Author: Chief Editor

Henry Boyo On September 11, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, briefed State House correspondents of government’s plan to raise the Value Added Tax rate by 50 per cent, i.e. from five per cent to 7.5 per cent. The decision to increase VAT rate may not be very popular as inflation has oppressively remained above 10 per cent for several years, and this has predictably eroded up to 50 per cent of the purchasing power of all income earners in the last five years. Thus, the N18,000 static minimum wage, for example, would command barely…

Tunde Odesola He’s neither the bat nor the vulture. Like an antique typewriter, he’s just noisome and talkative. He’s not the bat with big eyes trained to see currency colours in pitch darkness. Neither is he the old vulture; weak, power-crazy, brain-lazy and clannish. He’s a Pharisee, for he knows the law, prophesies the prophecies and practises politics. Thus, he’s dangerous. Men and women of goodwill must rally and save our nation from this drenched pastor dancing in latter rain. Tunde Bakare must not be allowed to topple the rotten applecart on its smooth journey to 2023. These are trying…

Liverpool are motivated to maintain their unbeaten streak in the Premier League and go one better than last season by lifting the title, according to midfielder Naby Keita. Jurgen Klopp’s side have not lost in 27 top-flight matches since January’s 2-1 reverse to Manchester City, four short of the club’s all-time record, set between May 1987 and March 1988. The Reds finished a point behind champions City last season but are six clear this time around after winning nine and drawing one of their opening 10 league games. Next up for the leaders is a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday and Guinea international Keita,…

Cristiano Ronaldo’s mother believes an unspecified football “mafia” could prevent the Juventus forward from winning a sixth Ballon d’Or because of his nationality. Speaking at an event in Portugal, Dolores Aveiro claimed conspiratorial forces are the reason her highly decorated son has not further embellished his long list of achievements. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star earned global fame and adulation for his performances in the Premier League and LaLiga but slipped to second in the 2018 Ballon d’Or rankings while midway through his first Serie A campaign. In September, he finished third in the voting for the title of…

Alleges plot to discredit Kogi primary election The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday ruled out any mass defections in the party due to the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment that dismissed the party’s presidential election petition against the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari. The party also raised the alarm over plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to manipulate the outcome of the party’s governorship primary elections in Kogi State with a spurious allegation that the commission did not monitor the primary election, thus questioning its credibility. Addressing journalists Thursday at…

The Federal Government yesterday made good its threat to stop the salaries of all its workers, especially members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who are not featured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). President Muhammadu Buhari had while presenting the 2020 budget proposal to the National Assembly, declared: “I have directed the stoppage of the salary of any Federal Government staff (sic) that is not captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform by the end of October 2019.” With the development, the affected workers would not only fail to receive…

Fola Ojo Without a strand of doubt, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi is one of the ace chaperons of the country’s foreign affairs. The Professor of Political Science and International Studies was once Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs. In Nigeria and around the world (especially in the US), Akinyemi remains a veritable voice of wisdom, experience, and deep knowledge concerning issues of global leadership and governance.  A few years ago, at the second term inauguration lecture of Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Akinyemi made a rattling remark about corruption in Nigeria. It probably made a few goons of corruption uncomfortable. “No one…

To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” –United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No 4. The All Progressives Congress, in government, will carry out a thorough review of the education sector, and having established the main causes of the sector’s terrible decline, will create elaborate incentives to attract the best and the brightest to teach in our schools” –All Progressives Congress Manifesto 2014 Quality education, which speaks to a threshold of competencies, skills, numeracy, and literacy, acquired through formal education continues to be important in official declarations nationally, and globally. As the opening…

Barcelona are still in the hunt for their sixth UEFA Champions League and their first under Ernesto Valverde. Lionel Messi had promised the fans before the beginning of the 2018-19 season that the team would do everything in their power to bring the trophy back to Camp Nou. After their humiliating loss against AS Roma in the semifinal stage of the competition, the fans needed that reassurance. The Argentine looked like he was all set to deliver on his promise, but history repeated itself as Barca went down against Liverpool in similar fashion. The Catalans have been a supreme force when it comes…

•Urges military to focus on Boko Haram The House of Representatives has kicked against Operation Positive Identification, which the army is scheduled to commence on Friday across the country. The green chamber said rather than the army subjecting Nigerians to the treatment meted for conquered persons, the army should go on the offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents. The House Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, had raised a point of order of national importance at the resumption of plenary yesterday, urging the House to stop the planned operation, saying it would strip Nigerians of their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement.…