No fewer than fourteen villagers have been abducted in three different villages of Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State. The terrorists in a separate attacks, were said to have abducted the victims after invading their villages yesterday at about 1:00 am. The villages include Yakkaka in Gazari ward, Yallagwada in Maibakko ward and Maiturmi in Rafin-Iwa ward. The terrorists abducted seven (7) persons at Yarkaka village, six (6) people at Yallagwada village and one woman at Maiturmi village. Although, members of the Vigilante Group operating in the are were able to rescue the woman victim of Maiturmi village, eyewitness from the state Command of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, told Channels Television that, again at about 1: 00 am yesterday, similar attack was carried out by suspected terrorists in the neighbouring Dandume Local Government Area of the State where the hoodlums killed a son of the Tudun Ali ward head. The police spokesman ASP Abubakar Sadiq also confirmed the incident to our Correspondent on Wednesday. He said the police are already on top of the situation with a view to rescue the victims and arrest the terrorists. “Yes, we have received the report and we are making progress, we are making effort in trying to fish out the criminal elements and take necessary actions”, Sadiq added.

  The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has told the senators in the Upper Chamber that the clerk of the National Assembly will send some money into their various bank accounts to enable them to enjoy their holiday. In the video which surfaced online on Wednesday, August 9, Akpabio made the statement before a motion of adjournment was moved at the end of the Senate’s ministerial screening. He said, “In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the clerk of the national assembly.” Shortly after, the head of the nation’s upper chamber was alerted by some of his colleagues that the plenary session was live on television. Akpabio then made another statement to ‘counter’ what he had earlier revealed. He said, “I withdraw that statement.” He continued, “In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate President has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.” The Senate concluded the screening of 45 out of a total 48 of ministerial nominees that were sent by President Bola Tinubu.

  The National Agency for Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised alarm over the dangerous practice of drug hawking as well as the selling and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide in the South East. The agency calls on media practitioners to join the campaign and sensitization against the menace, noting that it poses serious danger to healthy living. NAFDAC Director-General Prof Mojisola Adeyeye made the call at Awka Anambra State on Tuesday during the South-East Zone NAFDAC Media Sensitization Workshop on the Dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with Calcium Carbide. She alleged that drug hawkers are the major Distributors and Suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as armed robbers, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers. She stated that most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate drug hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines, stressing that drug hawkers constitute a serious threat to our national security. “The menace of drug hawking poses a serious challenge to the healthcare delivery system in the country and this underscored NAFDAC’s resolute determination to totally eradicate the illicit trade. “Many drug hawkers are knowingly or unknowingly merchants of death who expose essential and life-saving medicines to the vagaries of inclement weather which degrade the active ingredients of the medicine and turn them into poisons thus endangering human lives. “NAFDAC has noticed the dangerous practice of sale and consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide as well as illegal hawking of drugs in the open market. “Drug hawkers are also the major distributors and suppliers of narcotic medicines to criminal networks such as armed bandits, insurgents, kidnappers and armed robbers. Drug Hawkers constitute a serious threat to our national security. “Most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate drug hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines” The NAFDAC Director -General who was represented by the agency’s Director of Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola, said the flag–off of the sensitization workshop was a fulfilment of her promise to sustain and strengthen NAFDAC’s existing collaboration with the Association of Health Journalists in Nigeria towards mobilizing, educating, sensitizing, and conscientizing Nigerian Journalists to play a frontline role in their concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with Calcium Carbide in Nigeria. She also advised the public not to buy dangerous non-retailed packed items from the market to prevent the risk of taking contaminated, substandard, expired and adulterated food or food fraud with grave health implications.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria has said the country’s inflation rate is better compared to most African nations. The acting Governor of the CBN, Folashodun Shonubi, stated this on Tuesday at the 2023 Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar. Shonubi, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy at the CBN, Kingsley Obiorah, said there were several contributing factors to the global inflation rise. Obiorah, while shedding light on the theme, ‘Nigerian Non-Oil Export Industry. The Present, The Future,’ held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos; lamented the low growth rate in non-oil exports to Gross Domestic Product ratio. Obiorah said Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 22.8 per cent, adding that the International Monetary Fund expected the country to have a growth moderation of 3.2 per cent in 2023. “Now, when you come down to Africa and neighbouring Ghana, At the last count inflation there is at 42.5 per cent. We have it at 31 per cent in Ethiopia and 36 per cent in Egypt. “So, in our dear country, we are at 22.8 per cent. When you hear these figures, it tells you that we’re not doing as badly but all of this has also affected economic growth itself. Today, the IMF has revised growth downwards from 3.5% per cent to three per cent this year and 3 per cent next year.” He added, “For Sub-Saharan Africa, they expect growth to moderate from 4.1 per cent last year to 3.5 per cent this year, but to take back again to just slightly over 4 v next year. In Nigeria they expect us to do 3.2 per cent this year.” Obiorah mentioned that the war between Russia and Ukraine, and a shift from goods to services are also significant factors. “We know that the war between Russia and Ukraine is contributing a lot as the two countries are very important commodity exporters. Both of them account for 30 per cent of sunflower exports in the world. So, when such a region is at war, you know what will happen to food prices worldwide. “We know too that there’s been a shift in demand from goods to services; services are usually more expensive. There’s also the disruption going on in China today with their zero COVID policy, power cuts as we know, and then the switch from coal to more renewable energy has also meant that power is not as valuable as it used to be,” he said. The economic policy expert stated that the high rate of investment in property services in China has also led to disruptions in the supply chain. “We see too in China today some correction in the property market. A lot of Chinese don’t have quite the kind of investment vehicles that say the average American has. “A lot of them have put their savings into property. But that has meant an oversupply of property in China today. There are 65 million empty apartments in China.” He added, “That’s enough to take the entire population of France. So that correction is also leading to supply chain disruptions.” He shared that, “In the decade between 2001 and 2011, the non-oil exports to GDP ratio for Nigeria was 0.8 per cent. And you can imagine that in the next decade, so, from 2012 to 2022, we were still at 1.2 per cent,” showing an increment of 0.4 per cent over 20 years. ” We need to be growing much faster. Countries that are way smaller than us are doing much better,” he urged. Obiorah also compared the land size of some countries to Nigeria’s, citing their non-oil exports to GDP ratio. He said, “The Netherlands has a land size of 34,000 square kilometres. “So, if you add water, you go to 42,000. It might interest you to know that non-oil exports from the Netherlands is 29% of their GDP. Most times they do $108 billion in non-oil exports. “Now keep in mind the Netherlands is smaller than Niger State, actually the size of Niger State. I’ll give you another example. Ireland is a country that sits on just about 70,000 square kilometres, and they routinely do non-oil exports of $170 billion so we can do better.”

  Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, has taken a swipe at the Federal Government’s proposed military intervention in Niger Republic following a coup in the Sahelian country. The self-styled ‘Odogwu’ berated the government during an Instagram Live session on Tuesday.0 Burna Boy questioned how the federal government plans to invade the neighboring country with its prevailing fuel subsidy crisis. Speaking in Pidgin English, Burna Boy said, “Wettin dey sub na? Dem say na War we wan enter like this o [laughs]. Fuel never dey you wan go fight war. “How you wan reach the battlefield? You go use…. Wettin dem dey use that generator now do? Gas generator. E shock me. Wahala no dey ever tire Nigeria.”

  The Niger Republic junta has rejected a tripartite peace mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN). ECOWAS confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday. The delegation was the latest diplomatic mission from African countries aimed at restoring constitutional order after the July 26 coup. ECOWAS said the diplomatic overtures were aborted following a late-night communication from the military authorities in Niger indicating their unavailability to receive the delegation. “As per the decision of the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit held on 30 July 2023, the Community will continue to deploy all measures in order to restore constitutional order in Niger,” the statement reads. TheCable had also reported that Victoria Nuland, United States acting deputy secretary of state, was also denied permission to meet with Abdourahamane Tiani, coup leader, or with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held hostage since the power grab. Instead, she spoke for two hours with other army officers. “These conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult, because, again, we’re pushing for a negotiated solution,” Nuland said. “They are quite firm in their view of how they want to proceed, and it does not comport with the Constitution of Niger.” The Niger junta had failed to meet the ECOWAS deadline to reinstate Bazoum which expired on Sunday. The bloc is expected to meet on Thursday to draw up a plan on how it will proceed.

  The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has asked security agencies to immediately clear a ministerial nominee, and former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. The youths warn that their patience must not be tested further with the refusal to confirm the nomination of El-Rufai for appointment as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A statement by the forum’s president, Yerima Shettima, stated that the youths and indeed northern Nigeria feel humiliated by the news that out of the 48 names submitted to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu, El-Rufai is among the only three whose confirmations were differed. “We regret to note that the targeting of Nasir El-Rufai for such irreverent treatment is part of a wider agenda being pursued by certain dubious political interests to deny the north and the younger generation of Nigerians fair representation in the coming cabinet. “It is suspicious that El-Rufai, who is among the best, if not the best of all the names submitted by the President should be among the only three that could not be confirmed without justifiable reasons. “We consider it deceptive for the Senate to give security checks as reason for not confirming El-Rufai because it is common knowledge that the ministerial nomination list passed through security scrutiny before getting to the Senate. “At the risk of overstating the case, we can boldly say that El-Rufai, Hannatu Musawa, Bello Matawalle and Festus Keyamo are by far the best representation of the young generation of Nigerians included in the list. “It will therefore amount to unwarranted provocation to Kaduna State, to the North and to the Nigerian youth for El-Rufai not to be confirmed for flimsy considerations,” Shettima said.

  The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its planned protest scheduled to hold today (Wednesday), August 9, 2023. NARD President, Innocent Orji, made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme on Wednesday. According to him, the industrial action by the association, however, continues. Orji said, “Yes, we put on hold the protest that was supposed to start this (Wednesday) morning but the strike is continuing. We’ll review again in 72 hours; that’s the position of the National Executive Council.” The NARD President said his colleagues have eight major demands including the need for the government to recruit new hands to replace those who have left the system through migration (brain drain) or death. “Our members are suffering. Nigerians are suffering too. When you don’t have the right number of doctors in the hospital, there is no way it is not going to affect the healthcare service delivery system. And nobody has come out to tell us that what we are saying is not true,” he said. “The government on its own set up a ministerial committee that came up with a guideline since February this year, why hasn’t that guideline been circularised?” he quizzed, saying the circular would help to reduce the brain drain as doctors would be immediately recruited upon the completion of their education. Orji said the government has not shown commitment to meeting the demands of the Association. The suspension of the planned protest followed a meeting between NARD executive and that of the Senate led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The Association on July 25, 2023 declared a “total and indefinite strike action” over the replacement of doctors who have exited the system and demand that the salary structure of its members be increased by 200%, amongst other demands.

  The Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms says the Nigeria Customs Service and 62 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government should not collect revenue directly. The Chairman of the Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme on Wednesday, said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is best suited to collect revenue for the MDAs. Oyedele, a former Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said Nigeria’s revenue collection from taxes is one of the lowest in the world but the cost of collection is high. “Ironically, our cost of collection is one of the highest. And the reason for that is that we’ve got all manners of agencies. The Federal Government alone, we have 63 MDAs that were given revenue targets last year, no; actually in the 2023 budget,” he said. “And two things that would come up from that: on one hand, these agencies are being distracted from doing their primary function which is to facilitate the economy. Number two, they were not set up to collect revenue, so, they won’t be able to collect revenue efficiently. “So, move those revenue collection function to the FIRS. It has two advantages: the cost of collection and efficiency will improve, these guys will focus on their work, and the economy will benefit as a result.” Asked for clarity on his comments, Oyedele said, “If you are Customs, focus on trade facilitation, border protection and if you are NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission), just regulate telecommunications. You are not set up to collect revenue. “It can be your revenue and someone else can collect it for you. There will be more transparency because you see what is being collected and is accounted for properly. It is also a way of holding ourselves to account as to how we spend the money we collect from the people.” Pushbacks? The committee chair said there will be pushbacks from stakeholders and others benefitting from the process but the committee’s sole objective is to not to take what belongs to anyone but what should come to the government. Oyedele also described the Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative as a step in the right direction but it has not been fully developed. He said the TSA will help his committee’s work but there are more to do to maximise the initiative. Furthermore, Oyedele also said the presidential committee would look into excess bank charges. He said businesses pay as high as 65 to 70 levies and taxes but the committee’s plan is to reduce the number of taxes to about 10. N20trn Tax Gap Oyedele, chair of the committee inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, said Nigeria’s tax gap is estimated around N20trn as many members of the elite evade paying the exact taxes they should remit to the government. “As of today we have significant tax gap estimated in the region of 20 trillion or even more naira. If you focus more on the few major taxes – Value Added Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, a lot of people are not (tax) compliant, particularly the middle class and the elite, some of them are in the tax net with one or two fingers, you pay a thousand naira as tax when you should have paid N10m,” he said. The tax expert said all of the revenue not captured before would be brought into the tax net. “In fact, our plan is to repeal many of the taxes that currently make doing business difficult without introducing new ones and yet collect more,” he said.