Showbiz Star, Prince CJ, Gives Back To The Less Privileged

It was celebration galore penultimate week as top musician who also doubles as a clearing agent, Nwanazia Daniel Chukwu popularly known as Prince CJ touched lives with his charity organization, Global Lives Touching Foundation.

The outreach that took place in Delta State, Ogwashi had top personalities from all walks of life who commended the organizers for putting up such a great initiative.

According to the prime mover of the foundation, Prince CJ the mission and vision of the charity humanitarian is to provide for the welfare of members, especially the less privileged which includes; the needy widows, widowers and those facing different challenges.

In his words, he said "The charity organization is an avenue to reach out to the needy and also to organise training, workshops, seminars to empower youths."

 

"Aside from that, the youths are going to enjoy free scholarship and trade empowerment funds. It will also promote, care and make peace in the environment, communities, schools, sports, religious bodies and many more."

He also said, " “Global Lives Touching Foundation is a non-governmental organization that was established to fend for youths, widows and the needy. We have contributed towards the education of the young and old. Today, we have donated gifts, food and working tools for the people of Ogwashi. We also have over many students on our scholarship scheme and we hope to do more because we realized that, when a woman loses her husband, both the family members and people around her abandon her to her faith. Prior to that, we have made it our priority to be a shoulder they can lean on anytime they are in need. We don’t just give, we empower, educate and train them on skill acquisition so as to enable them to fend for themselves and their children.” he concluded.

 

It will also interest you to know that the NGO is also meant to inspire and raise youths to a position of responsibility and independence with a deep sense of purpose and destiny and be useful to the society.  And the organisation is also assisting in the health, safety and general well being of the members of the society.

 

Awujale Becomes Royal Patron of Ijebu Fashion Festival

The Awujale of Ijebuland, HRM Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona

One of the most sought after fashion festivals in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, the Ijebu Fashion Festival has assumed a new dimension.

 

The paramount ruler and Awujale of Ijebuland, HRM Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona has accepted to be the face of the socio cultural festival which has attracted thousands of Fashionpreneurs in recent time.

 

The organiser of the event, Miss Ayokunle Maraiyesa made this known yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

 

"As the grand custodian of Ijebu culture and traditions, we are happy to announce that our Royal Majesty has approved our request to be decorated as the Grand Royal Patron of Ijebu Fashion Festival.

 

The Ijebu Fashion Festival is a platform to promote and empower fashion entrepreneurs. The 2021edition which was the maiden edition of the festival was a huge success, with over 1000 participants with different activities in attendance.

Miss Maraiyesa

We are here to create a massive network, and setting the foundation for worldwide commercial influx and patronage of Ijebu designers. I believe IFF fashion magazine we will be launching this year, which will be in digital and printed copies will help advance this too”, she added.

 

Further information has it that the festival will come up on November 18 and 19, 2022, and highlight of the event will be the launching of IFF magazine, a lookbook for fashion entrepreneurs.

 

Other activities include IFF masterclasses, game contests, trade fair, fashion shows, pageantry and awards.

Amb Yusuf Buratai Honoured by His Community

In a rare show of love and commendable effort, the people of Buratai town, Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, on Tuesday 6th September 2022 held a reception in honour of one of their illustrious sons, His Excellency, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai (rtd), former Chief of Army Staff and Nigeria’s ambassador to the Republic of Benin. During  the occasion, community and youth leaders took turn to shower encomiums on Lieutenant General TY Buratai for being a worthy son and an ambassador to the town. They also prayed for him and commended the sterling efforts of the DG TBIWP, Brigadier General Abdullahi Dadan Garba (rtd) and the CO FOB Buratai, Major YH Kachalla for their continuous support to the community and its environs. The people through Galadiman Buratai, Alhaji Lawan Maina Barka and Alhaji Hassan Sarkin  Barkan Buratai, also made a presentation of a shield, bow, arrow and a sword as a mark of honour and respect to the Ambassador.

 

In his remarks Lt Gen TY Buratai thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for entrusting with the responsibility of commanding the Nigerian Army in one of our most critical times of our national history and thereafter his appointment as Nigeria’s ambassador to Benin Republic. He also thanked the good people of Buratai town and environs for their continued love, support and prayers. He described the honour to him as to the Armed Forces of Nigeria for their untiring efforts of bringing peace and stability in the northeast and other parts of the country. He called on them to continue to support and cooperate with the military and security forces. He urged them to take advantage of the interest-free thrift loan scheme to enhance their vocations and also asked the youths to take their education very seriously. 

Present at the occasion were the Galadiman Buratai, Alhaji Lawan Maina Barka, Brigadier General Abdullahi Dadan-Garba (rtd), Director General of Tukur Buratai Institute for War and Peace (TBIWP), Major General Lawal Zakari, Director of Strategic Communication at TBIWP, Colonel Sabi’u Ado (rtd), Alhaji Sultan Hassan, Brigadier Sani Usman Kukasheka (Rtd) mni, Consultant Director, Corporate Affairs and Information Services, Nigerian Resource Centre, Engineer Mohammed Hassan, Lieutenant Colonel SN Bemu, Commanding Officer of 231 Battalion, and Major YM Kachalla, Commanding Officer of 135 Battalion  Buratai, elders and youths of the community amongst other dignitaries.

What The Education Tax Is Doing in Nigeria’s Public Tertiary Institutions *by Aisha Attahiru Jega

Muhammad Nami, FIRS chairman

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 longer shoulder the responsibility of funding institutions alone. This led to the promulgation of the Education Tax Act No7 in January 1993, alongside other education related Decrees. The Decree imposed a 2% tax on the assessable profits of all companies in Nigeria which was earmarked to fund public tertiary institutions in the country.

The Education Trust Fund (ETF), now Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act (replaced in 2011), is an intervention agency set up to provide supplementary support to all levels of public tertiary institutions, with the main objective of using funding alongside project management for the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of Tertiary Education in Nigeria. Initially the Education Tax Act No7 of 1993 mandated the Fund to operate as an Intervention Fund to all levels of public education (Federal, State and Local).

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is today empowered by the Education Act to assess and collect Education Tax. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) also known as “The Fund” administers the tax imposed by the Act, and disburses the amounts to educational institutions at federal, state and local government levels. It also monitors the projects executed with the funds allocated to beneficiaries. The distribution for tertiary education is shared between Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in the ratio of 2:1:1. The 1998 amendment changed the disbursement to 50% (Tertiary education); 25% (polytechnics) and 25% (Colleges of Education) with emphasis placed on science and technology due to the expensive nature of training within the country.

The Fund is managed by an eleven (11) member Board of Trustees with members drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country, as well as representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. It is disbursed for the general improvement of education in federal and state tertiary education institutions, in form of annual and special interventions specifically for the provision and/or maintenance of: Essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, institutional materials and equipment, research and publications, academic staff training and development and, any other need which, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, is critical and essential for the improvement and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions.

So far, what has the Education Tax done for Nigeria?

Tertiary education tax is imposed on every Nigerian company at the rate of 2.5% (as amended in the 2021 Finance Act) of the assessable profit for each year of assessment. The tax is payable within two months of an assessment notice from the FIRS. In practice, many companies pay the tax on a self-assessment basis along with their Companies Income Tax. Failure to pay education tax comes with a penalty. For a first offence, the fine is N10,000 or imprisonment for a term of three years while for a second or subsequent offence, the fine is N20,000 or imprisonment for a term of five years or it could be both fine and imprisonment.

From 1998-2018, a total of about N1 trillion was disbursed by TETFUND to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, and as of 2021, 221 institutions were beneficiaries of the fund including 87 universities, 65 Polytechnics, and 69 Colleges of Education. The fund has been used to cater for interventions such as physical development in public tertiary institutions, including construction of physical infrastructure like lecture halls and theatres, laboratories, construction of libraries and academic and non-academic staff offices, procurement of equipment and furniture, procurement of hard and soft copies of books and academic journals, as well as ICT software services/licenses.

Another intervention scheme funded by education tax is library development in tertiary institutions. This is done through the provision of library equipment and e-learning facilities. The fund is also used to support authorship of relevant indigenous academic textbooks for teaching and learning in tertiary institutions and the establishment of 7 academic publishing centers and funding the publishing of academic research journals. Part of the fund is set aside and used to offer Academic staff in Nigerian public tertiary institutions study fellowships, to undertake masters and doctorate degrees. There is also the National Research Fund (NRF) a non-infrastructural special intervention that is aimed at promoting the conduct of applied research and innovation by academics, in public tertiary institutions which focuses on Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation, Humanities and Social Sciences. As at 2020, the NRF funded 457 projects and this dates back to its inception.

It is a known fact that the foundation of education is frail when education is not well funded, and the products of such foundation are weak intellectuals. The Education Tax has impacted positively in Nigeria’s educational development with particular focus on public tertiary institutions. It is no gainsaying that without the Education Tax, earmarked for the transformation of education in Nigeria, the nation’s public tertiary institutions would be a backwater compared to its counterparts in other climes. It is not surprising however, that there is the conspicuous stamp of “TETFUND” on most of the infrastructure in our public tertiary institutions today, and this is courtesy of the taxes we pay.

How Robbers Raided Socialite Olabisi Akanbi's Labo Autos for Three Hours, Stole Cars Worth N200m

 

 

Labo Autos, a car sale mart owned by Lagos socialite, Olabisi Akanbi, was penultimate week, raided by a gang of armed robbers.

 

The car lot located at Gowon Estate, Egbeda in Alimosho area, Lagos, was reportedly vandalized by the robbers who reportedly wore masks and cars which prices were estimated at about N200 million stolen.

 

The robbery operation which was recorded by the CCTV mounted at the lot showed the night guard named Ibrahim being assaulted and ordered at gunpoint to open the exit gate at the back of the shop

According to the Labo Autos CEO, the cars were burgled with their chassis taken away and valuable items, including windshields and side mirrors.

 

During the incident that lasted about three hours, the guard was reportedly chained to the inner gate and covered with waste bin bag.

 

The incident has been reported at the area police division, we learnt.

Trade Expert, Adekunle Ayoola, Seeks Deeper Poland-Nigeria Relations

 

An expert in international trade and Chief Executive Officer of Afro Euro Investment, Prince Adekunle Adebayo Ayoola has called for a closer Poland-Nigeria bilateral relationship.

 

Prince Ayoola revealed that he was very confident that a stronger Poland-Nigeria bilateral cooperation would translate to greater prosperity for the two nations.

 

He said given how naturally endowed the two countries are, the desire of the two nations to be partners in progress would no doubt bring with it great economic gains and leave open several widows of opportunities.

 

Ayoola made this disclosure while speaking on the imperatives of the working visit of the President of Poland, Andr...Duda to the country.

Ayoola

 

The international trade expert who is based in Poland has however urged the Nigerian government to use the occasion of this visit to demand a comprehensive renewal of the trade relationship that will help the country create opportunities for its agricultural commodities to make inroads into Europe through Poland.

 

He said the country could also benefit in the area of technology transfer, shipbuilding, and cooperation on security among others.

NANS Asks Police to Arrest 'President-Elect', Umar Faruk *he's an impostor

 

The Convention Planning Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students has released the list of the winners of the Saturday elections of the student body.

 

The committee also asked security operatives to arrest impostors parading themselves as new leaders of the association.

 

One Umar Faruk Lawal had earlier declared himself as the president-elect.

 

However, the election committee in a communique signed by its chairman, Bappare Muhammad and clerk, Adeyemi Azeez named Barambu, a student of the Federal University, Dutse as new president of the association.

 

According to the committee, Barambu polled 292 votes to defeat his rival, Lawal, who polled just eight votes.

 

Former NANS JCC Ondo chairman, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, is the Vice President, External Affairs.

 

 

 

Akinteye polled 245 votes to defeat his only rival, Dan Fodio who polled 43 votes.

 

Below is the list of the new elected officers;

1. Usman Umar Barambu
President Elect
2. Attah Nnalue Felix
Senate President Elect
3. Usman Baba Kankia
Secretary General Elect
4. Victor W C Ezenagu
VP National Elect
5. Akinteye Babatunde
VP External Elect
6. Suleiman Muhammad Sarki
VP Special Duties Elect
7. Giwa Yisa Topnotch
National PRO Elect
8. Chinyelu Chinelo Okolie
National Treasurer Elect
9. Vanessa Egbeahie
Vice President Campus Affairs Elect
10. Mohammed Shehu
Ex-Officio 2 Elect
11. Ossai Chika
Assistant Secretary General Elect
12. Godwin Asuquo
Financial Secretary Elect
13. Salawudeen Kamorudeen
Director of Travel and Exchange Elect
14. Umar Afkhawa
Sports Director Elect
15. Ekundina Segun Elvis
Deputy Senate President Elect
16. Olatunji Baki
Clerk Elect