The former House of Representatives Appropriation Committee Chairman, Faruk Lawan, has stated that he is now a better person.

Recall that Lawan had served five years in prison for receiving a $3 million bribe from oil magnate, Femi Otedola.

Speaking on Saturday during his visit to Shanono/Bagwai Federal Constituency, in a crowded convoy of political supporters, Lawan said, “Today, I am a better person, and I thank God for everything. My visit is not political but rather to pay condolences, sympathize with the sick, and pay homage to our fathers and traditional leaders.”

Speaking further, Lawan, who was dressed in Kwankwasiyya white-red cap attire, stated he is freelancing in politics and presently does not belong to anybody.

He was received by the District Head of Bagwai in Bagwai Local Government, Alhaji Nura Shehu Ahmad, the Magajin Rafi of Kano, who described Faruk Lawan’s incarceration as “a blessing in disguise” for him and his supporters.

He said, “Today, many of us here who were once your enemies have turned into not only your supporters but your loyal supporters, with a deep understanding of who Faruk Lawan truly is and his passion for his people.”

The District Head noted, “Even when Faruk Lawan was in prison, he still connected with us in all facets of life. He supported the needy among us, inquired about everyone, and sent messages to many of us. We really thank you and cherish you.”

The chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the recently proposed tax reform bills do not include any provision for an inheritance tax.

He made this disclosure via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, dispelling speculation about such a tax in Nigeria’s fiscal policy.

According to Oyedele, the inheritance tax was abolished in Nigeria in 1996 following the abrogation of the Capital Transfer Tax Decree.

He explained that inheritance represents a one-time transfer of wealth, either as a gift during the giver’s lifetime or upon their death, and differs fundamentally from recurring income subject to taxation under the proposed tax reforms.

“Inheritance tax is a one-time wealth transfer. Unlike inheritance tax, family income covered under the tax bills is expected to recur from time to time,” Oyedele stated.

He further highlighted the provisions of Section 4 of the Nigeria Tax Bill, which defines taxable income. Section 4(3), in particular, addresses taxable income earned by families, stressing that inheritance itself is not taxable under the bill. This approach aligns with existing tax laws, including Section 2(5) of the Personal Income Tax Act (LFN 2004 as amended).

Oyedele elaborated on the taxation of family income, noting that “In the case of income of a family recognised under any law or custom in Nigeria as family income, in which the several interests of individual members of the family are indeterminate or uncertain, tax may be imposed only by the territory in which the member of that family who customarily receives that income in the first instance in Nigeria usually resides.”

He also explained that individual earnings are subject to tax, and when groups such as partnerships, communities, or families earn taxable income collectively, they cannot claim exemption simply because they operate as a group.

“The income will therefore be taxed in the hands of individual members where their respective shares can be determined; otherwise, the group will be collectively taxed. This ensures equity and prevents a potential loophole in the tax law,” Oyedele said.

The clarification reinforces the government’s commitment to maintaining transparency and equity in Nigeria’s tax system, while also addressing misconceptions about the scope and implications of the proposed tax reforms

Actor and film director, Ibrahim Chatta, has addressed the long-held notion that he is underrated in the movie industry.

In a recent appearance on the ‘Talk To B’ podcast, Chatta confidently asserted that he is one of the highest-paid Yoruba-speaking actors in Nigeria.

“A lot of time some people say Ibrahim Chatta is underrated. No, I’m not. I’m one of the highest-paid Yoruba-speaking actors in Nigeria,” he said.

Chatta recounted his humble beginnings in the entertainment industry, revealing that he started as a studio rat, creating promotional jingles and movie soundtracks for over 400 films and firms.

According to him, his determination and perseverance ultimately paved the way for his success in the industry.

“I gave myself responsibility because I discovered it would make me stronger.

“At a point, I told my mum that I was comfortable and that she shouldn’t bother sending me foodstuffs.

“But I wasn’t comfortable. So, I would work for about a week or two as a bus conductor and get somebody to Kwara to give my parents foodstuffs so they would rest assured of my well-being.

“Then I got lucky and I started writing and composing movie soundtracks. I did movie soundtracks for over 400 films, I did promotional jingles for over 400 firms.

Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated John Mahama on his victory in the recently concluded election in Ghana.

Naija News reported earlier that the candidate of the ruling party in the Ghana presidential election, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat to former President, John Mahama, following the outcome of the Saturday, December 7, election.

In a post via his official X handle on Sunday, Atiku congratulated Mahama, describing the outcome as a landslide victory.

“Your Excellency, Mr. President-elect John Mahama, @JDMahama. My warmest congratulations on your victory. I was told you were on your way to church and thought I could catch up with you before you entered the church for the Sunday service. Once again, kindly accept my hearty congratulations on your landslide victory,” Atiku wrote on X.

Earlier, Ghana‘s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Bawumia, called his opponent, John Mahama, to extend his congratulations.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” he said in a press conference.

Mahama has also acknowledged on his X account that he had received a congratulatory call from Bawumia.

Ghana‘s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, announced on Sunday that he had accepted his defeat in the recent presidential election.

Naija News understands that Bawumia has pushed a phone call to his opponent, John Mahama, to extend his congratulations.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” he said in a press conference.

Mahama acknowledged on his X account that he had received a congratulatory call from Bawumia.

The Vice President remarked that Mahama had secured the presidency “decisively,” along with the opposition NDC party’s victory in the parliamentary elections, based on the ruling NPP party’s internal vote count.

Bawumia faced challenges in distancing himself from the criticism regarding the government’s management of Ghana’s economic crisis and the rising cost of living, which emerged as the primary issue during the election.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has been defeated in her bid for re-election in the Ablekuma West constituency by Reverend Kweku Addo of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Ursula, who has held a parliamentary position since 2012, received 26,575 votes, whereas Reverend Addo emerged victorious with 31,866 votes. The results were confirmed by the returning officer from the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), indicating a total of 58,441 valid votes cast.

Additionally, Tourism Minister Andrew Egyapa Mercer, a notable member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), also lost his parliamentary seat in the Sekondi constituency to Blay Nyameke Armah of the NDC.

Mercer, who had been the representative for the area since 2016, garnered 11,084 votes, while Armah achieved 14,558 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Armah expressed gratitude to his constituents, declaring, “This victory belongs to the entire constituency, and we will work together to revitalize Sekondi.”

Furthermore, Interior Minister Henry Quartey was defeated in the Ayawaso Central constituency by Abdul Rauf Tubazu of the NDC. Quartey, who previously served as the Greater Accra Regional Minister, received 23,345 votes, while Tubazu claimed victory with 29,755 votes.

Tubazu conveyed his enthusiasm regarding the win, stating, “This victory is gratifying, and we are committed to serving the people.”

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review is currently evaluating a proposal aimed at amending the 1999 Constitution to restrict the number of ministers appointed by the president to 37.

This proposal, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Streamline the Number of Ministers to be Appointed to the Federal Executive Council,” is presently under consideration by the committee, which Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu chairs.

Naija News reports that the bill is sponsored by representatives from the Darazo/Ganjuwa and Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri Federal Constituencies of Bauchi and Borno states, respectively.

The bill aims to revise Section 147 (1) of the Constitution to state, “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, not exceeding 37, as may be established by the President.”

It is worth noting that the Federal Executive Council under President Bola Tinubu currently consists of 45 ministers, including substantive ministers and Ministers of State.

Traditionally, the Nigerian president appoints a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation while also allowing for additional appointments based on various considerations in the formation of the cabinet.

“The bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to specify the maximum number of ministers to be appointed to the Federal Executive Council to address duplication of duties, minimise the cost of governance, and enhance efficiency to service at the federal level,” the Bauchi lawmaker, Mansur Soro said during an interview with The PUNCH.

“We need to reduce the cost of governance and address inequality in the number of ministers to be appointed from each state and cases of overlapping mandates of ministers. In my opinion, a minister per state is enough while also considering the Federal Capital Territory,” he added.

The lawmaker elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed disagreement with the notion that the president has the authority to appoint more than two ministers from a single state in order to include technocrats.

The President has numerous other key government agencies and additional ministerial parastatals available for the inclusion of technocrats or politicians. Currently, Ogun State is represented by four ministers, while other states have only one each.

The lawmaker questioned the fairness of this situation.

In a related matter, the committee led by Kalu is deliberating on a proposed bill aimed at amending Section 62 of the Constitution to ensure adherence to the federal character principle in the selection of principal officers within the National Assembly.

Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has won the country’s presidential election after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.

“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday.

The defeat in Saturday’s election ends two terms in power for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, involving high inflation and a debt default.

Bawumia said he called Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to congratulate him.

Earlier, NDC spokesman Sammy Gyamfi told reporters the party’s internal review of results showed Mahama won 56.3 percent of the vote against 41.3 percent for Bawumia.

“It is very clear the people of this country have voted for change,” Gyamfi said.

The vice president said Mahama won the presidency “decisively

The NDC won the parliamentary election, according to the NPP’s internal tally of votes.

Mahama, who was president of Ghana between July 2012 and January 2017, confirmed on X he had received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory”.

Blaring horns and cheering, the 65-year-old’s supporters were already gathering and celebrating outside the party campaign headquarters in the capital, Accra.

During his campaign, he promised to “reset” the country on various fronts and tried to appeal to young Ghanaians.

His win marks a historic victory, making him the first president in the three decades of Ghana’s Fourth Republic – since the 1992 return to multi-party democracy – to reclaim the presidency after being voted out.

Ghana’s economic woes dominated the election after the gold and cacao producer went through a crisis of default and currency devaluation, ending with a $3bn International Monetary Fund bailout.

On corruption, Mahama vowed during the campaign that he will create a new office tasked with scrutinising government procurement above a $5m threshold.

He said unchecked procurement processes are a major source of corruption.

But Mahama also voiced support for the anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana’s parliament in February but which is yet to be signed into law and has sparked international criticism.

Ghana’s election commission had said official results were likely due by Tuesday.

With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992.

The Federal Government has set aside N700bn from the federation account for the implementation of the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative, according to the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.

In a chat with The PUNCH on Friday, he noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly.

He revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700bn and procurement had started.

He said, “The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700bn provision has been made, and the money is ready.”

The special adviser further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3 million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month.

“The DISREP programme will commence this month,” he noted.

However, an analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420bn from a monthly deduction of N100bn.

The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.

Recall that N120bn was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420bn.

In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said that the government would provide an initial N75bn as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250bn annually for the initiative.

The minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.

The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr Victor Ojelabi, recently said that the PMI would unlock about N1tn in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.

Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21bn for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.

The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.

Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03 million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.

It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.

…over author’s detention

The determination of the police to stop activists from protesting the continued detention of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, is creating deep anger.

Despite Ekiti State Police Command’s claim that the decision to prohibit the planned protest was reached to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state, activists have refused to back down and declared Tuesday, December 10 as their preferred day.

In fact, the activists have threatened to extend the demonstration to Lagos, Abuja and the United Kingdom to draw attention to what they termed the illegal arrest, detention and trial of Farotimi.

Ever since officers from the Ekiti State Police Command arrested Farotimi following a defamation petition filed by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, various individuals and organisations have expressed sadness over the development.

Among them is the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, which argued that the offence for which Farorimi was arrested had been decriminalised under the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011, disclosing that defamation as a criminal law was repealed by the Supreme Court in a case between Aviomoh v. Commissioner of Police & Anor (2021) in 2021.

The rights lawyer, in his book: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ had alleged that Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgement in the service of his clients.

Bail application

Unconcerned, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2023 general elections, Mr Omoyele Sowore, and other rights activists in London have planned a protest for Tuesday when the court hearing of bail application filed by Farotimi’s legal team is schedule to sit.

Although the Police Public Relations Officer of the state’s command, DSP Sunday Abutu, in a statement, said: “any form of unlawful gathering, demonstration or protest is unacceptable as the intelligence report available has it that some unscrupulous individuals have planned to hide under this protest to hijack it and unleash mayhem and create apprehension in the state,” Sowore urged Nigerians to use the demonstration in calling for Farotimi’s release.

Venue

The publisher of Sahara Reporters said this via his X, formerly Twitter, noting that the point of convergence in Abuja will be the Ministry of Justice and Federal High Court, Abuja; Ekiti convergence point is the Police Headquarters Ado-Ekiti ; convergence point in Lagos will be the Afe Babalola Chambers at Emmanuel House, Plot 1, Block 4, CMD/Jubilee Road, Magodo; and meeting point at the United Kingdom is King’s College London.

Sowore stated: “The @PoliceNG can’t ban protests anywhere; we are getting loads of Nigerian citizens to shut down Ado-Ekiti on December 10, 2024, from 7 am. Buses are ready for those coming from out of state.

#FreeDeleFarotimiNow 1. Abuja convergence: Ministry of Justice and Federal High Court, Abuja 2. Ekiti parapo convergence: Police Headquarters Ado-Ekiti 3. Lagos convergence: Afe Babalola Chambers, Lagos Address: Emmanuel House, Plot 1, Block 4, CMD/Jubilee Road, Magodo GRA, Lagos 4. London UK CONVERGENCE: King’s College London Address: Strand, London, WC2R 2LS global online and offline revolt against the nigerian judiciary! Date: December 10, 2024. Time: 7 AM West African Time.”