Hakeem Baba-Ahmed recently resigned his appointment as Political Adviser to the President in the Vice President’s Office. The former Publicity Secretary of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, who has been a critic and vocal voice against bad governance, in this interview, revealed that he never had a place in the Bola Tinubu administration.

He also speaks on the 2027 election, why Nigerians should not trust the drivers of the planned coalition and what is expected of Nigerians. Excerpts:

As a Political Adviser to Mr. President, in the office of the vice president, what were some your experiences?

I did my job as best as I can when I worked with the Vice President.

I believed the administration could have used people like me better, we were never in the mainstream of policy design, policy implementation, policy monitoring, mitigation of aura, steps and errors, building bridges with the communities and more importantly giving advice consistent with my mandate which is to give advice on political matters, I don’t think the administration had enough interest in what we could do.

But to the degree that I was available and I was there, I did my best and at the the end, I found that I really had no place in the administration. Many things that I could have advised on were going on, it didn’t look like my advice was necessary and I also disagreed with many of the things that were going on and the best way to deal with this kind of thing is to leave. But I left, I expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve my country through the administration. I got to respect a lot of people in the government, forgive me if I don’t mention names. And ifI am also to be honest with you, I was disappointed that the administration has an opportunity to correct the ills and mistakes of the Buhari administration and it hasn’t, that’s all.

Can we know some of the pieces of advice that you gave to the government as political Adviser that were ignored?

No, maybe perhaps you read my open letter to the President wrongly. I never said I gave advice which were ignored. I said those who were involved in advising government or implementing the policies of the government were not of the calibre and the quality that an administration like President Tinubu’s, which was dealing with a very bad inheritance and which faced a lot of challenges which has created its own challenges, should have.

It wasn’t formed by the realities on the ground and he (Tinubu) and the presidency itself was isolated to be available to be advised, I think that was the point I made.

What are the areas you think that if the government takes positive steps to address will improve the lives of the citizenry?

I think they need to review their entire mandate, they should look at Nigeria as it is now and not just simply push out press releases and press statements.

They are spending a huge amount of energy celebrating, getting people who have brought the country to its knees to now join them. If this government thinks that getting defectors from parties that have failed the country, people, who have failed the country who are now looking for refuge and getting them to join their party, they are making a terrible mistake.

The future doesn’t look healthy with the APC which is overburdened by its own liabilities as well as the liability from other parties. They should look at where they are now. They still have two years, they can work very hard but the most important advice I gave in my open letter is that President Tinubu should work very hard to address the current challenges, to find younger people, more energetic people, people with the vision to fix the country.

People who recognise the fact that the future belongs to them and assure them. And then create a generation of politicians that will take over from him and people like him who just live in a small room called APC. All these huge number of people who have questions to answer on the way they run this country, have no business asking us to trust them again. They should look for younger people, people with more experience, people with more knowledge, people with the vision and passion to fix Nigeria. Those are the people I think President Tinubu should encourage his party to entrust the responsibilities .

As a seasoned politician are you ready to join the coalition so that the country will perhaps get it right?

Let me correct you, I am not a seasoned politician, I have been a public servant, what other people call as a technocrat virtually all my life. I have also been a critic of poor and bad administration. I am not interested in joining any coalition of people who have wrecked the country and who are looking for refuge and other opportunities to continue to do what they were doing before, I am not interested in that kind of politics.

Nigerians bear the brunt of any good or bad government, as the 2027 election draws near, what is your advice to them?

I will tell them to open their eyes and be very careful. 2027 will be a very, very important and decisive election. It will determine whether we will continue to sink under the incompetence and indifference of the last 12 years, eight years of Buhari and now four years of Tinubu, or we want to recreate Nigeria and re-engineer it so that it can address the problems of insecurity and poverty and deterioration of inter community relationship.

Nigeria can survive and can overcome its problems but it certainly cannot do so under the present leadership or the kind of coalitions of all these politicians who are desperately clinging to power, making it to appear as if the future belongs only to them. The future belongs to Nigerians. Nigerians should be very careful, they should not be carried away by all this business of North and South, ethnicity and religion. Everybody is a victim of the same problem created by the same people who are now asking us to trust them, they should not trust them.

All the talk in the political arena, right now, is about the elections in 2027, two years away: how Tinubu is going to win a 2nd term in office or how a coalition fronting Peter Obi or Atiku is going to unseat him.

2027 is still a good two years away and what the President was [supposedly] elected to do in his first term he hasn’t even scratched the surface of it apart from indulging in the usual blame-game on his predecessor, complaining about lack of funds and presiding over party-in fighting. And just like Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned he still manages to go on long foreign holidays oblivious to what is going on in the country.

Politicians in Nigeria seem to forget, very quickly, why they were voted into office in the first place: they are there to serve the needs of the people, not to enrich themselves, legally or illegally, not to make a name for themselves and certainly not to ignore the needs – and security – of the people who voted them into power.

The average politician is of “…anywhere belle face…”, which is to say for Me, Me and Myself: no morals, no principles and no integrity. They jump ship quite often and ‘if ‘lagbaja’ is paying then I’m joining his party’ which will explain the mass exodus of governors, senators and other politicians decamping to the ruling APC party, risking the nation fast becoming a one-party state.

As we’ve seen from history one-party states don’t work: it only promotes corruption, inefficiency and cronyism. The old USSR collapsed for the simple reason the party fat cats were more concerned about maintaining their bourgeoisie lifestyles than looking after their people: they forgot what they were there for.

The same is happening in Nigeria now.

How much does a ‘congo’ of rice or garri cost? Or a tray of eggs? How much does it cost to fill up your car tank, if you can? Or how much is your electricity bill, even though you didn’t get any power? And what about security? What’s to say you won’t be robbed, kidnapped or killed tomorrow when you are out and about? This and a multitude of other problems is what is happening on the streets of Nigeria on a daily basis. Of course, the high and mighty and politicians live in their high walled private estates with fresh food flown in from abroad weekly, armed guards to watch over them and totally oblivious to what’s going on around them.

There has been no improvement on the situation and things are only getting worse. Sadly, the only thing on your average politician’s mind is how he/she is going to get re/elected in 2027 by crook or by hook and they got a slew of PR experts and marketing gurus to come up with new campaign slogans and a basketful of promises they’ll never fulfil. In a sane climate if a politician is doing the job he was elected to do to the people’s satisfaction, in the first place, he wouldn’t have to worry about re-election: the people would vote him in willingly.

When you’re employed by a company, for instance, you’ll be subject to weekly, monthly or quarterly assessments by your immediate superior. You are expected to hit certain targets and if your performance falls below what is expected of you you’ll be fired! Why can’t the same rule apply to our politicians? If you don’t do what we expect from you, you are out at the next election. Performance is the key word here and this is how it should be. But come the next election and the starving, belittled, abused, unemployed, sick and endangered people will still vote for the incumbent President despite the fact he’s done nothing proactively to turn things around in his first term, as his predecessor did nothing and as his predecessor did nothing…should I continue to go backwards in time? People seem to have a very short memory until the hardship kicks in.

The Chinese say “..a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..”, Nigeria’s problems, as gargantuan as they are, can only end when politicians put their selfish interests aside and make a conscious effort to start changing things, a step at a time. Start with tackling the high cost of living. Remember a hungry man is an angry man. Try by making the basic things in life such as food, fuel and electricity affordable: empty promises don’t fill a hungry man’s stomach it only fuels dissent.

And the people have themselves to blame too, why vote in a person who’s going to do nothing for four years and vote him in again?

Its beggar’s belief.

So why all the politicians are fretting about themselves, stabbing each other in the back in an attempt to get re-elected, I simply ask ‘na 2027 we go chop?’(-if only it were possible!). Very soon the slogan ‘ebi pa wa o’(we are hungry) will become the new national anthem hopefully forcing politicians to forget their obsession with the 2027 elections and do something….perhaps!

In the combustible terrain of Nigerian politics, especially at the sub-national level, defection is more than just a political maneuver, it is a weapon. It is a signal, a message, a realignment, and at times, a declaration of war. The recent defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has all the trappings of a calculated political chess move that throws up urgent questions about the future of one of Delta State’s most visible politicians: Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

Omo-Agege, a key player in Delta’s power circle and former Deputy Senate President, has had his eyes on the governorship seat for years. Despite losing to Oborevwori in the fiercely contested 2023 gubernatorial election, he remained the face of the APC in Delta State. But with the entry of the sitting governor into his party, armed with the weight of incumbency, Omo-Agege’s pathway to gubernatorial power may have just gotten dramatically narrower, if not completely blocked.

Oborevwori’s defection is not a simple change of political jersey. He did not switch allegiance as a lame duck politician. He moved with the power of incumbency and the strategic advantage of being in control of the state apparatus. The implications of this move go beyond Oborevwori seeking refuge in APC due to cracks in the PDP, it is about consolidating power for 2027 and beyond.

Political watchers are already reading between the lines. The question being whispered in political backrooms and party secretariats is simple yet profound: Was this defection orchestrated to kneecap Omo-Agege within his own house?

To understand the gravity of the threat Oborevwori now poses within APC, it is crucial to understand Omo-Agege’s journey. A man not unfamiliar with controversy, Omo-Agege has been a lawyer, commissioner, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), senator, and Deputy Senate President. Known for his boldness and political brinkmanship, he became one of the most prominent APC figures in the South-South, a region largely dominated by PDP.

After championing progressive legislation in Abuja and building a formidable political structure in Delta Central, especially among his Urhobo ethnic group, he was seen as the most viable alternative to PDP’s dominance. His 2023 governorship bid was powered by a heavy war chest, ground troops, federal backing, and a strong media narrative of “liberation” for Delta State. Yet, he lost.

But like most political heavyweights in Nigeria, losing an election did not push him into oblivion. If anything, it strengthened his resolve to remain relevant and mount a comeback in 2027. That plan, however, seems to be under serious threat now.

Until Oborevwori’s defection, Omo-Agege was largely seen as the undisputed leader of the APC in Delta. But that status is now up in the air. In Nigerian political culture, the sitting governor, regardless of when he joins a party, automatically becomes the leader of that party in the state. The reasons are simple: he controls appointments, patronage networks, state funds, and grassroots mobilization structures, including local government chairmen and councilors. These assets are often more critical than federal influence when it comes to swaying delegate votes and controlling party primaries.

For the APC, which has struggled to unseat the PDP in Delta for decades, Oborevwori’s defection is viewed as a win. But for Omo-Agege, it is a political tsunami. He now faces the awkward prospect of having to negotiate space within his own political turf, if not outrightly playing second fiddle to the same man he accused of electoral manipulation just a year ago.#

At this juncture it is germane to ask, “Was Oborevwori’s motivated to decamp from PDP as a way of escape or expansion?” The foregoing question since the last few days he defected to APC has remained unanswered.  In fact, since then, not a few people are asking “Why did Oborevwori defect?” To answer the foregoing question, several theories abound.

Some argue he is merely escaping a sinking PDP ship, particularly with his godfather Ifeanyi Okowa’s influence in decline. Others suggest he is preparing to cut his own political path without being shackled by lingering intra-party crises that have plagued the PDP at both state and national levels. However, a more strategic interpretation is gaining ground: that Oborevwori’s entry into APC was engineered by powerful forces in Abuja to neutralize Omo-Agege and consolidate APC’s hold in Delta by offering the party a sitting governor in return for internal restructuring.

This theory is not far-fetched. Political analysts familiar with Abuja’s power play know that national leaders are not emotionally attached to old loyalists. They are more concerned with win-ability, optics, and strategic advantage. And in the 2027 political calculus, a sitting governor seeking re-election on the platform of APC may offer better prospects than a former senator, regardless of how loyal the latter has been.

Although elections are still over two years away, the groundwork for 2027 is already underway. Within Delta APC, power blocs are forming, and battle lines are being drawn. If Oborevwori seeks a second term under the APC, it will require full control of the party’s structure. That puts him on a collision course with Omo-Agege, who will also be eyeing another chance at the top seat, perhaps his last viable opportunity, given political realities and the shifting sands of age and relevance.

Against the backdrop of the foregoing view, there is no denying the fact that Delta APC now faces the challenge of balancing political egos without imploding. If the leadership at the national level chooses to back Oborevwori, perhaps as part of a broader realignment in the South-South ahead of 2027, Omo-Agege may find himself increasingly isolated, unless he can negotiate power-sharing or stage an internal rebellion.

Delta’s politics is shaped as much by ethnic identity as by political ideology. The tripod structure, Delta North (Anioma), Delta Central (Urhobo), and Delta South (Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Isoko), has an unspoken rotational agreement. Oborevwori is Urhobo, like Omo-Agege, and with him currently occupying the top seat, many believe the next governorship cycle (barring Oborevwori’s re-election) should tilt towards either Delta North or Delta South.

This further complicates Omo-Agege’s ambition. If zoning holds, he may be effectively disqualified from contesting, especially if Oborevwori is not seeking re-election. But if Oborevwori decides to run for a second term under APC, and the national party backs him, Omo-Agege’s window closes further.

President Bola Tinubu’s own political style adds another layer to this drama. Known for pragmatism and reward-based politics, Tinubu may find Oborevwori’s defection appealing, especially if it adds a South-South governorship to his political portfolio in 2027. But Tinubu also respects loyalty and strategic alliances, and Omo-Agege has been loyal.

Now another question, “Will Tinubu attempt to broker peace between both men? Or will he back the man with executive power in the state?” Either way, Omo-Agege will need more than loyalty to secure APC’s 2027 ticket. He will need a compelling counter-strategy.

Then another question is the option left for Omo-Agege’s that of reinvention or resistance? Faced with this new reality, Omo-Agege has three clear options that cut across that of negotiating a power deal, lead a legal resistance, or lead a political resistance.

Explanatorily put, he can work out an internal compromise with Oborevwori and the APC national leadership, perhaps stepping aside in exchange for a senatorial return, ministerial slot, or control of some critical state structures.

If sidelined, Omo-Agege may rally aggrieved APC members and stake his claim in the court of public opinion and intra-party politics. This could split the party and damage its electoral chances, but may secure him leverage.

Though risky, a strategic defection to another party, possibly Labour Party or even a Third Force, could allow Omo-Agege to redefine himself as the real opposition. However, the absence of federal backing could handicap such a move.

The political theater in Delta State has just taken a dramatic twist, and the leading actors, Oborevwori and Omo-Agege, are set for a backstage tug-of-war that will shape the next act in the state’s political narrative.

In a system where defection is the norm, not the exception, the game is no longer just about loyalty or ideology, it is about structure, incumbency, and control. With Oborevwori’s defection, the APC now finds itself having to choose between two elephants. And as the old saying goes, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In this case, that grass may be Omo-Agege’s long-nurtured gubernatorial ambition.

Unless he reinvents himself, regroups his base, and retools his strategy, he may find himself not just sidelined but entirely shut out of the 2027 equation. The storm is gathering, and only time will tell who emerges with their political sails still intact.

Prominent Business Executive and Socialite, Aisha Achimugu, has declared “hunger strike” in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody following her arrest by operatives of the commission.

A statement by the legal team of Achimugu, led by Mr Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, on Tuesday in Abuja said that their client was arrested at about 5 a.m., at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the EFCC had in March declared Achimugu wanted over allegations of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.

NAN also recalls that a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice I.E. Ekwo, had on Monday ordered Achimugu to appear before the EFCC on Tuesday, and to also, appear before the court on Wednesday.

Ojukwu said that their client had arrived voluntarily from London to honour the EFCC invitation before her arrest by operatives of the commission.

He said that the socialite had through her lawyer informed the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday that she would visit the EFCC on Tuesday.

He explained that the planned visit was in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering brought against her.

”In the light of what transpired in court on Monday, our client returned based on the undertaking before the court to honor the EFCC’s invitation, but was arrested at the airport.

”She has immediately gone on a hunger strike. She is a prisoner of conscience and our stand in the arrest is that it has run contrary to the rule of law,” he said.

NAN reports that efforts to reach out to the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale on the arrest of Achimugu proved abortive as the phone rang severally without picking.

Ojukwu said that Achimugu was a well-known business magnate and the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Felak Concept Group, a consortium comprising several companies in engineering, maritime, oil and gas, and information technology.

(NAN)

Last week, the entire political structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in what has been tagged political tsunami dissolved into the All Progressives Congress (APC) because, in the words of Sheriff Oborevwori, the Delta State governor, “the drinking pattern needed to change as a result of changes in the taste of the palm wine”.

To observers of Nigerian politics that have watched the descent of ‘PDP family feud over the sharing of our resources” into war of attrition, the development sounded the death knell of the PDP.

To PDP enablers and self-proclaiming crusaders of democracy however, the development constitutes a threat to survival of democracy which is believed to thrive better within multi-party system. But from their chat with Chief Bode George, anchored by Reuben Abati of Arise TV and his crew and with Dele Momodu by Channel TV’s Seun Okinbaloye however, death of PDP spells doom for our democracy and should that happen, the president and his APC should be held responsible.

The truth is that PDP is not a political party in spite of its media enablers’ efforts to cloak it in borrowed robes of political party. John Campbell, a former American ambassador to Nigeria had during proceedings at a hearing on the topic: Nigeria In Turmoil on March 19, 2010 described PDP as “an elite cartel at the centre of power in Nigeria… a political party that came together with no ideological or programmatic basis, but simply as essentially a club of elites for sharing of oil rents and political spoils”.

That thesis has been validated several times over.

The first act of betrayal of Nigeria by PDP National Assembly members who publicly expressed the eagerness to recoup their election expenses having sold houses to prosecute the election was the passage of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Bill within three months. With that, the number of fuel importers went from four major oil companies to over a hundred. The new outfit which merely duplicated the functions Ministry of Petroleum Resources became an instrument by which PDP stalwarts and their children defrauded the nation to the tune of about NI.7 trillion “without importing a pint of fuel” according to Audu Ogbe, the then PDP chairman.

Then President Obasanjo and his PDP in the name of privatization between 1999-2014 sold off most of Nigerian public enterprises estimated at over $100b for a paltry $1.5b to their members or their fronts. It was on account of this the 7th Senate report of November 30, 2011 directed the National Council on Privatization to:

 “Rescind the sale of Abuja International Hotels Limited (Nicon Luxury Hotel) as well as Sheraton Hotel and Towers;  that the sales of assets of Daily Times Nigeria PLC  by Folio Communications Limited and its directors  be investigated by anti-graft agencies and the sold assets recovered; that the Share Purchase Agreement of Volkswagen Nigeria Limited now (VON)  be rescinded and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the economic crimes being perpetrated against the nation at VON Automobile Nigeria Limited premises in Lagos by Barbedos Ventures Limited; that NICON Insurance PLC  should immediately refund with interest, the sum of N900 million to the Federal Government being money paid by BPE in February 2007 as contribution for recapitalization with accrued interest; that Nigeria Re-insurance PLC  should immediately refund the sum of N1 billion paid by BPE in February 2007 as contribution of the Federal Government for recapitalization with accrued interest and that  the former Directors-General, Nasir el-Rufai,  Julius Bala and  Irene Nkechi Chigbue should be reprimanded by the National Council on Privatization”.

The privatization of the power sector was not different. After an injection of between $8.2-$15b of taxpayers’ money by the federal government, 15 companies made up of 10 Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and five Generation Companies (GENCOs)  paid $2.238b to take over 60% of unbundled PHCN in August 2013. President Jonathan on the occasion assured Nigerians that his administration will ensure that “Nigerians enjoy a minimum of 18 hours of electricity supply a day”.

Speaking on this betrayal of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, during   the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium had said, “The PDP administration shared our generation, distribution and transmission to their friends and cronies without very deep and thoughtful research and evaluation. It has now become pork chops. He therefore  suggested  that “for a more constructive reform to improve generation, transmission and distribution, this privatization must be reviewed by putting experts together at all costs”, without prejudice to the legal implications.

PDP members that always regard themselves as family members are tarred with the same brush. Obasanjo who chased Diepreye Alamieyeseigha from Germany to London from where he escaped to Nigeria, dressed as a woman for defrauding his Bayelsa State; Obasanjo who ensured 17 of PDP and ANPP 24 governors between 1999 and 2007 were dragged by EFCC to court for financial malfeasance; Obasanjo who described National Assembly members  as “pen robbers”  for budget padding, arm-twisted governors and government contractors to collect N7 billion to build a personal presidential library while the national library he initiated in 2006 is still under construction 20 years after.

His godson, President Goodluck Jonathan, taking after his footsteps also secured N7 billion from serving governors and government contractors to build a church and recreation centre in his native Otueke village. Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo’s vice president was indicted for his role in the privatization programme forcing Obasanjo to declare: “If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support.”

Dimeji Bankole, a former speaker of the House of Representatives was accused of immorally purchasing his official house while David Mark, the former senate president in “2011 purchased the official residence of the senate president, built on 1.6 hectares of land, a national monument that was not meant to be acquired by an individual and was never reflected in the federal government’s gazette as required”.

Bukola Saraki, another PDP leading light, was the whistle blower in the PDP N1.6trillion fuel subsidy scandal. In anger, he joined other disgruntled PDP members to pull down PDP for alleging the company in which he had interest was involved in the fuel subsidy scandal. In APC, Saraki confessed to literarily stealing the senate presidency by ceding the control of the senate with 60 APC majorities to PDP with 49 senators. He also traded off the deputy senate president’s position which by convention belongs to the ruling party with a majority, to Ekwerenmadu of PDP.

Prof Itse Sagay, a renowned constitutional lawyer had back then described Saraki’s victory as “a victory for impunity, a victory for fraud and a victory for political desperation and indiscipline. Similarly his victory was dismissed by Anwalu Yadudu, former Dean Faculty of Law, Bayero University as ‘lies in the face of democratic ideals, having stemmed from ‘a flawed election by a fraction of yet to be constituted senate”.

Nearly all the leading lights of PDP allegedly partook in the sharing of $2.4 billion loan for military wares and welfares. While Dazuki’s account’s officer reportedly claimed his boss asked him to get $11M from the CBN, Dasuki’ was widely quoted as saying the president asked to change N10b dollars to be shared to delegates.

Other PDP partakers according to EFCC include Iyorchia Ayu, Bode George, Attahiru Bafarawa, Raymond Dokpesi, Peter Odili, Jim Nwobodo and N950m shared in Shekarau’s house. Aziboala, GEJ’s cousin allegedly received N6 billion, Nenadi Usman N3.5 billion; Ayodele Fayose N3 billion and Musiliu Obanikoro, N4 billion. Tony Anenih – N400 million; Olisa Metuh took N400 million, Jolly Nyame- N2.4 billion and Joshua Dariye -N700 million etc.

Prof Chukwuma Soludo told Nigerians that “Over N30 trillion is mismanaged, unaccounted for or missing under Jonathan” while Obi Ekwesili, Obasanjo’s education minister lamented that “Our reserve is depleted and our savings are squandered. Our nation is in trouble.”

The greatest tragedy that can befall a nation, according to Wole Soyinka, the conscience of the nation, “is for her citizens to suffer collective amnesia”.  PDP and its media enablers believe Nigerians have short memories,

They also think we are incapable of drawing a parallel between massive defrauding of the nation in the years of the locust and the ‘japa’ syndrome which has taken thousands of our jobless youths into second slavery in Europe and America.

I am not sure Nigerians, earnestly awaiting PDP rites of passage will shed tears for PDP who, while in power, fought over sharing of our resources and properties kept in their care for our children and out of power, are today engaged in war of attrition over who, out of established fraudsters, should lead the next assault on Nigeria.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has ordered all banks in Nigeria to immediately identify and close any tax and levy collection accounts not authorised under the agency’s TaxPro Max system.

This directive, announced through a public notice issued by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, and circulated to journalists on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi, forms part of ongoing reforms by the agency to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in Nigeria’s tax collection framework.

According to the notice, all tax and levy collections must now be processed exclusively through the TaxPro Max platform, the digital solution introduced by the FIRS to centralise and automate tax administration processes.

What the FIRS is saying 

The notice, titled “Directive to close unauthorised FIRS tax collection accounts”, emphasised that any accounts outside the TaxPro Max system are considered unauthorised. Consequently, banks are expected to discontinue the use of such accounts without delay and ensure strict adherence to the new collection procedure.

“Effective immediately, all tax and levy collections on behalf of FIRS must be processed exclusively pursuant to an assessment raised on the TaxPro Max platform.

“All banks participating in the FIRS Collection, Remittance and Reconciliation Scheme are hereby advised to comply with this directive within the stipulated period.

“We count on your cooperation to ensure a smooth transition to this centralised system, thereby contributing to a more transparent and efficient tax collection process,” the notice stated.

FIRS further reiterated that banks participating in its Collection, Remittance, and Reconciliation Scheme must only process transactions originating from TaxPro Max-generated assessments.

The agency noted that the move would also enhance real-time reconciliation of collections, minimise revenue leakages, and support its broader digitalisation agenda.

TaxPro Max system 

The TaxPro Max platform, developed locally, is a comprehensive digital tax administration solution designed to facilitate end-to-end tax activities. These activities include taxpayer registration, filing of returns, payment processing, automatic issuance of receipts, and the generation of tax clearance certificates.

Since its deployment, TaxPro Max has become central to the FIRS’s strategy to modernise Nigeria’s tax administration infrastructure, reduce human contact in tax processes, and improve ease of compliance for taxpayers.

By mandating exclusive use of the platform, FIRS aims to eliminate the proliferation of multiple collection accounts and bring uniformity to how taxes are assessed, collected, and reconciled.

Implications for banks and taxpayers 

With this directive, banks are expected to align their internal tax collection mechanisms with the TaxPro Max system to avoid regulatory breaches. Financial institutions that fail to comply with the directive risk sanctions or exclusion from participating in future FIRS tax collection activities.

For taxpayers, the transition means that all payments to FIRS must now be based strictly on assessments raised via the TaxPro Max portal. Payment through any unauthorised channel or to any unauthorised account will be invalid and could expose taxpayers to penalties.

To support the transition, the FIRS encouraged taxpayers and banks seeking clarification or assistance to reach out to its Revenue Accounting and Refund Department (RAAD).

The directive by the FIRS marks a significant step towards tightening Nigeria’s tax collection processes and minimising leakages through unauthorised accounts. It also highlights the agency’s commitment to leveraging technology to drive transparency and accountability across the tax ecosystem.

[Nairametrics]

The eight branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Rivers State have firmly rejected a query issued to the Chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch, Cordelia Eke, by the Sole Administrator of the state via the Ministry of Justice.

The query, dated April 25 and signed by Director of Administration at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Ebiriemg Deresima, accused Eke of engaging in “serious misconduct.”

It alleged that she co-signed a communique which criticised the state administration for acts described as “severe and brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity,” including the alleged dismantling of democratic structures and suppression of peaceful demonstrations.

The query further claimed that such actions violated the Public Service Rules and were considered inappropriate for a civil servant.

Reacting in a joint press release on Monday, the chairmen of the Rivers NBA branches described the move as a clear attempt to intimidate Eke and other legal professionals in the state.

They emphasised that the communique in question was not authored by Eke in her capacity as a public servant but as the elected Chairperson of the Port Harcourt Branch of the NBA — a role that empowers her to express the collective stance of the branch.

According to the statement, the communique dated April 9 was a product of formal NBA deliberations and conveyed the consensus of all NBA branches in Rivers State.

The chairmen also stated that their position was consistent with that of the NBA at the national level, as outlined by the Association’s President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN.

They went on to describe the query as part of a broader campaign by the Sole Administrator to silence opposing voices and dismantle democratic principles under the pretext of fostering peace.

“The query to our brother Chairman is nothing but a ploy by which the Sole Administrator seeks to intimidate her into discontinuing her functions and duties as Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch, and an attempt to intimidate lawyers in Rivers State and by extension other good people of Rivers State from standing up and speaking against executive rascality and impunity,” they said.

“It must be noted that the main objective of the Nigerian Bar Association is the promotion of the rule of law thus, as watchdog of the society, it is our duty to speak truth to authority on behalf of lawyers and the general public and cannot be intimidated to shy away from this sacred responsibility.

“Consequently, we, the Chairmen of NBA Branches in Rivers State, condemn in its entirety the query issued to our Brother Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch and demand an immediate withdrawal of the same.

“We consider the issuance of this query to our brother Chairman as an unfortunate act the Sole Administrator has decided to use to suppress freedom of speech and constitutional rights of the good people of Rivers State against his various incidences of dismantling of peaceful democratic institutions already in existence in Rivers State and other acts and actions capable of causing breach of peace instead of maintaining the peace which was the primary claim for his appointment as Sole Administrator in Rivers State. We condemn in its entirety the query issued to our colleague and demand its immediate withdrawal,” the chairmen stated.

The statement was signed by the chairpersons of various NBA branches in the state: Dr. Hilda Desmond-Ihekaire (Ahoada), Simple Dioha, Esq. (Isiokpo), Abiye Abo, Esq. (Degema), Dr. N. A. Duson (Bori), and Dr. Celestine Nwankwo (Okehi), among others.

Reaffirming their stance, they pledged to continue resisting any acts of intimidation or victimisation against NBA leadership, members of the legal profession, or the people of Rivers State.

[NaijaNews]

Former Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has faulted Senator Bukola Saraki’s comment about his defection, saying the former Senate President has no moral right to criticise his decision.

On Monday, key political stakeholders in Delta State, including Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Okowa and political appointees in the state, officially defected to the All Progressives Congress.

Following the gale of defection which emptied the Peoples Democratic Party’s structure into the APC, Saraki, in a strongly worded statement, said Okowa’s defection to the APC is an indication of how low politics has become in Nigeria.

Given the fact that Okowa was the PDP’s Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Saraki said the ex-governor’s move was “unprecedented” and symptomatic of a deeper leadership crisis.

“It is shocking and unbecoming. It’s simply a sign of how low we have sunk as a polity,” Saraki said.

Reacting, Okowa, while speaking on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Tuesday, said he does not expect someone like Saraki to comment about his decision to move to another political party.

Okowa maintained that Saraki should not have the moral right to comment about defection because he, too, had once abandoned the PDP for the APC.

“I did not expect that someone like Senator Bukola Saraki should be able to speak concerning me, because he knows that he had also moved to APC before and eventually return. So he has had movement to and fro. So, I don’t think that he has the moral right to even speak about my defection at all,” Okowa said.

Okowa stressed that the gale of defection in Delta State was a collective decision of all political stakeholders in the oil-rich state, adding that their decision to defect was motivated by the lingering crisis in the PDP.

According to him, recent communication from the party’s leadership showed that the party is not the proper political vehicle for Delta State ahead of the 2027 election.

“Several things have been going on in the party. While I do not want to join issues with people, as stakeholders, our leaders in this state have sat down to look at the events in the last several months, and because of the events that we see and the communications coming out from the leadership of the PDP at the moment, it did not appear to us that that was a proper political vehicle for us to continue in, Okowa stated.

Okowa asserted that the PDP governors’ rejection of a coalition coupled with the leadership crisis in the party suggested that the opposition party is not ready for competition.

[Punch]

Nowadays not a single day passes without a statement coming mainly from northern political figures and commentators complaining about how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is short changing the Northern region on project allocation, appointments, political marginalisation and policy direction of his administration.

Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South has been the most strident and eloquent on this subject with his presentation of unimpeachable comparative facts and figures on projects the Tinubu administration had embarked in the southern part of the country, particularly the South Western region where the president comes from vis-à-vis the North. He had also forwarded a list of appointments showing how the South Western part of the country had been unfairly favoured against other parts of the country which goes against the principle of federal character in appointments and representation.

Senator Ndume is not alone in this northern crusade. Recently Senators and Representatives from the North Eastern geopolitical region of the country addressed the media on the subject of allocation of agricultural projects in the country, which left out the entire six states of the region. For a region which is the largest in landmass and which is renowned for massive agricultural and livestock production, this oversight can only be deliberate and underscores the Tinubu administration’s policy of not only the North East but the North as a whole, said the North East legislators.

The feeling of unfairness by the Tinubu administration is the trending topic across the entire north in informal conversations among classes of people and in formal occasions involving the northern intelligentsia. There is an unmistakeable feeling that President Tinubu’s unfair treatment of the North amounts to a betrayal of trust and non-recognition of the massive votes (about 60 per cent of the total tally) that the region gave him to enable his victory at the 2023 elections.

But while the north is griping about what it regards as undeserving unfairness at the hands of the president, there are salient factors we should not gloss over on the subject.

How much of the unfairness against the north can be attributed to President Tinubu policies? Is the president the only source of the North’s misfortunes or are there other contributory sources? Why is the North moaning about unfairness just two years into the Tinubu administration when northerners have been at the helm of affairs in the country for over 40 of the 65 years of the country’s independence? Why didn’t northerners who have ruled the country institute policies that would have provided the necessary props for a northern economic transformation all this while to compliments the region’s political dominance in the country?

A partial answer to these posers has been provided by political cartoonist, Bulama Bukarti in his caricature of northern political elite which appeared on the Weekend Trust Newspaper edition of the penultimate weekend. In it Bukarti showed several doors depicting the existential challenges of the region which needed to be addressed by the northern elites. These challenges included prevalent insecurity, poverty, education, the parlous state of northern economy and the issue of political power. In the caricature, northern elites were seen rushing towards the door marked ‘’Northern Coalition to take over power’’. None of the elite were seen paying as much attention to the other doors.

In many ways this has been the purpose and focus of northern political power control; seeking and exercising political power for its sake and not necessarily for the larger and more meaningful northern human development. In the over 40 years that northerners have held power in this country, trillions of funds have accrued to the 19 northern states enough to more than transform its land and peoples and Nigeria by extension into an industrial power. Many individual northerners have made money beyond their dreams and belief, but this had hardly trickled down to the northern masses to change their lives and the land for the better. Indeed ironically the more northern elites get into the political power loop the more the more the north lost its modest economic and social foundation.

The underlying reason for the paradox of northern political power and regression in economic and social foundations are embedded in historical factors. At the dawn of the colonial era, the northern political and social structure was largely feudal; made up of the ruling aristocracy and a vast subservient peasant class who toiled as economic chattels and were socially beholden to the ruling class.

At the beginning of the colonial enterprise in Nigeria, the British subsumed the northern ruling aristocracy allowing them the powers to clamp the peasant class so as to ensure stability and continuity of the colonial administration.

Thus while other parts of the country there were little or no hindrance to the transforming economic and social changes that the colonial advent brought through education, in the north this was largely restricted. While in the southern part of the country, the middle class was growing and expanding with people getting more educated and being absorbed into the growing Nigerian economy as Engineers, Technicians, Doctors, Administrators, Traders, the northern ruling aristocracy contrived to severely restrict the similar expansion of northern peasantry into the northern middle class.

The template for the restricted human capital development in the north worked so successfully during the colonial times that at independence in 1960 while there were hundreds of schools and institutions in the south, there were less than fifty such schools in the north. While in the south there were hundreds of lawyers, engineers, technicians etc the north was grossly deficit in these areas. This pattern of deliberate human underdevelopment put the north at a disadvantage in critical sectors of Nigerian economic and social life which exist till today.

At independence when northerners led the government of Nigeria, they realise this factor and tried to introduce policies and measures to remedy the situation in the north. But it was too late because although northerners held political power in the country, there were not enough northern middle class to complement northern political power control in the country.

The coming to power of President Tinubu was not just power shift to the south, more significantly it represented the coming of the south west into the centre of Nigerian politics. Before then the south west had been content to play the opposition role in the country. Now that that the south west had morphed fully into the centre of Nigerian politics, it should be expected that they will bring in the full complement of the south western middle class into the available spaces they can find or create in the Nigerian political centre they now occupy through President Tinubu.

The North should also know that the south west will not leave the Nigerian political centre anytime soon and will ruthlessly restructure the Nigerian political space to ensure total dominance and control in the coming years. And what the north should also consider is that much of the political restructuring will come at the expense of the north.

The reality that the north should face is not just about the political power that has now being ceded to President Tinubu who is ruthlessly determined to restructure the Nigerian political economy to the advantage of where he hails from. What the north should do more importantly is to own up to the fact that the fault does not necessarily lie with President Tinubu, but more within. Organizing to retake power without collectively facing up to and resolving the massive visible weaknesses and cracks prevalent in the north would yield little even if the north succeeds in its bid.

President Tinubu has demonstrated by his policies how to use political power to advance group political and economic interests. This may look discomforting to others but in the context of Nigerian politics and its exclusivist trajectory this is the reality. Northern elites who have exercised political power in the country but did little to advance the progress of their region should learn applicable lessons from that.

Gadu can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 08035355706 (Texts only)