Author: straightnewsng.com

The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Tunde Fowler, has said that the Value Added Tax, VAT, was designed to support poor people, and not to create hardship for them. Reacting to concerns that the proposed increase in VAT would cause more hardship for the poor, Fowler said, “When you don’t consume certain categories of goods and services, you are not liable to pay VAT charges on those items. “VAT is not charged on all medical and pharmaceutical products. It is not charged on basic food items, books and educational materials, baby products, fertilizers, locally produced agricultural and…

Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, in the North East have called on the Federal Government to take necessary steps to ameliorate the sufferings of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country. They made the call, Tuesday, at the end of a symposium facilitated by the Norwegian Refugees Council, NRC, in Abuja. The CSOs stated that the welfare needs of IDPs would be addressed by the government’s domestication of the Kampala Convention, which it signed and ratified in 2016 and renewed in 2019. “The Federal Government has been trying its best. Of course, we know resources are scarce but we are mindful…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has placed on hold, its earlier decision to present Certificates of Return to Muktar Idris, Governor-elect in Zamfara State as well as state Assembly members-elect. The exercise which would have taken place Tuesday, was suspended following a judgment of the appellate court regarding the sponsoring of candidates by the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state. According to the commission, it has now been served with a copy of the court judgment. “INEC has been served with the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto concerning the sponsoring of candidates by the…

The Senate, Tuesday, scored the Ministry of Finance F9, which is WAEC (West Africa Examination Council) standard in budget releases to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT in 2018. It, according to the assessment, gave the Ministry 31.9 percent for the releases from the N30.4billion that was approved in the budget. Meanwhile, the Senate, Tuesday, kicked against what it described as yearly drastic reduction in the capital component budgetary allocations to the territory. Speaking in Abuja when Muhammed Bello, the Minister of the FCT, appeared before the Committee on FCT to defend the 2019 budget, Senator Dino Melaye (PDP Kogi West),…

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, says “The victory of the PDP in Bauchi State is the crowning of the struggle for the emancipation and liberation of our people from the forces of darkness, evil and retrogression that had held the state captive and hostage for over a decade.” In a statement after the declaration of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Sen. Bala Mohammed, as the winner of the governorship election, Dogara said that Bauchi State has been emancipated from forces of retrogression. He advised the governor-elect not to take the trust reposed in them by…

The Federal Government has directed all its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to henceforth, patronise internationally accredited services of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, for the certification of their management systems and processes in accordance with international best practices. A circular from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, informed all MDAs of the attainment of international accreditation for the SON Management Systems Certification, MSC, services. The scope of the accreditation, according to the circular, covers four International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO standards namely; Quality Management, Systems, QMS, Standards, Environmental Management Systems, EMS Standards, Food Safety Management Systems,…

Victor Osimhen on Monday netted a hat-trick as Nigeria again rose to the occasion in continental football with the 4-0 demolition of Libya in the return leg tie of the U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) decided at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba. Nigeria following a 0-2 loss they had suffered in Tunisia, qualified for the U23 AFCON scheduled to take place in November 4-2 on aggregate. The Libyans were on the defensive in the better part of the game as the Dream Team VII were on the rampage in their bid to restore the national pride. First choice, Francis…

The former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will face serious consequences if it fails to zone leadership positions in the National Assembly. Recall that power struggle and the inability of the APC to come out with zoning formula after emerging as the ruling party with the highest number of elected members in the federal Congress in 2015 led to the alleged frosty relationship that exists between the executive and the legislature in the present 8th Assembly. Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with…

Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, Sunday, declared his determination to preside over a Senate that works for Nigeria and Nigerians irrespective of political or other sectional considerations. Declaring his interest in the office of Senate President at an interactive session with newsmen, Senator Lawan affirmed his obedience to party supremacy as he vowed to subject his bid to the supremacy of the zoning principle of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Senator Lawan was heralded to the session by a lobby of senators including Senators Oluremi Tinubu, Francis Alimekhena, Teslim Folarin, Aliyu Shabi, Fola Adeola among others. Also present were some…

The 2,500 naval personnel drawn from 33 countries’ Navies, including the United States Coast Guards, who participated in the just-concluded multinational maritime exercise code-named Exercise Obangame Express, declared war on piracy and other various forms of illegalities in the Gulf of Guinea, GoG region. Briefing journalists at the closing ceremony of Obangame Express 2019 hosted by the Nigerian Navy, Admiral James Foggo, the Commander, US Naval Forces Africa, said drug sniffing dogs also participated in the sea exercise for the first time in nine years, with a view to arresting suspects who used the GoG corridor for illicit trafficking of…