The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has said that the lawmakers have not taken a stand on the tax reform bills sent to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.

He stated this on Monday in Abuja while declaring open an interactive session on the proposed bills.

The bills are, the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

Abbas noted that the four bills represent critical proposals from the executive to expand Nigeria’s tax base, improve compliance, and establish sustainable revenue streams for the nation’s development.

He emphasized that tax reforms are a cornerstone of the House Legislative Agenda because of their central role in achieving sustainable economic growth and development.

The Speaker stated that taxes are the bedrock  of public revenue, providing the resources required to deliver education, healthcare, infrastructure, and security

He noted, “Yet, Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest economy, struggles with a tax-to-GDP ratio of just 6 percent—far below the global average and the World Bank’s minimum benchmark of 15 percent for sustainable development.

“This is a challenge we must address if we are to reduce our reliance on debt financing, ensure fiscal stability, and secure our future as a nation.”

The Speaker said the proposed tax reform bills aim to diversify the country’s revenue base, promote equity, and foster an enabling environment for investment and innovation.

He added, “However, as representatives of the people, we must approach these reforms thoughtfully, understanding their potential implications for every segment of society.”

“Taxes should be fair, transparent, and justifiable, balancing the need for public revenue with the burdens they impose on individuals and businesses.

“Let me be clear, the House has not yet taken a definitive position on these bills. Our role is to scrutinize them thoroughly, ensuring they align with the best interests of our constituents and the nation at large. We owe this duty to Nigerians.”

Nigerian human rights activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has urged the Federal Government to promptly reinstate Tajudeen Baruwa as the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) President.

In a press statement released to the media on Monday, Falana specifically appealed to the Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to ensure adherence to the rulings of the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal.

The senior advocate recounted the events of August 2023, when the National Secretariat of the NURTW was allegedly stormed by armed assailants who killed the security personnel on duty, took control of the secretariat, and forcibly removed Baruwa from his position as President of the Union.

Falana emphasized that following the successful legal challenge against that takeover, the courts have affirmed and acknowledged Comrade Baruwa as the legitimate President of the NURTW.

Read the full press release below:

FG SHOULD RESTORE COMRADE TAJUDEEN BARUWA AS PRESIDENT OF NURTW WITHOUT DELAY

“On August 28, 2023, a gang of armed thugs invaded the National Secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers at Abuja. One of the security men guarding the said Secretariat was killed by the armed invaders.

At the end of the violent invasion, the Secretariat was seized while the elected President, Comrade Tajudeen Baruwa and members of his Executive were arrested and charged with murder before a Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory. However, the charge of murder was withdrawn and struck out after the successful but illegal seizure of the Secretariat!

As a law abiding citizen, Comrade Baruwa approached the National Industrial Court for legal redress. In a judgment delivered on March 11, 2024, the Court confirmed Comrade Baruwa and members of his Executive as the elected leaders of the NURTW.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the opponents of Comrade Baruwa appealed to the Court of Appeal. On November 8, 2024, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment. The Justices of the Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the judgment of the National Industrial Court which had recognised Comrade Baruwa as the President of the NURTW.

In view of the foregoing, we call on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN and the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun to ensure that Comrade Baruwa is restored to his office in strict compliance with the judgments of the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal.”

Retired Colonel, Babatunde Bello-Fadile, Nigeria’s first military lawyer, has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari once threatened to expel him from the military over a letter he wrote in 1981.

Bello-Fadile made the disclosure in his memoir, ‘Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs’, recounting his experience while serving in the Nigerian Army.

At the time, Buhari was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Infantry Division in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the book, the retired colonel detailed his initial encounter with Buhari during a general court-martial, where several officers were found guilty of an offence.

The retired military lawyer noted that the order raised concerns, prompting him to write a letter expressing his views on the matter.

The letter, however, led to a confrontation with Buhari, who allegedly threatened to remove him from the army.

He said, “Those in guardroom then wrote petitions to the chief of army staff, who was then Lt General Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi. All the proceedings of the court-martial were reviewed, with recommendations made by Director of Personnel Services ‘A’ (DPS ‘A’), A Branch for final approval by the COAS.

“The petition from those in the guardroom, which was sent to COAS, was forwarded to A Branch for review and necessary actions.

“Brigadier Shelling endorsed it to DPS ‘A’, Colonel Ode, who, in turn, initialed it to me for action. By the time I read the petition, I was the only one in the office, with Major Demsa as the most senior officer.

“I did a draft requesting the Division to send the record of proceedings to the AHO immediately and that those officers in the guardroom should be moved to the Officers’ Mess too.”

Bello-Fadile said in the letter addressed to the division led by Buhari, he wrote that the officers should not be treated as if they were in “Germany’s gestapo custody” – and that infuriated him.

The lawyer said when he was summoned and was waiting to see the army chief, Buhari walked in and asked Wushishi’s assistant; “Is this the captain? Either I leave the army, or he will leave the army.”

Bello-Fadile said everything was resolved after he informed Wushishi that he had withdrawn the letter and apologised for using the word “gestapo”.

“That was how I was able to escape my first encounter with brigadier-general Muhammadu Buhari in 1981 unhurt, so to say,” he said.

The lawyer said years later, when Buhari was head of state, he did not want to see him at Dodan barracks, which was the seat of power at the time, adding that he had to leave Lagos to Kaduna, where he went to study obtain a PhD in international law.

The Presidency has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of failing to set a strong foundation for Nigeria as the first president of the fourth republic.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, described former President Obasanjo as a man with a tremendous capacity for mischief. 

Dare stated this on Monday while reacting to the former President’s criticism of President Tinubu’s leadership style.

“Former President Obasanjo is a man with a tremendous capacity for mischief and Nigerians know it. His journey along the path of hallucinations has never been in doubt. So is his descent into muddling facts, forgetting that he ran a Presidency on record as the most corrupt. His recent diatribe at Yale University lacks sincerity,” he said.

Dare argued that under the administration of Obasanjo, $16 billion was diverted from its intended intention of ensuring stable electricity in the country. He dismissed Obasanjo‘s moral right to criticize any government in Nigeria.

“It is actually laughable that Obasanjo’s pretentiousness about fighting corruption is not cutting any ice in “the eyes of the general public. We all know what happened under his watch and how, up till the present moment, there has been no explanation as to how he wasted a whopping $16bn in generating megawatts of darkness across the nation. But that is not even the issue.

“Democracy suffered mortal wounds under his watch only capped by his murderous rage for an ill-fated 3rd term. Successive administrations struggled to clean up the mess Obasanjo left behind, which President Tinubu is now making progress with. Obasanjo has lost any moral right to condemn any government. He should apologize to Nigerians for not laying the foundational infrastructure Nigeria needed to advance,” Dare stated.

Tinubu’s aide added that his principal has been making efforts to put Nigeria back on the track of development.

“The point here is that Obasanjo should take time off this habit of pulling down leaders, especially his successors and try to interrogate himself on how he has contributed to the parlous state of the Nigerian nation which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now spiritedly battling to put back on the track of development,” he added.

Senator Ned Nwoko has validated his wife, actress Regina Daniels’ previous claim of having multiple suitors before their marriage.

DAILY POST reports that the actress had in October, revealed that she had over 20 boyfriends for different purposes before meeting Ned.

However, speaking in a now trending video on social media, Ned Nwoko confirmed his wife’s claim.

Discussing Daniels’ past relationships with his friends, Ned said “She is such a gem. Just like she mentioned recently yes she had 20 men.

“She told me there were so many suitors including pastors, oil bunkers, film producers. And how they were sending her things.”

Sharing the video on her Instagram page, Regina Daniels wrote; “Honestly, I always love hearing hubby speak about me with so much love, especially in my absence.”

Watch him speak below

The Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has pointed out that politicians driven by greed often select churches and preachers that do not challenge their corrupt practices.

The respected cleric emphasized that it is the duty of religious leaders to speak truthfully to their congregations to foster meaningful societal change.

Onaiyekan made these remarks during his appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political show on Channels Television.

“I have noticed in Nigeria that greedy people have a way of choosing the kind of churches they go to and which preachers they listen to. If they go to a church where they are constantly being challenged and made uncomfortable, they won’t come back next Sunday but we need more of that,” the Cardinal explained.

He argued that building grand cathedrals filled with worshippers is not enough, adding that there must be a deeper, transformative impact on society.

“The official religious institutions we have in Nigeria have a task to do self-evaluation. They should ask themselves: have we been projecting the right message of our faiths? If we have been doing it, we will not have this kind of outcome.

“The kind of corrupt and godly outcomes have shown that the kind of religiousness that we have is not leading anywhere,” he stated.

Cardinal Onaiyekan cautioned against the complacency of religious institutions in Nigeria, urging them to reflect on their role.

“We cannot just be rejoicing that our churches are full, that we are building big churches. Very good but we still want to see where is godliness in all of these. And if religion does not lead to godliness, it is even worse than none at all,” he added.

The Archbishop lamented the growing corruption among the country’s leaders, whose mismanagement has deepened the nation’s poverty.

“There is so much impunity. People take a lot of things that don’t belong to them and nobody asks them. Whereas if a poor man steals a piece of yam in the village, they throw him in jail for six months or more. So, there is something wrong with the justice system,” he said.

Since last month when a new national coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27), launched a campaign to amend Nigeria’s constitution to remove the President’s authority over the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and state governors’ power over the State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, quite a number of Nigerians have applauded the move.

The coalition is also pushing for amendment in the constitution to equally remove the president’s powers over the judiciary, particularly in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, as well as that of the Chief Judge of State in the case of state governors.

Before the group launched the campaign, there had been calls from several quarters to remove the powers to appoint the heads of the electoral body and judicial arm of the government from the president.

The argument behind the call is that such practice does not guarantee the full independence of both the electoral body and the judiciary because he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

The coalition is also arguing along the same line as it insisted that removing such powers from the president would prevent executive influence in the electoral and judicial systems by transferring the power to appoint heads of the two institutions to a new independent body to be set up thereafter.

Speaking at a briefing in Abuja, recently, the coalition’s spokesperson, Tony Akeni Le Moin, announced that the coalition would formally launch the campaign across all states, culminating in a “boot camp” finale in Abuja.

He tied the SDMA’27’s focus on two main constitutional amendments, stripping the president and governors of their powers to appoint INEC, SIEC, and judiciary heads and transferring these responsibilities to a body of non-partisan and integrity-vetted Nigerians.

The coalition which has been endorsed by prominent leaders and pro-democracy groups across the country, has also garnered support from Professor Pat Utomi, a well-respected political economist.

Utomi, who has described the movement as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s democracy since 1999, equally referenced the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform report as the most appropriate point to start from.

According to him, the report also recommended executive appointment reforms for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the judiciary, as insulating the institutions from executive influence would foster fair elections and improve governance.

The coalition outlined a three-point plan, including mobilising national consensus across political, religious, and civil society networks to create a unified demand for constitutional reforms. The group’s target is to build momentum for a national conference to formally propose the amendments and to lobby both the national and state assemblies to strip the executive of its overbearing influence on the INEC and the judiciary.

The step according to the group is to forestall the reoccurrence of the ugly incident that characterized the 2023 elections in 2027.

It warned that without the reforms, the 2027 elections would likely be a rehearsal of past electoral manipulations.

The group invoked Rev. Martin Luther King Junior’s words on the need for organised resistance, urging Nigerians to prepare for what they described as a “national emergency” to restore Nigeria’s democracy.

Commenting on the development, the president of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus told DAILY POST that it is not necessarily about who appoints, but most importantly about who fires.

Ho noted that in addition to who fires, the institution must be strengthened such that who appoints or fires doesn’t matter much as such a person would always be guided and put under check by such a strong institution in place.

He said: “The truth about the matter in Nigeria is not even about who appoints the head of the electoral body or the judiciary, but who fires who. Yes, who fires who matters to some extent.

“If the president can appoint but he has no powers to fire or to remove, that might solve the problem.

“It is the fear of being fired if you not do what they want that makes them do what they do rather than just because you appoint them, because even if you appoint somebody and you don’t grease his elbows and he doesn’t fear that if he doesn’t do what you want he might be fired, then he will not be obliged to do what you want him to do. So, it doesn’t necessarily matter who appoints who but who fires who.

“Secondly, the institution has to be strengthened to the level that people will even fear to do the wrong thing.

“For instance, in China, they have a rule that one can lose his life even in some common things we call gratifications here, not to even talk of the real bribery.

“If judges, INEC boss or any other person knows that if he does the wrong thing and it is traced that he can lose his life, he will not compromise, no matter the amount of money that is involved. That checks and balances can keep them away from doing the wrong thing and force them to do the right thing.

“So, it is not who appoints or who fires but as I said that who fires and the laws have to be strengthened such that the checks and balances are so stringent.

“And that if you do wrong, you know you could lose your life and all your families will be obliterated, so you will not do it.

“So, I think these are the things we need to introduce into the law, rather than who appoints and who doesn’t appoint.

“And then, we can strengthen the law to go beyond that, by saying that even the person who influenced them to do the wrong thing should equally be treated the way the offenders are treated.

“That way, we can ensure that things are done rightly. You know the problem is not that we don’t have laws on the ground. As I am talking, there are laws on the ground that I believe have checks and balances in this regard, but the institutions are weak; and because they are weak, these laws don’t mean a lot.

“So, we should know how to strengthen the institutions, whether it is INEC, the police, the military or the judiciary, so that they can be independent. They can have real probity, accountability and then a respect of law will come in.

“We have already messed the system up and it would require these draconian rules and laws to be able to do the right thing again.”

Also, in his submission, president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima expressed doubt about setting up an independent body to oversee such appointments.

He said the system has been so centralized that granting independence to such a separate body might not be possible because the president and commander in chief has enormous powers to do anything.

“The problem is with the independent body. How can you talk about independence when you have a system that is already centralized? And that is why I am an advocate of decentralization. Who is independent now in the country?

“Now, specifically, you are talking about the appointment of the INEC chairman which is the one that is expected to go through screening and be nominated by the NASS.

“That is what I am getting from other quarters but the fact still remains that we still have the commander in chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who oversees everything.”

He also expressed doubt about the capacity of the current National Assembly, NASS, to strip the president of such powers.

He cited the alleged rubber stamp disposition of the current NASS to buttress his argument.

He told DAILY POST that, “stripping the president of the powers to appoint the INEC chairman or the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, cannot happen under the watch of the current NASS that I know of.

“The current NASS is a total rubber stamp and they can’t do anything. So, I don’t even want to waste my energy by saying I believe or assume that anything like that will ever happen. Maybe in the future that will be done but not now.”

He also emphasised the need for strong institutions as the panacea to most of the problems confronting the country at present.

He equally advised that instead of the group or any other person or persons dissipating their energy pushing to strip the president of such power, they should come together and push that INEC as an institution should be strengthened such that it can no longer dance to the whims and caprices of anybody, including the president.

“So, rather than wasting our energy on that; let us see how we can strengthen the institutions. It is not about the independence of the INEC but about strengthening the INEC as an institution.

“There are a lot of reforms that need to be carried out in INEC. If those reforms can be put in place, I think we would have solved most of the problems confronting the INEC and the president will no longer have the capacity to influence the body,” he submitted.

Also speaking, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, Adebayo Fadipe, lauded the move, saying it would restore the integrity of the electoral body.

He believes that the name ‘independence,’ as attached to the electoral body’s name, is just a mere whitewash as the body is under the firm control of the President who hires and fires at will.

He also lamented that chairmen of the INEC in the past have all compromised except one or two of them who distinguished themselves creditably.

“But if the powers are removed from the president and given to an independent body, meaning that the INEC chairman is no longer answerable to the president, I think we will begin to have a semblance of credible election in this country.

“The INEC chairmen have always been under the firm grip of the president who dictates what happens. And the past chairmen including the current one have always danced to the tune of the powers that appointed them and it should not be like that.

“They should be independent and work for the good of all Nigerians and not work for a group of individuals. That is why it has not been possible to have credible elections in Nigeria.

“But, if that is done, then it will open a new chapter of electoral credibility in Nigeria.

“All the manipulations that have come to characterise our electoral jurisprudence will become things of the past and the country can become a reference point for other countries when it comes to conducting credible elections,” he told DAILY POST.

Dangote Refinery and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have signed a 60 million-litre weekly Premium Motor Spirit supply deal.

This comes as IPMAN confirmed that fuel prices have marginally reduced across its member filling stations nationwide.

The Spokesperson of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, disclosed this to DAILY POST on Sunday while giving an update on the direct petrol deal with Dangote Refinery.

Recall that on November 11, 2024, IPMAN announced that it had reached an agreement with Dangote Refinery to lift petrol directly.

The development raised hopes of a fuel price drop.

In a fresh development, Ukadike stated that Dangote had agreed to supply its members with 60 million litres of fuel weekly.

He noted that petrol prices had dropped by between N10 and 50 across filling stations due to the deal it secured with Dangote Refinery.

“While the discussion is still ongoing, Dangote has offered to give us over 60 million litres depending on our patronage.

“The 60 million litres is to be given weekly. And we can take and distribute it across the country once we start lifting the product from the refinery.

“It is obvious now that the prices of the products have crashed. You would have noticed the drop in prices by N10, N15, something N50 or so, and this is due to competition and deregulation in the oil and gas sector,” he stated.

Afrobeats star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has announced that he will be commemorating his 32nd birthday with a N300 million donation to orphanages.

The singer disclosed this via his X handle on Monday morning.

He explained that the donation would be made to orphanages and a charity that fights against drug abuse among youths.

He promised to share more details in subsequent posts.

The OBO crooner wrote, “Once again, for my birthday this year, we are donating to orphanages and a charity that helps young people stay away from drug abuse & addiction. This year is N300m. Details to follow soon.”

This is not the first time Davido has donated to charity in commemoration of his birthday.

In November 2021, Davido donated N250m to 292 orphanages in celebration of his 29th birthday.