The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to investigate the alleged fraudulent allocation of title documents to some real estate developers.

This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Karu/Keffi/Kokona Federal Constituency, Nasarawa State, Mr Jonathan Gbefwi.

Moving the motion, Gbefwi, noted that before the appointment of Wike by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, several title land documents in the FCT were issued to some real estate developers “In a highly suspicious manner.”

He said, “The House wonders if the Director of Lands or any official of the Federal Capital Territory Development Administration issued the Right of Occupancy, purportedly in the name of the Minister of FCT. at the period when the office of the Minister was vacant, have the legal right or authority to do so.

“The House is concerned that some of the lands affected were subject to litigations which were yet to be resolved

“We are disturbed that some of the beneficiaries of these alleged fraudulent allocations are already using them to forcibly grab disputed land which is a recipe for conflicts

“We are convinced that if the title document of any land is fraudulently issued or procured, whatever is built on it should not stand in the interest of the public.”

Following the resolution of the House, the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu who presided over plenary, directed the Committee on FCT to “Investigate all allocations of land in the name of the Minister of FCT. Abuja, given from January to August 2023.”

The House also resolved “That all such lands which are subject to litigation or multiple allocations, should be identified and their allocation withdrawn by the Minister pending the resolution of the matter.”

The committee is expected to report back to the House in four weeks.

…says trial- and -error economics failing

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to stop deceiving Nigerians about his administration’s true position on fuel subsidy.

Atiku said this in a statement, in Abuja, yesterday.

He explained that contrary to the President’s public posturing about removing fuel subsidy, the Tinubu administration has been secretly paying trillions of Naira as subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

The former Vice President who was the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 election, noted that subsidy payments under Tinubu’s watch is likely to hit N5.4 trillion this year (2024).

Atiku said, “President Bola Tinubu, at his inauguration on May 29, 2023, announced the abolishment of the subsidy on PMS, popularly known as fuel.

“Ever since, it has been a bragging right of Tinubu and officials of his administration.

“I had in my statement reviewing the one year of the Bola Tinubu administration urged the government to come clean on the actual position of the subsidy policy.

“These were my exact words: “…provide clarity on the fuel subsidy regime, including the fiscal commitments and benefits from the fuel subsidy reform and the impact of this on the Federation Accounts.

“It is curious that since April 2024, fuel queues have mounted at many filling stations across Nigeria, and the infamous ‘black market’ has sprouted in several states.

“How much PMS is being imported and distributed, and at what cost? What is the implicit subsidy?”

“If the subsidy regime had been characterised by opaqueness, what would we say of a situation where the subsidy is still being paid under the cover without Nigerians in the know?

“Like millions of Nigerians, I was shocked to learn through media reports that
the “government is still supporting downstream consumption.”

“Now we know that expenditure on fuel subsidy may reach N5.4 trillion in 2024, compared to the N3.6 trillion spent in 2023, the same year that Tinubu claimed to have abolished fuel subsidy

“I wish to restate that Nigeria is not working, and what we have had in a little over a year is a cocktail of trial-and-error economic policies. Paying subsidies and lying about it is nothing to brag about. Nigerians deserve better than this deception. “

Human rights lawyer Mike Ozekhome has applauded President Bola Tinubu’s government for the reintroduction of the old national anthem, Nigeria, we Hail Thee. 

Ozekhome spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday.

He said, “I am not a fantastic fan of the government but if there is one thing I think they have gone right; they have gotten right, and I applaud them for it, it is the reintroduction of this national anthem.”

The return to the old national anthem came after the National Assembly passed the National Anthem Bill 2024 which was later signed by President Tinubu. 

While the development triggered a backlash from Nigerians who questioned the importance of the reversal, Ozekhome noted that the reintroduction of the old national anthem “will cement us together”.

Ozekhome said, “I know that it was advertised that there would be a public hearing over the national anthem.

“That was how I heard. Nobody came to invite me specially and if you’re called, you should go and participate. If you don’t participate, you should not cry later.”

He said, unlike a change of constitution, having a new national anthem does not require town hall meetings at the lowest levels. 

Ozekhome lamented the lack of patriotism among some Nigerians and hopes the new anthem will reinstate that in Nigerians.

According to him, the reintroduction of the anthem was part of the recommendations of the 2014 National Confab.

Ozekhome’s comment came days after Tinubu defended the reintroduction of the anthem which the President described as his “priority”.

“Let me allude to something that happened yesterday. The change of national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’,” President Tinubu said during a meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Thursday.

“Some people say, okay… say what? Is that your priority? It’s my priority. I agree with the National Assembly. If they make law, I’ve got to obey that law, or we disagree openly and close the chapter.”

The Nigerian government has said the turnover of Binance, a cryptocurrency platform, surpassed $20 billion from activities in Nigeria, yet the firm paid zero tax to the country.

The Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to the allegation that two Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were illegally held in custody in Nigeria.

The Minister clarified that the two executives, although one is currently at large, were held for fueling currency speculation and operating non-registered business activities in Nigeria. 

“It would be recalled that Binance had a turnover in Nigeria of over US$20 billion in 2023 alone, far above the federal budget for health and education, fueling currency speculation and the cost-of-living crisis.

“In addition, it is not registered in Nigeria and neither has it ever paid any taxes within the Nigerian jurisdiction, having all the while operated without oversight or any of the normal guard rails to flag criminal activity”, he said.

Recall that on February 28, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were arrested by the Nigerian government on the allegation of currency speculation.

Anjarwalla was confirmed to have escaped custody in March.

In April, the Nigerian government arraigned Gambaryan in court for tax evasion and other charges bordering on money laundering.

Anjarwalla, though on the run, was joined in the suit with Binance.

In the federal high court in May, Gambaryan was denied bail and was ordered to be kept in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the recommencement of his trial.

Meanwhile, in a recent unfolding of the trial, Aluko & Oyebode, the law firm handling the case of Binance Holdings Limited, said Mr Tigran Gambaryan may die in custody in Kuje prison and called for his release.

Premier League clubs will on Thursday, vote on whether or not to scrap the Video Assistant Referee, VAR.

The clubs will meet at an annual general meeting.

Wolves are the club driving the vote having been hard done by numerous times. 

The 2023/2024 season saw a host of high profile errors from VAR, including the failure to award a goal that was shown to be onside for Liverpool in their loss at Tottenham.

VAR was introduced ahead of the 2019/2020 season and still continues to split opinions.

The proposal needs 14 votes from the 20 clubs for it to change.

But according to the UK Mirror, Wolves will get nowhere near the required number with VAR set to stay.

Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, aka Tems, has revealed that a DM from billionaire pop star, Rihanna, made her realise how successful she has become.

She disclosed this while speaking with popular YouTuber, Korty EO.

The host asked: “At what point did you realise that you’ve become successful?” 

Tems replied: “I knew I’d blown and gone far when I got a DM from Rihanna.”

Tems co-wrote Rihanna’s Black Panther2 soundtrack, ‘Lift Me Up’ last year.

Earlier this year, Rihanna expressed a desire to collaborate with Tems and Ayra Starr on a song.

The Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage has resumed talks over a new minimum wage for workers in the country.

The committee is meeting at NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

DAILY POST reports that the Federal Government is represented by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance; Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of Labour; and representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, along with the Head of Service of the Federation.

Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, are leading the organized labour delegation.

Abdulateef Shittu, the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, was present at the meeting even though none of the state governors was present at the time of filing this report.

DAILY POST reported that Labour suspended its nationwide indefinite strike on Tuesday after grounding the economy.

The Nigerian government has acknowledged that fuel subsidy expenditures are expected to surge to ₦5.4 trillion in 2024, according to a recent revelation by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.

This disclosure was made during the presentation of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) report, which outlines strategies to address critical challenges and stimulate growth across various sectors.

The projected subsidy cost for 2024 marks a significant increase from ₦3.6 trillion in 2023 and ₦2.0 trillion in 2022, highlighting a continuous upward trend in government spending on fuel subsidies.

This revelation comes amidst previous denials from the government regarding the complete deregulation of fuel prices.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, reiterated during a ministerial briefing on the anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration that fuel subsidies had been entirely eliminated.

“I can confirm to you that subsidy is gone; officially, there is no subsidy; I want to make it clear that there is no subsidy in the country today,” Lokpobiri stated.

These statements come after significant policy shifts last year when President Tinubu declared the end of the fuel subsidy, leading to a hike in pump prices from ₦250 per litre to over ₦500. Prices have continued to climb, reaching an average of ₦702 per litre as of April 2024.

The persistence of fuel subsidies and the floating of the Naira have had a profound impact on the economy, contributing to soaring inflation rates. As of April 2024, Nigeria’s headline and food inflation rates had escalated to 33.69 percent and 40.53 percent, respectively.

Italian Serie A former champions, Napoli, have confirmed the appointment of former Juventus and Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, as their new manager.
Antonio Conte has been without a coaching job since he left Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of the 2022-2023 season, the same season in which Napoli won the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years.

Unfortunately for Napoli, they completely collapsed in the 2023-2024 campaign, a season they couldn’t win any title and didn’t even qualify for European club football.

Despite the unpleasant state of Napoli which could lose Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen, to another club this summer, Antonio Conte decided to take the challenge.

After signing his contract with Napoli, the 54-year-old Italian tactician who has won the Serie A title three times in a row with Juventus and once with Inter Milan, said he is committed to the growth of Napoli.

“Napoli is a place of global importance. I am happy and excited at the idea of ​​sitting on the blue bench,” Conte said.

“I can certainly promise one thing, I will do my utmost for the growth of the team and the club. My commitment, together with that of my staff, will be total.”

Antonio Conte is expected to do better than Slovakian coach Francesco Calzona, and Walter Mazzarri who were in charge of Napoli in separate periods last season.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the US rapper, has sold his entire stake in Revolt, the media company he co-founded in 2013.

Revolt confirmed the complete buy-out in a statement on Tuesday. The media company revealed that Combs’ shares have been “redeemed and retired”. The sale price, however, remains undisclosed.

Detavio Samuels, Revolt’s CEO, told the New York Times that discussions about Diddy’s separation began in January after multiple sexual assault lawsuits were filed against him.

He said before the lawsuits, Combs had minimal interaction with the company.

Samuels revealed that the “staff were shaken by the cascade of news surrounding the company’s founder”, adding that they have completely “separated from Combs”.

“He is no longer chairman. He is no longer on the board. He has no shares, no equity in Revolt. We have completely separated and dissociated from each other,” he said.

Revolt also announced a new ownership structure that will give its employees an equity stake.

The separation follows months of controversy surrounding Combs.

In November 2023, Cassie, his ex-girlfriend, accused him of rape, abuse, and human trafficking during their 10-year relationship. However, the lawsuit was settled shortly after.

Several other women have also filed lawsuits against Combs with similar allegations.

In May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Cassie in 2016.

Diddy, who had denied Cassie’s claims, however, apologised. He said he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable”.