Headlines

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum is currently meeting with former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The politicians have now gone behind closed doors.

The meeting is coming on the heels of reports of a rift between Governor Simi Fubara and his predecessor, who is currently Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The two men reportedly fell out less than six months after Fubara’s inauguration.

Both politicians have been in the news since the Rivers State House of Assembly began impeachment proceedings against the governor on Monday.

On Monday, Fubara stormed the assembly complex with his loyalists to prevent the lawmakers from carrying out their plan.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja will Wednesday pass judgment in the application filed by former Senator Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the election victory of Senator Ireti Kingibe, the lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory on the Labour Party platform.

The judgement scheduled for 3 p.m. will be held via Zoom, according to the schedules made available to THE WHISTLER by an official of the court.

All parties, including counsels, are expected to log in 30 minutes before the virtual court session.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer for the FCT senatorial election, Prof. Sani Saka, had declared Kingibe the winner of the poll after garnering 202,175 votes.

She floored Senator Aduda who garnered 100,544 votes and came second.

But Aduda’s legal team approached the national assembly election petitions tribunal sitting in Abuja, seeking the nullification of Kingibe’s victory.

Aduda’s legal team had alleged that the collation of results across the FCT area councils was yet to be concluded when Kingibe was declared the winner.

The tribunal, however, dismissed Aduda’s petition for lacking in merit while upholding Kingibe’s victory at the February 25 polls.

Aduda’s legal team disagreed with the tribunal’s verdict and applied to the Court of Appeal for redress.

The President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, has reportedly been arrested by the Police at the ongoing protest in Imo state.

This is following the smashing of vehicles and inflicting wounds on labour members by hoodlums.

Reports have it that the union leader was whisked away by heavily armed security personnel.

As of press time, the whereabout of the NLC President is unknown.

More to follow…

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator-Elect for Kogi Central, has made allegations against Yahaya Bello, the state governor, accusing him of attempting to bribe her with a significant sum to step down from the election race.

Akpoti-Uduaghan disclosed that Bello offered her a substantial sum of N50 million in a bid to persuade her to withdraw from the race, purportedly in favour of Bello’s chosen candidate, who was a Senator at the time.

Reportedly undeterred by her refusal of the initial offer, Bello purportedly increased the sum to N70 million in a subsequent attempt to sway her decision.

The Senator-Elect said she stood firm in her resolve, declining the offer on both occasions, refusing to yield to the pressure imposed by Bello’s alleged proposal.

She told Arise TV:

”He has a personality, which, I would say, with all due respect, is deluded and makes him want to lord over things and dictate the terms and almost like a mini-god, and that is not how life happens.

”In 2018, before I joined the SDP, I was in APC for pretty much three months; the governor called on me, just like he called on nine other aspirants at that point and telling each and everyone to step down.

”To some people, he offered me them money. He offered me money as well. He offered me N50 million at first, I turned it down, and he offered me N70 million to step down for his anointed candidate.

”I told him that I was not in the race for money. It wasn’t a personal aggrandisement. It was to create an impact and help my people, then I moved to SDP to contest the election.”

The Bola Tinubu-led administration has proposed to appropriate N5.095 billion for purchasing a presidential yacht under the capital expenditure Nigeria Navy and N5.5 billion for education loan fund in the 2023 supplementary budget.

This is contained in the 2023 supplementary appropriation details of Ministries, Departments and Agencies spending obtained by Nairametrics.

According to the document, the Nigerian Navy proposed a capital expenditure of 42.3 billion and a recurrent expenditure of N20.42 billion, making a budget of around N62.8 billion.

Other items in the budget proposal from the Nigerian Navy include the purchase of vehicles, construction of the naval base in Lekki and Epe, provision of critical equipment, and purchase of ammunition.

The government, under the capital supplementation for the 2023 supplementary budget, proposed the sum of N5.5 billion as an education loan fund to fund the student loan. The total capital supplementation for the 2023 extra budget totalled N210.5 billion.

The Access to Education Act, also called the Student Loan Act, was sponsored by Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila passed by the ninth National Assembly but was signed into law by President Tinubu in June.

The law seeks to provide interest-free loans to students of higher institutions across the country and end incessant industrial actions plaguing higher institutions of learning.

President Bola Tinubu has warned his cabinet members that they will be fired if they fail to deliver on their mandates.

He made the threat while declaring the 2023 Cabinet Retreat for Ministers, Presidential Aides, Permanent Secretaries, and Top Government Functionaries opened at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Tinubu said his administration is not ignorant of the challenges ahead, but there must be a clear-cut decision and action plan by all stakeholders to address them. He also said that since becoming president, he has graciously accepted all challenges and liabilities thrown at him by his predecessor.

The president said there would be no room for excuses, hence the reason he took his time to assemble all the best brains in his cabinet, who can aid the administration in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the citizens.

According to Tinubu, he has directed the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Bala Hadiza, to head the Result and Delivery Unit, through which key performance indicators of all ministerial appointees would be monitored. He said at the end of the retreat, all ministers would sign a bond of understanding to track those performing to expectation or not.

Among the key priorities the Tinubu administration wants the cabinet members to focus on are food security, ending poverty, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, inclusivity: drawing on skill base, security, fairness and rule of law, and anti-corruption.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has faulted claims that he planned to have the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, impeached so he could install a fellow Ikwerre person as governor of the state.

Wike, who spoke for the first time since the impeachment plot became public, said he had the power to stop Fubara from becoming governor if he didn’t want him to succeed him.

The reason for the breakdown of Fubara and Wike’s political relationship is still sketchy but Wike said on Tuesday that the issues surrounding the planned impeachment had nothing to do with ethnicity, but were a party affair.

Wike’s reaction comes after Chief Edwin Clark, leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), and the Ijaw National Congress (INC) accused him of being behind the impeachment plot.

Clark had called on President Bola Tinubu to call Wike to order, while the INC had warned that the Ijaw nation would act decisively and appropriately if Fubara was impeached.

Wike, however, said the party was looking into the matter and would resolve it.

He said: “In politics, there are a lot of internal wranglings. That does not mean that in those internal wranglings, they would not settle within their families.

“But to come out to say ‘oh, they want to do this against Ijaw people,” that is very wrong.

“I was the instrument. I had every power then to say this is where this (the governorship position) is going. So, when things are wrong, you ask questions. It is a party affair and parties know how they resolve their (issues). It is not an ethnic affair. Our party is looking into it, that is all I will say. Every politician has his own interest.”

The Lagos state government has closed down 34 corporate organizations for failing to remit Personal Income Taxes of their employees and for non-remittance of consumption taxes.

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) acted on behalf of the government.

A statement by Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude, Head, Corporate Communications, LIRS, listed some of these companies to include NTS Nigeria Ltd., Med-In Hospital & Pharma Services Ltd., Danvic Petroleum Int’l Ltd., Business Intelligence Technology, Avaya Nigeria Ltd., Gladstone Tech Ltd., Courier Plus Services Ltd., Kurioucity Ltd., Medilag Ventures Ltd., Future Oilfields, and Seven Six & Ten Limited.

She further stated that 23 hotels, restaurants, and event facilities were closed for failing to deduct and remit consumption taxes.

The businesses include Blitz Suites & Hotel, Offshoroomz Hotel, God’s Grace Hotel, De Orange Place Ltd., De Santos Hotel, Kentade Hotel Limited, Chamcee, Chelsea Suites, Falode Hotels, High Climax Hotel, Chez Moi Apartment, Excellence Hotel, Bereans Venture (Tantalizer Ebute Metta), La Avril Hotel & Suites, De Orange Place Ltd., Milaco Guest House, New World Inn, Model Motels Ltd, Rely Maritime Ltd, 4 Seasons Hotel, Dream Land Hotel, 343 North Restaurant and Lounge, and Jade Palace Chinese Restaurant.

The statement quoted Seyi Alade, the Director of Legal Services LIRS, as making this announcement while addressing a state-wide tax law enforcement exercise conducted by the Service in Lagos on Monday.

Alade reported that the tax liabilities of these companies and hotels amounted to more than =N= 356.12 million. He said their actions have caused the state government loss of revenue.

He explained that the agency had previously reduced its enforcement activities to promote voluntary compliance by taxpayers.

Alade further reiterated that “these companies deduct Personal Income taxes from their employees’ salaries at the end of each month and charge consumption taxes on goods and services purchased by customers.

“Unfortunately, some unpatriotic firms withhold these payments, illegally converting the funds for their own use.”

He also warned that failing to file tax returns or engaging in tax evasion are considered criminal offences that may result in financial penalties and, in some cases, custodial sentences upon conviction.

According to him, the enforcement exercise shall be a continuous one, and it shall be visited on all erring companies, hotels, restaurants, and individuals in the state if they refuse to regularize their tax positions immediately or comply with all extant tax laws operational in Lagos state.

The President Bola Tinubu-led government has began the payment of N35,000 wage award to federal civil servants for the month of September.

Leading reporters gathered that some jubilant workers confirmed that they started receiving credit alerts on Tuesday.

One of them confirmed receiving payment for September only and not for two months as promised by the federal government.

“Yes I did receive it. I saw the alert about 15 minutes ago. I think it is for September because the alert indicated September,” the source said.

Another civil servant said ,”Yes, I have seen mine too but we are expecting to see another alert because the President said it would start from September so maybe another one will come which will read October.”

President Tinubu approved N35,000 as a provisional wage award for all treasury-paid federal government workers for six months.

This wage award followed the outcome of the meeting between the representatives of the federal government and leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to stop the planned nationwide strike by the unions on aimed at protesting subsidy removal.