Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe has signed a controversial new constitution that abolishes presidential elections.

The new constitution has been widely condemned by the opponents and civil societies saying it would allow his family to extend their six-decade-long rule.

According to a statement from Gnassingbe’s office on Monday, under teh new legislation, only the parliament will have the power to select the president, eliminating direct elections.

According to Africa News, the election commission on Saturday announced that Gnassingbe’s ruling party had won a majority of seats in the nation’s parliament.

The report revealed that there was a crackdown on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote, as the government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and arrested opposition figures.

Also, the electoral commission banned the Catholic Church from deploying election observers.

In mid-April, a French journalist who arrived to cover the elections was arrested, assaulted and expelled. Togo’s media regulator later suspended the accreditation process for foreign journalists.

Provisional results showed the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR) party won 108 out of 113 seats in parliament, and 137 out of 179 positions in the senate.

The new constitution also increases presidential terms from five to six years and introduces a single-term limit.

However, the almost 20 years that Gnassingbe has already served in office would not count toward that tally.

Togo has been ruled by the same family for 57 years, initially by Eyadema Gnassingbe and then by his son, Faure Gnassingbe, who took office after elections that the opposition described as a “sham.”

The political opposition, religious leaders and civil society say the proposed new constitution makes it likely that Gnassingbe will stay on when his mandate expires in 2025.

They also fear that the creation of a figure similar to a prime minister, to be selected from the ruling party, could become another avenue for Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power even beyond that new term.

A group of about 20 civil society organizations in Togo have called for protests to defend and reinstate the country’s constitution.

“We will never accept this new constitution, even after its promulgation. The Togolese people must decisively look towards 2025,” said David Dosseh, a spokesperson for the civil society groups.

“At that point, a presidential election is absolutely necessary for the people to choose a new president and finally achieve a democratic transition in Togo.”

The lawmaker representing Ondo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Jimoh Ibrahim, has asked President Bola Tinubu to dissolve his cabinet.

The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

Ibrahim asked the President to drop some ministers from his cabinet and appoint knowledgeable and competent persons.

He stated that the current ministers don’t fall within the country’s “Grade A” and are not the best for the country, as seen so far since their appointment by the President.

The Ondo South Senator also opined that some of the ministers who have been accused of corruption should be dropped.

He said: “If you fail to do that, you will be carrying their burdens and that will be terrible for our country.

”You have to dissolve the cabinet, you have to come up with knowledgeable people, the cabinet is too cold and some of them accused of corruption should be dropped.”

Speaking further, Senator Ibrahim reiterated his reasons for describing the APC governorship primary election in Ondo state as a mega fraud.

He said: ‘The Governor of Kogi State Ahmed Ododo wrote a letter to INEC requesting a change of collation centre …. he didn’t communicate in that letter the new collation centre.’‘

A troubling report from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and its partners forecasts that approximately 16 per cent of Nigerians (32 million people) will grapple with severe food insecurity between June and August 2024.

Naija News reports that the study signals an escalating crisis in hunger and deteriorating living conditions not only in Nigeria but across West and Central Africa.

The report indicates an increase from last year’s figures, with the 2024 projection showing a concerning rise in food insecurity during what is traditionally known as the lean season.

The report read, “Looking ahead, the projected outlook for the period June-August 2024 appears even more severe: nearly 52 million people across the 17 analyzed countries are anticipated to face phases 3 to 5 during the lean season of June-August. This translates to 12% of the analyzed population struggling to meet their basic food and nutrition requirements.

“These countries include Mauritania (656 652, 14%), Burkina Faso (2 734 196, 12%), Niger (3 436,892, 13%), Chad (3,364,453, 20%), Sierra Leone (1,569,895, 20%), and Nigeria (31,758,164, 16%).”

A staggering 52 million people across the region are expected to face acute hunger during this period, constituting about 12% of the population analyzed.

For Nigeria specifically, the figures are even more dire, with an estimated 32 million people facing crisis-level or emergency food insecurity conditions.

The situation is particularly critical in the northern states of Sokoto and Zamfara, where over 15% of children are reported to be suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis.

The report also highlights that several other countries within the region are expected to suffer significant food security challenges.

These include Chad, where 20% of the population could face severe food shortages, and Sierra Leone, which shows similar percentages. Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and Niger are also on the list of nations facing daunting food security challenges.

The IRC has attributed the rising severity of food insecurity across the Sahelian belt to a combination of factors, including increased insecurity, adverse effects of climate change, and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions marked by high inflation rates.

In January 2024, the average inflation rate in the region was recorded at 21%, up from 18% in the previous year. Sierra Leone, in particular, has experienced a dramatic increase, with inflation rates soaring to 54%.

A man has been arrested after he attempted to shoot the pastor of a church during a service at Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, US on Sunday. But his gun refused to fire. 

The 26-year-old man identified as Bernard J. Polite wanted to gun down the pastor, saying, “God told me to do it”. 

The incident happened when the Sunday service was ongoing, plunging the congregation into pandemonium as the service was being live-streamed. 

‘I ducked’ 

According to the police press release, Polite of Braddock entered the church just after 1 p.m. and walked towards the front while Rev Glenn Germany was delivering a sermon.

The pastor disclosed that Polite smiled at him and they made eye contact just before he pointed the gun at him.

Germany then ducked out of the way as a male congregant tackled Polite, ABC News reports.

Germany and the member of the church then worked together to wrest the gun away from Polite, who was soon subdued and held until state troopers arrived.

Polite said “God told me to do it” and that he planned to shoot Germany and “wait to be arrested” so he could go to jail and clear his mind, according to court documents. 

He faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide, and was being held Monday without bail at the Allegheny County Jail. 

Also, state police said they did not know if Polite has an attorney, and county court records did not list one.

It added that the body of a shot victim was found in a home near the church where Polite had been shortly before going to the church, county police said. 

The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the body Monday as Derek Polite, 56, of North Braddock, but did not say if he was related to Bernard Polite.

Polite was not known at the church, officials said. He wandered over to the church after hearing music coming from there, according to court documents.

‘You can hear the gun click’

Recounting the incident, Germany said, “I am feeling grateful that I woke up this morning and that I am here. It could have gone in the opposite direction. But God has intervened and I am grateful for him.”

“I’m so grateful,” he said. “You know, he shot. You can hear the gun click.”

The pastor said he saw Polite walk in and smile at him, but assumed he was coming to speak with another member of the church.

“But instead he came right here where I’m standing… and that’s where he just pulled out the gun,” he said. “I’m looking right down the barrel of the gun.”

Polite appeared to suffer from mental illness, Germany said, and told him he heard voices. “The voices were in his head and said ‘go shoot the pastor.'”

Polite is facing multiple charges, including attempted homicide. He was denied bail and is being detained at a jail in Pittsburgh ahead of a preliminary hearing next week.

The presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms says there is a need to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate.

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the committee, spoke on Monday while disclosing the VAT revenue-sharing formula would be reviewed.

He spoke at a policy exposure and impact assessment session organised by the committee.

Nigeria’s VAT rate is currently 7.5 percent.

Oyedele also said the committee has proposed reviewing state and local governments’ share of VAT revenue to 90 percent.

According to section 40 of the VAT Act, the federal government gets 15 percent of the tax revenue, states share 50 percent, and local governments share the balance of 35 percent.

However, Oyedele said the committee is recommending reducing the federal government’s share from 15 percent to 10 percent.

“We are proposing that the federal government’s portion should be reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent. States’ portion will be increased but they would share 90 percent with local governments,” he said.

Oyedele said the committee proposed adjusting the sharing formula for VAT because it is a tax of the states.

“In 1986, we had sales tax collected by states. The military came up with VAT in 1993 and stopped sales tax so they said it would collect VAT and return 15 per cent as cost of collection and that is the 15 per cent charged today came about. But we think it is too much,” he said.

The tax expert added that the burden of VAT should be on the ultimate consumer.

“So we must make it transparent and neutral and this is what over 100 countries where they have VAT are doing,” Oyedele said.

“Nigeria’s economy is more than 50 percent in services and if I just stop at this, many states will be broke because VAT collection will go down by more than 50 percent and it won’t even fly.

“So we therefore need to adjust the VAT rate upward. We would ensure that it doesn’t affect businesses. The only thing is to look at basic consumption from food, education, medical services and accommodation will carry zero percent VAT. So for the poor and small businesses, no VAT.”

Oyedele said other consumers will pay a bit more.

“We have spoken to businesses about it and they won’t increase the product price. We want to make sure when we do VAT reform, no one will increase the price of commodities. We will work the mathematics with the private sector,” he said.

Oyedele also said each state should not be granted exclusive custodianship of their collections– because it would likely result in chaos.

The house of representatives has denied demanding bribe from Binance, a popular cryptocurrency platform.

On Tuesday, the cryptocurrency giant said some unknown persons in Nigeria demanded huge payments in digital currency to make their “problems in the country go away”.

On February 28, the federal government detained two top executives of Binance as part of a probe bordering on illegal operations in the country and foreign exchange rate manipulations.

The detained executives included Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan and Binance’s regional manager for Africa; and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance.

Nigeria’s government, on March 25, filed a criminal charge against Binance for “tax evasion” — the same period Anjarwalla fled detention.

Speaking on the issues, Richard Teng, Binance’s chief executive officer (CEO), in a blog post shared with TheCable, said despite multiple requests, Binance has still not received details of the allegations, “and our employees, therefore, inquired if there was an opportunity to submit our responses in writing and in the absence of a public hearing”

Teng said Binance held a meeting with the house committee on financial crimes (HCFC).

“There were a number of reasons for that, including the sensitivity of the information and getting the opportunity to see the allegations in full and prepare a thorough substantive response,” he said.

“On January 8, Binance employees had a face-to-face meeting with three members of the HCFC and a clerk in Abuja at the House of Representatives building for a scheduled pre-hearing engagement in private.

“The meeting was chaired by the Honourable Peter Akpanke, the Honourable Philip Agbese, and the Honourable Peter Aniekwe, as well as a clerk.

“During the conversation, the Committee highlighted the important nature of the issues at hand and the lengths to which they were prepared to go to summon Binance, including issuing arrest warrants against our team and CEO and preventing our team from leaving the country.

“While concerning, it was understood that the HCFC does not in fact have the power to issue arrest warrants.

“The meeting ended with the Chair confirming they would consider the matter and revert through Binance’s local counsel.

“However, as our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.

“Later that day, our local counsel — representing us at that time — was summoned by the Committee through someone purporting to be their agent, who relayed the Committee’s terms and instructed our local counsel to advise us.”

‘NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER HAPPENED’

During plenary on Wednesday, Kama Nkemkanma from Ebonyi state, raised a “point of privilege”, saying the house never met with Binance and no bribe has ever been demanded.

“This house can never allow itself to be talked down,” he said.

The lawmaker said the allegation is capable of “bringing the house into disrepute” and should “never be taken lightly”.

Ruling on the point of privilege, Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, said the clerk should “take note”.

“We need to use whatever media available to us to refute this allegation,” Abbas said.

“Nothing like that has ever happened. No committee of the house has ever engaged this man.”

THE INVESTIGATIVE HEARING

The house committee on financial crimes has been investigating Binance for multiple crimes, including alleged money laundering, illegal operations, financial terrorism, and tax evasion.

The committee is chaired by Ginger Onwusibe, lawmaker representing Isiala Ngwa south/Isiala Ngwa north federal constituency.

The committee invited the management of Binance on several occasions but the cryptocurrency firm sent legal representatives instead.

In one of the committee sittings in early March, the lawmakers turned back Senator Ihenyen, the legal representative of Binance.

It is unclear why Nkemkanma and Abbas said Binance never met lawmakers.

REPS TO PROBE ESCAPE OF BINANCE EXECUTIVE FROM CUSTODY

Meanwhile, the house of representatives has resolved to investigate the circumstances surrounding the escape of Anjarwalla, the Binance regional manager for Africa, from custody.

Anjarwalla escaped from custody in March but was reportedly rearrested in Kenya in April.

Shade Okoya, the wife of Rasaq Okoya, the Nigerian billionaire industrialist, has revealed how she resolves conflicts with her husband.

Rasaq and Shade celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at their residence in Lagos on April 25.

In a recent interview with ThisDay Style Magazine, Shade said she is “never in a hurry to respond” during a misunderstanding with her husband.

She said instead of arguing with her husband, she “listens carefully” to him and tries to “understand his point”.

The 47-year-old entrepreneur also emphasised the importance of patience and compromise for a long-lasting marriage.

She described the 84-year-old billionaire as a “tenacious, mature, intentional and generous man”.

“The importance of compromise and, above all, patience cannot be understated; every single day, patience must be put into practice,” she said.

“My husband has a broad range of experience, and in respect to this, I have learned not to be in a hurry to respond during any disagreements we have.

“Rather, I listen carefully to be sure I properly understand his point. This way, I find myself learning from him while recognising my own mistakes.

“A strong determination to succeed in my marriage has always been a priority for me, and patience and humility have seen me through to date.

“I see my husband not just as my lover but as a friend and role model. I believe his love for me and his protection of me have also really helped our marriage.”

 

Rasaq is the owner and founder of Eleganza Group, a leading conglomerate in the manufacturing industry.

Shade, on the other hand, is the managing director and chief executive officer of the company.

The couple has four children together — namely Olamide, Subomi, Oyinlola, and Wahab.

Supervisors and advisers of Ikere-Ekiti LGA in Ekiti state were sworn in with an ‘Ògún’ totem and the Quran.

Ògún is one of the deities in African traditional religion. It is often regarded as the “god of iron”.

The swearing-in ceremony took place on May 2 at the conference hall of the office of Olu Adamolekun, chairman of Ikere-Ekiti LGA.

The oath of office was administered on the appointees by Adamolekun.

In a video making the rounds on social media, the appointees could be seen taking turns to wield a cutlass (a totem for the god of iron) in one hand and a Quran in the other.

While administering the oath of office, Adamolekun asked the appointees to repeat the following in Yoruba: “From today, I will be loyal and truthful to BAO (Ekiti state governor), and Monisade (deputy governor), APC and its leaders.”

“I will take instructions from the leaders. If I refuse to do so, Ogun or Quran should kill me. For this, I will be truthful,” they said.

In Nigeria, public office holders usually swear an oath of office using the Quran or Bible, while pledging allegiance to the constitution.

In this instance, however, the appointees were asked to swear allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leaders in Ekiti — while invoking a deity.

LIST OF THE APPOINTEES

SUPERVISORS

1. Femi Ayeni — Are/Aramomi/Ayetoro Ward
2. Olu Ogundipe — Okeruku Ward
3. ldowu Ojo Omowumi — Atiba/Aafin Ward
4. Ajayi Mathew Oladele — Ogbonjana Ward

ADVISERS

1. Sola Alonge — Odose Ward
2. Boluwaji Daramola — llapetu/ljao Ward
3. Toyin Owolabi — Agbado/Oyo Ward
4. Akojiyan Olamilekan Rasaq — Oke Osun Ward
5. Filani Motunrayo — Afao/Kajola Ward

Workers under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives; the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees; and the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies on Wednesday protested against the sacking of 391 of the Lagos State Water Corporation (LWC) by the state government.

The protest rally kicked off at Ikeja under-bridge.

The protesters carried different banners with inscriptions like “Water Corporation needs more staff not sack!”, “Recall sacked staff of Lagos Water Corporation”, “Sanwo-Olu, employment is a right”, among others, are demanding the reinstatement of the sacked workers.

In April, the state announced the disengagement of the staff members, which it described as “redundant staff”.

LWC in a statement shared by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s senior special assistant on New Media, Jubril Gawat, on his official X handle, stated that the disengagement of the staff was part of ongoing restructuring in the corporation aimed at enhancing operational efficiency.

According to LWC, the decision to streamline the workforce was in response to the perennial challenge of water scarcity in the state.

No fewer than 425 staff of the corporation were served last year.

The corporation explained that its inability to reliably supply water has led to the shrinkage of its customer base, thereby affecting revenue generation.

“The Lagos Water Corporation has announced the disengagement of 391 redundant staff as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and meeting the evolving demands of the organization. The decision to streamline the workforce is in response to the persistent challenge of water scarcity in the state despite extensive infrastructure projects.

“LWC has faced substantial financial and operational challenges, struggling to generate adequate revenue to meet its obligations. The corporation’s unreliable water supply has resulted in a shrinking customer base and declining revenue.

“In October 2023, the Corporation initiated a comprehensive Personnel Audit to realign its operations. Engr. Mukhtaar Tijani, the Managing Director, stated that the audit, led by the Office of the Head of Service since August 2023, identified the need for phased actions. The first phase involved the disengagement of 425 temporary staff with outdated contracts. The ongoing second phase targets permanent staff whose roles or offices have become redundant. The upcoming third phase will focus on retaining competent technical staff to enhance the utility and commercial efficiency of the Corporation.

“As part of the restructuring efforts, a performance improvement process has been established for the retained permanent staff, along with the formulation of precise job descriptions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to foster organizational excellence and efficiency,” LWC said.

The corporation noted that in line with the public service rules, the state government has approved the payment of three months’ salary in lieu of notice and redundancy payments. This, it said, is in addition to other statutory benefits.

“In line with the Public Service Rules, the State Government has approved the payment of three months’ salary in lieu of notice and redundancy payments, in addition to statutory benefits such as pensions for the affected staff.

“Furthermore, the Corporation has adopted a new organogram to enhance operations and financial sustainability. This strategic shift underscores the Corporation’s commitment to delivering sustainable and reliable water supply to the residents of Lagos State.

“The Lagos Water Corporation appreciates the hard work and dedication of the affected staff members over the years; however, this action is deemed imperative for the development of the state,” the statement added

The relatives of the embattled former Chairman of the Park Management System (PMS), Alhaji Lamidi Mukaila, also known as Auxiliary, have expressed displeasure over his recent arrest.

Recalls that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested the embattled former Oyo State PMS boss.

The recent arrest comes a year after Auxiliary was arrested after being linked to an alleged attempt by his loyalists to cause trouble in the state following the dissolution of the PMS committee by the state Governor, Seyi Makinde.

Auxiliary was again rearrested at about 4:00 pm on Tuesday at his residence in the Olodo area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Two women who claimed to be relatives of Auxiliary but hid their identities have since responded in a video that Vanguard claimed to have obtained. The video detailed the incident involving the former NURTW leader and security personnel.

One of the women recording the video mentioned that the individuals who took Auxiliary did not disclose their identities before taking him into custody.

“One of his junior brothers called me that they have arrested Papa without doing anything. He told me that Papa was busy enjoying himself at the table there.

“Then, one of his boys who happens to be my child saw a black unidentified security van and said, “are these not DSS men?”

“Before Papa (Auxiliary) lifted up his head, the masked men had cornered him. When Papa saw them, he didn’t run away since there is no skeleton in his cupboard. It is someone who has done a bad thing that should be afraid.

“As he wanted to go upstairs, one of his boys was trying to shield him but the security men moved faster to stop him. They took him into a waiting van. The van has no number plate or any inscriptions on it. They took him away without telling us where they were taking him to.

“This is not fair now. How should they arrest an innocent man?” she said.

Auxiliary has been on the run since last year after security forces were informed about his intention to incite chaos and disorder in Oyo State.

His house was raided, leading to the discovery of a significant cache of weapons, including firearms, machetes, and other hazardous tools.

Despite his attempt to ascend the stairs, he was prevented by armed individuals who fired warning shots into the air.