Mrs Beatrice Ekweremadu, wife of former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu is back in Nigeria.

A competent source disclosed the development to DAILY POST on Wednesday.

According to the source, Mrs Ekweremadu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday.

DAILY POST recalls that Senator Ekweremadu, the wife and one Dr Obinna Obeta were sentenced to prison by a UK court for their involvement in organ harvesting.

The former deputy senate president was sentenced to 10 years, while his wife was sentenced to six years.

DAILY POST reports that the return of Mrs Ekweremadu is being celebrated across Enugu State, with many praying to have the Deputy Senate President back in the shortest possible time.

[DailyPost]

As President Joe Biden, the 46th American president bowed out yesterday after 52 years of service to the nation he passionately served as a parliamentarian and president and Trump took over as the most powerful leader in the world in a seamless transition, devoid of the uneasiness and anxiety that heralded his first coming, it was the beauty of the American system that was in display.

Trump’s landslide victory over both Biden and Harris is but once again a confirmation that all politics is local. No matter how much Trump is derided by the rest of the world over what was considered his infantile behaviour, character deficit and right-wing world view, it is the Americans who wear the shoe that know where it pinches.

And lastly, the unexpected outcome of the American presidential election also once again confirmed the major weaknesses of the democratization process -free and fair election the hallmark of participatory democracy which is capable of throwing up anyone.

Biden had exploited what has turned out to be unfounded fears about Trump’s threat to democracy and the battle against Trumpism a “fight for the soul of the nation” to cruise into power in 2020. First, in order to rescind some of the Trump policies, Biden on his first day in office, issued executive orders that took back the US into the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, cancelled the US withdrawal from the World Health Organisation and a number of other executive orders in the areas of immigration, health care and environment.

In spite of the control of the presidency and both houses of Congress by the president’s party, after the 2020 mid-term election, three significant pieces of voting rights and electoral-reform legislations, including the For the People Act, passed by the House in March 2021; the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, passed by the House in August; and the Freedom to Vote Act, introduced in the Senate in September. (The first two bills were later versions of legislation passed by the House in 2019) were all blocked in the Senate by Republican filibusters, which could be overcome only with the support of at least 60 senators.

Finally, believing he, and his party knew what the people wanted without asking them, Biden became a victim of his own hubris.  On December 13, 2022, Biden signed into law the “Respect for Marriage Act which   formally repealed the federal Defence of Marriage Act (1996) which had defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and had permitted states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriage performed in other states.

Biden had earlier alienated the power American Pentecostals who supported Trump by appointing Pete Buttigieg, a gay as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Biden also went on to sign an LGBTQ executive order which advanced equality on June 15, 2022.

Of course, the unexpected outstanding performance of Biden and his Democratic Party in American last mid-term election was American women’s show of gratitude to the president and his party’s crusade over women’s right to control their bodies But their dismal performance in the last November election was American women’s rejection of the notion that institutions of state manned by individuals who have no children can decide for parents how best to groom their children. If there are American adults who today exhibit evidence of maladjustment as a result of challenges of growing up, parents don’t want confused state officials to tell their five year old boys and girls about their right to change their sex.

Biden, a veteran of foreign relations having served as Foreign Relations Committee chair twice (2001–03; 2007–09), was no less haunted by his mishandling of foreign issues with domestic issues content by failing to rise to the occasion as the leader of the world. His unconditional support for Jonathan Netanyahu was to set him up against moderate democrats, students, first time voters and American Arab voters and the rest of other world leaders that had expected him to use his moral voice to provide leadership for the world in disarray.

But then Biden could not give what he did not have.  He instead on October 2023 secured Congress aid package $15 billion in additional military assistance for Israel in its war against Hamas. It was true Hamas started the war with the unprovoked killing of 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers. But informed members of the international community understood the act was out of frustration by Palestinians after over 50 years of Israel’s occupation, scores of rejected UN resolutions with tacit support of the US.

Israeli response in form of massive invasion and destruction of a ‘caged’ Gaza resulted in the death of over 45,000 Palestinians mainly innocent children and women.

Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of schools, hospitals and mosques, blockade preventing water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel from entering the territory, was declared disproportionate response by the Pope, genocide by the United Nations and the rest of the world leading to issuing of warrant of arrest of Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defence minister ‘for crime against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8 2023 until at least May 20 2024”.

Biden, a Catholic who takes Holy Communion every day and the only man with leverage on Netanyahu kept insisting Israel has the right to defend herself.

And finally, Trump’s triumph was one more evidence of the major weaknesses of democracy-free and fair election the hallmark of participatory democracy which often involve group bargaining. Democracy is capable of throwing up anyone including, outright idiots who do not know their right from their left  or even those who have no faith in democracy at the expense of those who have faithfully served their nation in the military, bureaucracy and parliament such as John McCain in 2008, Hillary Clinton 2016 and Biden and Harris 2024.

In fact, the apprehension of most enlightened Americans during Trump’s first coming was the parallel between Trump, his rhetoric and Adolf Hitler. Like Hitler and most far right politicians, Trump had blamed economic and social crises in America on outsiders. And sounding like Hitler before the Jewish final solution, he had said ‘we have problem in this country. It is called Muslims; we know our current president is one, he is not an American”…”They have training camps where they want to kill us; we want to take our country back”. He blamed China for America’s economic woes and the menace of drug and unemployment on Brazil.

Like Hitler, Trump does not believe in political parties. Just as Hitler used Nazism as springboard to take over power, only to later destroy the leadership of the party as well as the party’s values before taking upon the world as a dictatorship responsible for the death of over 11 million people, six million of them from Israel, Trump hijacked the Republican Party to secure the party’s presidential ticket. Like Hitler, he went on to assault the core values and the soul of the Republican Party. And just like what Hitler did to his party leading members, Trump had humiliated leading light of the GOP before the far-right Republicans, particularly members of the Trump-led MAGA movement, who generally supported Russian President Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian leader of Hungary took over.

Trump was against the Fourteenth Amendment which confers citizenship on all children born in America and threatened to deport all such children. Worried Americans back then could not but see the parallel between this and Hitler’s ‘bastardisation’ policy which considered children born in Germany but of non-German parents inferior and could not be given citizenship because citizenship was by blood of the Aryan race.

Trump neither believes in free press or shares the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson, the American founding father and the principal author of American declaration of independence (1776) that “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”. Today Trump has undermined confidence in the free press, creating his own alternative reality through lies propagated by Fox news and other platforms that supported him.

Trump’s ‘I am the only one who can fix America’ is not markedly different from Hitler’s delusion that he was ordained to protect the Aryan race.

But Trump’s 2020 defeat despite his failed insurrection and his return to the White House yesterday after four years in the political wilderness speaks to the resilience of the American system. It shows the American system has an in-built mechanism to prevent any America from taking a precipitate action which poses danger to American democracy.

Students from the University of Ibadan (UI) on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest against the 82-day power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

UCH is the teaching hospital where medical students from UI are trained.

The Nation learnt UCH has been experiencing power outage for the past year due to debts owed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC.

IBEDC cut off the power supply to the hospital in March 2024 due to unpaid electricity bills.

The electricity distribution company earlier disconnected the hospital’s power supply in November 2023 for the same reason.

The power supply has not been restored.

To express dissatisfaction with the situation at the hospital. The students were led by President of the Students’ Union, SU, Bolaji Aweda.

Speaking with newsmen, Aweda stated that students of the institution have been directly affected.

According to him: “We are protesting against what is happening. And, of course, our students are affected.

“For 82 days, there has been no light at UCH, and this is due to the inability of UCH to pay its electricity bill to IBEDC.

“IBEDC has demanded that UCH settle its debt before they will restore power.”

A Nigerian nurse, Ugbede Ojo, who faced backlash after describing Lagos as a “smelly city” in a viral tweet, has secured a new job abroad.

This development follows reports that her position at a Lagos hospital was under threat due to her controversial post.

In November, Ugbede stirred controversy when she tweeted: “This Lagos is a smelly city. People smell, the streets smell, the gutters smell, the water smells, everything is smelly. I’m tired.”

The post sparked mixed reactions. While some defended her right to express her views, others criticised her for being “disrespectful” to Lagos and its residents.

One user, identified as Bayo, strongly condemned her tweet, describing it as “public ridicule.” He tagged Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and then-Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, urging them to take action.

“Dear Lagos government, you’re leaving the lives and economy of Lagos in the hands of people that hate their employers,” the user wrote.

“If #jidesanwoolu and #mudashiru_obasa will not start demanding respect from people that are taking jobs away from aboriginals, we will also not stop adding external LEGAL pressure until we get the desired respect.”

Ugbede, who was reportedly employed at the General Hospital in Gbagada, later claimed she had been facing “attacks” due to her tweet.

However, another X user, Cross˚, who identifies as #Elkrosmediahub, offered her a job abroad if she lost her current one due to the backlash.

“Hi #nurse_ugbede, trust you are having a beautiful morning. So one of my
Ogas asked me to reach out to you. Just in case anything happens to your job, and you are willing to work in another country, kindly notify me. Will share an email address you can forward your CV to too,” the user wrote.

On Tuesday, Ugbede announced her new job on X, writing, “I got the job, guys.”

Reflecting on her journey, she added: “Just remember that by this time last year, I was homeless in Lagos! Squatting with a friend and borrowing money to pay rent.

“One year later, I got my big girl job and big girl pay. I wondered when it would happen, but when it’s your turn, God will part the ocean!”

[Punch]

Covenant University has been ranked as the best tertiary institution in Nigeria in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World Universities Rankings.

The varsity secured a global position between 201-1000. At the time, the university accommodated 8,940 students with a gender ratio of 37:63.

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is Nigeria’s second-highest-ranked university, placing between 1001-1200 globally. ABU achieved an international outlook score of 40.9, a research environment score of 12.4, and a research quality score of 55.7. The teaching score was 23.1, the industry score stood at 19.8, and its overall score ranged between 30.7-34.4.

Landmark University, a private institution in Kwara State, also ranked between 1001-1200 globally, making it the third-best university in Nigeria. The institution recorded an overall score of 30.7-34.4, with a teaching score of 17.3, a research environment score of 18.6, research quality at 60.5, industry at 20.7, and an international outlook score of 32.7.

The University of Ibadan (UI) placed fourth in Nigeria and 1001-1200 globally in the 2025 rankings, a step down from its second-best ranking in Nigeria in 2024. UI’s student population in 2024 was 41,269, with a staff-to-student ratio of 1:19.7 and interdisciplinary science research comprising 19 percent of its academic portfolio. In 2025, UI achieved an international outlook score of 42.5, research quality of 57.8, teaching at 30.1, and an industry score of 20.9.

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) ranks fifth in Nigeria and 1001-1200 globally, maintaining its global position from 2024 but dropping one spot domestically. It scored 42.4 for international outlook, 64.5 for research quality, 15.7 for teaching, and 21.5 for industry.

Top 5 Universities in Nigeria (THE 2025)

1. Covenant University
2. Ahmadu Bello University
3. Landmark University
4. University of Ibadan
5. University of Lagos

Other notable institutions in the top 10 include Bayero University, Kano, and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

Full Rankings: Top Nigerian Universities (THE 2025)

Below is the comprehensive list of universities that made the rankings:

1. Covenant University
2. Ahmadu Bello University
3. Landmark University
4. University of Ibadan
5. University of Lagos
6. Bayero University
7. Federal University of Technology, Akure
8. Federal University of Technology, Minna
9. University of Benin
10. University of Ilorin
11. University of Nigeria, Nsukka
12. Ekiti State University
13. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
14. Federal University of Technology, Owerri
15. Federal University Oye-Ekiti
16. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
17. Lagos State University
18. Nnamdi Azikiwe University
19. Obafemi Awolowo University
20. University of Port Harcourt
21. Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
22. Abia State University
23. Akwa Ibom State University
24. Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike
25. Ambrose Alli University
26. Baze University
27. Bells University of Technology
28. Benson Idahosa University
29. Bowen University
30. Delta State University, Abraka
31. Evangel University, Akaeze
32. Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun
33. Godfrey Okoye University
34. Lagos State University of Education
35. Lagos State University of Science and Technology
36. Nasarawa State University, Keffi
37. Niger Delta University
38. Nile University of Nigeria
39. Osun State University
40. Rivers State University
41. Thomas Adewumi University
42. University of Cross River State
43. University of Maiduguri
44. Veritas University, Abuja

Vanguard News

A healthy nation is a productive one. Health is existential and ranks extraordinarily on the pyramid of desiderata. Since 2023, the President Tinubu-led administration has foregrounded healthcare, making it a nucleus of its policy decisions and prescriptions.

For instance, in the 2024 budget of Renewed Hope, the first in the life of the administration, health, and other contributing sectors to the human capital index received due attention. Also, in the yet-to-be-passed 2025 budget estimates, N402 billion has been allocated for infrastructural investments in the health sector and another N282.65 billion for the Basic Health Care Fund, N188 billion for vaccines, and N40 billion for malaria vaccines.

A brief review of the past year

The Tinubu administration prioritises Nigerians – their health, social welfare, and otherwise. 2024 was a significant year for the administration in the health sector with many tangible outcomes. Over 53,000 frontline health workers were trained in the past year to deliver integrated, high-quality services in keeping with the objective of training 120,000 health workers by December 2025.

Also, the blanket of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) was expanded with over 2.4 million citizens enrolling in the national health insurance scheme in the year and with 10 million Nigerians under its sturdy cover.

Nigeria also secured a EUR1 billion European Investment Bank financing mechanism and a $1 billion Afreximbank financing mechanism to support incoming manufacturers in the health and life science sectors.

In addition, the health sector witnessed significant investment interest with over 70 new healthcare manufacturing companies with 22 large-scale projects in talks with international financiers, and more than 10 value-chain verticals already being established in the country.

The year, 2025, comes with a dispensary of possibilities, considering the streak of outcomes in the previous years. It should ordinarily be a year of new quarries, fecundated grounds, and consolidation.

According to projections by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, about 40 percent Level 1 primary health facilities will be enhanced and advanced to Level 2, widening the capacity and reach of facilities capable of delivering integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services across all states of the federation.

Over 60,000 frontline health workers will also receive training in comprehensive SRH service delivery in 2025, aiming to achieve feasible quality improvement in family planning (FP) and post-abortion care (PAC).

Also, there will be a fulsome activation of the free C-Section and VVF repair programme in 50 percent of the 172 priority local government areas, which account for the highest burden of maternal deaths in the country.

In addition, the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), a mechanism for driving efficiency in healthcare service delivery, will ensure that performance and financial management officers are engaged in all 774 local government areas to supervise the construction of primary healthcare centres, as well as manage their operations with fidelity to transparency and efficiency.

The Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) achieved some milestones in 2024, and it is expected that the initiative will consolidate the gains and execute more multiplier interventions and programmes.

PVAC is a crucial all-wheel vehicle established by President Bola Tinubu to unleash the potential of the health sector and unlock the arteries in the healthcare value chain by increasing local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products to least 70 percent of total consumption by 2030; increasing the total direct full-time employees working in the life sciences manufacturing sub-sector to at least 50,000 (up from the current workforce estimated at approximately 20,000); establishing at least two commercial vaccine plants across the health sector; establishing at least five new medical supplies and diagnostics plants, and doubling Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market share in Africa to at least 15 percent.

In 2025, PVAC says it will focus on the priority areas of market shaping, advancing local manufacturing, regulation and policy advocacy, and execution of special projects.

Some of its interventions will include expanding the range of health products and medical technologies manufactured domestically to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare value chain, further addressing regulatory hurdles, advocating policy changes required to advance healthcare businesses across the sector by providing support to manufacturers, as well as working with public sector bodies.

Also, it will include implementing strategic, high-impact projects on behalf of the government to enhance local manufacturing capacity and improve health outcomes, addressing critical gaps in the healthcare sector.

In addition, establishing three to five manufacturing plants for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, diagnostics and LLINs; leveraging global knowledge hubs to improve technical capacity for local manufacturing; supporting new manufacturers in obtaining WHO pre­ qualification and implement enabling ecosystems interventions; accelerating implementation of Executive Order and engage EO Technical Working Group to implement import duty and VAT exemption for manufacturing equipment and materials.

By the same token, it seeks to successfully deliver projects that support the establishment or expansion of local manufacturing facilities for essential health products and technologies and launch initiatives that improve healthcare access and outcomes for underserved populations, ensuring alignment with national health priorities.

Also, the Renewed Hope Medical Relief Programme once approved by parliament as proposed by President Tinubu, to be implemented through the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), will see the federal government purchasing drugs, medical consumables, test kits directly from local manufacturers and distributing via technology-enabled public-private partnership, to 73 FTHIs, 37 general hospitals, and 8,800 PHCs receiving funds from BHCPF. This will subsidise the cost of medicines, channel activated real demand to Nigerian manufacturers, lower costs, and ensure quality.

The National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), a special-purpose entity which serves as the foundation for organising and institutionalising emergency medical services across Nigeria, says some of its future aims include the procurement and equipping of tricycle and boat ambulances, which is in process with the plan of distributing over 700 tricycle and 30 boat ambulances to rural communities across Nigeria; advocacy and behavioural change communication: each state is expected to implement a robust community level advocacy exercise to drive demand and utilisation of RESMAT services; formal launch and commencement of RESMAT operations; monitoring and evaluation and plan for scale up to 37+1 states.

Already, NEMSAS has supported some states in establishing State Emergency Medical Service Governance and Operational Structures. Some of these states are Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Plateau, Taraba, Delta, Ogun, Osun, Rivers, Yobe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Adamawa, Borno, and FCT.

NEMSAS says in regions and universities where it is fully operational, individuals facing emergencies—such as complicated pregnancies or deliveries—can dial the national emergency short code (112) or a designated 12-digit number from their institution or state. An ambulance will be dispatched to assess their situation, provide initial treatment, and transport them to the nearest hospital at no charge.

To deepen access to critical emergency services and bridge EMS chasms in areas with limited NEMSAS coverage, NEMSAS seeks to launch the Rural Emergency Service and Maternal Transport Programme.

The World Bank through the IMPACT project is supporting a pilot of this programme, in 15 IMPACT Project states namely: Bauchi, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) itemises some of its key development benchmarks for 2025 to include public health legislation: passing of the Public Health Emergency Management and NCDC amendment bills, development of Public Health Emergency Management Standards and Structure for states in line with the SWAp Agenda and subnational EPR mentorship; health promotion and disease prevention for priority and epidemic prone diseases on all media platforms, improved national and subnational awareness, AMR/IPC implementation, surveillance and early warning systems (including SORMAS optimisation through a national digital transformation agenda); laboratory and diagnostic capacity optimisation (including genomic sequencing and a standard service menu for state (subnational) laboratories); expand laboratory network and capabilities; response, medical countermeasures, and event (outbreak) management actions (including risk profiling, simulation exercises, IPC, and stockpiling), and reduce outbreak mortalities.

In addition, other targets include increasing national efforts in public health emergencies, human resource capacity development (including field epidemiology and laboratory training, integrated training for surveillance officers); public health emergency training, case management training core personnel and SURGE staff, and definition of the minimum human resource competencies for state EPR programmes), including leadership training and performance review of outbreaks of priority and endemic prone diseases (Lassa fever, Meningitis, Diphtheria, Measles, Cholera, Influenza-like illnesses, Mpox and Yellow Fever).

Looking through the magnifying glass, 2025 is shaping up to be another stellar year for Nigeria’s health sector under President Tinubu.

Fredrick Nwabufo is the senior special assistant to the president on public engagement

The Kenyan government has approved recommendations to enhance its electronic travel authorisation (eTA) system for African visitors.

The approval was granted during the federal government’s first cabinet meeting of the year chaired by President William Ruto.

A statement issued by the State House said the meeting was held to discuss ways of driving transformative change in Kenya.

Improving traveller experience and tourism were some of the priorities.

“As part of efforts to support open skies policies and tourism growth, a key proposal is to grant eTA exemptions to all African countries — except Somalia and Libya — due to security concerns,” the statement reads.

“This initiative aims to promote regional integration and ease travel across the continent.”

The statement said most African visitors will be allowed a two-month stay while East African Community (EAC) nationals will continue to enjoy a six-month stay under the bloc’s free movement protocols.

“To improve efficiency, an expedited eTA processing option will be introduced, allowing travelers to receive approval instantly, with processing time capped at 72 hours based on operational capacity,” the State House added.

“Additionally, the introduction of an Advanced Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record system will enhance pre-screening, strengthen security, and streamline passenger processing at entry points.”

The statement said the cabinet mandated the secretaries of national treasury, transport, interior, and tourism to review, report, and propose guidelines to improve travellers’ experience at all Kenyan airports within a week.

Last year, Kenya introduced a “visa-free” policy that required most visitors to apply online for authorisation before leaving their countries.However, the introduction of the eTA, which replaced the visa requirement for all visitors, was criticised as a “visa by another name”.

The eTA fee is $30 and valid for 90 days.

[TheCable]

I turned 83 years old on the 15^th of September 2024 and recently realised that I have outlived a substantial proportion of acquaintances whom I encountered in the active and useful years of my life. If I was able to visit Jamaica, where I spent my childhood and adolescence, I would hardly find anyone with whom I attended school or with whom I played when I enjoyed a typical Jamaican boyhood. Nevertheless, these days I find myself wishing that I could return to my natal home not necessarily to see old friends so much as to experience old sensations.

This desire I believe is actually a sign of the arrival of old age as the wish to experience juvenile memories is a function of geriatric nostalgia. As I confront daily existence, especially by trying to overcome the unfortunate circumstance of the reduction of mobility and social intercourse occasioned by the loss of my left leg to diabetes in my 79^th year, I feel compelled to reflect on various events that I have witnessed in the journey so far. However, this compulsion generates a terrifying sense of loss and anxiety over one’s own chance of survival when such reflections reveal the serial departure of scores of individuals who were either younger or not much older than myself.

This anxiety coupled with gratitude for my close family’s devotion to my welfare has rendered the consciousness of the importance of divine faith alive in my awareness. While I still entertain some misgivings about the use of religion to satisfy the opportunistic advantages of some of its practitioners I try my best to respect and honour the true belief of the advocates of the best principles of faith.

That is to say that I recognise the need for faith among the believers because my own circumstance makes me hope for divine intervention to make life be more than suffering. I reflect on this issue constantly these days because I am in need of faith as I recognise that old age has arrived.

Taxes, tariffs, duties and levies are ways the government rakes in revenue to run institutions of governance and finance provisions of physical infrastructures including social amenities.

Taxation is as old as humanity so much so that it is even in the holy books. Zacchaeus in the Bible is said to be a tax collector while Jesus himself paid tax.

Remember the popular phrase of giving unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God, what is God’s. Biblical records about tax payment can be found in Matthew 17:24-27 and 22:15-22. During the pre-colonial era, Yoruba people paid isakole and owo-ori, which are forms of taxation.

Really speaking, most people don’t want to pay taxes for different reasons. Many Nigerians believe that the government is rich enough with proceeds from crude oil and gas sales and does not need additional income to run its affairs.

Some refuse to pay because of the assumption that there is no accountability and transparency from the government on what it has done with monies paid by those who complied, especially proceeds from Pay As You Earn, which is deductible from the salaries of workers. Corruption is one of the barriers and impediments to voluntary tax compliance.

Many Nigerians are also of the opinion that they are not earning enough to enable them to pay taxes. Research has shown that many corporate organisations making super profits in Nigeria and the super-rich people in the country do not pay commensurate taxes if they pay at all.

As part of his economic restructuring, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, August 3, 2023, inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms with Taiwo Oyedele as its chairman.  In October last year, the President sent four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for passage.

The bills are: the  Nigeria Tax Bill, which harmonises all the major taxes, such as corporate income tax, personal income tax, VAT etc.; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, which provides a framework for tax management covering taxpayer identification, registration, assessment, collection, enforcement, etc.; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, which seeks to replace the FIRS with the NRS to perform a broader role of revenue administration in Nigeria and drive collaboration with subnational governments and MDAs and the  Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill meant to transform the JTB to JRB with an expanded mandate and enhanced role for cooperation and tax harmonisation.

The bill also sets up the office of the tax ombudsman to protect taxpayers and advocate for tax simplification.

A December 3, 2024 tweet on the X handle of Taiwo Oyedele (@taiwooyedele) says, “Altogether, the bills offer a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s tax framework to drive economic growth, support Nigerian households and position the country as a competitive economy within the comity of nations. These reforms reflect a commitment to equity, efficiency, and sustainable development.”

It is noteworthy that since the bills were sent by President Tinubu to NASS for passage, there has been a lot of pushback by many northern elites including governors, senators and House of Representatives members.

Among those who spoke out against the bills were Governors Bala Muhammed of Bauchi, Prof. Babagana Zulum of Borno and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.

Senator Ali Ndume also did not hide his disdain for the bills. The bone of contention in the bill majorly was the revised sharing formula for the distribution of the Value Added Tax.

Recall that under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, this was very contentious to the extent that the then Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State had to drag the Federal Government to court over what it considered to be an inequitable sharing formula of VAT.

The Northern Elders, Arewa Consultative Forum and many powerful northern power brokers queued behind their governors and federal lawmakers to issue subtle threats to President Tinubu, indicating that they would not support his reelection bid in 2027.

Indeed, on October 31, 2024, the National Economic Council asked President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the Tax Reforms Bills from the National Assembly to allow for wider consultations and consensus building.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said that formed part of resolutions reached at the 144th meeting of the National Economic Council at the State House, Abuja.

On December 3, 2024, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement said President Bola Tinubu had directed the Ministry of Justice to work with the National Assembly to address the concerns raised by different quarters on the tax reform bills.

It is important to highlight some of the salient provisions of the four tax reform bills.

According to the earlier referenced tweet by Oyedele, changes to income tax laws will attract remote work opportunities in the global business process outsourcing sector, enabling Nigerian youths to thrive in the digital economy; goods, services, and intellectual property exports will benefit from zero-rated VAT and other incentives to enhance Nigeria’s global trade competitiveness; tax exemptions, including zero per cent corporate income tax, VAT, and withholding tax, will apply to small businesses with annual turnover of N50m or less; minimum wage earners will be exempt from personal income tax, while over 90 per cent of workers across the private and public sectors will see a reduced tax burden.

Essential items such as food, education, and healthcare will enjoy zero per cent VAT while rent, public transportation, and renewable energy will be exempted, providing relief for low-income households that spend nearly 100 per cent of their income on these necessities.

Furthermore, over 50 nuisance taxes are to be repealed, with the remaining levies harmonised into a few numbers of taxes.

Corporate income tax rates will reduce from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next two years, and earmarked taxes on companies will be replaced with a streamlined single levy; businesses will benefit from input VAT credits on assets and services, eliminating the minimum tax on loss-making and low-margin companies.

This will lower production costs and stimulate investment; a redesigned tax framework will ensure progressive personal income tax, VAT, and capital gains tax while safeguarding low-income earners.

Taxes on foreign currency-denominated transactions will be payable in naira, easing compliance for businesses and reducing pressure on the exchange rate; VAT revenue will be distributed among states based on an equitable model to reward economic contributions, rather than the current model which is skewed in favour of states with head office locations where VAT remittances are usually made;  the introduction of tax ombudsman to improve the tax system by protecting vulnerable taxpayers and advocating for fairness and lastly,  a strategic framework for fair taxation, responsible borrowing, and sustainable spending will be established to guide the fiscal system.

In a rider to those points, Oyedele said, “These tax reforms aim to alleviate the rising cost of living, foster economic equity, and create a business-friendly environment to attract local and foreign investments.”

It is heartwarming to note that the Nigerian governors who were initially against this bill were able to meet with the Taiwo Oyedele Presidential Tax Reform Committee last week and ironed out their differences.

In a communique issued by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the forum reiterated its strong support for the comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s archaic tax laws.

The forum endorsed a revised Value Added Tax sharing formula to ensure equitable distribution of resources:  50 per cent based on equality, 30 per cent based on derivation, and 20 per cent based on population.

Members agreed that there should be no increase in the VAT rate or reduction in Corporate Income Tax at this time, to maintain economic stability. The forum advocated for the continued exemption of essential goods and agricultural produce from VAT to safeguard the welfare of citizens and promote agricultural productivity.

The meeting recommended that there should be no terminal clause for TETFUND, NASENI, and NITDA in the sharing of development levies in the bills and lastly, the meeting supports the continuation of the legislative process at the National Assembly that will culminate in the eventual passage of the Tax Reform Bills.

This is a classic case of using political solutions to resolve economic conundrums. Commendable!

X: @jidejong