President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to return to Nigeria by 5 pm today, after about two weeks in the United Kingdom. The President travelled to attend the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) organized Global Education Summit (GES) before undergoing scheduled medical check-up. Security agencies in the Federal Capital Territory have already been mobilized for the president’s return.
Chief Raymond Dokpesi, a top member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says his party stands a good chance of regaining power if it fields a candidate from the north in 2023. The PDP, which was in charge of the country for 16 years, lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015. The APC also won the 2019 presidential election. As the 2023 elections draws near, the party has been holding strategic meetings and making realignments. However, there has been a clamour for power shift to the south, across parties, including PDP. But in an interview with Daily Independent, Dokpesi said PDP members who are canvassing zoning of the presidential ticket to the South are only doing so because they want to copy the APC whose members are rooting for a zoning of the ticket to the South after the completion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023. He said there is no way his party can win the 2023 presidential election if it presents a candidate from the Southern part of the country. He said, “We are all Nigerians and there is no need for us to keep deceiving ourselves at this point in time. At the age of 70 and with my experience in organising campaigns in this country, I can tell you that unless there is a candidate from the North, in my own considered opinion, the PDP will not stand a chance of winning the election.” “On the ambition of those from the South who are today asking for the presidency to be zoned to the South, I can say that they are only echoing what prevails in the APC. In APC, President Muhammadu Buhari has done eight years, so it is imperative on APC to cede the presidency to the South. “In the case of PDP, let us look at it honestly. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-West did eight years; Goodluck Jonathan from the South-South also did six years. That made a total of 14 years. “On the other hand, Umaru Yar’Adua from the North did three years, so there is an imbalance of 11 years. If in 2019, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had not been rigged out of that election, he would have come back in 2023 to say that he wants to do a second term. And would anybody have stood on his way? No! “So, for the PDP, the presidential candidate must come from the North in 2023. People should exercise patience because it will still come back to the South”. On the clamour for Igbo presidency, Dokpesi said while he believes that it is fair that the South- East should produce the president as it is the only Southern zone not to have done so since 1999, the South-East cannot win if it gets the presidential ticket at this time.
THE Federal Government has commenced the implementation of new rates for vehicle number plates and driving licence across the country. According to the Joint Tax Board, Nigerians will now pay N18,750 for standard private and commercial number plates against the old rate of N12,500. Fancy number plate which was N80,000 is now N200,000; motorcycle number plate is N5,000 from N3,000 while articulated number plates (three plates) attract N30,000 from N20,000. For these rates, the minimum increase is 50 per cent. Out of series number plate has also been revised to N50,000 from N40,000 while government fancy number plate is N20,000 against the former N15,000 rate. Driving licence (three years) was raised to N10,000 from N6,000, excluding bank charges; licence for five years is N15,000 from N10,000 while motorcycle/tricycle driving licence (three years) goes for N5,000 from N3,000 while the one for five years attracts N8,000 from N5,000. The decision was taken at the 147th meeting of the JTB, which held in Kaduna on March 25. A letter by the JTB titled ‘Implementation of the revised rates for vehicles number plates and driver’s licence in Nigeria’, dated July 30, 2021 and signed by the board secretary, Obomeghfe Nana-Aisha, directed various federal and state agencies to commence the implementation of the rates. Members of the JTB established by section 86 (1) of the Personal Income Tax Act cap. P8 LFN 2004, include the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service as the chairman of the board; one member from each state and representatives of the Federal Road Safety Commission; Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission; Federal Capital Territory Administration; Federal Ministry of Finance; and Federal Inland Revenue Service. The letter read, “You may wish to recall that at the 147th meeting of the Joint Tax Board held in Kaduna, Kaduna State on March 25, 2021, the board approved revised rates for the sale of vehicle number plates and driving licence in line with the recommendations of Appraisal and Technical Committee of the JTB. “In the light of the foregoing, we wish to inform you that the Chairman, JTB, has approved Thursday, August 1, 2021, as the commencement date for the implementation of the new rates.” Meanwhile, the FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, has dismissed a report circulating on social media that the agency was behind the hike, noting that the FRSC was not a revenue generating agency. He also described as incorrect the report that the standard number plate was N55, 000.
Usra Harahap, Indonesia’s ambassador to Nigeria, told Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, that Ibrahim Abdulrahman, a Nigerian diplomat, was not assaulted by the Asian country’s immigration officers. The federal government had written a protest letter to the Indonesian government after a video of the assault circulated on social media. The diplomat, identified as Ibrahim Abdulrahman, was reportedly accosted by the Indonesian immigration officers when he went to a supermarket. The video shows the man shouting “I can’t breathe” as he was being held down in a vehicle by several men. According to NAN, in his meeting with Onyeama, Harahap said Abdulrahman was the aggressor during his encounter with some Indonesian immigration officers. He said the immigration officers from South Jakarta immigration office were carrying out surveillance functions on foreigners and had asked Abdulrahman for identification. He said the diplomat refused to identify himself or tender his passport. The ambassador said they politely requested him to show his travel document, but “he answered that his passport was in his room”. He said they then asked him to come to their office to check the travel documents through their system after which they would not investigate further If nothing wrong was found concerning the passport and residence permit. Harahap said the diplomat got angry and said: “Just arrest me and you will regret to know who really I am”. But that the officers assured him that they would not detain him if he could show his identity card. He said Abdulrahman agreed to be taken to the office and that “the officers treated him as an ordinary foreigner without any intimidation and didn’t handcuff him”. He, however, said on the way to the office, Abdulrahman elbowed Laode Hauzan Baidi, the immigration officer, who was sitting next to him until Laode’s lip was bleeding. He said this led to other officers to restrain him from attacking another officer during the trip. However, Abdulrahman kept on resisting and shouting until to the point where it required officers to hold and calm him down. He said owing to the incident that happened in the car, “officers detained him when they arrived at the South Jakarta Immigration Office because he continued to attack the officers”. The Indonesian envoy said the Nigerian diplomat showed his identity card during the investigation at the office. Harahap said the problems of the two parties had been resolved with the achievement of a peace agreement witnessed by the Nigerian ambassador to Indonesia, the head of section of Intelligence and Action for the South Jakarta Immigration Office, and the ambassador’s guard from the police. “I believe that you have received a report and information as well from the Nigerian Ambassador in Jakarta, and it might be different from my report to your Excellency,” Harahap said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the suit instituted against it and its Caretaker Committee Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In a statement on Thursday, the party’s spokesperson James Akpanudoedehe said the main opposition party was executing desperate and poorly scripted propaganda. Although he stated that the APC would not comment on the PDP’s court action, he asked the PDP to focus on the crisis in its camp. The main opposition party had asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to remove Buni as the Governor Yobe State. In a four-page originating summons filed at the court on Thursday, it urged the court to make the governor appear before it and defend whether or not he ceased to be governor by accepting to be the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman. Akpanudoedehe, however, explained that it would be sub judice to comment on the action of the opposition party. Read the full statement by the APC spokesman below: PDP’s Frivolous Court Action Against The CECPC Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni Our attention has been drawn to a purported court action sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and Governor of Yobe State. While we are constrained from and reluctant to comment on the PDP’s misplaced and frivolous court action because it will be sub judice, the PDP leadership is obviously executing a desperate and poorly-scripted propaganda plot aimed at deflecting attention from the crisis of confidence the failed opposition party faces. The PDP is an ignominious rabble-rouser and has no locus to take any action on the internal affairs of the APC. The Supreme Court has already affirmed the status and legality of the CECPC and that is all there is to it. There are clearly spelled out punitive measures against abuse of court processes. We are confident that the Judiciary will apply these measures fully. SIGNED: Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe Ph.D National Secretary Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) All Progressives Congress (APC)
BBNaija Shine Ya Eye housemate, Saga has confessed his true feelings for Nini to Big Brother. Saga made the confession in a secret diary session with Big Brother, which was revealed during BBNaija ‘The Buzz’ with Toke Makinwa. Saga admits being drunk in love with Nini as he told Biggie, “Of course I want to talk about Nini”. He then confessed he thought he was over feelings but Nini is bringing them all back. Saga further told Biggie he’s crazy about Nini and cannot explain what’s happening as the plan was not to have a relationship in the House. “I didn’t think I was going to be this guy in the house, have feelings for Nini. “I thought I was over feelings and all but here I am,” Saga said. Unlike previous seasons, the BBNaija ‘Shine Ya Eye’ Housemates have a secret session with Biggie. The session is not shown to viewers on Dstv or Gotv but exclusive to Showmax.
contested polls pitting incumbent Edgar Lungu and his long-time rival Hakainde Hichilema, as the internet saw partial restrictions. After 12 hours of voting, polling stations started closing at 6 pm (1600 GMT) with several hundred still in queues waiting to cast ballots. The closely fought presidential election is seen as a test of the country’s democratic credentials after a campaign dominated by economic woes and a debt crisis. Sixteen candidates were vying for the top job, but the frontrunners are Lungu, 64, and business tycoon Hichilema, who are facing off at the polls for the third time. It is Hichilema’a sixth attempt for the presidency. “We are confident that we will carry the day,” he said after voting at a secondary school in a leafy suburb of Lusaka. “People want change — you can see it in their faces,” he told reporters as supporters crowding around him chanted “Bally! Bally!” Addressing opposition fears of fraud, Hichilema said Zambia’s next leader “must be determined by the… voters, not the people who count the votes”. But by afternoon the internet was partially shut down, with global observatory NetBlocks confirming that “social media and messaging platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger are now restricted.” Student Edward Musayani, 26, who had been queueing for four hours to vote, said he checked his phone in the early afternoon and found that WhatsApp and Facebook had been switched off. “That’s quite unfortunate in a democratic dispensation like ours… People should have access to information to make informed decisions,” he said while waiting to vote in the Chawama township. “You are shutting down the voice of people and this will impact the election, how people view the election… People will be asking why,” he said. The government had threatened to cut off internet access if people peddled “falsehoods that could destabilise” the election. Lungu exuded confidence that he would retain the job he has held for the past six years in the copper-rich southern African country. “We are winning, otherwise I wouldn’t have been in the race if we were not winning,” Lungu said earlier Thursday after he cast his ballot at a nursery school in Chawama. The vote “is a test of democracy in Zambia, it is a test ultimately of how fair and freely” the electoral commission will run it, said political economist Trevor Simumba, adding that the “real test will be in the counting process.” A flagging economy and rising living costs have eroded the incumbent’s support base in recent years, surveys suggest. Lungu is accused of borrowing unsustainably, particularly from Chinese creditors, to finance a spree of infrastructure projects. Under him, Zambia became the first African country to default on its sovereign debt since the coronavirus pandemic began, while inflation soared to 24.6 percent in June, the highest rate in more than a decade. Winding queues of hundreds of people formed before dawn outside polling stations hours before voting was to open. The atmosphere was generally relaxed during voting. Copper miner Thomas Wandu, 41, had been queueing for seven hours to vote for Lungu. “Underground, things are not how they are supposed to be,” he said, referring to what he described as low and delayed wages from his Chinese employers. Zambia is the second biggest producer of copper in Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the world’s eighth producer. Lungu’s critics point to poverty and joblessness in the midst of glittering infrastructure. Lungu and Hichilema supporters clashed in the runup to voting, prompting Lungu to order an unprecedented deployment of the army. Around seven million citizens were eligible to vote for a president, legislators and local government representatives. The winning candidate must acquire more than 50 percent of votes to avoid a second-round runoff. UN chief Antonio Guterres is “closely” following the vote and called for the creation of “an environment conducive to credible, inclusive and peaceful elections”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Official results were expected by Sunday. AFP
11 BBNaija Shine Ya Eye housemates have won a total of N3 million after the task on Thursday. After the 23 housemates concluded the task scheduled for the day, only 11 housemates from two different teams -Team Jolli and Team Premium – won in different categories of the task. The DSTV sponsored task saw Team Jolli consisting of Liquorose, Maria, Arin, Emmanuel, and Yousef winning the first two stage. For the painting stage, Team Premium consisting of Angel, Saga, Kayvee, Cross, Nini, and Michael won the task. Team Jolli won a total of N1.5million while Team Premium won the sum of N1.5million. The prize money for each teams will be shared among the members of the team.
The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) on Thursday declared that it is working behind the scene to secure the freedom of the Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, who is currently facing trial at Beninoise court in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. YCE also said that the younger generation in Nigeria had become frustrated due to the present state of the country. Addressing journalists after the end of their meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, YCE, which spoke through its Secretary-General, Dr. Kunle Olajide, said “we are not opposed to the reactions of the younger generation, but want them to be moderate in their reactions. “We don’t want to sacrifice them because the power of government is enormous and we can see what is happening now. So whatever we can do, we are doing it behind the scenes to ensure the freedom of Sunday Igboho in Benin Republic.” The communique of the meeting, which was read by Mr Niyi Ajibulu, the secretary of the Ekiti State chapter of YCE, resolved that: “For sustaining the nation thus far, especially the elders for surviving the scourge, the ailment and the clement climate and the COVID-19 pandemic, the council views with great concern the unending state of insecurity that has assumed unimaginable dimension in recent times. “Unfortunately, it appears to have defied all solutions. The council views very seriously that the trend whereby the citizens will not be able to go about their normal businesses is totally unacceptable and should not continue. “The menace, threat of Fulani herdsmen, bandit and kidnappers should be contained with a view to sanitising the society. As far as Yoruba Council of Elders is concerned, we believe that Nigeria should be made workable and conducive for all regardless of religion or ethnicity. “That there are abundant natural endowments that can be harnessed by visionary leadership to effect a sanitiSed society. To the glory of God and our nation, we Yorubas are known not to be cowards, we are renowned for valour and courage. A situation where double standards, tribalism and social Injustice remain the order of the day is not in anyway acceptable. “Under no circumstances should any Yoruba son, daughter, group or organisation be victimised, hounded and persecuted. The Yoruba Council of Elders is calling on all Yoruba sons and daughters, groups and organisations to close ranks and be united in the face of the present circumstances in Nigeria. “The Yoruba Council of Elders again restates that the 1999 Constitution is a quasi-dictatorial document imposed on Nigerians and that it is responsible for most of the current challenges. “The council of elders is therefore again calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to do the needful at this critical stage of national life by accommodating True federalism and a new constitution by the Nigerian people,” YCE resolved.
The President l Muhammadu Buharii on Thursday, visited the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, in London, United Kingdom. In photos shared on Facebook by a presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, Tinubu was seen leaning on a walking stick as he posed for a shot with the President. Tinubu’s health has been a subject of controversy of late but in a press statement on July 31, 2021, his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, said though the former Lagos State Governor was out of Nigeria, he was not hospitalised as claimed by some reports (not by The PUNCH). Rahman had said, “His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is fine. He is hale and hearty. He is not in any hospital. He has no medical problem that would require hospitalisation. “Yes, he is out of the country at the moment. He will be back shortly. “Anytime he travels out of the country, the next thing some mischievous people would say is he is sick, hospitalised or has died. “It is shameful that perpetrators of this evil are not deterred by the fact that each time this fake news has been propagated, they have been proven wrong. Who really is afraid of Asiwaju Tinubu? Those wishing Asiwaju Tinubu evil or dead should be careful. They should know the matter of life and death is in the hand of only God Almighty.” Also, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, subsequently visited the APC stalwart and took photos with him to dispel the overwhelming reports that Tinubu was sick and hospitalised. “Yes, indeed, I am the one you saw in the picture that I took when I visited our leader in London just to dispel all the rumours that were flying around that he was sick and hospitalised. “You saw him (Tinubu). He is well, he is healthy and we conversed. We talked about what is happening in our party, what is happening in the nation and just to say to him that all is well. “I went to see things for myself. It is just to put the mind and heart of people to rest that there is nothing for us to worry about,” Sanwo-Olu had said. Tinubu, who has been rumoured to nurse presidential ambition in 2023, had celebrated his 69th birthday earlier in March 2021.
