Power Crisis: FUOYE Considers Investment In Biogas Technology

The Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has unfolded plans to invest in biogas technology.

The varsity is also taking advantage of its fertile land resources to invest in Commercial Agriculture

The Vice Chancellor,Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina,disclosed this at the pre- press conference heralding activities lined up for the 7th Convocation ceremonies said the step became imperative inorder to reduce the running cost .

He explained that the varsity was expending huge resources on power consumption due to the multi-campus system being operated by the institution.

He expressed optimism that the project, when fully developed would supply power to the university and serve nine other communities where the institution is running part-time programmes.

He hinted that the current economic realities demanded that stakeholders think outside the box inorder to pull through.

Fasina urged his management team members to always think about what they can give back to the institution inorder to make the university a world class .

According to him , the institution under his management had become one of the most-sought after in Nigeria due to stable academic calendar and great feats in scholarship.

He added: ” FUOYE is the 5th most subscribed university in the country in the 2021/2022 academic session with over 45,000 admission seeker.In the 2022/2023 academic session, we had over 53,000 admission seekers subscribing to FUOYE”.

Court Halts Expulsion Of Wike From PDP

Justice J. K Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Peoples Democratic Party not to take any untoward action aimed at suspending or expelling Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state from the party.

The order was sequel to an ex parte motion filed by Wike against the entire hierarchy of the PDP.

Respondents in the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023, dated and files on February 2, are the PDP, it’s National Working Committee, National Executive Committee PDP, National Chairman of PDP Dr Iyorchia Ayu, National Secretary PDP Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The applicant prayed for order maintaining status quo and staying all actions in this matter relating to the threat to suspend or expel the him by the 1st to 5th Respondents
pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion.

He also asked for an order of the Court granting him leave to the to serve the motion on notice, orginating motion and all other processes of the court in the suit on the 1st to 5th respondents by substituted means to wit, by pasting all the said processes of court on PDP National Secretariat.

Wike further prayed for an order deeming such service as made above as proper service.

The court granted the reliefs sought upon reading the affidavit in support of the motion exparte deposed to by one Precious Ikpe and filed at the Court Registry and after hearing Dr J Y Musa, for the applicant,

Justice Omotosho ordered that “all parties in this suit shall maintain peace and shall not take any action or step or act that may make the outcome of the Motion on Notice dated and filed 2nd February, 2023 nugatory and worthless.

He said:”That any act or step or action made so as to make the outcome of the Motion on Notice dated and filed 2nd February, 2023 nugatory shall be a nullity.

“That leave is hereby granted to the Applicant to serve the Originating Motion, Motion on Notice and all other processes of this Court in this suit on the 1st to 5th Respondents by substituted means to wit, by pasting all the said processes of Court on PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone S, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The court has adjourned till 14th day of February, 2023, for hearing of the motion on notice dated and filed 2nd February, 2023.

Justice Omotosho further directed that hearing notice be issued and served on all the respondents.

General Elections: GOC Tasks Soldiers On Discipline, Commitment

 

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division of Nigeria Army, Major-General Obinna Ajunwa has charged soldiers to maintain high level of discipline, commitment during coming general elections.

He gave the admonition at the end of year 2022 West African Social Activities (WASA) of 15 Engineering Regiment of Nigerian Army, Badagry recently.

He said:”Our cameras will be watching you because we want these elections to be free and fair in consonance with the directive from the Commander of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Soldiers must remain apolitical, we don’t want to lose any blood, we don’t want to lose any soldiers or civilians during the general elections.We don’t want blood to be shedded, however, if there is any challenge from any person who is trying to cause mayhem, you should take decisive action to make sure it is checked”

He spoke on WASA, Ajunwa said the occasion was for soldiers to relax and wine with families and relatives after the 2022 engagement.

“From January to the end of the year, soldiers are engaged in one activities on the other in terms of training, exercise and operations among others.So, WASA is marking the end of the year for soldiers so that they can wine and dine with their families, friends and host communities in preparation for the subsequent year,” he said.

He assured host communities that the presence of soldiers or Barracks always bring peace and development to their areas.

Speaking,Lt. Col. Ibrahim Liadi, Commanding Officer, 15 Engineering Regiment, said WASA in Nigerian Armed Forces are an age-long military tradition aimed at bringing officers, soldiers and families to socialize with their civilian friends.

He said the event also showcases Nigerian rich cultural heritage and provides opportunity for security stakeholders to interact towards achieving peaceful co-existence within and around host communities.

‘This event today is to purposely mark the end of activities for the year 2022 and kick start another year in which we just spent a month.For this Regiment, year 2022 was full of operational, training and administrative activities towards ensuring that peace continue to reign within and around Badagry,” he said.

The Commanding Officer assured Ajunwa of their continued loyalty and support to the Division as well as commitment to being apolitical in the forthcoming general elections.

Chief Tunde Giro, the Depegan of Badagry, representing the Akran of Badagry, Aholu Menu Toyi 1, commended the soldiers for maintaining peaceful coexistence with their host communities.

Giro promised that Akran and chiefs in Badagry and people of the town would always cooperate with the soldiers in achieving their goals.

Prizes and cash gift were given to winners of Tug of War, most disciplined and most hardworking soldiers by the GOC and C O of the Barracks.

Sahara Group Mulls Establishment Of School Of Innovation In UNILAG

 

Sahara Group and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have advanced discussions geared towards accelerating the establishment of the Sahara Group School of Innovation and Extrapreneurship in UNILAG.

Authorities of the University of Lagos led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola, over the weekend, received Sahara’s team which included Ejiro Gray, Director Governance and Sustainability; Bethel Obioma, Head Corporate Communications; Emmanuel Ekeruche, Head of Projects; and Damilola Praiseworth, Brand Manager.

UNILAG’s team also included Professor Lucian Chukwu, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Management Services; Professor Bola Oboh, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and Research; Professor Sunday Adebisi, Director of Entrepreneurship and Skills Development; Dr. Abiodun Gbenga-Ilori, Deputy Director, Innovation and Technology Management Office; and Mr. Abolade Akinwunmi, Acting Director, Vice Chancellor Office.

The meeting comes in the wake of a budding mutual relationship aimed at promoting solutions that will birth sustainable energy for the future through the “Sahara School of Innovation and Extrapraneurship” project.

The project was unveiled with a sod-turning ceremony in the University in October 2022.

The Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray said the energy conglomerate was keen to ensure the project is concluded within agreed timelines.

She explained that the project would inspire future generations of innovators by providing business incubation, as well as growth and accelerator support required to fully explore their latent creativity and innovative potential.

According to her, “it is another way to reinforce Sahara’s commitment to give back always. This project also serves as Sahara Group’s contributions towards building a formidable legacy for sustainable development”.

“We are confident that working with the University of Lagos, a foremost institution of global repute will deliver sustainable value for the benefit of Africa and the world at large,” Gray whose directorate would drive the project stated.

Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, said the project would serve as a template for driving Sahara’s strategy for delivering sustainable energy solutions across Africa.

Obioma said a timeline of 24 months had been set for the completion of the project, with clear sustainability indices in terms of seamless maintenance, inclusiveness, transparency, relevance and scalability of modules/inventions, access to strategic/financial advisory and collaboration for regional and global impact.

During the meeting,the Sahara Scholar Award which is aimed at “energizing excellence” through rewards to university students with outstanding performance in selected disciplines was also discussed.

Obioma revealed that the Sahara Scholar Award will commence from the University of Lagos as a pilot scheme and progressively expand in scope across Africa.

The Vice Chancellor expressed satisfaction with the project proposed by Sahara Group and commended the company for the “brilliant project”, adding that it resonates with her vision of instituting a future-ready strategy in UNILAG.

She said the twenty-five year Strategic Master Plan of the University supports the drive towards encouraging entrepreneurial skill acquisition programme among students.

She stated that in accordance with the vision of the Entrepreneurial Centre established in 2013, the university remained committed to similar partnerships that will help students develop new businesses, market-ready ideas and inventions.

In the same vein, the Director of Entrepreneurial Studies & Development Centre, Professor Sunday Adebisi who was also present at the meeting highlighted other areas in the institution that could support the project.

Head, Projects, Sahara Group, Emmanuel Ekeruche, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, Director Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray and Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma during the meting between Sahara Group and the UNILAG leadership team at the University of Lagos, Akoka

Fuel Subsidy: Transport Groups Threaten To Occupy NNPCL’s Headquarters, Seek Sack Of Kyari

Concerned transport groups on Monday threatened to occupy the headquarters of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the lingering fuel crisis leading to high pump prices at filling stations in Nigeria.

The groups condemned persistent fuel and gasoline scarcity for months now without end in sight.

The groups namely: Commercial Motorcycles Association of Nigeria, (COMAN), Tricycles Owners Association of Nigeria (TOWAN), National Association of Traders of Nigeria, (NASTAN), Luxurious Bus Operators Union (LUBOU), Market Women Association of Nigeria (MAWAN) and Trailer Drivers Association of Nigeria, TADAN

The group’s,in a communique signed by Boniface Ikedi, Basil Ekanem and four others,said their members can no longer cope with hardship.

They urged the Federal government to rise to the occasion before the general election as they were ready to stop their members from INEC’s logistics arrangements.

The communique said: “That a three-day warning of civil strike action be issued to the Federal Government to quickly fix anomalies in the oil and gas sector leading to hardship across the country.

“The association has issued a red alert to its numerous members across the six geopolitical zones to occupy the Nigeria National Petroleum Limited, NNPCL headquarters located in the Central Business District, Abuja.”

“It’s also inconceivable that fuel is sold at licensed and government recognised filling stations for N350 to N400 per litre across the six geopolitical zones, which has forced majority of the members to abandon their buses, motorcycles and the rest.”

They advised President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the NNPCL’s boss,Mele Abba Kyari and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipreye Sylva from office as solution to the fuel confusion in the country.

The groups unanimously resolved that should the Federal Government fail to heed to all the resolutions herein, the NNPL towers would continue to be occupied till such a time that fuel is restored at filling stations across the country.

They said:”That all members of the Transport union who were engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC will ahead of general election to transport election related materials will be withdrawn.

“That the association will shut down any fuel retail outlet seen serving government vehicles, including INEC official cars having heard that discussion between the management of NNPL and INEC was ongoing for special fuel and gas dispenses to INEC engaged vehicles for the election beginning from February 25.”

The groups also condemned the naira scarcity and the total collapse of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s currency swap policy which has also brought untold hardship on Nigerians in a manner that has never been since the Biafra war about 53 years ago.

LIRS, FIRS Sign MOU On Exchange Of Information,Joint Tax Audit

 

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the exchange of information and implementation of joint tax audit and investigation exercise.

The Executive Chairman, LIRS, Mr Ayodele Subair signed on behalf of Lagos State, his counterpart, Muhammad Mamman Nami, Executive Chairman, FIRS signed on behalf of the federal government.

At the signing event, Mr Ayodele Subair, Executive Chairman, LIRS, in his remarks, said the importance of the agreement was to foster greater collaboration between the two agencies.

He said though both tax agencies are not only independent of each other but different in the types of taxes they administer, the collaboration between the tax authorities was to promote the smooth operation of activities not only for the benefit of tax authorities but for improved service delivery for taxpayers.

He noted; “Notwithstanding its inclusion as a fundamental obligation of every Nigerian citizen pursuant to Section 24 (f) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, filing of annual income tax returns or payment of tax therefrom is not an issue that citizens are keen on. Nonetheless, citizens expect to have direct benefit of democracy and good governance without remembering that the most reliable and sustainable means of Domestic Resource mobilization for government expenditure is taxation.

“There is no reason to debate the above as it has been established that tax compliance and good governance are expected to co-exist as the undividable social contract that binds citizens and governments anywhere in the world. Therefore, citizens and governments are expected to fulfill their end of the bargain in achieving a balance.”

“Today’s signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is in furtherance of the above bargain on the part of the tax authorities. While this initiative of a joint audit is not a new one, it is peculiar because it comes at a time when our dear nation struggles with the dwindling oil receipts and other economic woes which have affected the tax-to-GDP ratio which is currently adjudged as the lowest globally, standing at approximately 6%, compared to neighboring countries which average between 15 – 25%., Subair submitted.

According to the LIRS Chairman, some of the expected achievements from this collaboration between both tax authorities include a reduction of compliance costs for taxpayers; improved transparency in the tax administration process, which will impact tax disputes, incidences and reconciliation; reduced administration costs for both tax authorities; and elimination of hiding place for recalcitrant taxable persons and entities.

Speaking, Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Mamman Nami,explained that the essence of the collaboration between the FIRS and LIRS was to enable the two agencies to carry out joint projects together, secondly, in the course of its investigations, they both work as a team while the third and most important reason was to ensure automatic exchange of information which would enable the agency get a bigger data for seamless tax administration.

“We will work together as a team during the investigation and have an automatic exchange of information. With this, we will be able to carry out our mandate seamlessly. As part of the joint operation, we will be able to implement presumptive tax as far as issues of tax administration are concerned,” Nami said.

Describing the collaboration as “epoch-making”, Governor Sanwo-Olu noted that the conversation for the harmonization of the two agencies’ mandates started about a year ago, based on the need to forge a common front in widening the tax net to raise the country’s tax to GDP ratio.

He observed that Nigeria had maintained an unimpressive tax-to-GDP ratio of between 6 to 8 per cent, despite the yearly record-breaking turnovers by both FIRS and LIRS. This, he said, has mounted pressure on the nation’s resources and created an imbalance in government expenditure.

Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria must operate at the same level as other nations within sub-Saharan Africa doing between 14 and 15 per cent in tax to GDP ratio in order to support the Government’s development programmes and improve accountability.

He said: “We have just witnessed an epoch-making ceremony between the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Lagos Inland Revenue Service. This collaboration did not just happen by chance; it is a conversation we started about a year ago with the chairman of FIRS when both parties reviewed their successes and limitations. It was clear there was a need for a relationship to be consummated.

“Both FIRS and LIRS have been breaking records of their tax collection and administration yearly, but this is not enough. We have an unimpressive tax-to-GDP ratio, which ranges between six and eight per cent; this is totally unacceptable.

“Studies have shown that there would be better service delivery to the citizens and improvement in the efficiency of tax collection when the two agencies work together. The cost of tax collection would be reduced, we would see better customer satisfaction and more resources would be generated for the government to deliver more dividends of democracy.

“For us as a state, we are humbled by this collaborative effort and we believe our citizens will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this initiative. The MoU is in the best interest of the public, as it affirms the reason why we need to come together and strengthen the cordial working relationship between the two agencies.”

Buhari, CBN Can’t Extend Feb 10 Naira Swap Deadline -Court

 

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, presided over by Justice Eneojo Eneche,has stopped restrained President Mohammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria, its Governor and 27 commercial banks from suspending, stopping, extending or interfering with the currency redesign terminal date of February 10,this year.

He gave the order after hearing a motion ex Parte filed on February 6, brought pursuant to Order 7; Order 26 Rule 6; Order 48 Rule 4; Order 42 Rule 8, Order 43 Rules 1 and 3 of the Federal Capital Territory High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2018 as well as Section 6(6) (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended).

The court said it also considered the 37 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by Emmanuel Okereke.

The court made an order granting an interim mandatory injunction mandating the defendants, whether by themselves, staf, agents, officers, banks or financial Institution or whosoever described to comply with, implement and give effect to the currency to design and restructuring of the old N200, N500 and 1000 bank notes on or before the last date of 10th of February, 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The court said:”An interim mandatory injunction made restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, staff agents, officers, interfacing banks or whosoever not to suspend, stop, extend, vary or interfere with the extant termination date of use of the old N200, N500, and N1000 bank notes being 10th day of February, 2023 pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice.

Justice Eneche also directed the heads, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors and/or alter egos of the 4th to 30th defendants to forthwith show cause as to why they shall not be arrested and prosecuted for the Economic and Financial sabotage of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by their illegal act of hoarding, withholding, nor paying or disbursing the new N200, N500 and 1000 bank notes,