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Pantami Kicks Against Proposed 5% Tax On Call, Text, Data, Vows To Fight Decision Legally

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The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has kicked against the plan by the federal government to impose a five percent excise duty on telecommunications services in the country.

The minister vowed to use every legal instrument available to fight the decision as, according to him, the decision didn’t go through wide consultation, adding that if the decision was allowed to stand, it would affect the sector negatively.

The minister, who spoke at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications indigenous Content Expo, NTICE, in Lagos on Monday, said the sector, which was already attracting huge revenue, creating jobs, and adding huge revenue to the GDP, should not be overburdened with such taxes.

He said: “The 5 percent excise duty will overburden the industry. As a Minister, I was neither consulted nor received a memo to that effect. Even the relevant lawmakers that were supposed to be consulted have also told me they were not.

”Things are not done that way. Besides criticizing the tax, we will take every legal measure to ensure the tax does not stand.”

Pantami also lamented the huge percentage of importation of ICT and telecoms equipment into the country, even when some of them could be obtained in the country.

He gave a marching order to all stakeholders that “henceforth, the Federal Government will not tolerate importation of anything into the country when we can produce it.

“The sector has to significantly reduce importation. The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and the National Office for the Promotion of Indigenous Content, NODIT, should enforce this policy. By 2025, we’ll be able to increase our indigenous content and reduce importation by about 20 percent.”

The Minister’s attack on the excise duty is coming after major stakeholders in the sector, including the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, and National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, NATCOMS, also kicked against the move, describing it as anti-people, provocative, strange, insensitive and irresponsible.

At a stakeholders’ forum organized in Abuja by the NCC to throw light on its proposed implementation, they also argued that such imposition would further aggravate the suffering of the Nigerian masses who had already been pushed into hardship and extreme poverty.

The new five percent Excise Duty is part of the new Finance Act signed into law by the President in 2020.

It is meant to be collected by the Nigerian Customs Service, and President Buhari had given a directive that it be enforced on all telecoms service providers in the country on all local and foreign goods and services.

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had also at that event, urged stakeholders to support the implementation, saying the decision was informed by the dwindling revenue of the federal government from oil and gas.

She said other countries in Africa, including Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania, among others, have all keyed into the revenue generation pattern.

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NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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