FG releases withheld salaries of striking non-teaching staff in federal varsities.

The federal government has released the withheld salaries of striking non-academic staff in federal universities.

Bawa Mokwa, the director of press at the office of the accountant-general of the federation (OSGF), spoke to TheCable on Saturday.

He said disbursement covers the benefits payable to retirees under the contributory pension scheme of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners.

On October 28, non-teaching staff unions in federal universities began an indefinite nationwide strike over withheld salaries from 2022.

The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are key stakeholders.

Mokwa said the payment of withheld salaries has commenced and non-academic staff of federal universities have confirmed receipt.

He said the federal government is committed to the welfare of Nigerian workers and retirees.

In 2022, the federal government, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, withheld the salaries of university staff who participated in an eight-month strike.

In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of four months of the withheld salaries of public university teaching staff.

Left out, non-teaching staff unions including SSANU and NASU accused the government of unfair treatment and discrimination.

In July, SSANU and NASU planned a pre-strike protest to evoke a federal response on the unpaid salaries.

The unions had been in a prolonged negotiation with the labour, education, and finance ministries over the matter.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has commenced moves to drop the charges brought against the 32 minors arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Hours after the arraignment, the AGF disclosed in a statement late Friday night his interest in taking over the matter from the Inspector General of Police.

He noted that there were issues his office would like to review.

“There are some issues my office will need to look into regarding the matter to enable me to make an informed decision,” the AGF said.

“It is not within my power to vary the court order remanding the defendants in detention centres and adjourning the case to January. I have, however, directed the Nigeria Police to transfer the case file to my office and hand it over to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation tomorrow, Saturday, November 2, 2024.

“I have further directed the DPPF to immediately initiate steps to request an earlier adjournment date,” he added.

A source from the Federal Ministry of Justice confirmed to our correspondent that the IG had already submitted the case file to the AGF as requested, and actions were underway to swiftly drop the charges against the defendants.

The source added that the court was set to reconvene early this week, rather than on the adjourned date of January 24, 2025.

“The police have submitted the case file, and the parties are working together. The court will reconvene early this week,” the source said.

Also, the defence counsel for all 119 defendants, Marshall Abubakar, in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, confirmed that steps were being taken to drop the charges against the children this week, especially since the AGF had requested transfer of the case file.

“The government has been calling; the AGF has called. I think, most likely, by next week (this week) we will get the charges thrown out,” Abubakar said.

He also confirmed that the minors among the 119 remanded protesters were in the custody of the SARS IRT, adding that they were kept in a large hall as the purported Borstal system for juvenile detention was non-existent.

“The children were taken to IRT SARS. There is a big hall there where they are kept because there is actually no Borstal Centre.”

Another source knowledgeable about the case told our correspondent on Saturday that the AGF’s office was considering filing an affidavit of urgency and an application on Monday before the court.

The source said, “This means if the application is granted, the case will come up on Tuesday. Hopefully, the case will be discontinued.”

Meanwhile, human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has raised the alarm over the whereabouts of two children arrested by the police.

Adeyanju said the minors were supposed to be arraigned alongside the 76 accused persons brought to court on Friday.

He noted that the two children were on the list of those earlier taken to court by the police to obtain a remand warrant a few months ago.

The activist called on the attorney general to use his good offices to discontinue the case.

“It took a lot of effort for us to get the children to be brought to court on Friday. Two of them who were originally arrested were not even brought to court. We don’t know their whereabouts or what has happened to them. Their names were on the warrant obtained from the court, but they were never brought to court on Friday,” Adeyanju told Sunday PUNCH.

He revealed that about seven other arrested protesters were also not arraigned on Friday because they were sick and had to be taken to the Federal High Court clinic.

“Their names were withdrawn from the charge sheet due to their illness. They couldn’t stand trial. Their plea was not taken, meaning they will be arraigned again.

“We asked the police to release them since the court had discharged them and struck out their names from the charge, but the police refused. They took them back to the IRT,” Adeyanju explained.

Meanwhile, the Northern Comrades Movement of Nigeria and the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protest in Lagos have condemned recent statements from the IG regarding the children who fainted in court on Friday.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, NCMN National Secretary Ahmad Ashir, said, “The IG’s assertion that the minors fainting in court was staged is utterly unacceptable. Video evidence clearly shows these minors collapsing, making this allegation not only baseless but deeply insensitive.

“To suggest that these minors fainted intentionally disregards the trauma they may have experienced. It’s imperative to prioritise their health and ensure they receive adequate medical care and psychological support.”

A representative of the #EndBadGovernance organisers, Hassan Soweto, called for the immediate release of the children, saying, “It’s profoundly insensitive for the police to make such claims about children who have endured starvation and torture for three months. This is an outright insult.”

Following the verdict delivered by the Confederation of African Football in response to the complaint lodged by the Nigeria Football Federation over the recent inhumane treatment meted out to the Super Eagles in Libya, members of the Nigerian community have reported mass arrests and fines in the country.

The Nigerian football team was held at the Al-Abraq Airport in eastern Libya for over 20 hours upon arrival for the second leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles and Libya’s national team.

The contingent was scheduled to land at the Benghazi Airport and travel for nearly four hours by road to Benina, where the match was to be played.

However, less than an hour before landing, the Tunisian pilot reportedly received a directive from Libyan authorities to divert the flight to the Al-Abraq Airport, located 150 miles away from the destination.

The development sparked widespread outrage, forcing the NFF to withdraw the Super Eagles from the qualifying match and file an official complaint to CAF.

In its ruling on Saturday, October 26, signed by its Chairman, Ousmane Kane, the disciplinary committee of the African football body awarded the Super Eagles of Nigeria three points and three goals for the abandoned match.

The disciplinary board ruled that the Libyan Football Federation breached Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations and Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

The panel also ordered the LFF to pay a fine of $50,000 within 60 days of the notification of the decision.

Displeased with the verdict, the LFF President Nasser Al-Suwai’I described it as “unjust and malicious,” alleging that the NFF’s influence within CAF played a major role in the outcome.

A report on Monday by a Libyan outlet, Libyan Observer, quoted Al-Suwai’I saying the LFF would file an official appeal within hours and that if the appeal was denied, the body would resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to ensure “their legitimate rights are secured.”

Campaign against Nigerians

Following the CAF ruling, a popular Libyan news blog, Libya News Today 1, posted on Sunday, stating, “All Libyan TV channels are urging the government to arrest the Nigerian workers who are working here in Libya without legal papers. They have to pay $500 plus taxes.

“The fine that Libya is accused of will be paid by Nigerian citizens who live in Libya. We have been subjected to injustice. We have no borders with Nigeria. What benefit are they to us? They’re a burden on the Libyan people. They have to go back home.”

The blog has more than 188,000 followers on Facebook and 57,000 likes.

The post was accompanied by a video of a Libyan TV presenter, who said, “Anyone who is living in Libya and working without paying tax is eating haram, which means sinful money. The government should make every effort to arrest all Nigerians who are working in Libya so that they can pay a tax of $500 and regulate their stay in the country by obtaining residence permits.”

Another Libyan site, Libya INF.TV, reported that Libyan stations wanted the government to start arresting Nigerian workers.

“Those who don’t have Libyan papers will have to pay a fine of $500 for taxes. If you refuse deportation, no mercy. The Libyan government will pay the Nigerian government from their citizens’ money,” the post said.

Mass arrests

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, a Nigerian living in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Adenaike Emmanuel, said the arrests began on Sunday after the CAF statement was released in the country.

“They have already started. The news came out on Saturday, and they were saying they can’t accept it and that they are not the ones who will pay the money. They have started proving this.

“Someone called me and said they had already begun arresting people in his area. The same thing is happening here in Tripoli. In some places, people were arrested on Sunday morning and afternoon. As I mentioned before, Libyans don’t hide their feelings. They believe that by doing this, they are getting their revenge,” Adenaike stated.

The President of the Nigerian community in Libya, Peter Omoregbie, also confirmed the arrests in a video shared by multiple Libya-based Nigerian blogs during the week.

Omoregbie, who confirmed this while making an official report at the Libyan immigration office on Monday, said, “The arrests started on Sunday night in some areas in Tedora. They are arresting innocent people. They don’t even care whether you have passports or residence permits. They just don’t care, which doesn’t happen in other countries.”

When asked to provide background to the incident, he said, “The football body is an association on its own, which the government isn’t supposed to interfere with according to CAF laws. There was a football match scheduled between Nigeria and Libya on October 15. Nigeria was supposed to arrive in Benghazi, but they were diverted to another state, so the match could not take place. The Nigerian football team then returned home. Since then, CAF has investigated the issue and set up a committee to find out what really happened.

“Yesterday, the verdict was issued that Libya has to pay a fine of $50,000 to CAF due to the way they treated the Nigerian football team. Now, on social media, Libyan journalists and numerous bloggers are saying that Nigeria will be made to pay the $50,000 fine by arresting all Nigerians in Libya. But in other countries, nothing like that happens.

“As the community leader, I received some videos showing that the arrests started last night in the Tedora area. They said the Libyan police have started arresting Nigerians, whether they have passports or not. Some of us are already afraid, calling everywhere to ask what to do. Sometimes, as community leaders, we are helpless. Even the Nigerian Embassy’s hands are sometimes tied. But international bodies need to intervene in this situation.”

Two days after Omoregbie’s report, another Nigerian in the country, Omo Oba Legba, said the arrests had intensified.

In a Facebook video posted on Wednesday, he said, “My Arab master, who is a policeman, just called me now and told me not to go out to buy anything because they have started arresting Nigerians in Libya. I asked him, ‘What about those with Libyan passports?’ But he said they aren’t considering passports and that anyone who is Nigerian will be arrested. That’s why I decided to alert our people so they know how far this issue has gone.

“The Super Eagles had what they needed to and returned. They got their money, whether they won or not. But see the problem they’ve caused for us. If Nigeria was good, we wouldn’t have come to Libya to suffer. The Nigerian team only faced a day of hardship—what about other Nigerians here who face the same treatment every day? My Arab told me that until the CAF fine is overturned, they won’t stop arresting Nigerians. Please, we appeal to the Nigerian government to come to our aid.”

Similarly, Libya INF.TV posted a video on Thursday where a Nigerian pleaded with the Libyan police to stop the indiscriminate arrests.

He said, “Football has nothing to do with us. If you want to catch them, catch them when they come here. Leave us out of this. And to the Nigerian team, I don’t know what you’re thinking, coming here to play football with the Libyan people. You don’t have sense. Please, Libyan police, please.”

Libyan rights institution warns security agents

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya, Ahmed Hamza, has warned against retaliatory acts targeting Nigerian workers in the country in the aftermath of the CAF ruling.

According to Libya Review, Hamza noted that some media platforms were inciting hostility towards foreigners by portraying them as illegal or irregular residents.

“We warn against any form of retaliation against foreign and migrant workers in Libya, especially Nigerian workers, by security forces, armed groups, or citizens,” Hamza stated.

He cautioned that unlawful actions against foreigners could lead to repercussions in domestic and even international justice.

When Sunday PUNCH contacted the Libyan Embassy in Abuja for comments, a lady who identified herself simply as Rose said she was not authorised to talk.

She said, “As you can see, I am not the media secretary. Whatever information you need, kindly put it into writing and send it to the embassy. Then, they will respond to it. Address the letter to the ambassador of the Libyan embassy.”

Our correspondent wrote a letter of inquiry to the embassy as requested. However, 48 hours later, there was no response.

A request for information from the Nigerian Embassy in Tripoli was also not replied to as of press time.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eche Abu-Obe, simply said, “I have sent a message to the Director Africa.”

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission had yet to respond to calls and a text message from Sunday PUNCH as of the time of filing this report.

Ex-envoy urges probe

A former Nigerian ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the Federal Government should investigate the retaliatory arrests and report Libya to the African Union.

He said, “The Nigerian government doesn’t have hardcore evidence, and if they do, they should report Libya to the African Union. If Nigerians collate evidence of the maltreatment, the Federal Government can protest directly to the Libyan government over what Nigerians are facing.”

Amedu-Ode further advised Nigerians in the Arab country to keep low profiles until the situation was under control.

“If the atmosphere is too hot for them, they should leave Libya,” he added.

Less than 11 days to the handing over to the Governor-elect, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, by the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the State Accountant General, Mr. Julius O. Anelu, and four other officials said to be signatories to the state government accounts.

It was gathered that the five state government officials, reportedly arrested on Thursday, were being held at the Benin office of the agency.

It was also gathered that the officials were arrested apparently to forestall last minute withdrawal from the state account following thee budget allegedly approved by the Edo State House of Assembly about two weeks to the inauguration of the new government.

The source said with the arrest, government activities had been halted, as the state was unable to pay emoluments due to civil servants, pensions, and other public servants.

He added that other statutory payments such as security bills and other obligations were also affected.

According to the source, the commission intend to keep the arrested officials till November 12, when the tenure of the outgoing government would end.

When contacted, the EFCC spokesman in Edo State, Williams Oseghale, simply directed our reporter to the Commission’s Public Relations Officer, Dele Oyewale.

When contacted on the phone, Oyewale requested our correspondent to send a text message.

Text messages were sent to Oyewale’s WhatsApp number and his line as an SMS, but he was yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.

President Bola Tinubu has reacted to the advice from the National Economic Council (NEC) to withdraw the Tax Reform Bill from the National Assembly, News360 Nigeria reports.

The NEC, led by Vice-President Kashim Shettima and comprising state governors, on Thursday, recommended withdrawal due to disagreements and concerns raised by various groups.

In a statement on Friday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said President Tinubu commends the NEC members for their advice but believes the legislative process provides an opportunity for inputs and necessary changes without withdrawing the bills. Tinubu urges the NEC to allow the process to take its full course while welcoming further consultations and engagement with stakeholders.

The Tax Reform Bills aim to streamline Nigeria’s tax administration, overhaul tax operations, and align them with global best practices. The four bills include The Nigeria Tax Bill, which eliminates multiple taxation and simplifies tax obligations, making Nigeria’s economy more competitive.

The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill proposes new rules governing tax administration across federal, state, and local jurisdictions to ease taxpayer compliance and enhance revenue for all tiers of government. The Nigeria Revenue Service Bill re-establishes the Federal Inland Revenue Service as the Nigeria Revenue Service to better reflect its mandate as the revenue agency for the entire federation.

Additionally, the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill proposes creating a Joint Revenue Board to replace the Joint Tax Board, covering federal and state tax authorities. This bill also establishes the Office of Tax Ombudsman under the Joint Revenue Board to protect taxpayers’ interests and facilitate dispute resolution.

The statement reads:

PROPOSED TAX REFORM BILLS SHOULD GO THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS; INPUTS CAN BE MADE AT PUBLIC HEARINGS

President Bola Tinubu has received the National Economic Council’s recommendation that the tax reform bills already sent to the National Assembly be withdrawn for further consultation.

President Tinubu commends the National Economic Council members, especially Vice President Kashim Shettima and the 36 State Governors, for their advice.
He believes that the legislative process, which has already begun, provides an opportunity for inputs and necessary changes without withdrawing the bills from the National Assembly.

While urging the NEC to allow the process to take its full course, President Tinubu welcomes further consultations and engagement with key stakeholders to address any reservations about the bills while the National Assembly considers them for passage.

When President Tinubu set up the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform in August 2023, he had only one objective: to reposition the economy for better productivity and efficiency and make the operating environment for investment and businesses more conducive. This objective remains more critical even today than ever before.

The Committee worked for over a year and received inputs from various segments of society across the geopolitical zones, including trade associations, professional bodies, different Ministries and Government Agencies, Governors, traders, students, business owners, and the organised private sector.

The tax reform bills that emerged were distilled from the extensive work of the Presidential Committee.

The tax bills before the National Assembly aim to streamline Nigeria’s tax administration processes, completely overhaul the nation’s tax operations, and align them with global best practices.

Below are the major highlights of the four Bills.
1. The Nigeria Tax Bill: This Bill seeks to eliminate multiple taxation and make Nigeria’s economy more competitive by simplifying tax obligations for businesses and individuals nationwide.

2. The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill (NTAB): This Bill proposes new rules governing the administration of all taxes in the country. Its objective is to harmonise tax administrative processes across federal, state and local jurisdictions to ease taxpayers’ compliance and enhance the revenue for all tiers of government.

3. The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill: The Bill seeks to re-establish the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to better reflect its mandate as the revenue agency for the entire federation, not just the Federal Government.

4. The Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill: This Bill proposes creating a Joint Revenue Board to replace the Joint Tax Board, covering federal and all state tax authorities. The fourth bill will also establish the Office of Tax Ombudsman under the Joint Revenue Board, protecting taxpayers’ interests and facilitating dispute resolution.

The bills’ overarching objective is to effectively coordinate federal, state, and local tax authorities, thereby eliminating the overlapping responsibilities, confusion, and inefficiency that have plagued tax administration in Nigeria for decades.

Under existing laws, taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT), Tertiary Education Tax (TET), Value-Added Tax (VAT), and other taxing provisions in numerous laws are administered separately, with individual legislative frameworks.

The proposed reforms seek to consolidate these numerous taxes, integrating CIT, PIT, CGT, VAT, PPT, and excise duties into a unified structure to reduce administrative fragmentation.

While there may be differences in approach or specific provisions of the new tax bills, what is not in contention is the need to review our tax laws and how we administer them to serve our overall national development agenda.

President Tinubu will continue to respect and welcome the advice and recommendations of the National Economic Council, an essential constitutional organ of government on economic matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPzc-HEnrY8

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says that persons below the age of seven are the ones that cannot be charged to court.

According to him, anyone who is above seven years of age can be charged to court if found wanting.

He stated this in an interview with Channels TV while reacting to the public outcry for the arraignment of 67 minors in a court in Abuja for alleged treason and destruction of public property during the End Bad Governance protest.

Speaking during the interview, Adejobi said;

‘’Those that are not criminally liable under the law, those are the ones that are below the age of seven. Once you are more than seven, you can be charged to court, The only thing is that you have to follow certain procedures to do that. None of them is less than seven. I think the youngest should be 13. The fact that you are a 13 year old doesn’t mean you cannot be charged to court. In the Children and Young Persons act, we can still charge you to court.

We have charged them to court for this on behalf of the Federal government of Nigeria. The police has taken the bull by the horn.

Price of Dangote’s fuel higher than other sources, we have to pity Nigerians – IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, on Friday said that the price of fuel from Dangote Refinery, as of last week, was higher than the price of the product from other sources.

IPMAN said members must go where the price is lower and where they get profit, adding that they have to pity Nigerians.

Yakubu Suleiman, National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, stated this on Friday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme.

Suleiman argued that prices of petroleum products are determined by international pricing, insisting that Dangote is supposed to be disclosing the amount he’s going to sell his product.

He said: “Prices are determined by international pricing. Dangote is supposed to be saying like every day, ‘This is the price I’m going to sell this product’.

“But he cannot be able to do that unless he (Dangote) engages the stakeholders. And you cannot just say okay, we must only buy in his own depot.

“IPMAN cannot just sit down and say ‘We will tell our members, all of you go to Dangote Refinery and buy your product and load’. We cannot just do that. This is a deregulated system.

We have to source where products are much cheaper. Then we would inform our members to go and load product in any depot that the product is cheaper.

“If Dangote has a product and is selling N1000, let’s assume, and there are other places that are selling N900. We can’t just say because for the sake we are doing business with Dangote, ‘Okay go and do it’. It’s not profitable to us. We must go where the price is lower; where we get profit. That is it.”

Continuing, the IPMAN scribe added, “We are in a deregulated economy but Dangote is like trying to monopolize the whole issue. Fine. Let us know if there is monopoly in the whole system. But we believe that it’s now deregulation.

“Like last week, Dangote’s price is higher than other places. Because if you can go by the price, the international price, crude has already started coming down.

“If I could remember, as of last week, he gave N995 per litre, and you have to bring your cargo and load. How much will you pay the cargo? How much will be the other charges to your depot? And how much will go to the depot? And we expect independent marketers to go and sell it. Can we go and sell? Look at we have to pity Nigerians.”