Day: July 8, 2023

A onetime Enugu lawmaker, Mr Nwabueze Ugwu, says that Gov. Peter Mbah’s vision to grow Enugu State Gross Domestic Products (GDP) will depend on the level of security and industrialization.

This, he said, would also be achievable if there were adequate power and water supply in the state.

Ugwu stated this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Enugu.

According to him, industrialization can be fully achieved through the support of the private sector and no investor will push out finance in a volatile environment.

“A fallout to raising the GDP from $4 billion dollars to $30 billion is the fact that for that to take place, there have to be many industries built in Enugu state.

“For these industries to be built, there must be security, there must be determination on the part of the governor and his entire team.

“There must be sincerity of the executive and there must also be cooperation from the people who live in Enugu state for this thing to be achieved,” he said.

Ugwu stated that security was not for government alone but a two way traffic.

“It is a thing that will guide the government to pilot affairs while the people will also cooperate seriously with government so that if they see something they will say something.

“It is only if security is available that the investors will invest their money and it is not possible for the government to build the industries that we will need to raise the GDP of the state from four billion dollars to $30 billion.”

He said that if sufficient industries were built in Enugu state, it would get to the level where that singular statement by the governor that he wanted zero unemployment in Enugu would be achieved.

“It is those industries that will employ the people of the state directly with five times more indirect jobs.

He noted that with more investors the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in the state would be reinvigorated due to the attendant high traffic.

He added that with multiplicity of industries, many foreign and local residents would function well and economic activities blossomed around the airport.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Gunmen kidnapped the Ekiti State’s chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Paul Omotisho, on Saturday.

APC’s Publicity Secretary in Ekiti, Mr Segun Dipe, stated at Ado-Ekiti that the assailants abducted Omotisho as he was driving on the Agbado-Ekiti/Imesi-Ekiti Road.

“The chairman was driving in a Toyota Venza car when the assailants seized him.

“The gunmen shot at one of his tyres to immobilise the vehicle after which they seized and drove him off in a Toyota Hilux van.

“He was alone in the car when the incident happened.

“Security agencies – the police and Amotekun Corps (the Southwest security outfit) – have been alerted and they are working on the incident,’’ Dipe stated.

Reacting to the abduction, police spokesman in Ekiti, DSP Sunday Abutu, said the police would make a statement on the abduction after getting clear information.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Some Abuja- based Legal Practitioners have warned that Law Enforcement Agencies should not turn to debt collectors.

The Legal Practitioners gave the warning at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.

The press briefing was aimed at addressing vital issues across various sectors of the country as it affects government policies, the rule of law as well as the economic stability of the nation.

Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi alleged that the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is deviating from its core mandate.

“The commission is beginning to give priority to matters bordering on contracts and commercial transaction as the commission is now deployed for debt recovery and ancillary matters.

“The position of the law is very clear. EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies are not debt recovery agencies.

“The commission of Financial Crimes in Nigeria pursuant to Section 6(b) of the EFCC Act (Supra) does not extend to the investigation and/or resolution of disputes arising or resulting from simple contracts or civil transactions as in this case.

“Accordingly, we urge the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to desist from intermeddling in civil and contractual disputes between parties.”

Mr Ganiyu Bello, on his part, frowned at what he termed as double taxation, adding that taxation must take into cognizance the hallowed characteristics of being fair and transparent.

“One of the fundamental issues that raised the hope of investors, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and business owners in this present administration was the principle against double taxation which was contained in the inaugural speech of the President on May 29.

“Sadly, as enthusiastic as this may appear, the extant laws in Nigeria has subjected citizens to various double taxation policies which is one of the many reasons why economic instability persists in the country.

“For instance, the trite position of the law is that owners of business names duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission is not under a legal duty to pay tax over the business name; rather such a person is expected to pay Personal Income Tax pursuant to Section 2 of CITA.

“Unfortunately, it is now a compelling practice for Business names to separately obtain Tax Identification Number (TIN) which consequently expose them to payments of tax while the proprietors of such business names equally pay Personal Income Tax resulting in double taxation.

They also called for law reforms and amendments for effective justice delivery in the country.

Mr Henry Kelechukwu said that another fundamental issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency is the massive overhaul or amendments of Nigerian laws by the National Assembly.

“It is not in contention that there have been numerous contradictions and irreconcilable differences in our extant laws, part of which are now responsible for abuse of office by public office holders.

“This serves as a clog on the rule of justice for citizens, particularly against errant public officers and offices.

“For instance, the position of the law and unarguable tradition in the public sector is that a public or civil servant is expected to retire from active service after 35 years in service or upon attaining the age of 60 years.

“However, the new Police Act, 2020 under Section 7 (6) provides that a person who is appointed as the Inspector General of Police shall hold office for a term of 4 years.

“The question that now begs for an answer is what happens in a situation where an officer of 59 years old is appointed as the IGP, would he retire at the age of 60 or would he hold office till the age of 63 when his tenure will expire?

He noted that sadly, the nation has witnessed an occasion where an IGP held on to the provision of Section 7 (6) to hold the office of IGP beyond the age limit stipulated for a public officer.

“Another statute which begs for the urgent intervention of the National Assembly is with regards to the provision of the Sheriff and Civil Processes Act particularly as it affects some sections of the Act.

“For instance, Section 84 of Sheriff and Civil Processes Act makes it mandatory for a judgment creditor to obtain the consent of Attorney General before enforcing judgment particularly monetary judgment, against the government or any of its agencies.

“This provisions has proven to be a hindrance to the rule of justice as many litigants and victims of tyrannical system and conducts of errant officers have not been able to enjoy the fruit of their judgment to achieve satisfactory compensation against the government and its agencies for abuse and violation of human right.

“This has equally encouraged constant violations of human rights as officers are not made to pay for their unruly attitude,” he said.

They, therefore, called on the National Assembly to, as matter of urgency, take a critical appraisal and review of laws with the aim of carrying out a massive amendments that will meet the contemporary challenges of the nation and her citizens.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed that 2,791,591 passengers passed through the nation’s domestic airports in the first quarter of 2023.

This was disclosed in an executive summary released by the NCAA and sighted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

It indicates that, of the 2,791,591 passengers, 1,391,560 were inbound and 1,400,031 outbound.

Also, the summary indicated a passenger traffic of 870,776 on international airlines operations in the first quarter of the year.

The breakdown showed that while an inbound passenger traffic of 375,700 was recorded, outbound traffic was 495,076 on the international routes.

In the first quarter, 25 foreign airlines operated 3,073 flights on the international routes, while 11 domestic airlines operated 182,88 flights on domestic routes..

Also, 1,193 complaints were received from passengers by the NCAA, on delayed flights on international routes, with 24 complaints of cancellations and six of air returns.

On the domestic flights, 101,028 flights were delayed within the first three months, with 284 cancelled and 28 cases of air returns

The report indicates that 499 flights were delayed on foreign flights in January, with Air Peace topping the list with 53, followed by Asky with 45, Qatar Airways, 41 and British Airways, 33, amongst others.

In February, delayed flights were 325, with AWA recording 30, Ethiopian Airlines 33, Kenya Airways 11; while in March, 369 flights were delayed, with Qatar Airways recording 32, United Airline had 1 and Air Peace recorded 64.

There were seven cancelled flights in January, 13 in February and four in March.

A total number of 25 Air/ramp return flights were recorded in the first quarter of the year.

Missing baggage were 9,087, and number of those found was 7,942 on international flights, while 31 were found on the domestic flights.

During the period under review, NCAA received 27 complaints from the international operations and 45 on the domestic flights.

Nine cases were resolved on international flights, while 22 were resolved on domestic flights.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Lagos, The Lagos State Government seeks the support of the Federal Government in the development of critical projects and infrastructure in the state.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu made the appeal when the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 45, Year 2023, of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) made a courtesy visit to Alausa, on Friday.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, noted that the support from the federal government was essential for the state to effectively execute major projects.

According to him, most of the major projects undertaken by the state are beyond what a state can execute without the federal government’s support.

“One of such projects is the rail project which is currently executed by the state and this requires funding by the Federal Government.

“Lagos is the only sub-sovereign in the world that is funding rail line projects on its balance sheet by itself.

“We cannot have a population that is growing like this and we don’t have a rail, there will always be congestion.

“The rail is key and its financial implication is huge, hence the call for support,” he said.

Highlighting some of the infrastructural efforts put in place by the state government, Sanwo-Olu stated that some electric buses were recently purchased.

He said: “Another important project is the Imota Rice Mill, which processes 32 tons of rice per hour and this requires more land.

“In order to meet up with the required supply of rice to the rice mill, we partnered with Kebbi, Niger, Kano, Ogun and some other states in the South South.

“If we can continue to do this interaction, there is no reason for Nigeria to import rice.”

“In spite of all these, the population of Lagos is another challenge, as Lagos only occupies a small portion of the entire land mass of the country, whereas, the state accommodates 11 per cent of the nation’s population.”

He said that the narratives must be pushed to the public and ensure that citizens understood that they must “grow what they eat and eat what they grow”.

Sanwo-Olu said that the institute’s visit to the state was essential, adding that the sub-sovereignty in the country could make changes in the lives of the people in the state.

Prof. Ayo Omotayo, Director-General, NIPPS, said the visit was to learn and understand how the three variables, namely: industrialisation, energy, security and climate, were being applied in the development of the state.

He said it was also to also collate data that would help in compiling a detailed report on the state.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria