World News

FG to ban ‘ponmo’ to revive leather industry

FG to ban ‘ponmo’ to revive leather industry

The federal government says it is proposing legislation to ban the consumption of animal skin, locally known as ponmo, in the country to revive tanneries. Muhammad Yakubu, director-general, Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria, said this in Abuja on Sunday. Yakubu said the legislation was necessary to revive the comatose leather industry in the country. He said the habit of eating animal skin, which has no nutritional value, should be stopped to save the industry and boost the nation’s economy. The director-general added that the institute, in collaboration with stakeholders in the industry, would approach the national…
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Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, One of the Greatest Innovations of FG, Says FIRS Boss, Nami

Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, One of the Greatest Innovations of FG, Says FIRS Boss, Nami

The Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme has been described by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami as one of the greatest innovations of the Federal government in its resolve to tackle Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit. The scheme which provides for public-private partnership intervention in the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of critical road infrastructure in the country with participants being entitled to Tax Credits against their future Companies Income Tax was the subject of debate at the Senate Stakeholder and Public Hearing on the 2023 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Paper, which held yesterday at…
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BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II Dies At 96

BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II Dies At 96

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. Her eldest son, Charles, 73, succeeds as king immediately, according to centuries of protocol, beginning a new, less certain chapter for the royal family after the queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign. More to follow…
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What the Education Tax is doing in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions

What the Education Tax is doing in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions

Some of the most prevalent challenges confronting public tertiary institutions in Nigeria are funding, management problems, obsolete equipment, poor learning facilities and infrastructure. Chief among these that deals the worst blow is funding. Most of the public tertiary institutions in the country are grossly underfunded. When there were just a few tertiary institutions, Government took up the burden of funding the institutions solely but from the mid 1980’s, there was a massive increase in the number of public tertiary institutions and in students’ enrolment in Nigeria. This increase got to the point where Government openly acknowledged that it could no…
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Supreme Court affirms Ruto’s victory as Kenyan president

Supreme Court affirms Ruto’s victory as Kenyan president

Kenyan Supreme Court, on Monday morning, affirmed the victory of William Ruto in the country’s presidential election held last month. Ruto was declared the winner of the just concluded presidential election in the East African country. He polled 50.49 percent of the total votes cast (7,176,141) to defeat his closest rival, ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga who polled 48.85 percent (6,942,930) of votes cast. Mr Ruto also achieved the minimum 25 percent of votes in 39 counties. However, Mr Odinga had rejected the results alleging irregularities, and went to court as a result. Four of the seven electoral commission members also…
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Again, naira crosses N700/$ mark at parallel market

Again, naira crosses N700/$ mark at parallel market

The naira has continued its downward trend, falling to N702 per dollar at the parallel market on Monday. The figure represents N10 or 1.4 percent depreciation compared to the N692 it traded last week. Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos and Abuja, who spoke to TheCable, said that there is high demand for foreign currency in the street market. The street traders, popularly known as ‘abokis‘ put the buying price of the dollar at N690 and the selling price at N700-N702, leaving a profit margin of N10-N12. Last month, the naira weakened to N707 a dollar. It later strengthened…
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Are States, LGAs Now Above The Law?

Are States, LGAs Now Above The Law?

We are living in interesting times in Nigeria. Issues of public discourse never cease to amaze one in this country. When you think that you have seen and heard it all, something risible would just pop up like a bolt out of the blues to add to the dramatic turn of events that are unfolding all around us. The Body of Attorneys-General of the 36 States of the Federation (BOAG), rising from its Conference which was held in Lagos State recently, issued a communique in which it erroneously claimed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) "lacks the power to…
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Taxes cushion oil revenue slump as FIRS grows collections

Taxes cushion oil revenue slump as FIRS grows collections

.....Corporate taxes trump oil earnings for first time on record Although taxes now seem to be the main revenue source of the government, it would need even more attention to become the new oil as the amount generated from the source remains low relative to government spending For the first time in nearly half a century, non-oil revenue usurped petrodollars to become the main source of the Nigerian federal government’s revenue in 2021 and that dominance has grown since then. So dominant has non-oil revenue become compared to oil that in the recently published financial accounts of the federal government,…
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MTN Makes U-Turn, Admits Not Paying N757.7bn Tax To FIRS

MTN Makes U-Turn, Admits Not Paying N757.7bn Tax To FIRS

Nigeria’s biggest network provider, MTN Nigeria has reversed itself on the claims that it remitted N757.5bn to the Federal Government in 2021. The company said last week that the actual amount paid to the tax authority- the Federal Inland Revenue Service in 2021 was N291.67bn. “Without prejudice but specific to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), direct remittances by the company to FIRS in 2021 was N291.7bn. While the balance represents VAT, levies, fees and duties paid to other Federal Government agencies.,” MTN reversed earlier claims. The telecom firm said VAT on revenue paid to the government was N98.99bn; Withholding…
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Naira continues free fall at official rate, exchanges at N426.58 per dollar

Naira continues free fall at official rate, exchanges at N426.58 per dollar

The naira lost against the dollar on Wednesday at the Investors and Exporters’ window, exchanging at N426.58. The figure represented a depreciation of 0.57 per cent compared with N424.17 it exchanged for the dollar on Tuesday. The open indicative rate closed at N426.50 to the dollar on Wednesday. An exchange rate of N444 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N426.58. The naira sold for as low as N414 to the dollar within the day’s trading. A total of 144.03 million dollars was traded in foreign exchange at the official Investors…
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