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Global Rights to FG: Draconian Laws, threat to our Civic Space, Security, and Nationhood

by Folarin Kehinde July 29, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Kenny Folarin, Abuja

The Executive Director, Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu has expressed displeasure over draconian laws which is a threat to not just the civic space but security and nationhood.

Baiyewu while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at a dialogue on Solution Lab: Resisting Draconian Laws and Regulations on Civic Freedoms in Nigeria noted that the civic space in Nigeria is being repressed by many laws.

According to Baiyewu, more than 426 infractions on the civic space by the government has been recorded, with more than 112 against the media.

She disclosed that their are currently 9 draconian bills at the national assembly that are threat not just to the civic space but the security and the upholding of our nationhood but cannot be allowed to continue.

Baiyewu however implore Nigerians as the 2023 elections approaches to hold the government accountable by laws and policies imposed on them.

“We are going into 2023 and we must begin to know how to engage beyond just the voting and politics around election but to ensure that we are able to hold government accountable to the laws and policies that they profer to our civic space”.

“The civic space belongs to the people of Nigeria and not just a hidden group of people, so we must protect it”.

She however noted that the solution lab has identified role of citizens as important and draconian laws which are more prominent in states should be addressed by civil societies while ensuring that they state assemblies are held accountable to human right norms

Corroborating, one of the speakers Maxwell Kadiri stated it is important that draconian laws are challenged and to have a concerted level of advocacy, and continuous engagement with the legislative come 2023 is germane.

July 29, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Peter Obi, Okowa, Others Ask Christians To pray for Nigeria’s Peace, Unity

by Folarin Kehinde July 29, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Presidential flag bearers of major political parties yesterday took turns to enjoin Christian faithful to intensify prayers against the myriad of problems facing the country.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party, PDP’s Ifeanyi Okowa and Adewole Adebayo of the SDP spoke at the 12th General Assembly of the Christian Association of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Adebayo asserted that the present challenges bedevilling the country were “ordained for our time”.

“The problems that the church is facing today is the problem ordained for our time. They are not problems that should distract us because God remains constant,” Mr Adebayo said.

He urged Christians to pray for the unity and peace of the church and the nation.

“This is because the Church of Christ is not one side of Nigeria. It is not an opposition. It is a blessing to all Nigerians.

“The Church of Christ is the reason why Nigeria will be saved. The blessings go to all Nigerians, both Christians and non-Christians,” Mr Adebayo said.

He also advised clerics to pray for God’s will and not concentrate on predictions regarding the 2023 elections.

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who congratulated CAN for the peaceful transition in its leadership, urged the association to be united, saying, “the family of Christ is one, please let us be united “.

“Nigerians, please remember your country in prayers. Remember those of us going for public offices in prayers for us to use public offices and public money for public goods,” he said.

Similarly, Ifeanyi Okowa, the vice-presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said there was no doubt Nigeria was going through a lot in terms of security and economy.

He reiterated the need for Christians and their leaders to stand in for the country through prayers.

Source: PeoplesGaazette

July 29, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Telecommunications Subscribers To Pay 5% Tax On All Services

by Folarin Kehinde July 29, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

President Muhammadu Buhari regime has finalized plans to levy a 5% percent Excise Duty on all telecommunications services, including calls, SMS, and data services, a move that would further compound Nigerians’ economic woes

Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed shared the worrying news at a stakeholders’ forum organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC in Abuja on Thursday. Ms Ahmed said the decision was motivated by the federal government’s desperation to augment declining income from oil and gas.

“The issue of revenue is not something that need to be shy away from, our revenue can no longer take care of our needs as a country,” Ms Ahmed asserted. “Also, Nigeria is no longer making enough money in oil revenue hence the attention is shifting to non-oil revenue.”

Ms Ahmed, represented by Musa Umar, Assistant Director, Tax and Policy, urged stakeholders to support the implementation of the five per cent exercise duty on telecommunications services.

The minister defended the recently enacted tax by claiming that several African nations, including Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and others, have successfully tapped into this method of generating revenue.

She did however assure Nigerians, that the government is committed to implementing the regulation in a seamless manner that will not negatively impact Nigerians.

In response to the development, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, described the new tax regime as a strange move and unusual development.

He bemoaned that the newly imposed tax was a mishmash of 39 different taxes payable by the country’s telecom operators, implying that the new tax burden would be passed on to subscribers.

“It is a strange move; it appears a bit unusual. Excise duty is supposed to be apportioned to goods and products, but we are surprised this is on services,” he said.

“We currently pay a lot of taxes, running into 39 of them, so we can’t add more to our existing burden. We won’t be able to absolve this on behalf of subscribers. The five per cent excise duty will be paid by the subscribers. It will collect by the operators on all voice and data services including OTT and remitted to the Nigerians Customs”, he added.

It was reported that telecommunication companies under the umbrella of ALTON recommended an upward adjustment in call and SMS tariffs to cushion the increasing cost of operation in Nigeria.

The association claimed that the telecommunications industry had been financially harmed by an economic downturn that occurred in 2020 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

They claimed the war had resulted in a 35 per cent increase in their operating expenses due to an increase in energy costs

July 29, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Ebonyi Governor’s Brother Rejects Buhari’s Appointment

by Folarin Kehinde July 29, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Austin Umahi, the younger brother to Ebonyi State governor, has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment to become the Secretary of Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC).

Mr Umahi made this known in a statement he released stating that the appointment was good for job seekers or retired civil servants but not for someone of his age and with is qualifications.

The statement read “I am honestly humbled by this show of love, however, I regret to inform you that I declined the appointment because it is at best for job seekers or retired civil servants or better still anyone who loves the job and secondly, I am convinced that at my age and work experience it is not in doubt that I know what I want in life.

He however urged interested persons to contact his brother the Governor of Ebonyi State.

Mr Austin Umahi was one of the three persons recently appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari into different parastatals of his administration.

July 29, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Buhari Threatens Sanction On BBC For Banditry Documentary

by Folarin Kehinde July 29, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed says the government of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari will sanction the BBC for their documentary on banditry, accusing the platform of amplifying the voice of terrorists.

“Let me assure you, they will not get away with this naked glorification of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria,” Mr Mohammed said on Thursday in Abuja.

“When otherwise reputable platforms like BBC give their platform to terrorists, showing their faces as if they’re Nollywood stars, I want to assure them that they won’t get away with it, the appropriate sanctions will be meted.”

Mr Mohammed’s statement comes days after BBC Africa Eye published a documentary featuring interviews with bandit leaders.

In the documentary, Abu Sani, a bandit kingpin said banditry “has become a business. Everyone wants money. That is why things are deteriorating, from the top to the bottom.”

Threats of sanctions against media platforms have become commonplace with the Buhari regime.

Before now, Mr Mohammed had threatened sanction against CNN for their documentary exposing how Nigerian soldiers opened live rounds on EndSARS protesters at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos.

July 29, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

JUST IN: Court Sentence Proprietor, Two Others To Death For Hanifa Abubakar Murder

by Folarin Kehinde July 28, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The kano state high court has sentenced the proprietor of Nobel Kids Academy and North west preparatory school, Abdumalik Tanko, to death by hanging for masterminding the abduction and killing of a 5-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar.

The presiding Judge, Justice Usman Na’abba, gave the order while delivering his judgement today 28th July, 2022.

Recall that the trio of Abdulmalik alongside his accomplices, Hashim Isyaku, and Fatima Jibrin, were arraigned before the court by the Kano state government on a five-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, confinement and culpable homicide contrary to section 97, 274, 277, 221 of the penal code.

The presiding judge also sentenced the second defendant, Hashim Isyaku to death by hanging.

Justice Usman Naaba also found the third accused person Fatima Jibrin guilty on four count charges in the case of Hanifa’s murder and sentenced her to death by hanging.

This sentence would serve as justice to the family of Hanifa Abubakar for the gruesome killing of their 5 year old daughter.

July 28, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

University of Oregon USA Waives IELTS For Nigerians

by Folarin Kehinde July 28, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

The University of Oregon, Eugene in the United States has announced that from the winter 2023 application cycle, it would waive IELTS/TOEFL for all native and first language English speakers.

The university has made this known as a challenge to Home Office and other institutions around the world who continue to discriminate against English-Speaking Africans.

This development is due to the efforts from Dr. Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi who is championing the #ReformIELTS campaign by writing to various institutions to waive Nigeria off countries that are required to write IELTS or TOEFL before gaining admission.

Recall that LEADINGREPORTERS wrote a report on how Dr. Olumuyiwa has taken up the fight on IELTS discrimination by western universities by writing a petition to the various universities stating the various reasons why Nigeria should not be included in IELTS since it is already an English-speaking country.

The University of Oregon becomes the third university to waive IELTS for English-Speaking African countries, behind the University of Alberta Canada and the University of Athabasca Canada. It is also the first non-Canadian university to do so giving hope that more countries would begin to take the #ReformIELTS campaign seriously.

We hope that more Universities in Western countries would begin to change their policies in order to reflect Nigeria and other English-Speaking Africans as English speakers who do not need to write the IELTS examination before been offered admission

July 28, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Tackle Insecurity Urgently Or We Will Impeach You: Senators To Buhari

by Folarin Kehinde July 28, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Over 80 Senators yesterday have agreed to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari if nothing is done about the insecurity plaguing the nation lasts in Six weeks.

The Senators involved cut across multiple party lines and ethnicity. They were united in their anger about the rising insecurity in the nation which the President had tackled in a babyish manner.

According to the Senators, they have given the president all that he needed to tackle the security challenges but that the issue kept getting worse even in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the seat of power.

The decision was taken after their respective closed-sessions before the commencement of plenary, presided over by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who also charged the security agencies to do more in order to stop the terrorists and the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase.

After the closed-door meeting, the Senate President blocked move by the lawmakers to present their resolutions on the impeachment of Buhari over insecurity at plenary, a development which angered the Senators, who consequently staged a walkout to address the Senate Press Corps.

“At the closed session, we agreed to give him (Buhari) an ultimatum of six weeks after which we will impeach him. But the Senate President blocked us.

“Nowhere is safe in Nigeria, even Abuja. Urgent steps need to be taken and we left the chamber because we’ve given the President six weeks to resolve the issue or we impeach him.

“We’ve given all the appropriations, resolutions and the support he needs. Our next line of action is to impeach him,” the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Philip Aduda, told journalists on behalf of other Senators.

But the presidency last night reacted to the reported move by the Senate to commence impeachment moves against President Buhari, and advised the senators to stop playing to the gallery like their counterparts in the United States, otherwise, staging a walkout was performative and babyish.

At the same time, the federal government, has said it was currently working round the clock to bring the country’s security situation under control.

July 28, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

ASUU strike: El-Rufai threatened to Sack All Kaduna lecturers

by Folarin Kehinde July 28, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has threatened to sack all the Kaduna State University (KASU) lecturers if they continue to observe the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

It would be recalled that ASUU has been on strike since February over the failure of the federal government to meet its demands.

Many attempts by the government to make the lecturers return to the classrooms have not yielded results as of today.

Just on Monday, labour unions commenced solidarity protests in some parts of the country with ASUU.

However, speaking on a radio programme in Kaduna on Wednesday, El-Rufai told the lecturers to return to classrooms in order to avoid having their positions declared vacant, adding that KASU lecturers had no reason to join any strike.

According to him, ASUU had a problem with the federal government, not the state government.

He said, “The Acting Vice Chancellor has assured me that they will resume, but I have asked them to find out if they actually resumed work, because I initially instructed that their salary be stopped. But I was later told they didn’t join the strike, so I asked that it should be investigated and those that collected salary and joined the strike will be asked to refund the salary.

“This is because Nigeria’s law says ‘no work, no pay’. This is the law. So whoever joined the strike will not be paid a salary. We have been telling the KASU lecturers that they have no problem with the State government. ASUU’s problem is with the Federal government. Therefore, why will our staff who have no problems with us join the strike?

“If this continues, I will wake up one day to sack them all, I swear to God. We will sack them all and declare their positions vacant on the pages of newspapers. They once did the same thing and we gave them warning, now they repeated it. I’m only waiting to receive the report from the commissioner for education. I swear to God, we will sack all those that joined the strike if they refuse to resume work.”

July 28, 2022 0 comments

Headlines

Buhari Writes Senate: Seeks Confirmation For Acting CJN, Others

by Folarin Kehinde July 28, 2022

written by Folarin Kehinde

President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate, seeking a confirmation of the nomination of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

This is to replace the former Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad who resigned on June 27, due to health reasons.

The president’s request was contained in a letter dated July 5, 2022, which he sent to Red Chamber.

The letter was read by the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, at the start of plenary yesterday.

The letter reads: “Pursuant to Section 231(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

“While I hope that the submission will be considered in the usual expeditious manner, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”

In another letter to the Senate dated July 21, 2022, President Buhari requested the upper chamber to confirm the nomination of Dr. Suleiman Agha Afikpo as commissioner representing the South-East zone, at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

He explained that the request is in accordance with the provision of Section 3(2) of the Hajj Commission Act. Cap. 321, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.

The Senate also received a request from President Buhari, to confirm the re-appointment of four nominees as Non-executive directors of the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The request was contained in a latter dated July 21, 2022, and read at the start of plenary by Senate President Lawan.

The president, in the letter, explained that the request to confirm the nominees was made in accordance with Section 10(3)(a) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007.

The nominees for confirmation include: Prof. Mike Idiahi Obadan (South South), Prof. Justitia Odinakachukwu Nnabuko (South East), Prof. Ummu Ahmed Jalingo (North East), and Mr. Adeola Adetunji (South West).

President Buhari also wrote to the Senate, requesting lawmakers to confirm 19 nominees as Resident Electoral Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The confirmation request to the upper chamber which was contained in a letter dated July 25, 2022 was read at plenary by Senate President Lawan yesterday.

President Buhari, in the letter, said that the request for the confirmation of the nominees was in accordance with the provisions of Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

He explained that the nomination of five (5) Resident Electoral Commissioners are for renewal, while the other fourteen (14) are fresh appointments.

The nominees for confirmation include Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adamawa – Renewal); Obo O. Effanga (Cross River – Renewal); Alh. Umar Ibrahim (Taraba – Renewal); Dr. Agboke Mutiu Olaleke (Ogun – Renewal); and Prof. Samuel E. Egwu (Kogi – Renewal).

Others are Onyeka Pauline Ugochi (Imo); Prof. Muhammad Lawal Bashir (Sokoto); Prof. Ayobami Salami (Oyo); Amb. Zango Abdussamadu Abdu (Katsina); Mrs. Queen Elizabeth Agwu (Ebonyi); and Dr. Agundu Oliver Tersoo (Benue).

Also to be confirmed are Yomere Gabriel Oritsemlebi (Delta); Prof. Yahaya Makarfi Ibrahim (Kaduna); Dr. Nura Ali (Kano); Agu Sylvia Uchenna (Enugu); Ahmed Yushau Garki (FCT); Barr. Hudu Yunusa (Bauchi); Prof. Uzochukwu Ikemefuna Chijioke (Anambra); and Mohammed B. Nura (Yobe).

July 28, 2022 0 comments

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