Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has declared that his administration will not be cut short, as he claimed that the people of Rivers State can attest that he won the 2023 gubernatorial election.

Fubara, who called on the people of the state not to panic, assured them of his administration’s determination to protect their lives and properties.

He spoke while addressing members of the Family Support Group, who were on a solidarity visit to the Government House in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

Represented by the Head of the Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, the governor said the government is for youth, women, men, and every well-meaning Nigerian who wishes the state well.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, reads: “The whole land of Rivers State stands in affirmation that we won the election fairly and deserve to serve out our full tenure. There is not going to be anything that will cut short the popular mandate that you all gave to this administration.

“Just about within weeks of assuming office, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, flagged off the Port Harcourt Ring Road project that will traverse six local governments. It will be completed within 36 months. But I think it will be completed before the time because the progress of the work we have seen is beyond what we were thinking.

“The official main Trans-Kalabari Road will start very soon and will begin from Port Harcourt. A lot of plans have been made for that road, and very soon, you will see contractors on site, and Rivers State will be opened.

“Just yesterday, you heard in the news also that the governor has commenced the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road. That road was initially done with one lane, but now, he is going to dualise it. The government has already awarded the contract.”

The Kuriga school children rescued from their abductors in Zamfara State after 16 days in captivity will be handed over to their parents today.

The Nation gathered yesterday that their parents met with them at Kaduna Women and Children Shelter where they are receiving psycho-social treatment.

It was, however, not clear if six of the children admitted into the Dallet Barrack Hospital of the 1 Division Nigerian Army were among those that met with their parents.

Read Also: Rescued pupils, teachers to reunite with families soon, says Ekiti govt
The abducted children were 137.

Though reporters were not allowed into the Women and Children Shelter, a recorded video of the meeting showed a moment of joy for the parents and their children.

Some of the parents were seen embracing the children while some shed tears of joy for seeing their children alive.

During the meeting which had top government functionaries in attendance, Secretary to the Kaduna State Government (SSG) Abdulkadir Meyere said the rescue of the children was a promise fulfilled.

Meyere, who represented Governor Uba Sani said: “We should all thank God. It would be recalled that on the very day that this incident happened, the governor came down to Kuriga to sympathise with you. He told you people that these children are his children.”

Bundesliga champions in waiting, Bayer Leverkusen, has placed a staggering €55m transfer fee on Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface ahead of next summer transfer window.

Incidentally, an unnamed Premier League club has reportedly approached Bayer Leverkusen with an inquiry about the availability of the Super Eagles striker who missed the last Africa Cup of Nations due to injury on the eve of the tournament.

Leverkusen has declared Boniface not for sale as they wished to keep him for another season but has since placed a fee of at least €55m just in case for any initial negotiations.

Boniface only joined Leverkusen from Union-Saint Gilloise in Belgium in the summer.

In his first season, the 23-year-old has 10 goals and seven assists in 16 games but he has been out with an abductor injury since January and only returned to training this week .

Yet with Boniface already linked to Arsenal in January and manager Mikel Arteta poised to sign a high profile striker in the summer, there is a growing speculations that the Gunners could that be that mystery club.

The writing appears to be on the wall for Eddie Nketiah, who has barely featured of late except for a short cameo against FC Porto in the dying stages. Nketiah hasn’t started a game for Arsenal in 2024, and that’s even more significant when you realise Gabriel Jesus hasn’t been fit either.

And journalist Florian Plettenberg has now revealed that an ‘unknown’ English side have made an approach.

Sharing his update on X, Plettenberg said the 23-year-old has a ‘big market’ in England and one club has already made their move.

He explained: “News Victor Boniface: The 23 y/o striker has a big market in England. In addition, Bayer 04 has a concrete verbal inquiry for him from an unknown club from the Premier League.

“Boniface is not actually for sale as they would like to keep him

“If Leverkusen were to be willing to talk at all, offers of more than 55 million euros would have to be made.

“Boniface, now back in training after an adductor surgery in January.”

Of course, it remains to be seen how interested Arsenal are in Boniface, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they are the mystery club mentioned.

President Bola Tinubu has offered scholarships to the children of the 17 soldiers killed in the Okuama community, Bomadi LGA of Delta state.

The president also awarded posthumous national honours to the deceased soldiers.

Tinubu spoke on Wednesday during the burial ceremony of the late soldiers at the military cemetery in Abuja.

The president conferred Members of the Order of Niger (MON) honour on four deceased officers.

Yahaya Sule, a sergeant got Federal Republic Medal 1, while the rest got Federal Republic Medal 11.

He sympathised with the families of the deceased officers, noting that they died on a “mission of peace”.

Tinubu said the elders of the Okuama community must help the military to identify the gunmen who killed the 17 soldiers.

“It is now our duty to protect the families of our departed heroes,” the president said.

“The federal government will provide a house in any part of our country to each of the families of the four officers and 13 soldiers.

“The federal government has also approved scholarships to all the children of the deceased up to the university level.

“The military must, within the next ninety days, ensure that all the benefits of the departed are paid to their families.”

On March 14, 17 personnel of the Nigerian Army were killed while on a peacekeeping mission in the Okuama community in Delta state.

The federal and state governments promised that perpetrators would be arrested to face the wrath of the law.

The names of the deceased soldiers are A.H Ali, D.E Obi, S.D. Ashafa, U. Zakari, , Yahaya Saidu, Danbaba Yahaya, Kabir Bashir, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Adamu Ibrahim, Hamman Peter, and Ibrahim Adamu.

Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), says President Bola Tinubu has given a directive for a single-digit tax system in Nigeria.

Adedeji spoke on Wednesday when Adebayo Alli, chief executive officer (CEO) of Guinness Nigeria, led a management team of the firm on a visit to the revenue house in Abuja.

In a statement, Adedeji described the directive as a strategic plan that is being religiously followed to lead the country out of the current economic challenges.

“The president gave a directive that he wants a single digit tax in the country, meaning that the maximum number of taxes we will have after the work of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms will be nine taxes,” the chairman said.

“For us at FIRS, we have responded to that directive. We want to grow the pie such that even if we are taking the same percentage of the bigger pie, the result will be huge.

“By God’s grace, we will not introduce additional taxes nor increase any form of taxes. We are only determined to increase the pie.

“We have restructured our operations at FIRS in such a way that we are now effectively carrying out our duty of assessing, collecting and accounting for taxes.

“We used to have functional types of taxes, but we have identified that the only customers we have are the taxpayers.

“We have improved the way we relate with our customers by rearranging our operations based on our customers, using their turnover as the basis to categorise them into large, medium and small.

“We did this to actually develop expertise in what we do. Secondly, to provide you with a one-stop shop for your activities.

“If you are in a large tax group, you only need to go to one office to pay all forms of taxes, including audit and other activities. You don’t need to move from one office to another again.

“We are here to serve you. You taxpayers are not armed robbers or criminals that we will be chasing about. FIRS is also not a law enforcement organisation. We are partners in progress.

‘FG TO LAUNCH CONSUMER CREDIT SCHEME SOON’

Adedeji said the president, through the consumer credit scheme recently introduced, intends to increase the purchasing power of Nigerians to boost the productive capacity of companies and stimulate growth.

According to the chairman, another bold decision the president has taken is the birth of the renewed hope infrastructure fund.

He said some of the raw materials sourced locally are produced in the Northern part of the country, noting that the lack of sufficient infrastructure raises the expenses associated with transporting these materials between locations.

“In a couple of days, the consumer credit scheme will be launched and what that will do is to really set the right fundamentals most especially for the kind of products you sell,” he said.

“In an economy of our size, it will be extremely difficult if we don’t have a consumer credit scheme. People need to eat before they drink. But when they have credit to buy things, this gives them more money that they can use to come to drink and relax after work.

“More so, the president has also directed the commencement of a single window platform for your logistics at the ports. So, instead of having to pay in many places, you can now do that through the platform, most especially for companies like yours.

“You know your products before they come into the country, so you pay before they arrive as the issue of port congestion that delays the time you get your raw materials has been taken care of now.

“Based on the president’s holistic plan, in the next three years, we will have a very good rail and road transportation network that will make movement of goods and raw materials easy and remove most of the bottlenecks for industries.”

‘WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN NIGERIA’

On his part, Alli pledged that the company would continue to do business in the country, notwithstanding the current macroeconomic challenges.

“We have come to know FIRS more and also tell you a little bit about who we are as a large taxpayer so you can understand our world, the value we add to Nigeria, despite the macro-economic situation facing us,” he said.

He assured the Adedeji that Guinness would continue to invest in the country, seeking assurances from the tax authority in terms of the role it would play “in getting the economy back on the right path from the recovery point of view.”

Friday, March 29 and Monday, 1st April have been declared as public holidays.

The federal government declared the holiday to mark the celebrations of 2024 Good Friday and Easter Monday respectively.

The minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration on behalf of the federal government.

The minister made the declaration in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Aishetu Ndayako.

He urged Christians and all Nigerians in general to emulate the sacrifice and love displayed by Jesus Christ in dying for the redemption of man.

According to the Minister, Easter, beyond religious significance, promotes values of love, forgiveness and compassion which are essential for social cohesion and harmony.

He called on Christians to imbibe these virtues as they are capable of impacting positively on the socio-economic development in Nigeria by fostering unity, reducing conflicts and encouraging cooperation among Nigerians.

He further urged Nigerians to show acts of charity and generosity to help alleviate the material conditions of the less privileged amongst them.

This, he said, is in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While wishing Christians at home and abroad a happy and blissful Easter celebration, the Minister also called on Nigerians to join hands with President Tinubu-led Administration in its determination to bring sustainable development and usher in prosperity for all.

The Kano government has approved a subsidy of N500,000 each for intending pilgrims in the state, following the recent hike in hajj fare.

On Sunday, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) announced an increase of N1.9 million to the initial N4.9 million paid by intending pilgrims.

The commission said the increase became necessary due to the forex crisis in Nigeria.

NAHCON also advised intending pilgrims to make payments based on the current dollar exchange rate and gave March 28 as the deadline to pay the extra money.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, said intending pilgrims in the state will now pay the sum of N1.4 million.

“Following the sudden increase of N1.9 million Hajj fare increase by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, I have approved a subsidy of N500,000 each for intending pilgrims from Kano embarking on the 2024 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,” the governor said.

“With this, intending pilgrims who have registered and paid the initial total deposit of N4.7 million and N4.5 million with the state pilgrims board, will now deposit N1.4 million out of the N1.9 million increase.”

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has confirmed that his principal will attend the burial ceremony of 17 military personnel killed in Okuama community in Delta State.

The presidential aide stated this in a post via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday.

He claimed that it would be the first time in ten years that a Nigerian President has paid such homage to the gallant soldiers who died in service.

Onanuga said two other burials in 2018 and 2021 were not attended by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The presidential aide asserted that his principal is demonstrating that he cares about all Nigerians.

He wrote, “It is confirmed that President Bola Tinubu will be attending the national burial for the Nigerian military officers and soldiers killed on 14 March by some gunmen in Okuama Community in Delta State.

“It is the first time in the last ten years that a Nigerian President will attend such a solemn event, in honour of our men of gallantry and valor. Two other burials in 2021 and 2018 were not graced by the incumbent.

“We told you then that @officialABAT cares. He is demonstrating it yet again.”

Recall that the President had said last week that there would be a befitting burial for the 16 deceased soldiers who were killed while on a peacekeeping mission in Delta State.

Tinubu had expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the slain soldiers and pledged that the sacrifices of the fallen heroes would never be in vain.

Julius Abure has won re-election as National Chairman of Labour Party for a second term in office.

Abure was on Wednesday re-elected by a unanimous affirmation of delegates at the party’s National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.

The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the event attended by party leaders and members.

President Bola Tinubu has sent a congratulatory message to 44-year-old Bassirou Faye.

This comes after Faye won the Presidential election in Senegal.

Tinubu’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Ajuri Ngelale, a presidential Spokesperson.

President Tinubu noted that President-elect Faye comes with great promise and a sterling record, wishing him success as he takes on the critical job of leading Senegal.

The President also congratulated President Macky Sall for overseeing an election widely judged as peaceful and transparent.

President Tinubu stated that the success of the presidential election in Senegal and the successful conduct of the general election in Liberia a few months ago had affirmed his long-held conviction that the taproot of democracy is deeply established in West Africa and will only grow stronger as it is watered by good governance, justice, and fairness to all.

As the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, the President affirmed that the Senegal election was successful and boosted the sub-regional organisation’s efforts to promote peace and constitutional order and strengthen ties among member states.

President Tinubu assured the people of Senegal of Nigeria’s best wishes and support.

DAILY POST recalls Faye defeated Senegal’s ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba at the Sunday presidential election.