Author: Aminu Imam

FG removes 5% Telecom tax on voice, data services

Aminu Imam
FG Telecom tax

The Federal Government has revoked the 5% excise tax previously imposed on telecommunications services in Nigeria, a move expected to ease cost pressures for millions of mobile users. The tax, which was intended to apply to both voice calls and data, had drawn widespread criticism from industry players and consumer advocates since its introduction under the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, disclosed that President Tinubu directed the removal of the tax during discussions on the recently passed Finance Act. The development is…

Read More

“Ignore call for sack of Service Chiefs”, Ndume tells Tinubu

Aminu Imam
Ndume on Service Chiefs

…Seeks adequate funding, training for Armed Forces Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ignore calls for the sack of his Service Chiefs. The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army made the call in a statement yesterday. Ndume’s advice to President Tinubu was on the heels of agitation for the removal of the Service Chiefs by a group, the Northern Ethnic National Forum. Convener of the group, Dominic Alancha, had on Tuesday in a statement, claimed that the present crop of Service Chiefs…

Read More

Nationwide blackout, as national grid crashes again

Aminu Imam
National grid crashes

Nigeria was plunged into another nationwide blackout yesterday, after the national electricity grid collapsed, cutting power supply across the country. According to data from the grid, power generation nosedived from 2,917.83 megawatts to a mere 1.5 megawatts between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., effectively shutting down supply to nearly all Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos). Only Ibadan DisCo reportedly retained minimal allocation. The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement issued at 11:23 a.m. via its X handle, confirmed the outage, attributing it to the sudden grid failure. “Please be…

Read More

Ex-NNPCL boss, Kyari grilled by EFCC over missing $7.2bn

Aminu Imam
Kyari grilled by EFCC

…4 bank accounts frozen Former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, yesterday submitted himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, as investigators intensify a $7.2 billion refinery maintenance probe. Kyari, who arrived at the commission’s headquarters around 2:15 pm, was grilled over alleged fraud and irregularities in multi-billion-dollar turn-around maintenance contracts for Nigeria’s refineries during his tenure. Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed that the former oil chief is “with investigators at the moment,” though EFCC spokesperson, Dele…

Read More

Tinubu, Macron hold private lunch meeting in France

Aminu Imam
Tinubu, Macron

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, held a private working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, as his 10-day working leave entered its fifth day. Photographs released by the State House showed both leaders in a warm handshake before proceeding into the palace. Tinubu is currently on the second tranche of his annual leave, which he is spending between France and the United Kingdom. Yesterday’s meeting marks his seventh visit to Paris since assuming office in May 2023, and his first since attending the BRICS summit…

Read More

Katsina: Bandits demand ₦5m peace levy from farmers ahead of harvest

Aminu Imam
Katsina bandits demand

Farmers in Ilali village, Katsina State, have reportedly been asked to pay ₦5 million to bandits as a condition to access their farmlands safely during the harvest season. The demand, which residents describe as a ‘peace levy’, is said to be aimed at preventing attacks while farmers carry out their activities. Security analyst, BaKatsine revealed the development in a post on X on Tuesday, stating: “Bandits have reportedly imposed a ₦5 million levy on residents of Ilali village in Katsina State”. Sources say the demand is framed as a fee…

Read More

INEC finally recognises ADC under David Mark’s leadership

Aminu Imam
INEC on ADC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday officially recognised the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC). This development followed a period of internal restructuring within the party, which culminated in the emergence of new national officers aimed at repositioning the ADC ahead of future electoral contests. Alongside Mark, other principal officers now officially acknowledged by INEC include: Ogbeni Ra’uf Aregbesola, as National Secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Mani, as National Treasurer, Akibu Ɗalhatu, as National Financial Secretary, and Professor Oserheimen Aigberaodion Osunbor, as National Legal Adviser. With this formal…

Read More

‘Nigeria ranked 4th globally in school attacks’ – UN

Aminu Imam
UN on schools

The United Nations (UN) has ranked Nigeria as the fourth worst-affected country in the world for attacks on schools, following a sharp rise in violence against education in conflict zones. According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, global attacks on schools surged by 44 per cent in the past year, with Nigeria recording 2,436 verified grave violations. Only Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8,554), the Democratic Republic of Congo (4,043), and Somalia (2,568) reported higher figures. Haiti followed closely with 2,269 cases. Guterres, in a message marking the International Day…

Read More

ADC accuses NASS of mortgaging Nigeria’s future by endorsing Tinubu’s borrowing spree

Aminu Imam
ADC accuses NASS

The African Democratic Congress, (ADC), has accused the National Assembly of mortgaging Nigeria’s future by endorsing what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s “unchecked borrowing spree”. In a statement on Tuesday, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC criticised Speaker Tajudeen Abbas for retracting his earlier remarks on Nigeria’s debt profile. The party said Abbas’s initial admission that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio had risen to 52% was a “rare moment of honesty” but added that his retraction showed “political cowardice and legislative complicity”. “The Speaker’s statement offered…

Read More

‘Democracy under threat!’ – INEC cries out

Aminu Imam
INEC on democracy

…As 2027 billboards, rallies flood cities The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has raised alarm over the surge of premature political campaigns across Nigeria, warning that the trend threatens democratic governance but admitting it lacks the legal power to stop offenders. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, speaking at a stakeholders’ roundtable yesterday in Abuja, described the situation as “a disturbing trend” that undermines the spirit of the Electoral Act 2022 and weakens the commission’s ability to enforce campaign finance rules. Section 94(1) of the Act prohibits campaigns earlier than 150…

Read More