The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Thursday warned that the tax reform bills initiated by the Federal Government would undermine the operations of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, and weaken public university education in the country.

This was disclosed by the Bauchi Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof Timothy Namo, during an interview with journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

DAILY POST recalls that the Federal Government submitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration in November 2024.

Namo called on the National Assembly to suspend the debate on the bills, noting that their passage would redirect more funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFund. He warned that this would deprive TETFund of the necessary resources to function effectively.

“The bills seek to enact a new law and abrogate the Education Tax,” Namo explained.
“These bills, if passed into law, will replace the Development Levy, which has been a major source of funding for TETFund projects. All funds generated from the education tax will instead be ceded to the newly established NELFund.

“The far-reaching implication is that by 2030, all funds generated from the Development Levy will be accessed solely by NELFund. This is dangerous and unpatriotic.

“This poses a serious threat to the survival of TETFund and, consequently, the Nigerian tertiary education system,” he said.

Namo emphasised that TETFund had been instrumental in supporting infrastructural development, postgraduate training, research, and capacity building in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria since 1993. He asserted that ASUU would resist any move detrimental to TETFund’s operations.

The coordinator also revealed that ASUU leadership had engaged the Federal Government on the potential dangers of the bills and urged the National Assembly to set aside the proposals in the interest of Nigerians.

No fewer than 49 Higher National Diploma final-year students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic are on the verge of expulsion following a result verification process that exposed the alleged use of fake National Diploma results.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Thursday from a result verification update released by the polytechnic that the students had allegedly presented fake ND results while seeking admission into the HND programmes of the institution.

In a two-batch result verification list released by the polytechnic, the affected students cut across Mass Communication, Pharmaceutical Technology, Marketing, Science Laboratory Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Accountancy among others.

Some of the fake results were reportedly obtained from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State.

The institution had on Monday announced the indefinite closure of the polytechnic over a planned protest by the students.

Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, ‘yemi Ajibola, noted that the verification was part of the institution’s process of authenticating documents submitted by admitted students.

Ajibola noted that the delay in the release of results was occasioned by the verification process, and after due diligence, the affected students were found to have submitted fake ND results.

He said, “We have our internal mechanisms for verifying results submitted by every student of the polytechnic. Some of the results had yet to be verified because the schools they came from had yet to confirm their results, while some of the results were found to be fake.

“We had a backlog of results to verify because of some administrative issue which necessitated the delay, and we are working on getting them resolved as soon as possible.”

He added that the students with fake results would not be immediately expelled but would be allowed to come and defend the results before final action was taken.

“They will not be expelled immediately. The institution will write each of the affected students to come and defend the result they presented, and in a circumstance where we detect an error in the verification process, we will rectify it.

“However, anyone who could not substantiate his/her results will be expelled,” Ajibola said.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the Ogun State Government and the students of MAPOLY disagreed over an alleged attack by the students on the state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele.

While the government claimed that the deputy governor narrowly escaped an attack by the protesting students, the students, on the other hand, alleged that the deputy governor’s security detail fired shots at them during a confrontation.

The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has stated it will not approve the 2025 budget estimates of Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, and all other universities whose vice chancellors failed to appear for budget defence at the National Assembly.

The chairman of the House Committee on University Education, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, made this known during the committee’s meeting for the 2025 budget defence of universities and inter-university centres.

Fulata emphasised that the exercise is crucial as it allows legislators to gain a proper understanding of the progress, opportunities, and challenges peculiar to each university.

He noted that the committee had recently carried out oversight visits to all the federal universities under its supervision, except Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State. According to him, the university’s management not only blocked legislators from conducting the oversight visit but also failed to respond to letters and correspondence regarding the 2024 budget performance and previous years. Additionally, no member of the university’s management team appeared for the budget defence when the roll call was taken.

The committee warned against non-compliance with federal character principles in the recruitment of employees and the appointment of principal officers within the university. The lawmakers urged vice chancellors and university councils to address these issues promptly.

Furthermore, the committee advised university management to ensure that internally generated revenue is utilised in line with constitutional provisions, warning that unapproved expenditure constitutes a gross violation of the constitution.

While acknowledging the primary purpose of universities—teaching, learning, and research—the committee expressed concern about the limited number of research outputs being effectively utilised.

Speaking on behalf of the universities, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, highlighted that university education is the cornerstone of national development. He pledged to take necessary steps to ensure progress.

Ribadu identified key challenges facing university education in Nigeria, including inadequate funding, the envelope system of budgeting, deficits in the quality and quantity of teachers, unreliable power supply, and land encroachment.

Police have arrested a suspected fake lawyer identified as Godwin Eguabor while he was representing a client in a court in Lagos state.

Eguabor reportedly appeared before a magistrate court in the Badagry area of Lagos on Wednesday on behalf of a litigator.

Atule Elchors, the vice-chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Badagry branch, said at the court hearing on Wednesday, Eguabor announced his appearance as legal counsel to a client.

Elchors said he has been hearing a rumour that a fake lawyer was engaging in legal services in Badagry.

“I stood up and told the court that the person who appeared before the magistrate is not a legal practitioner,” NAN quoted the NBA vice-chairman saying.

“And that we have been looking out for him.

“We asked for his supreme court number, which is the enrollment number of every lawyer, but he could not answer, he was just telling us stories.

“The worst thing is that the name he is using in court is different from the name he gave the police when they came to arrest him.”

BAIL APPLICATION

On Thursday, Eguabor was taken to the magistrate court by the police and charged for an offence bordering on illegal parade of oneself as a lawyer.

Edet Ekpo, the prosecutor representing the police, told the court that the offence contravened section 380 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

L A Layeni, the magistrate, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.

Layeni ordered that one of the sureties should be a company’s managing director and present a statement of account of the company for one year.

He said that the sureties must deposit N25,000 to the account of Ikeja high court registrar.

He adjourned the case to February 19 for further hearing.

The Lagos high court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square has acquitted and discharged Fredrick Nwajagu, the Eze of Ajao Estate, of terrorism charges.

On Wednesday, the presiding judge, Yetunde Adesanya, ruled that the Lagos state government failed to prove the terrorism charges against Nwajagu beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, the judge convicted Nwajagu for parading himself as a titled chief in violation of the Oba and Chiefs Law of Lagos State.

Nwajagu was sentenced to one year in prison on this charge, but given that he had already spent nearly two years in prison custody, the judge ordered his immediate release.

THE CASE

In April 2023, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) arrested Nwajagu after a video surfaced online in which he made an “inciting statement”.

In the footage, Nwajagu, dressed in his royal regalia, called on Igbo indigenes in Lagos to recruit members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) to protect their properties from looters.

“IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that. We have to do that,” he said.

A few days later, a magistrate court in the Yaba area of Lagos remanded Nwajagu in prison custody.

The Lagos state government subsequently arraigned him on a nine-count charge of terrorism and impersonation.

Seek new sharing formula for VAT

Nigerian governors have expressed their support for Tinubu’s tax reform bills.

The decision followed a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Presidential Tax Reform Committee on Thursday.

The governors’ stance is a major boost for advocates of the bills that have caused much controversy in the country.

The bills before the National Assembly have caused a lot of division in the country, including even among the lawmakers.

However, even though the governors accepted the tax reform bills, they are proposing a new sharing formula for the value-added tax (VAT), an area that made northern governors and lawmakers reject the bills.

Governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) have unanimously opposed any increase in the Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate.

This stance was expressed in their communiqué after their high-level meeting with the Presidential Tax Reform Committee on Thursday in Abuja.

The governors emphasised the importance of maintaining economic stability and safeguarding the welfare of citizens during ongoing fiscal reforms.

In a significant move to address inequities in resource allocation, the forum suggested a revised VAT sharing formula: 50 percent  based on equality, 30 percent based on derivation, and 20 percent based on population.

This formula aims to promote fairness and balance in resource distribution across the country, addressing the needs of smaller states while incentivizing revenue generation at the subnational level.

The NGF firmly opposed raising VAT rates, citing the potential impact on consumers and businesses.

The governors also advocated the continued exemption of essential goods and agricultural produce from VAT, emphasising the need to protect the most vulnerable and promote food security.

The forum endorsed the ongoing legislative process at the National Assembly to enact comprehensive Tax Reform Bills.

The governors also recommended the retention of development levies allocated to key national agencies, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), without terminal clauses.

Chairman of the NGF and Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq stated, “The Forum reiterated its strong support for the comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s archaic tax laws.

”Members acknowledged the importance of modernising the tax system to enhance fiscal stability and align with global best practices.

“Members agreed that to maintain economic stability, the VAT rate should not increase or Corporate Income Tax (CIT) should be reduced at this time.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has unveiled two digital innovations—the Document Flow System and the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies Naira Payment Solution—at an event held on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at its headquarters in Abuja.

A press statement released on Thursday described the projects as part of the “Digital First” transformation initiative launched by the Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in December 2023.

The statement read: “The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has launched two transformative initiatives, the Document Flow System and the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies Naira Payment Solution.”

Cardoso, in his remarks, stressed the significance of the DocFlow system in overhauling document management processes within the Bank.

He explained that the system aims to digitise operations, reduce paper use, and streamline approval workflows to enhance efficiency.

He also described the MDAs Naira Payment Solution as a vital tool for automating cash withdrawal processes for MDAs, noting its potential to improve service delivery and client support.

Cardoso praised the in-house development of both systems, citing the associated cost savings and their contribution to sustainability through technological progress.

The Deputy Governor of Operations, Emem Usoro, said the launch highlighted the Bank’s commitment to innovation and operational excellence.

She highlighted the MDAs Naira Payment Solution’s benefits, including improved service delivery, reduced errors, and stronger measures against fraud.

The Acting Director of the CBN’s Information Technology Department, Mrs Jide-Samuel, stated that the MDAs Naira Payment Solution had been successfully tested with several MDAs and aligns with the Bank’s goal of “Excellence in Central Banking Operations.”

The statement added, “The MDAs Naira Payment Solution is considered a game-changer in the CBN’s financial transaction management. It is projected to improve payment turnaround time by 70 per cent and further enhance Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.”

A traditional Nigerian dish, Akara, has become an integral part of Brazilian cuisine, earning an annual celebration known as the Acarajé Festival.

The dish, a deep-fried cake made from beans, was reportedly introduced to Brazil by enslaved West Africans, who were taken from their homelands to South America decades ago.

In West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Akara is a staple food that can include various fillings such as fish, eggs, and vegetables.

Akara is typically fried with either vegetable oil or palm oil and is often served with other foods such as pap, bread, or custard.

According to TRT Afrika, Acarajé has evolved into a popular street food in Brazil, especially in the northeastern state of Bahia.

The dish is traditionally prepared and sold by Brazil’s Baianas women, who proudly carry on the culinary traditions of their enslaved ancestors. 

“These slaves, mostly of Yoruba heritage from western Nigeria, were abducted from their homelands and taken across stormy seas to Bahia.

“After the abolition of slavery in the late 19th century, the sale of Acarajé grew in popularity and became an important source of income for descendants of enslaved people,” the report stated.

It also noted that the dish has become a significant part of Brazilian culture, with an annual festival held in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate its “enduring legacy.”

During the recent Acarajé Festival held on 25 November, one vendor, Joelice Cavalcante, explained how the dish is made in Brazil and served with sauce, giving it a unique twist and flavours.

She described the batter as being made from black-eyed peas blended with onions. “The more you mix and blend it, the tastier it becomes,” she was quoted as saying.

The batter is then fried with palm oil, known as dende oil in Brazil. “It makes it crispy so that when you bite, you can feel the flavour,” she added.

The Acarajé Festival has reportedly attracted tourists from around the globe.

Watch video below

The British national, Mr James Nolan, who jumped bail in the ongoing trial linked to alleged 9.6 billion dollars Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd scandal, on Thursday, said he does not intend to call any witness.

Nolan told Justice Obiora Egwuatu of a Federal High Court in Abuja through his lawyer, Michael Ajara.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in the 20-count charge, named Micad Project City Services Limited and Nolan as 1st and 2nd defendants in the money laundering offences.

Nolan and Micad Project, a company where he is a director, were arraigned in May 2022.
The duo pleaded not guilty to the charge and Nolan, who is also a director in P&ID Ltd, was remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre.

After he met his bail conditions of N100 million with a surety and was admitted to bail following the variation of the bail from N500 million, Nolan stopped attending court proceedings and fled Nigeria.

Nolan was declared wanted by the court and an order was made for his arrest anywhere he is sighted.

The EFCC lawyer, Bala Sanga, equally applied that Nolan should be tried in absentia and the prayer was granted.

Although NAN reported that the fleeing Briton was arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) in Italy on Jan. 27, 2024, during a visit he paid to his wife, he was yet to be extradited back to Nigeria to face his trial.

Meanwhile, when the matter was called on Thursday, Sanga told the court that the business of the day would have been for the prosecution to call their last witness.

“But upon review of the case, we found that it is superfluous and therefore we are dispensing with the last witness,” he said.

Nolan’s counsel, Ajara, said he had no objection to the anti-graft agency lawyer’s submission.
He, however, said that after the evaluation of the EFCC’s evidence, they would be relying on the prosecution’s case.

“Based on the evidence already before the court adduced by the prosecution, we shall be resting our case on theirs.

“So we don’t intend to call any witness,”:he told the court.

Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter until March 10 for adoption of final written addresses of the parties.
NAN recalls that a sister court presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo had, on July 3, 2024, ordered the closure of two companies linked to Nolan, over the involvement in the P&ID Ltd fraud.

Justice Okorowo, who had since been elevated to the Appeal Court, in two separate judgments, held that the two companies were found guilty of money laundering offences.

Consequently, Okorowo ordered that the companies be wound up and their assets be forfeited to the federal government.

The companies were Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited and Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Ltd.

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday granted a warrant of arrest against Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, the manager of gospel singer Mercy Chinwo.

Justice Alexander Owoeye granted the order following a motion exparte brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the arrest of the manager.

When the case was called on Thursday, Mrs Bilikisu Buhari, announced an appearance for the EFCC.

She then informed the court of an application brought by EFCC under Section 35(1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

The counsel consequently moved the application seeking an order to issue a warrant of arrest against the manager.

She said that the warrant would be to compel the manager’s appearance in court to answer to criminal offences he allegedly committed.

Buhari submitted that if the commission was not able to arrest the manager, it would bring a public summons to declare him wanted.

The court granted the application, and adjourned the case until Jan. 24, for the arraignment of the manager.

In an affidavit in support of the application, EFCC averred that it received a petition from Chinwo against the manager.

The affidavit was deposed to by Mr Michael Idoko, an investigator with the commission.

It averred that the gospel singer alleged that the manager was receiving royalty on all her digital platforms and events  without disclosure.

According to the EFCC,  the gospel singer claimed that the manager diverted about 345,000 dollars without remitting her share.

It said  that  efforts to arrest the manager failed,  necessitating the application for a warrant of arrest.

The court adjourned the case until Jan. 24 for arraignment of the manager.