The leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, a group championing self-determination for Yoruba people, Professor Banji Akintoye has alleged that some foreign terrorists have infiltrated some parts of South West of Nigeria.

Akintoye, a professor of History,who disclosed this on Tuesday,while addressing the Congress Organised by Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide in Ibadan, the Capital City of Oyo State,said the latest of such incidents was the abduction of travellers along the Lagos/ Ibadan expressway last Friday.

He implored all Yoruba descendants to demand a change in the Nigerian system which he alleged is faulty and also assured that the Yoruba nation would be actualized before the end of December.

He said Nigeria is going nowhere because Nigeria has been hooked to slave masters,adding that the ruling class are hell-bent on thwarting democratic principles to favour their greed, ego and personal interests.

He alleged that Nigeria as a project was designed to fail.

He added:“Let me say this to all, Nigeria is going nowhere, not because we don’t want it to grow or because we lack the intellectual capacity to make it work, but, It cannot work simply because Nigeria has been hooked to slave masters, the ruling class who are hell-bent to thwart democratic principles to favour their greed, ego and personal interests.

“Furthermore, Nigeria is a project (a country) that is designed to fail; a consumer nation in every ramification and a nation that failed in her responsibility to the citizenry. Nigeria is a nation that lacks technology that could cater for its industry and build a sustainable economy. It is, indeed, a nation of ideological bankruptcy. With these indices, can someone explain how it would work?

“All entreaties for the restructuring and the repositioning of the country had been turned down by the few cabals who hijacked Nigeria and turned it to their personal estate for personal benefits.”

In his remarks, Chief Kunle Adelakun (Eruobodo), Interim General Secretary, Ilana Omo Oodua and Jagunmolu Agbekoya of Yoruba land, said that the President Buhari-led government should be aware that the will of God shall be done because the time to achieve the dream of Yoruba nation is now.

The chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS, Mr Ayodele Subair has attributed the success of the unprecedented tax revolution being witnessed in the state, where about 70 per cent of its income is internally generated, to the visionary leadership of the former State Governor and the All Progressive Congress, APC, Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the incumbent Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu.

He disclosed at his LIRS office in Alausa, when the management of the Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited, publishers of New Telegraph Newspapers led by the Managing Director, Ayodele Aminu and the Daily Editor, Juliet Bumah paid him a courtesy visit to brief him about the decision to honour him with an award of leadership excellence at a ceremony to be held later in the year.

Thanking the New Telegraph newspapers for finding him worthy of being honoured as a result of the huge successes being recorded by the agency, the LIRS boss added:“Testament to our former governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu who had that vision to create some independent agencies like the LIRS and making the state to be less reliance on the federal government’s allocation. He is the father of this tax revolution in Lagos State. So we always must give him that credit. Since he made the LIRS board autonomous, the numbers have been leaping in bounds and we hope to continue on that trajectory because we have to provide the funding for the state.The incumbent Governor has been very supportive of our innovations and fresh ideas in tax administration in Lagos State.

“The joy is when there is a bit of recognition, then you feel justified, you feel happy that you have spent all those long hours burning candles at night and so on and so forth justifiably. I’m very pleased that you have deemed it fit to honour myself and the agency at large. I assure you that management would be well represented at the actual award ceremony God’s willing.

“It is a moment like this that we feel very glad that we have put ourselves at the service of our dear state. Most of the time, we don’t get any recognition either internally or externally, rather it’s always you can do better. But in our world, our numbers speak for themselves. In your letter, you said we almost doubled our internal revenue generation since the inception of our tenure, but in actual fact, it’s more than double”

Commending the staff of the LIRS for their dedication and steadfastness, the LIRS boss said, “We are delighted that we have been able to achieve all those things. It’s all from dedicated leadership and followership. The staff play a very big role in making our numbers rise. Management directs and formulates the policies, and all the various processes that generate such income, but at the same time we need to commend the foot soldiers, they are the ones out in the field who help us to advocate for taxpayers to try and be tax compliant, to respect the social contracts, and to understand that if they want the state to improve in terms of provision of infrastructure and quality services, they need to also make a contribution.”

Subair advised Lagos residents not to relent in their duties by paying their taxes regularly and diligently as it would help the government provide infrastructure and social amenities as attainable in developed countries.

“Everybody goes to the UK, U.S and they are all marvelled at the level of their infrastructure, good road network, free education, electricity and all other things. All these are made possible because the people are highly tax-compliant in that clime. Nobody is chasing anyone about paying taxes. If you don’t pay tax, the sanctions are there. People go to jail.

“There are no two ways about it. But unfortunately in Africa, extended to Nigeria and in Lagos, people don’t want to really pay tax.Yes, globally, people don’t want to pay, if they could avoid it, they would avoid it, So it makes our job very difficult and trickier”

He said while tax is the most sustainable revenue, it took the federal government so long to also start looking inward as tax is basically what is funding the operations of the federal government right now.

“The federal government is not getting much from the oil industry like before. So it is just what FIRS is doing that is really helping. Likewise in Lagos, all the federal receipts have gone down considerably, so it’s mostly what we are generating here along with some other revenue-generating agencies,” he said.

Speaking,the Managing Director of the Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited, Mr Ayodele Aminu noted that in keeping with its commitment to rewarding individuals and businesses in Nigeria that have distinguished themselves by their remarkable contributions to the development of the country in both the public and private space, the LIRS boss was found worthy to be appreciated

The House of Representatives has implored Nigerian Army to investigate the security alert by some foreign embassies.

Chairman of the House committee on Army, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas made the call at a budget defence session with the Chief of Army Staff.

He said:“As we sit here and deliberate on this budget proposals, Abuja is under serious tension following a security alert issued in certain quarters suggesting that terrorists may launch a major attack on the city. Recall that in response to this alert, some foreign embassies had ordered the evacuation of their nationals from Abuja. This is a matter that our security forces must thoroughly investigate. The Army must put enough boots on the ground to contain any security breaches in Abuja in the magnitude claimed by the aforementioned security alert.In doing so, the welfare of personnel should be given topmost priority and never be compromised”.

He noted that in recent years, the legislature has worked to improve and sustain the budgetary provision of the Army from N463 billion naira in 2020 to N509 billion naira in 2021 and N589 billion in 2022, adding that the 2023 budget proposal of the Nigerian Army, now under consideration is about 600 billion, urging for judicious application of the provision.

“As aptly captured by Mr President when he presented the estimates of N20.5trillion to a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives last month, it is a ‘Budget of Fiscal Consolidation and Transition.’ It targets to cap the achievements of the administration so far in the provision of critical infrastructure, fighting insecurity/insurgency, improving on the economy, providing social welfare to the most vulnerable population and addressing the increasing threats posed to sustainable development by sleaze”.

He said for the Nigerian Army, “It means consolidating the gains recorded in tackling insecurity in its various shades and the attendant challenges. It’s a call not to slide; it’s a call not to sleep and it’s a call to re- strategies and ultimately, conquer the enemy.”

The chairman commended the vision of the current COAS, which is to have “A professional Nigerian Army to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in defense of Nigeria”, adding that “the vision centres around working in full collaboration with heads of other sister security agencies, no doubt contributed immensely to the recent successes recorded by our security forces in the counter-insurgency/terrorism operations, fighting banditry, kidnapping and other criminal acts that threaten our collective existence as a nation.

“While I commend the COAS for his efforts, we are not unaware of the sacrifices made by our gallant personnel in the frontline, including loss of lives and the denial of the essentials that make living worthwhile, all so that Nigeria may be safe for all us”, he stated.

In his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya urged the National Assembly to pass the Armed forces of Nigeria Trust Fund Bill before the end of the 9th Assembly.

The passage of the Bill, according to him would greatly assist the Nigerian Army through improved funding.

General Yahaya also called for a review of the current envelope system, which he said leads to inadequate funding for the Nigerian Army due to the increased manpower needs as a result of the expansion of the theater of operations of the Army.

“The Nigerian Army is implementing the Nigerian Army Order of Battle 2026 in phases. This has led to the expansion of the Nigerian army from a five to an eight-division force structure. Consequently, the Nigerian army battlefield in the center and other operational commands were established to effectively provide security for our citizens. He said.

”I must state without mincing words that the expansion of the Nigerian Army has continued to impact significantly on the human resources and lean finances available to the Nigerian Army.” Gen Yahaya noted.