Author: Chief Editor

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday dismissed the No-case Submission entered by two officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in their trial over alleged falsification of tax documents. Justice Ekwo, in a ruling, held that the no-case submission entered by the defendants – Mohammed Adami and Okoro Udokanmma lacked merit. Adami and Udokanmma are standing trial on a five-count charge bordering on alleged falsification of Personal Income Tax Clearance Certificate. The defendants had filed a No-case Submission after the prosecution closed it’s case after calling six witnesses and tendered documents in…

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, will today sign a bill for the establishment of the state Security Trust Fund into law. The governor had signed the bill establishing the Ondo State Security Network, Amotekun Corps, into law in his first tenure in office, and also recently assented to the anti-open grazing bill among several other steps taken by his administration to ensure maximum security of the people of the state. A statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, noted that “the signing of the bill for the establishment of the state Security Trust Fund into law will…

Sixty-one years ago, our founding fathers laid out a vision, that the many nations and ethnicities, North and South of the Niger, 300 languages or more, differing tribes, and religions, would by the grace of God become one Nation. That their diverse strengths and gifts would coalesce into a formidable economic and regional force. And that these united nations may become the largest aggregation of black people on earth. A beacon of hope to all peoples of African descent, long bruised by the afflictions of slavery and colonial exploitation. Nigeria will be the reaffirmation of their dignity and a tonic…

Some are of the opinion that the country needs a new direction to tackle social, economic and political challenges bedevilling the country, which they blame on bad leadership. But many received the idea of resuscitating the Third Force as announced by the movers of Rescue Nigeria Projects (RNP), which promises to solve the leadership crisis, with mixed feelings. The failure of the two dominant parties – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to meet the expectations of Nigerians have spurred many to look forward to an alternative party that has the capacity to lead people…

Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) said on Monday that it was waiting for the verdict of the Supreme Court before taking any decision on the vexed issue of Valued Added Tax (VAT). Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, also the Chairman of the forum, stated this while featuring on a programme on Arise Television, monitored in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti. Fayemi said the forum believed that the controversy over VAT required both political and legal measures to be settled. “But, our take on this is that the Supreme Court should accelerate its decision so that we have clarity over who should be in charge…

There was a time when a reunion between Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola looked distinctly possible, but on Tuesday they will be on opposite sides again when Paris Saint-Germain play Manchester City in the Champions League. Had it not been for Jack Grealish, perhaps things would have turned out differently. City announced the £100 million ($139m) signing of Grealish from Aston Villa on August 5, the same day Barcelona revealed Messi would not be staying at the Camp Nou. A year ago, when Messi tried to force his departure from Catalonia, City appeared the most likely destination. In the end…

Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has urged well-meaning people to disregard the invitation of some groups operating under The Nigeria Project 2023, purportedly to the inauguration of a support group for the minister and Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, over the 2023 elections. Social media was awash at the weekend with a poster from the group allegedly presenting the minister and governor as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of an unnamed political party. In a statement, yesterday, the Special Adviser, Communications, to the minister, Hakeem Bello, said: “It became necessary to issue this disclaimer for two key…

•El-Rufai, Okafor want military hardware decentralised •Ortom begs Nigerians to help Benue IDPs •How to arrest banditry, by security expert At least, 330,000 Nigerian refugees are languishing in neighbouring countries due to insurgency and armed banditry in the North East and North West, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, has disclosed. She stated this, yesterday, in a Chatham House webinar on Nigeria’s humanitarian challenges and worsening food crisis. The minister indicated that communal, farmers/herdsmen clashes in the Middle Belt and in the Southern region, flood, drought, as well as fires and industrial accidents, among…

• NIMASA to halt registration of single hull ships in Dec 2021 President Muhammadu Buhari has withdrawn his earlier approval that over $209 million and N32 billion be released to Nigerian investors in the maritime industry under the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) scheme. Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, who disclosed this at the weekend during flag-off of a wreck removal exercise in Lagos, decried the lack of cohesion and organisation among operators. The Ministry of Transportation had given assurances, about five times, on release of the CVFF but had failed to live up to its words. Amaechi, who blamed…

Scientists, yesterday, confirmed that malaria parasites in Africa had developed resistance to World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved drug-of-choice/frontline medication, Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs). The ‘gold standard’ treatment for the ailment, the drug family, including artemisinin and its derivatives, are often administered alongside ‘partner’ medicines in what are called ACTs, because multiple drugs are more difficult for parasites to develop resistance against. But, a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed observable drop in ACTs’ ability to quickly treat people with the disease. Signs of drug resistance have long been present on the continent. For instance, in Rwanda…