The Harbingerngr News

Taiwo Oyedele Bills pro-poor, to tax prosperity — Oyedele, others Barring last-minute changes, the Senate will pass the controversial Tax Reform Bills today, exempting those earning below N1million per annum from the tax net. Vanguard gathered that most lawmakers who were initially opposed to the bills have changed their position following  clarifications given by the Federal Government’s tax executives including Director-General, Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu; the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Zacch Adedeji; and the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele. The tax executives, who appeared before the legislators, said among others that the bills were to tax prosperity and not poverty, and that those earning less than One Million Naira a year will be exempted from income tax. They also said sharing of Value Added Tax, VAT, which favours states like Lagos, will be reviewed and made more equitable Deputy President ...

THE Nigeria Police, has opened up on the dismissal of one Edith Uduma, an Inspector, saying she was dismissed over gross misconduct and complicity surrounding the alleged rape of a 17-year-old female suspect by one Abraham Uzuobo. It would be recalled that in a video went viral on social media, where a Police Sergeant was alleged to have raped a female suspect in the station on October 7th 2024, Uduma was the Charge Room Officer, CRO, on duty.  A statement by, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi said, "A thorough investigation into the matter conducted by the Edo State Police Command uncovered that the Police Sergeant, identified as Sgt Abraham Uzuobo, had removed the victim from the cell and taken her to an unoccupied office, where he attempted to engage in sexual acts with her. "During the act, Uduma had walked in and recorded the act.  "However, instead of immediately making a documented entry on the matter in the Incident Record of the Station which wa...

A yet-to-be-identified driver luckily escaped death, yesterday, when a 40-feet loaded container fell onto his Toyota Camry, with registration number LSR 293 HJ, at Mile 2, en-route to Apapa Ports, Lagos. The accident, according to an eyewitness, happened at about 8 am. Fortunately, the driver of the car was rescued by the prompt intervention of coordinated response of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, and other emergency services, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA. The victim received immediate medical attention after  being rushed to the hospital by the joint rescue team. Security during the operation was effectively maintained by officers from the Kirikiri Police Division, who ensured a secure and orderly environment for the emergency responders. Following the rescue, the Toyota Camry was successfully removed from beneath the container. The debris was later evacuated to ease congestion, while...

AN Ikeja High Court, has sentenced one Akinwale Akinlabi to 12 years imprisonment for killing his wife, Tope, who died on February 2, 2020, due to sustained injury from the attack. Akinlabi, was charged with inflicting bodily injury on his wife which resulted to her death. He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge of manslaughter preferred against him by the Lagos State Government. While delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Oyindamola Ogala, held that the prosecution sufficiently proved the charge of manslaughter against Akinlabi. She held that the prosecution provided circumstantial evidence beyond every reasonable doubt, adding that the unlawful acts of the accused, harmed the deceased and caused her death. She said that it was clear from the evidence before the court that the fatality arose from the violence which occurred between the convict and his wife. The judge, however, said it was also clear that the death was unintentional and that the deceased died shortly after the f...

Gov Ademola Adeleke GOVERNOR Ademola Adeleke of Osun State,has reiterated his administration’s commitment to prioritizing workers’ welfare in the state, including pensioners. The Governor explained that he had paid N47 billion as pensions for retired workers in the state within two years of his administration. Adeleke, while addressing contributory pensioners during the distribution of bond certificates worth N1.9 billion to the retired workers at the Local Government Service Commission, said his administration is giving attention to all the sectors despite tight financial situation. His words: “As part of our determination to settle pension indebtedness, we have paid N1,999, 908,887.33. This is a combination for both state and local governments. “For our administration in the last two years plus, what we are paying out today, the total payment for state pensioners is N22,671,217,893.24, while for local government pensions stand at N25 billion. Making out payments in two years to over ...

Dr. Tomi Coker THE Ogun State government has disclosed that no fewer than 30,350 individuals are receiving HIV/AIDS treatment in the state. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, disclosed this in Abeokuta, at a conference to commemorate World AIDS Day. He explained that children made up two per cent of the population. The programme is with the theme: “Take the Right Path, Sustain HIV Response, Stop HIV among Children in Ogun State, Nigeria.” The Commissioner said that the statistics highlighted the urgent need to focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission and ensuring that children living with HIV had access to the care and treatment they needed. She noted that to sustain the current momentum and achieve zero cases of HIV/AIDS by 2030, “increasing funding for HIV programmes to ensure their sustainability must be prioritised.” She said: “Achieving our goals requires sustaining the momentum of our HIV response. A comprehensive approach, involving prevention, testing, treatme...

Gov Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Obasa THE Lagos State House of Assembly, has raised concerns over the deficit funding model in the 2025 appropriation bill of N3.005 trillion presented to the lawmakers by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for approval. The Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the plenary, subsequently, committed the bill to a joint committee on appropriation and finance for review with a mandate to report back in one month. Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Sa’ad Olumoh, who raised concerns over the projection of N408 billion deficits financing in the budget, noted that loans are good when used for the actual purposes. He said: “We have to be cautious about it. We need to have a sustainable and pragmatic way of financing our budget so that we don’t rely solely on loans. “So, I would suggest that we look at a realistic budget and ways to finance it using alternatives like the Public Private Partnership, PPP, models. “I a...

RESIDENTS of Festac Town in Lagos State, has urged the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, and Eko Distribution Company, EkoDisco, to urgently look into the lack of electric power ravaging the historic community. They also tasked the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to prevail on EKDC to stop exploiting the residents by placing them on band B, whereas most of them don’t get up to five hours of light a day. Speaking on their ordeal, an artisan in the town, Mr Felix Ajayi, who spoke with Vanguard, said: “Power supply since President Bola Tinubu came to power has been nothing to write home about.  “EKDC claimed to place Festac on Band B, but the power ordeal is worse than what we can explain. “Businesses are no longer thriving here due to a lack of power supply.” Also speaking, a resident of 23 Road in the town, Ugochukwu Anyanwun, said: “It is disheartening that Festac is on the verge of total collapse. The same way the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, is less conc...

SPEAKERS and principal officers of State Houses of Assembly in the South West have expressed their readiness to engage the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, to work out full autonomy for state legislators in the country. This, according to them, would help solidify democratic governance across the 36 states of the federation. They also revealed plans to adopt an e-parliament system and processes to enhance transparency and proficiency. This was contained in a communique by the legislators at the end of a capacity development retreat attended by speakers and principal officers of state assemblies in the South-West region, held at Ikogosi-Ekiti and sponsored by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, PLAC, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO. The resolve came after the Federal Government awarded the Ekiti State House of Assembly as the best state assembly in the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In the communique by the Chairman, Conferenc...

AMIDST Nigeria’s economic challenges, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has recalled how the nation prospered under the Obasanjo/Atiku presidency (1999-2007), with the then Vice President, Atiku Abubakar as head of the national economic council. National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Debo Ologunagba, went down memory lane in a birthday message to Atiku on behalf of the party. He said: “The PDP and Nigerians across board continue to recognise Atiku Abubakar’s record of performance in the service to our nation, particularly as the Chairman of the National Economic Council under the Obasanjo/Atiku-led PDP administration between 1999 and 2007, during which our nation achieved massive and unparalleled national productivity in all sectors to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world.” He said the party was proud of and celebrates the former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, who is also one of the founding fathers of the party as he mark...

Venatius Ikem THERE was a drama at the Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP, in Cross River State, as members carried various  placards in protest against an alleged plan by the national secretariat to reinstate the ousted state chairman of the party. The protest, was carried out by the wards and local government’s chapters of the PDP across the state. Armed with placard of various inscriptions, the protesters threatened to leave the party should the removed chairman, Mr Venatius Ikem, be reinstated. Some of the placards reads: Ikem must go, all wards and local governments chapter rejects Vena, the decision of the Cross River State Working Committee (SWC) is the best for the party. Led by the Calabar Municipality chairman, Mr Bassey Asuquo, the protesters said that removal of Ikem was the best thing to have happened to the party. Asuquo said that the party faithful no longer want Ikem as the party chairman as his leadership had stagnated the growth of the party in...

*Direct Power Ministry to declare DisCos non-state actorslAsk ministry to take immediate measures to address DisCos’ reckless actions threatening the economy lAs govt moves to sell 60 per cent stake in DisCos THE House of Representatives has mandated electricity distribution companies, DisCos, to undertake a N500 billion recapitalisation to enhance their financial stability and ensure they can efficiently meet their obligations to the public. The resolution followed the adoption of a motion, titled “Need to Address the Activities of Distribution Companies in Nigeria,” sponsored by Ayokunle Isiaka, the member representing the Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency of Ogun State on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, at plenary yesterday. Moving the motion, Isiaka said recent actions by DisCos have posed a significant threat to the nation’s economic stability and the welfare of Nigerians. He expressed concern that despite Nigerians paying for electricity metres, distribution compan...

* Funding’ll be a challenge – Financial analysts  THE Federal government’s proposed 2025 budget has come under attack by industry groups and analysts who expressed disappointment over the assumptions, benchmarks and figures in the budget. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, faulted the key parameters and assumptions on which the proposed 2025 budget were based, saying they are too optimistic in the face of current realities. In a statement yesterday, the Director General of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, said the assumptions of an exchange rate at N1,400 per dollar and inflation rate at 15.8 per cent, in particular, are unrealistic. Her words: “A review of the key parameters and assumptions on which the 2025 budget is being proposed appears to be too optimistic in the face of current realities as recorded in the economic and social indicators. “Particularly, the assumption of an exchange rate at N1,400 is too fragile to work with against the current average of above N1,6...

Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has announced himself as the new presidential spokesman. There had been some confusion as Bayo Onanuga, designated as special adviser on communication and strategy, had been the presidential spokesman since the exit of Ajuri Ngelale, who was special adviser on media and publicity. Onanuga also moved to the office previously occupied by Ajuri at the presidential villa. But in a tweet yesterday, Bwala announced himself as the presidential spokesman. Also in an interaction with State House correspondents yesterday, Bwala, former spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign in 2023, rejected claims that his appointment was down to pecuniary gains. He emphasised the importance of staying focused on the larger goals of the Tinubu administration, despite the distractions that often accompanied public office. Bwala, who noted that the negative reactions to his appointment were motivated by ext...

Chief Emeka Anyaoku *Culture of celebrating least people destroying Nigeria — Obi *How book project was conceived in 2018 — Fayemi FORMER Commonwealth Secretary-General,  Chief Emeka Anyaoku , has warned that if Nigeria refuses to abolish the 1999 Constitution, development will continue to elude the country. While faulting the 1999 Constitution which he described as unitary, Anyaoku argued that united and progressive pluralistic countries were those who addressed their diversity with true federal constitutions. The elder statesman spoke at the launch of the book: ‘The Noble Academic and Patriot: A Biography of Emeritus Professor Akinjide Osuntokun,’ held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, in Lagos. Why Angel Gabriel won’t save Nigeria — Anyaoku Anyaoku, who was chairman of the occasion, said Nigeria, like many other countries, is a pluralistic country whose population comprised peoples long established in their separate geographical areas with different histo...

Henry Ndukuba THE Primate of All Nigeria, Most Rev’d Dr. Henry C. Ndukuba, has strongly rejected the Church of England’s approval of same-sex marriage, asserting that it goes against biblical teachings and undermines the sanctity of marriage as ordained by God. Speaking at the 2024 Divine Commonwealth Conference, DIVCCON, in Abuja, he emphasized the Church of Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to biblical orthodoxy and partnership with the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) to uphold traditional Christian values. The Primate also addressed the current state of Nigeria’s economy, urging the federal government to focus on empowering local industries rather than relying on imports. He called for the Nigerian government to collaborate with universities, polytechnics, and industrialists to harness the nation’s potential for technological innovation, referencing the example of countries like South Korea and Iran, which have successfully developed their own industries. In his address, th...

*Only 12 states implementing new wage *24 states yet to implement  *10 states remain silent on implementation *7 states fail to give commencement date *6 states promise to pay end of Nov THERE is growing tension among states yet to  implement the N70,000 new minimum wage, following the December 1 strike notice given by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to workers in defaulting states to commence indefinite strike. As at end of October, no fewer than 24 states are yet to start implementation, despite a promise by the Federal Government to Organised Labour on implementation. It would be recalled that during the meeting on October 17, in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF,  government promised to summon a meeting of the economic council to impress it on governors to implement the new minimum wage signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in August. However, at the end of October, only 12 state governments, out of the 36 state governments, ar...