News
BREAKING: Rivers Crisis: Four more commissioners resign from Fubara’s cabinet
Four more commissioners have resigned from Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s cabinet in Rivers State as a political crisis continues to engulf the oil-rich state, deepening the state crisis.
The latest officials to put in their resignation are the Commissioner for Works, George-Kelly Alabo, and his Social Welfare and Rehabilitation counterpart, Inime Aguma.
The four commissioners have sent their separate letters of resignation to Mr Fubara.
The four resignations came hours after the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Zacchaeus Adangor’s resignation letter was being circulated on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday morning.
Mr Adangor’s resignation letter was, however, dated 14 November, about a month before it became public knowledge.
The resignations are apparently linked to the power tussle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The political crisis in Rivers has taken a toll on the state’s legislature – 27 lawmakers who defected from the PDP, of which Mr Fubara is a member, to the APC, had their seats declared vacant by a factional speaker who is loyal to the governor. As it is, the House of Assembly is run by only four out of 31 members.
The four lawmakers that resigned are loyal to Mr Fubara while the 27 are with Mr Wike.
On Wednesday, while Governor Fubara was presenting the state’s 2024 budget proposal to the four-member House of Assembly, the state government was demolishing the House of Assembly Complex.
Although the government said it decided to demolish the complex because the integrity of the building had been compromised after an explosion and fire incident which occurred in October during an attempt by some lawmakers to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara, some people believe the action is to foreclose the 27 lawmakers from holding plenary.
Quoting Mr Alabo, the works commissioner, as saying in his resignation letter to Governor Fubara, “My decision to resign is anchored on my conscience, personal philosophy, and professional ethics.
“This decision was taken after deep introspection,” he added.
The three commissioners who have resigned served previously in Mr Wike’s cabinet. It is believed that Mr Wike had influenced their appointment into Mr Fubara’s cabinet.
News
Mokwa flood victims get N1m each, Shop Owners N500k
Aside from the cash grant, the state government also distributed food items to the affected families to ease their burden
Niger State Government has commenced the disbursement of its earlier pledge of N1 billion in relief funds to victims of Mokwa flooding in Mokwa Local Council of the state.
The state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said that the relief funds aimed at providing immediate relief and temporary resettlement support for the victims while awaiting the Federal Government’s intervention in constructing permanent housing units for the displaced people.
Represented by his deputy, Yakub Garba, Bago explained that each household that was affected by the flood received N1 million cash grant.
He also said that shop owners, whose means of livelihood were disrupted, received N500,000 each.
Aside from the cash grant, the state government also distributed food items to the affected families to ease their burden.
President Bola Tinubu will, on Thursday, sign into law four groundbreaking tax reform bills that will transform Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue framework.
According to the press release signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) the four bills, the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, were passed by the National Assembly after extensive consultations with various interest groups and stakeholders.
When the new tax laws become operational, they are expected to significantly transform tax administration in the country, leading to increased revenue generation, improved business environment, and a boost in domestic and foreign investments.
The historic presidential assent to the bills at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will be witnessed by the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senate Majority Leader, House Majority Leader, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and his House counterpart.
The Chairman of the Governors Forum, the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, the Minister of Finance and Coordination Minister of the Economy, and the Attorney General of the Federation will also attend the ceremony.
One of the four bills is the Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), which aims to consolidate Nigeria’s fragmented tax laws into a harmonised statute.
By reducing the multiplicity of taxes and eliminating duplication, the bill will enhance the ease of doing business, reduce taxpayer compliance burdens, and create a more predictable fiscal environment.
The second bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, will establish a uniform legal and operational framework for tax administration across federal, state, and local governments.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the third bill, repeals the current Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and creates a more autonomous and performance-driven national revenue agency— the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
It defines the NRS’s expanded mandate, including non-tax revenue collection, and lays out transparency, accountability, and efficiency mechanisms.
The fourth bill is the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill. It provides for a formal governance structure to facilitate cooperation between revenue authorities at all levels of government.
It introduces essential oversight mechanisms, including establishing a Tax Appeal Tribunal and an Office of the Tax Ombudsman.
The Lagos State enforcement squad of the MOE&WR led by KAI operatives on Wednesday burst an illegal abbatoir which was being operated at a private residence at Succo road directly opposite the RRS Barracks and LASTMA Yard in Oko Oba, Agege, arresting some of those found slaughtering animals for public consumption in the location.
The operation followed a tip-off from a whistle blower.
“The enforcement team said, the contaminated meat from cows and goats have been confiscated to prevent it from entering the food chain”.
“This action of the operators of the abbatoir is in defiance of the closure of the Oko Oba Abbatoir and poses great health dangers and environmental risks to the law abiding residents of the area”.
“We need to make it clear that such disregard for public health and sanitation will not be tolerated in Lagos State” .
“Every Government’s primary responsibility is the protection of lives and properties and we will not shirk that responsbbility.”
“We will continue to ensure that only safe and approved public facilities are allowed to operate within our communities.”the statement reads.
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