polish foreign ministry denied the allegation. The ministry,…
MTN Nigeria executives, staff and partners on Friday honoured its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Hassan Jaber, as he bowed out of the MTN Group after 29 years of dedicated service and leadership. He will be replaced by Ayham Moussa as the new COO of MTN Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, in his farewell speech in Lagos, highlighted the contributions of Jaber to the growth of the organisation. Toriola described Jaber as a dedicated staff, whose personal relationships and professional leadership was instrumental to MTN’s success. He said that Jaber, in his 29 years career in…
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo says the Nigerian youths participating in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests are fighting a legitimate cause and deserve a listening ear. “What the youth (protesters) are demanding are very legitimate and should be listened to or why should they be denied what rightfully belongs to them? “They are frustrated, they are hungry, they are angry, they are unemployed, they deserve to be given listening ears,” Obasanjo said at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Obasanjo spoke while receiving six members of the House of Representatives who are co-sponsors of bills on single term of six year, rotation…
THE Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule wants the north to address its challenges, saying most of the protesters during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in the state were Almajiris who knew nothing about the rallies. The #EndBadGovernance demonstrations which started on August 1 across cities in the country – to press home for a better economy – were largely peaceful initially. But the protests assumed worrying dimensions after looting and destruction in some northern states led to the imposition of curfews. Governor Sule who is worried that some of the people who protested were young persons said most of them did not know…
THE Department of State Services has dismissed reports stating that its operatives raided the headquarters of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Abuja. On Wednesday, it was reported that armed men, purportedly from the DSS, stormed the NLC’s office and made off with several documents. According to the NLC, the incident occurred around 8:30 pm, when operatives reportedly broke into the Labour House. Head of Media and Public Relations, NLC, Benson Upah, stated that the assailants ransacked the bookshop on the second floor, seizing hundreds of books and other publications. “The invading team claimed that they were searching for seditious materials…
HEAVILY armed security personnel stormed and raided the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Thursday, the union has said. According to the union, the operatives stormed the Labour House, as its headquarters is called, around 8:30 pm. “They broke in and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor carting away hundreds of books and other publications,” said a statement by the NLC’s head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah. “The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGoveranance Protests.” The NLC is not immediately able to ascertain all the…
SEVEN Polish nationals arrested in connection to the violent nationwide protest against hunger and hardship in Kano State are currently under investigation, according to the Department of State Service (DSS). This was revealed by a representative of the DSS when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tugar held a meeting with members of the diplomatic corps on Wednesday. While responding to questions, the DSS Rep explained that they were picked up as a result of their display of foreign flags in the North-West region. According to him, those picked up are being investigated. He assured that their arrest was not…
THE Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has said the police, military and other security agencies did not use excessive force on the #EndBadGovernance protesters. Speaking at a meeting of security agencies heads on Tuesday in Abuja, the IGP said there were attacks on security operatives deployed to manage the protests. According to the police boss, the military and police did not use live ammunition during the protests. “The police and the military, indeed no other security agency involved in the management of this protest has deployed excessive use of force. Instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during…
THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunications operators to review and reduce their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities. Of late, many Nigerians have expressed frustration about how their airtime and data plans which lasted longer before now evaporate in days amid agitation by telcos seeking NCC’s approval to hike tariff plans. NCC spokesman Reuben Muoka in a statement on Monday said the regulator has mandated all telcos to release clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost of voice, short messaging service (SMS) and data services to all subscribers. “The guideline is the outcome of consultations with industry…
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that those benefiting from the lucrative business of fuel importation are going to make efforts to frustrate the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Obasanjo stated this in the wake of allegations by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that some ‘mafias’ were making efforts to frustrate the $20bn refinery. This came as it was gathered on Monday that the multi-billion dollar refinery and other domestic refineries had yet to purchase crude oil in naira based on the directive of President Bola Tinubu to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. In an interview with…
THE Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Mustapha has cautioned those flying the Russian flag, saying it is a treasonable offence. Some #EndBadGovernance protesters in the northern region of the country have been spotted waving the Russian flag as the demonstrations entered Day 5. That has sparked a wave of comments from several quarters including the CDS who described the move as unacceptable. “All of us have seen where foreign flags have been flown within the sovereignty of Nigeria, and that is totally unacceptable. We are warning in clear terms and the President has also said we should convey…
THE Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, has released the list of six institutions that have received its disbursement of N2,026,163,340 as institutional fees. The list was released on the official X handle of the fund on Saturday. The institutions include: the University of Ibadan, Bayero University, Kano, University of Ilorin, University of Benin, University of Maiduguri and Federal University, Dutsinma, Katsina State. The fund disbursed N853,775,000 to Bayero University, Kano, N589,001,500 to the University of Maiduguri and N304,961,800 to the Federal University, Dutsinma, Katsina State. Further details showed that the University of Ibadan got N201,114,650, University of Ilorin got N52,897,890,…
FORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has hailed Nigerians who trooped to the streets in protest against the government of his main opponent in the last general election. This newspaper reports that Atiku ran against President Bola Tinubu in last year’s election but came second. In a statement on Friday, Atiku commended Nigerians for their courage while condemning the hoodlums who hijacked the protest in some states. He also asked security operatives to be mindful of how they conduct themselves and cease harassment of journalists and reckless shooting. The former Vice President asked the Tinubu administration to come down “from its high…
GOVERNOR Usman Ododo of Kogi State has commended the youths of the state for shunning what he termed politically motivated protest in the country, saying the young Nigerians stand on positive side of history for not giving up themselves to be used as agents of chaos. Governor Ododo, who described the youths as “a force for nation building and the bulwark of national development”, said the decision of Kogi youths to organise a summit that examined the roles of Nigerian youths in nation building, showed they were patriotic and believed in the transformative agenda of President Bola Tinubu. The governor…