Lagos Plans To Internally Generate N60 Billion Monthly To Fund 2021 Budget

January 8, 2021

The Lagos State Government has planned to internally generate N60 billion monthly, to fund its N1.16 trillion 2021 budget.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Sam Egube, who provided the breakdown of the state 2021 budget yesterday, January 7, said that the state is targeting N723. 817 billion IGR to finance the budget with the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) generating N512 billion.

“A significant percentage of the projected Total Internally Generated Revenue (TIGR) of N512 billion is expected to be contributed by LIRS.

“We shall achieve this by expanding the tax net by simplifying the tax process, improving our transaction taxes and the appropriate use of technology in addition to improving the work environment, training and tools of our tax administration personnel.

“This will improve the efficiency in operations of all revenue generating agencies. We believe that there are huge revenue generating opportunities in the state, including real estates, transportation sectors and our markets generally etc. We will continue to use data and intelligence to unravel revenue opportunities and leakages.”

Egube said that the Ministry of Works has the largest share of the budget with N244. 8bn allocation. Ministries of Education and Health which got N146. 9bn and N105. 9bn respectively got the second and third largest share of the 2021 budget.

In the breakdown, the commissioner said budgetary provision of N150.753bn was provided for the maintenance of roads and other infrastructures within the State.

“This increase shall address the zero-pothole strategy, create link-roads within the metropolis to resolve traffic congestion and its attendant risks. The provision will cater for the under listed among others: N15bn for The Rebuild Lagos project/trust fund, N11bn for Reconstruction of lekki-epe expressway from Eleko junction to Epe T-junction (phase one), N8.750bn for Lekki Regional Roads, N19.500bn under Project Stabilization Fund to intervene on various projects.”

National Identification Registration May Resume Monday, As Staff Suspend Strike

Editorial staff

January 8, 2021

Registration for the National Identification Number (NIN), may resume nation-wide on Monday, January 11 following the suspension of strike by the staff of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC Unit, Asekokhai Lucky, confirmed the suspension of the strike today, January 8.

The strike, which was embarked upon yesterday, January 7 over the fear of coronavirus spread in the agency, was suspended after a meeting with the Federal Government, where it was agreed that the demands of the employees would be addressed.

10 Months After Closure, Nigerian Universities Re-Open January 18

Editorial staff

January 8, 2021

National Universities Commission (NUC) has directed vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities to resume academic activities on January 18, 2021.

Public universities in the country have been closed since March 2020 after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on an indefinite strike that lasted about 10 months.

The Deputy Executive Secretary (administration) of NUC, Chris Maiyaki in a statement today, January 8, said that the instruction was given in line with the directive of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on the resumption of schools across the country.

Maiyaki advised the universities to safeguard lives by strictly adhering to the extant safety protocols and the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on COVID-19.

He said that the guidelines have been communicated on several occasions to university authorities through circulars from the commission.

The deputy executive secretary said that on the resumption of academic activities, universities must under no circumstance violate the full cycle of the semester system, consistent with the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) approved by the NUC, as well as other extant quality assurance standards and guidelines.

He said officers on Grade Level 12 and below have been advised to remain at home for a five-week period as earlier directed by the Federal Government.

How Man Ignored Ruling Of King Ado Ibrahim, Ohinoyi Of Ebira In Divorce Case In Kogi

Greenbarge Reporters

January 8, 2021

A middle aged man, Hassan Ahmed is alleged to have ignored the ruling of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and acting chairman of Kogi State Traditional Council, Alhaji Dr. Ado Ibrahim in a divorce case.

Hassan Ahmed, who was separated from his wife by King Ado Ibrahim sometime in April 2019, was alleged to have said that he did not recognize a divorce certificate issued to him and his ex wife by the Ohinoyi.

The ex wife, Mrs. A Hassan Ahmed, told an Area Court in Okene that her former husband insisted that it’s only a court of law that should be in a better position to separate them.

Narrating her ordeals in the hand of Hassan with whom she has four children (three females and one male), former Mrs. Hassan said that Hassan was in the habit of beating her.

“In one of such beatings, he forcefully removed three of my teeth, held onto my jugular veins in an attempt to strangulate me. Thanks to our neighbours who came in time to save me, he would have killed me.”

Former Mrs. Hassan told the court how Hassan had boasted that the case in the court would drag for 20 years because he had spent N300,000 to bribe relevant officers including the judge.

She said that her ex husband, whom she lived with for 18 years, also boasted that the entire police men and women in Okene and Ebiraland are in his pocket and that he can use them the way he wants.

“I confirmed this whenever I reported him at Okene police station after he had successfully isolated me from my parents and family members, the police would just ask me to go back home.

“At some points, I resorted to reporting him to soldiers who would tell me that they were not trained to settle quarrels between civilians, but to kill or get killed.

“From the beginning, I did not love him and was determined that I would not marry him the same way he vowed that he would marry me, to the point of telling my late mother, who supported me that she would not live to see me in his house. I just found myself in his house through a circumstance I could not explain. “

The case for court divorce in the marriage that was consumated only two years ago, has been adjourned to two weeks time.

Joe Biden Describes Capitol Demonstrators As Domestic Terrorists

Greenbarge Reporters

January 8, 2021

The Present-elect of the United States, Joe Biden has described supporters of President Donald Trump who staged violent demonstration at the country’s Capitol as domestic terrorists

In his verified tweeter handle (@JoeBiden yesterday, January 7, the President-elect tweeted: “what we witnessed yesterday was not dissent — it was disorder.

“They weren’t protestors — they were rioters, insurrectionists, and domestic terrorists.
“I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming, but that isn’t true. We could.”

It Would Have Been Different Story If Invaders Of US Capitol Were Blacks – Biden

Editorial staff

January 8, 2021

United States President-elect Joe Biden has said that it would have been a different story if those who attacked the US Capitol yesterday, January 6 were Black people.

“No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol”, he said.

President Donald Trump’s supporters had stormed the Capitol as Vice President Mike Pence was about to perform his role in the electoral vote count. The edifice is the meeting place of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Thousands of Trump’s followers clashed with the police as they re-echoed his claims of election fraud. Four people died in the violent protest which started after the American leader vowed “never to concede”.

Meanwhile the Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, has called for the immediate impeachment of President Trump.

This was even as President’s ex-ally and former Attorney-General, William Barr, fingered President Trump in the orchestration of the mob action, describing it as “a betrayal of his office and supporters.”

EFCC Alerts Nigerians Over Sales Of National Identity Number, Warns Against Danger

Editorial staff

January 8, 2021

This illustration photo is credited to Economist UK

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alerted Nigerians over the sales of the National Identity Number (NIN) to those it called “unscrupulous persons whose motives are anything but noble.”

The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement, said: “The EFCC wishes to alert Nigerians that it is not only illegal to sell their NIN, they stand the risk of vicarious liability for any act of criminality linked to their NIN.

“In other words, they risk arrest and prosecution for any act of criminality linked to their NIN whether or not they are directly responsible for such crimes.”

The commission warned members of the public against selling their NIN, advising them to report anyone seeking to buy the facility to the nearest office of the EFCC or other law enforcement agencies.

Congress Confirms Joe Biden As 46th President Of US

Editorial staff

January 7, 2021

The United States Congress has formally confirmed the election of Joe Biden as President, a day after a mob invaded the Capitol in a chaotic effort to avoid having President Donald Trump confirmed as the loser in the race.

The affirmation came after the House of Representatives and the Senate, in two separate votes in both chambers, overwhelmingly rejected efforts by some Republicans to object to the acceptance of Electoral College wins for Biden in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Biden hit 271 votes in the Electoral College, one more than needed for a White House victory, with acceptance of Vermont’s slate of electors.

NIN Registration: Applicants Stranded Across Nigeria As Staff Embark On Strike

Editorial staff

January 7, 2021

Thousands of applicants were stranded in various offices of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as the operating staff in them embarked on nation-wide strike, seeking ffor improved service conditions and proper protection against coronavirus infecstion

In Abuja, many of the applicants who arrived as early as 8 am were locked outside the commission’s office, while officials discussed the strike in hush voices.

It was gathered that the president of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC branch, Lucky Michael, and its Secretary, Odia Victor, jointly signed the strike notice.

The notice reads in part: “Consequent upon the just concluded congress of the above-mentioned association that took place on January 6, 2021, the unit executive directs all members of grade level 12 and below in the head office and state offices to report to their respective duty posts tomorrow January 7, 2021, and do nothing.

“All members at the local government offices and special centres are advised to stay away from their various centres as a task force and implementation committees would be on parade to ensure total compliance with the directive.”

A communiqué issued at the end of the congress meeting of the ACCSN, NIMC branch however noted that the strike had become imperative considering the risks involved in the on-going registration due to the exposure of staff to risks associated with coronavirus.

The union argued that lack of personal protective equipment, irregularities in the promotion and poor funding of NIMC are part of the issues leading to the strike.

The congress of the union also insisted that adequate measures should be taken to curtail the spread of coronavirus while maintaining that their doors are opened for dialogue.

The congress further resolved that the safety of staff should be prioritised, and their offices nationwide should be fumigated immediately due to the surge in the numbers of applicants.

However, attempts by our correspondent to clarify the position of the management on the strike-through the spokesman of NIMC, Kayode Adegoke proved abortive as he failed to pick several calls made to him.

Iraqi Court Orders Arrest Of President Trump Over Killing Of Its Military Commander

Editorial staff

January 7, 2021

A Baghdad court has issued a warrant for the arrest of the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, as the country intensified investigation into the killing of a top Iraqi paramilitary commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Al-Muhandis, who was the Deputy Head of Iraq’s largely pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, was killed in the same US drone strike that took out Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport on January 3 last year.

Trump, who ordered the strike, subsequently boasted that it had taken out “two men for the price of one.”

The UN special rapporteur for an extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, had called the twin killings as “arbitrary” and “illegal”.

Iran already issued a warrant for the arrest of Trump in June and asked Interpol to relay it as a so-called red notice to other police forces around the world.

The court for east Baghdad issued the warrant for Trump’s arrest under Article 406 of the penal code, which provides for the death penalty in all cases of premeditated murder, the judiciary said.

The court said the preliminary inquiry had been completed but “investigations are continuing to unmask the other culprits in this crime, be they Iraqis or foreigners.”

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