- God has given me the capacity to crush my enemies – Wike
- FG suspends 5% tax on telecom services
- Kyari denies ownership of shopping mall, estate, others
- Building collapse: Four more corpses recovered, commissioner resigns
- I’m bigger than Headies, BNXN – Portable
Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn‘t miss:
God has given me the capacity to crush my enemies – Wike
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has said God has given him the capacity to crush his enemies.
Wike, who described enemies as small boys, said he would not leave his political opponents for God.
The governor, who stressed that he would deal with his opponents himself said, “I have the capacity to flog these small boys.”
At the opening ceremonies on Monday for the Okezuo Abia Flyover along the Aba-Enugu Expressway in the Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area and the renovated Aba-Owerri Road in the Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State, Governor Wike made this claim.
God has given me the ability to demolish these individuals and my opponents, said Wike, who was welcomed by his Abia State counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu.
Recall that Wike and Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, have been engaged in a verbal duel.
Wike stated that he would not be afraid to beat up “the small boys” in order to deal with enemies.
“Look, nobody should bother about any abuse on me. I’m too much for it. I don’t even know when I’m abused. If they like, let them put everything on social media and abuse me. In the end, we will know who is relevant or not at the appropriate time.
“Politics is not to go on the pages of newspapers. Politics is not to go and buy slots on television and speak.
“It is who will deliver at the appropriate time. That is what is key. If you like to abuse me from now until tomorrow, it’s your business.
“What is important is when the time comes we will know. When the jungle matures, we will know those who can stand the crisis. We will know those who have the capacity to say this is where our state will go,” he said.
FG suspends 5% tax on telecom services
The contentious 5% excise tax on communications services that was recently announced by the Ministry of Finance was suspended by the Federal Government yesterday.
At the first meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty for the Digital Economy Sector in Abuja, Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, announced the suspension and stated the industry was already overtaxed and didn’t require more.
Pantami said he petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari about the tax’s potential long-term effects and received his assent to postpone it.
Additionally, he was given permission to form a committee that will carefully examine the tax and provide the president with suitable advice.
The committee includes Pantami (Chairman), the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Representatives of all the telecom companies in Nigeria are members.
Announcing the suspension of the tax yesterday, Pantami said, “It is because of my intervention that the President granted my prayers. He not only granted immediate suspension of the excise duty in the digital economy sector but also approved that a committee be constituted to look into the matter carefully and advise accordingly.
“The president has appointed me to be his eyes and ears in the sector and it is my responsibility to ensure we are just and fair to the operators, government, and most importantly our people that are the consumers,” the minister added.
Kyari denies ownership of shopping mall, estate, others
Abba Kyari, a suspended deputy commissioner of police, said on Monday that it was dishonest for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to claim that he was the owner of 14 assets, including a shopping center, a residential development, a polo field, lands, and farmland.
In a statement released on Monday, Kyari, a former commander of the Intelligence Response Team, said that the NDLEA had fabricated the reports in order to further damage his reputation.
He claimed that because “NDLEA’s case in court against Abba Kyari and four other individuals is not going well for them,” the agency had to resort to cheap blackmail.
Kyari disclosed information on the funds in his account.
The amount is N2.8 million in his UBA account, which he has used exclusively for the past eight years; 7,000 pounds in GTB held for more than eight years; and N350,000 in GTB held for a long time.
Others included N200,000 in accounts held by Access Bank and Sterling Bank that had not been used in more than eight years.
His lawyer said, “They expected the court case to go smoothly in their favour the way their sponsored media trials went viral between February and April 2022. They failed to understand that, unlike media trials, courts need real evidence and facts which NDLEA don’t have in this case.
“By all means, out of desperation, again, NDLEA wanted to spoil Abba Kyari’s name at all cost because they know that all their initial efforts have failed as the overwhelming majority of good Nigerians who want peace and security for the nation are still behind Abba Kyari despite the set-up by NDLEA against Abba Kyari in January 2022, which was followed by massive sponsored media trial earlier this year.
“Again, NDLEA is sponsoring fabricated lies, untrue stories, and flimsy allegations, trumped-up and false charges in court without justification against Abba Kyari.”
Building collapse: Four more corpses recovered, commissioner resigns
Search and rescue operatives combing the rubble of the seven-storey building that collapsed at Oba Idowu Oniru Street, Lekki, Lagos State, have recovered four more corpses.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement on Monday, confirmed the development 24 hours after emergency responders had recovered two corpses at the scene of the incident on Sunday.
Oke-Osanyintolu said, “The agency alongside other first responders has been working for over 24 hours at the seven-storey building which collapsed yesterday. Another four bodies have been extricated from the rubble bringing the fatalities to six. The process is ongoing.”
Around three in the morning on Sunday, a seven-story structure under construction collapsed while some people were sleeping inside.
While some of the residents managed to avoid death, it was discovered that some other unfortunate individuals were trapped in the building’s crumbled rubble.
To free the trapped victims, emergency responders—among them police, LASEMA, and NEMA officials—had been conducting a search and rescue operation.
In response, Dr. Idris Salako, the state’s commissioner for physical planning and urban development, issued a statement ordering the arrest of the building’s developer and other experts.
However, the state had been the scene of numerous building collapses that claimed the lives of locals.
Angered by these sad events, locals and building industry professionals have criticized developers, among others, for using inferior materials and failing to follow the state’s basic building codes.
As a result of the frequent building collapses that result in fatalities in the state, the Lagos State Government, in particular the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, has also come under harsh criticism.
Amid the criticisms, a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed Salako’s resignation, noting that the commissioner’s resignation was part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s efforts to restructure the ministry and its agencies.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu thanks the Commissioner for his services to the state and wishes him success in his future endeavours.
“The Governor warns all players in the sector to respect the law or face the consequences of any indiscretion, no matter who the perpetrators are,” the statement said.
I’m bigger than Headies, BNXN – Portable
In a widely shared video, Nigerian artist Portable bemoaned losing the Street Artiste award and asserted his superiority over both the Headies’ organizers and the recipient of the Next Rated honor, BNXN.
Buju BNXM won the Next Rated Award at the Headies ceremony on September 4, 2022, in the United States of America.
In an Instagram video, Portable, who was recently banned by The Headies for his irresponsible behavior after threatening to kill co-nominees for the Headie’s street artiste award category, was seen berating the artist who won the category for which he was nominated.
Similar to this, Portable was shown in a video claiming to be the leader of the renowned “one million guys” gang, which was known for thieving during the pandemic.
In the popular video that resulted in his suspension, Portable explicitly stated that the award was intended for him and threatened to murder the recipient if he didn’t get it.
In the most recent video, the singer can be heard arguing that the street artist only sang one song and that it was none of his business who won the award.
Leave a reply