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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS will soon begin a nationwide tax enforcement exercise to bring tax defaulters to book. The Acting Executive Chairman of FIRS, Abiodun Aina in a notification to taxpayers on Tuesday informed them of the plan by the Service to begin tax enforcement against such defaulters should they continue to fail in fulfilling their tax obligations. He advised such taxpayers to settle their tax liabilities within 7days of the publication to avoid any inconveniences or interruptions in their operations. A statement by Head of Communication and Servicom Dept, Wahab Gbadamosi,  quoted the…

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is deeply saddened by the demise of Hajiya Rakiyya Adamu, the mother of Alhaji Lawal Aliyu, Ubandoman Daura, his former Principal Personal Secretary when he was Military Head of State. She died at the age of 93. In a condolence message to the Ubandoma, his family and the Daura Emirate Council, President Buhari said, “I am deeply saddened to learn of the demise of Hajiya Rakiyya who was widely respected for her outstanding community work across various domains in the Daura Emirate.”I pray to Allah to repose her soul and grant the family and the…

The Senate on Tuesday referred President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 – 2018 External Borrowing Plan request to its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. The President’s request was forwarded to the Committee for further legislative work following its presentation by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, during plenary. The Committee has Senator Clifford Ordia (PDP, Edo Central) as Chairman and Senator Bima Mohammed Enagi (APC, Niger South) as Vice Chairman. President Buhari had in a letter dated November 26, 2019, said the Eighth National Assembly approved only a part of the External Borrowing request forwarded to it in September 2016. This, according…

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed displeasure with the speed with which the six-year single term proposal for president and governors was rejected by the House of Representatives. Abubakar expressed the displeasure in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to the rejection of the bill by the House on Monday. He said that he was disappointed by the fact that the lawmakers had thrown away the baby with the bathwater at the expense of the larger interest of the country. Abubakar said that in view of the challenges facing…

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar is displeased with the speed with which the six-year single term proposal was rejected by the House of Representatives. Reacting to the rejection of the bill by the House in a statement in Abuja on Monday, Atiku said he is disappointed by the fact that the lawmakers have thrown away the baby with the bathwater at the expense of the larger interest of the country. According to Atiku, “in view of the challenges facing our current democratic order, especially the culture of rigging that subverts the will of the people, six-year single term…

All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his 77th birthday.As president, Asiwaju Tinubu said Buhari had done much to correct the national direction and to place Nigeria on the pathway to our better future.In a special statement on the president’s birthday signed by his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, Asiwaju Tinubu said:“Joining the rest of the country, I extend my best wishes to President Muhammadu Buhari on his birthday. This special day gives us an opportunity to personally thank you for the contributions you have made to the development of our nation. Throughout your public life you have shown yourself…

I boarded a commercial airliner heading to Lagos from Abuja. I was already seated, and strapping my seat belt, when a young man approached me. He must have been in his late 20s, or at most, early 30s. I shook hands, greeted him warmly, and he slipped something in my palm. He went back to his seat. It was a piece of paper, and on it was written: “Please, tell Baba we are with him all the way.” My eyes became misty. I knew who he was talking about. My principal and Baba of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari, who…

John Quincy Adams once said “there are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” He may have very well been referring to Nigeria of the last three years. Barely two weeks ago, I warned during my Founder’s Day lecture at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, that Nigeria had taken almost as much foreign debt in the last three years, as she had taken in the thirty years before 2015 combined. Now that is frightening. And very true. Frightening, not just because of the amount, but because after such…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja signed the 2020 appropriation bill of N10,594,362,364,830 into law. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget was increased from N10.33 trillion to N10.594billion by the National Assembly. NAN observed that N560.47 billion of the total budget is for statutory transfers while N2.7 trillion is for debt service. Other breakdown of the budget include N4,842,974,600,640 for Recurrent Expenditure; Capital expenditure N2,465,418,006,955; Fiscal Deficit N2.28 trillion and Deficit/GDP N1.52 per cent. The budget as passed by the National Assembly also maintained Nigeria’s daily oil production rate at 2.18 million per barrel but increased…

Harry Awurumibe, State House, Abuja Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has given his strongest indication so far that the much criticized nation’s electoral process will be cleaned up once and for all, promising Nigerians that he will bequeath the culture of free and fair elections in 2023 General Elections. The President used the occasion of his 77th birthday celebration organized for him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by his aides and top government functionaries including the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha earlier today to make it abundantly clear that the elections in Nigeria will no longer be…