General News
APC, PDP Bicker over Fresh Plot to Shift Elections
All Progressives Congress (APC), has raised the alarm over the relentless scheming by the Jonathan Administration and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to push for another postponement of the 2015 general elections.
But the PDP said that the comment by the APC that the PDP is plotting to scuttle the general election could only be a product of hallucinating mind of the opposition.
APC however insisted that the renewed plot must be sanctioned by the international community, while warning that the consequences of another postponement will be dire, especially because it will create a constitutional crisis that is capable of endangering the country’s democracy and destabilising the polity.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, national publicity secretary, APC, in a statement said the multi-pronged efforts to prevent the elections from holding as rescheduled include the use of some 23 portfolio political parties to seek a further shift in the election dates and the destabilisation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) election plan through the orchestrated removal of Prof. Attahiru Jega, its chairman.
It said the same 23 satellite parties of the PDP that were used to push for the six week postponement have again started testing the waters by pushing for a further shift in the elections in the six-states of the Northeast, ostensibly to allow the conclusion of the counterinsurgency battle and also to allow those displaced to return home.
“The plan is to use the same bogey of insecurity in the North-east to push for another postponement in the elections. The signs are ominous indeed.
“The body language of the President and his party does not support the holding of elections. They are mortally afraid of losing because the use of PVCs and Card Readers have thwarted their rigging plans,” APC said.
The party said while the 23 parties are pushing for the elections to be further postponed, the Jonathan administration and the PDP are simultaneously forging ahead with their plan to remove Prof. Jega and replace him with a malleable acting Chairman whom, they believe, will do their bidding.
“Once they remove Jega, his replacement will either seek more time to organise the polls or simply jettison the plan to use Card Readers, thereby opening the door for those who have been buying up PVCs to use them.
“Is it not interesting that the same administration that has been flaunting free and fair elections as a key achievement has now gone for the jugular of the same man who organised those polls?
“Is the man they don’t want not the same person who organised the 2011 polls which the administration has described as free, fair and credible?
“What has now gone wrong between them and their poster boy for successful elections? It queried.¬
The party called on Nigerians, especially the civil society, to be vigilant in the days ahead, as the cloud of uncertainty becomes thicker and the vultures begin to circle.
It also called on the international community to consider imposing stiff sanctions on key members of the Jonathan administration if they force another postponement or scuttle the polls.
“We believe that Nigerians themselves bear the utmost responsibility for the success of their nation’s democracy and the survival of their country, and we commend those who have stood up to be counted in the ongoing battle to have free and fair elections.
“However, we also believe that the international community has a role to play in helping to check the desperadoes who are using the Laurent Gbagbo rule book as if it was made for them, and who will not hesitate to bring the whole system crashing down on all if that is what it will take for them to perpetuate themselves in power.
“Nigeria is too important to be toyed with or allowed to go under. For example, Nigerians make up more than 56 per cent of the estimated ECOWAS population of 300 million.
“A destabilised Nigeria, therefore, is a destabilised West Africa and, indeed, a hobbled Africa!
“That is why we believe a travel ban and tough economic sanctions from the international community against these agents of destabilisation will be in order. This is a patriotic call,” APC said.
But the PDP in its reaction yesterday denied the postponement allegation, even as it expressed confidence that it is coasting to victory in the elections with the level of its campaign so far.
At a press briefing in Abuja, Femi Fani-Kayode, the director of the PDP Presidential Campaign, Chief said that the comment by the APC that the PDP is plotting to scuttle the general election could only be a product of hallucinating mind of the opposition.
He said: “With the level of preparation from the party, from the campaign office and all the notable leaders of the party who are toiling day and night to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan, it sounds unbelievable that anyone could still be talking of scuttling the election.
“The APC is only hallucinating and I can tell you that the party has only seen their defeat and that is why they are putting out that information.”
Chief Fani-Kayode also said that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s appearance at Chatham House last week was a last-minute decoy to divert the attention of Nigerians and the whole world from the fact that his trip to London was mainly to seek medical attention and care.
He said: “The point we are making is that Gen. Buhari was not originally scheduled to go to Chatham House but in order to divert attention from the real purpose of the trip, the Chatham House speaking engagement was hurriedly put in place.
“The desperation of the APC leaders to grab power at all costs and by any means has resulted in them committing the most abominable and unimaginable form of fraud such as attempting to pass off an old interview which took place at the Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotel by a known sympathiser of the APC whose name is Kemi Fadojutimi and who works for the USA-based TV show ‘All Eyes on Africa’, as one that took place in the United Kingdom and that was conducted by a so-called London based journalist.
“The APC propaganda machinery facilitated the publication of a picture of the interview, which they claimed took place in London, on the front pages of some newspapers.
“Indeed, despite desperate attempts by the APC propaganda machinery to coerce newspapers from retracting the fraudulent picture of Gen. Buhari’s purported London interview, The Guardian, one of the most respected newspapers on the African continent, who had printed the picture on its front page edition on Sunday, 22nd February, 2015, was quick to publish a retraction on page 2 of the newspaper’s Monday, 23rd February, 2015 edition.”
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam, Nigerian scholar, has been invited to serve as a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam,
The appointment, which covers four years from 2026 to 2029, recognises Oguamanam’s contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines.
The invitation was conveyed in a letter from UNESCO on Saturday, which described the commission as an independent advisory body and forum for reflection on major ethical challenges arising from advances in science and technology.
The letter stated, “Recognising your significant contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines, it is my honour to invite you to become a member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology for a period of four years, from 2026 to 2029.”
Established in 1998, the commission brings together experts from different regions and disciplines to examine ethical issues associated with scientific and technological developments, climate change and the environment.
UNESCO said regional balance was important to the commission’s membership to promote multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary debate on emerging ethical challenges.
According to the organisation, the commission provides guidance and recommendations through its reports to UNESCO, its member states, the scientific community, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders.
Its previous work has contributed to global normative instruments, including the Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change adopted in 2017 and the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence adopted in 2021.
UNESCO noted that the commission had recently published reports examining the ethics of quantum computing and space exploration and utilisation.
The organisation said the commission would now focus on new areas identified for its future work programme, including emerging ethical challenges arising from scientific and technological developments.
In inviting Oguamanam to join the commission, UNESCO expressed confidence in his expertise and active contribution to the development of its forthcoming reports.
The organisation also said it expected members to contribute to “horizon scanning” of emerging ethical challenges and help identify issues that should be addressed in the commission’s next cycle.
Oguamanam’s appointment adds to Nigeria’s representation in international discussions on the ethical implications of science, technology and innovation.
He is expected to serve on the commission alongside experts from different regions and academic disciplines during the 2026–2029 term.
Fake Agency: ICPC Indicts NITDA, Others over Inadequate Due Diligence
Tax Reform Built on Taxing Prosperity, Not Poverty– Adedeji
UNESCO Taps Oguamanam,Nigerian Scholar to Advisory Body on Science, Tech Ethics
MTN Alerts Subscribers over Fake 25GB Anniversary MTN Data Giveaway
X Replaces Revenue Sharing wit New Creator Rewards Programme
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Fact-Check: Elon Musk’s “Tesla Pi Phone” is Internet Rumor
NBC Tasks Broadcasting Stations over 2028 DSO Global Deadline
NBC Scraps Annual Digital Access Fee on DSO
Glo Sponsored African Voices to Feature Netflix’s “The Polygamist” Stars
General News2 days agoGuinness Rewards Consumers with ₦17 Million in First Week of ‘Open for More’ Promo Draw
News3 days agoGlovo Pioneers AI Quick-Commerce
News2 days agoWorld Bank Debars United Aviation Services, Owner over Fraudulent Activities
E-Business2 days agoNITDA Introduces Cloud Certification Boost Data Localisation Compliance
Telecom2 days agoNCC, Enugu Sign Deal to Operate Digital Industrial Park, Learning Centre
E-Financial2 days agoBOI Opens N250Bn Bond Offer to Fund Businesses
News2 days agoEnugu State Approves Land for ITF’s Digital Fabrication Centre
General News2 days agoMeta Hit With $567m US Court Order Over Alleged Harm to Children