Month: July 2023

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

As part of efforts to address the immediate food security requirements of member countries, the Executive Committee of the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Programme, a multi-donor, Inter-regional programme, has unveiled a US$1.5 billion Food Security Programme.

The hybrid unveiling took place at the headquarters of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Cairo on July 6.

The programme has the specific focus to ensure the resources for a consistent and reliable supply of essential food commodities for the Arab and African regions amidst the ongoing global food security crisis.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the crisis is a critical challenge facing the world and continues to be a top priority on the international development agenda.

By emphasising its special interest in the food sector, AATB aims to leverage its expertise, resources, and partnerships to implement targeted engagements that address the specific challenges faced by member countries.

The Food Security Programme is developed around the four pillars of the AATB Programme, namely Trade, Investment, Insurance, and Infrastructure.

In addition, the programme incorporates a fifth element, which is capacity development and technical assistance, serving as a cross-cutting theme and an enabling factor.

Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), commended the AATB, which he chairs the executive committee.

He said that the committee is committed to supporting production across Africa as the continent was lagging behind.

According to him, Africa needs to deal with the very difficult challenges that it is facing because of food prices that are afflicting many parts of the world.

He said: “The global food security situation has been worsened recently. First, by the lockdowns, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused difficulties, all across Africa.

“Then Ukraine crisis compounded the problem by restricting access to grains that used to come from the Black Sea area, and also the fertilisers that were normally used to support production across Africa.

“ So, a continent that was lagging behind in terms of the fertiliser now found itself where production in many places could not take place because of lack of access to fertiliser.

“We recognise that in some parts of Africa, there are production going on and in fact, excess supply, but quite a large part of the continent, especially in the eastern and southern Africa area, shortages remain.’’

Oramah noted that of recent, the climate crisis had also become a big challenge to the continent, especially those living in the Sahel area, East Africa.

“And so, we’ve seen droughts and seen extreme weather, flooding, and so on, impacting production of food in those areas.

“It is estimated by different groups that more than 50 million Africans might be facing starvation because of lack of access to food.

“ It is on account of this that the Arab Africa Trade Bridges considered the matter.

“And as we have done in the past, especially during the COVID -19 pandemic, when we launched the collaborative trade pandemic response facility, decided that as a programme, we should also look at how to support the continent.

“It is on that basis that the AATB and partners came together and put up a $1.5 billion facility for food security in Africa.

“As an African bank, committed to supporting the continent, I am very proud of this partnership and most thank our partners”.

Mr Hani Sonbol, Secretary General, AATB, commended the initiative and said that committee recognised its importance for human well-being, economic growth, environmental sustainability, and interconnected development.

Sonbol, also CEO of ITFC, noted that through the programme and associated initiatives, AATB aimed to contribute to achieving the SDGs and promoting inclusive economic development among member countries.

NAN also reports that the Food Security Programme is a key focus of AATB, reflecting its commitment to addressing the evolving priorities of member countries in crucial sectors such as health and food security for sustainable development.

By prioritising the food sector, AATB recognises its importance for human well-being, economic growth, environmental sustainability, and interconnected development.

The AATB Programme is a multi-donor, multi-country, and multi-organisations programme supported by the Afreximbank, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Islamic Development Bank, and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

Other supporters are the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), The Islamic Corporation for The Development of The Private Sector (ICD), and The OPEC Fund for International Development.

The programme aims to promote and increase trade and investment ?ows between African and Arab OIC Member Countries; provide and support trade ?nance and export credit insurance and enhance existing capacity-building tools relating to trade.

The programme specifically focuses on supporting the key sectors of the health industry including pharmaceuticals; agriculture and related industries including textiles; infrastructure and transport; and petrochemicals, construction material, and technology.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Saturday.

The meeting to be held in the port city of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau on Sunday is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues.

A statement from the presidential spokesman, Dele Alake, announced that the memoranda include Report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the report covers security challenges faced by the member countries.

“Slated for discussion is Report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“It will also discuss the Report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

“Other items slated for discussion include; Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan- Lagos corridor”, he said.

He said that Tinubu would be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

The president is expected back in Nigeria at the end of the meeting.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria