News
Group Calls On President Tinubu To Renew Tompolo’s Pipelines Surveillance Contract
*** Says Those Protesting Against Renewal Of Contract To Ex-militant Leader Are Major Beneficiaries Of Unpatriotic Nigerians Stealing Crude Oil
*** Tasks NNPC, NSA To Reveal Names Of Those Behind Oil Theft
The Niger Delta Indigenous Movement For Radical Change (NDIMRC) has called on the President, Senator Bola Tinubu to renew the pipelines Surveillance Contract of ex-war lord in the Niger Delta Region, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) for the benefit of the nation, saying no effort should be spared by the Federal Government in collaborating with the former militant leader in the protection of critical oil and gas infrastructure and securing permanent peace in the oil rich Niger Delta Region.
While saying that the oil from the Niger Delta Region remains the main stay of the nation’s economy, the group in a press statement, implored the President not to listen to mischief makers who are not happy with the way Tompolo has handled the issue of oil bunkering in the region since he was awarded the pipelines Surveillance contract by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group in the statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma, Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Stanley Mukoro, advised President Tinubu to go ahead and renew the pipelines Surveillance contract to the repentant ex-war lord, saying he has helped the nation greatly since he was awarded the pipeline Surveillance contract.
The Group described Tompolo as a man of peace who wants the best always for the nation and the people, but being fought by unpatriotic elements in the country who are bent on crippling the nation’s economy through the stealing of crude oil.
According to the statement; ” We want to commend President Tinubu for the good things he is doing for the nation, but we want to appeal to him not to listen to mischief makers and enemies of our country who are waging unnecessary war against a patriotic Nigerian, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) who has been able to put those stealing our oil under check. They are out fighting a good man for nothing, but for their selfish interests. These people are bent on crippling the economy at a time your government is looking for money to meet the needs of Nigerians and fix the country”.
“These mischief makers and enemies of the nation have done everything possible to ensure that the pipeline Surveillance contract to Tompolo is never renewed. We want to let the President and the whole world to know that Tompolo means well for our nation and those kicking against the renewal of his pipeline Surveillance contract are out to frustrate the efforts of a selfless man who is opposed to the selfish interests of a few as against the general interests of the nation and the people”, they said.
They also said that; ” Our investigation revealed that some disgruntled ex-militants who are opposed to the contract awarded to Tompolo by former President Buhari are working hand in hand with those stealing our oil and they have vowed to ensure that the pipeline contract to Tompolo is not renewed. Mr President, these people do not mean well for your administration and the Nigerian people and we are pleading with you not to listen to them, but go ahead and renew the contract for Tompolo. Those protesting against the renewal of the pipeline surveillance contract are beneficiaries of those stealing our crude oil. They should be investigated properly”.
“As independent oil monitoring group in the Niger Delta Region, we are very pleased with the way and manner Tompolo has helped to beat oil bunkerers to their own game. Oil production has gone up and more money has been generated by the Federal Government, thanks to the relentless efforts of Tompolo, a peace advocate in the Niger Delta Region and this is why we are very concerned about the renewal of his contract by the Federal Government in the interest of our dear nation. High Chief Government Ekpemupolo is a very peaceful person and his contributions to the advancement of the Niger Delta Region cannot be over emphasized”, the group stated.
The Group further said that; ” The people of the Niger Delta Region in particular and Nigerians in general will continue to remain grateful to High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a wonderful son of the Niger Delta Region for ensuring that those milking the nation dry through the stealing of our crude oil are checked properly and put on their toes. We are satisfied with his protection of critical oil and gas infrastructure, eradication of oil bunkering and increased generation of internal revenue and therefore the Federal Government should go ahead and renew his pipelines Surveillance contract”.
While imploring the Federal Government to collaborate with High Chief Government Ekpemupolo in the area of securing permanent peace in the Niger Delta Region and increasing oil production, the group stated that; “Let it be known, Mr President that some of these agitators and faceless stakeholders are being sponsored by the oil bunkerers and hiding under the cover of the APC. Our President should not give these so called agitators and their co-traveIlers that room to do whatever they want to do because they and their sponsors do not mean well for the nation. We want to implore the President that the NNPC and the National Security Adviser (NSA) should be encouraged to reveal the names of those behind illegal oil bunkering. When the current NSA was the Chairman of the EFCC, he did very well in the fight against corruption and so we are expecting him to support NNPC fully in fighting corruption in the oil sector for our production to go up and the common man will benefit greatly”.
“Some of these agitators being sponsored by those stealing our crude oil are working directly with the NNPC to guide our pipelines and we are using this medium to call on NNPC that these agitators being used by oil bunkerers and have been paid heavily by their sponsors should be shown the way out because they and their sponsors are saboteurs who are doing everything possible to frustrate the process already put in place by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo ( Tompolo)”, they stated in the press statement.
The Group revealed that; “Before the award of the pipeline Surveillance contract to Tompolo last year, we were only producing Seven Hundred Thousand barrels of oil per day, but it has risen to over One Million, Six Hundred Thousand barrels per day. The ex-militant who is waging this serious protest against the renewal of the contract for Tompolo do not even have a drop of oil in Ondo State, the oil in the area belongs to the IIajes and his area do not have a single oil and he is also the one working in the AKK Gas project of the NNPC and NNPC should know that he is the one being used by those stealing our crude oil to wage protest against the big wigs in NNPC and Tompolo. The searchlight should be beamed on him”.
News
Atiku Backs Suspension of new tax framework , following unconstitutional forgery
This constitutional violation exposes a troubling reality: a government obsessed with imposing ever-increasing tax burdens on impoverished Nigerians rather than creating conditions for prosperity.
Atiku Abubakar, ex- Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) has strengthened the public calls for the suspension of the Federal Government’s new tax laws following the discovery of illegal and unauthorized alterations made to document after passage by the National Assembly.
Atiku, in a statement he signed personally on Tuesday, asserted “What the National Assembly did not pass cannot become law.”
Atiku described the forgery of the tax law as “a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy.”
The statement reads: “This draconian overreach by the executive branch undermines the foundational principle of legislative supremacy in the making of laws.
It reveals a government more interested in extracting wealth from struggling citizens than empowering them to prosper.
The Unconstitutional Alterations
The following substantive changes were allegedly illegally inserted into the tax bills after parliamentary approval, in clear violation of Sections 4 and 58 of the 1999 Constitution:
1. New Coercive Powers Without Legislative Consent
*Arrest powers granted to tax authorities
*Property seizure and garnishment without court orders
*Enforcement sales conducted without judicial oversightThese provisions transform tax collectors into quasi-law enforcement agencies, stripping Nigerians of due process protections that the National Assembly deliberately included.
2. Increased Financial Burdens on Citizens*Mandatory 20% security deposit before appealing tax assessments*Compound interest on tax debts*Quart
erly reporting requirements with lowered thresholds
*Forced USD computation for petroleum operations
These changes erect barriers that prevent ordinary Nigerians from challenging unjust assessments while increasing compliance costs for businesses already struggling in a difficult economy.
3. Removal of Accountability Mechanisms
*Deletion of quarterly and annual reporting obligations to the National Assembly
*Elimination of strategic planning submission requirements
*Removal of ministerial supervisory provisions
By stripping away oversight mechanisms, the government has insulated itself from accountability while expanding its powers—a hallmark of authoritarian governance.
A Government Against Its People
This constitutional violation exposes a troubling reality: a government obsessed with imposing ever-increasing tax burdens on impoverished Nigerians rather than creating conditions for prosperity.
Instead of investing in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and economic empowerment that would expand the tax base organically, this administration chooses the path of aggressive extraction from an already struggling populace.
Nigeria’s poverty rate remains alarmingly high, unemployment continues to devastate families, and inflation erodes purchasing power daily.
Yet rather than supporting citizens to become more productive, thereby generating sustainable tax revenues, the government employs draconian measures to squeeze resources from people who have little left to survive.
True economic growth comes from empowering citizens, not impoverishing them further through punitive taxation and erosion of legal protections.
A thriving economy with prosperous citizens naturally generates robust tax revenues. But this requires vision, investment, and patience, qualities evidently lacking in an administration that resorts to constitutional manipulation to achieve short-term fiscal goals.
I hereby call upon:1. The Executive to immediately suspend the implementation of the tax law effective January 1, 2026 to give room for a proper investigation.
2. The National Assembly to immediately rectify these illegal alterations through proper legislative processes and hold accountable those responsible for this constitutional breach.
3. The Judiciary to strike down these unconstitutional provisions and reaffirm the sanctity of the legislative process.
4. Civil Society and all Nigerians to reject this assault on democratic principles and demand governance that serves the people rather than exploiting them.
5. The Government to abandon this path of extraction and oppression, and instead focus on policies that enable Nigerian citizens and businesses to thrive.
6. The EFCC to immediately investigate and prosecute those found culpable in the illegal alteration of our laws to extort and defraud the Nigerian people.
What the National Assembly did not pass cannot become law.
This fundamental principle must be defended, or we risk descending into arbitrary rule where constitutional safeguards mean nothing.
The Nigerian people deserve better than a government that circumvents democracy to impose hardship.
We demand accountability, constitutional compliance, and economic policies that build prosperity rather than deepen poverty.”
News
FIRS says NIN to serve as Tax ID for individuals
The new tax law is scheduled to come into force in January 2026 and mandates the use of a Tax ID for certain financial and economic transactions, including banking-related activities.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced that the National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will now automatically serve as the Tax Identification Number (Tax ID) for individual Nigerians under the country’s new tax regime.
FIRS also said that registered businesses will also no longer need a separate Tax Identification Number, as their Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration (RC) number will now function as their Tax ID.
The Service made the disclosure on its official X handle on Monday, ahead of the passage of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), one of the new tax laws introduced as part of the Federal Government’s broader fiscal and tax reform agenda .
The new tax law is scheduled to come into force in January 2026 and mandates the use of a Tax ID for certain financial and economic transactions, including banking-related activities.
News
Tanker crushes Akpabio’s dispatch rider to death
We went to Oyo State for the installation of our colleague, but the vehicles that came to pick me up at the Ibadan airport, unfortunately, my dispatch rider was run over by a tanker driver, and his head was shattered.
Ibrahim Hussaini, a dispatch rider attached to the convoy of Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, has been killed after a petrol tanker rammed into the motorcade.
Although the Senate President did not state the precise location of the crash, he said that it happened in Ibadan, Oyo State, shortly after members of his convoy picked him up from the Ibadan Airport.
Akpabio announced the death during the plenary on Tuesday; he extended condolences to the family of the deceased.
Dispatch riders, who are police officers, form part of the security detail of top government officials and typically escort convoys on motorcycles.
Dispatch riders, who are police officers, form part of the security detail of top government officials and typically escort convoys on motorcycles.
“We went to Oyo State for the installation of our colleague, but the vehicles that came to pick me up at the Ibadan airport, unfortunately, my dispatch rider was run over by a tanker driver, and his head was shattered.
“We just buried him 15 minutes ago in Kogi State. He left two wives and four children,” the Senate President told lawmakers
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