Senator Ndume Defeat Senator Lawan In Senate Leadership Mock Poll

EFFORTS to resolve the crisis over the choice of principal officers of All Progressives Congress, APC, ran into a stalemate yesterday night, even as Senator Ali Ndume defeated Senator Ahmad Lawan in a mock poll.
At the end of marathon meetings, party members from the North-East caucus of the party insisted on pushing forward their choice of Senator Ndume over the party’s preferred Senator Lawan as Senate Leader, which was zoned to the North-East.
The insistence of APC North-East senators was despite efforts, including an intervention by the immediate past President of the Senate, David Mark, to break the logjam in the ruling party, which had seen senators aligned to Senate President Bukola Saraki reject the party’s list of candidates for the four principal offices on offer to the party.
Vanguard gathered that a list of the names of four senators chosen by the party, which had been with the Senate President, would have been announced alongside that of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators today, but for the last minute rejection of Lawan by APC North-East caucus.
Principal Offices

WHY BUHARI’S ADC ORDERS DSS OPERATIVES OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL VILLA

The inter agency rivalry between the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Army came to head, yesterday, as the Aide de Camp to the President, Lt. Col Abubakar Lawal ordered personnel of the DSS out of the villa.
The incidence which happened at the residence of the President at the Presidential Villa was extended to all other points that had been manned by the personnel of the DSS.
But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said what happened was a realignment of security around the President which entailed that members of the armed forces would man the inner perimeter of the President security while operatives of the DSS would man the outer perimeter.

Anambra State Government tasks hotels and hospitality industries on tax Compliance

The State Government has called on owners of Hotels and other hospitality industries in the state who are yet
to pay prescribed taxes or levies or who are yet to remit taxes of their employees to do so immediately.
A public service announcement endorsed by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr (Mrs) Uju Nwogu, says that government would soon  commence prosecution of all tax and levies defaulters in the state.
It reminds the owners of such Hotels and hospitality industries that payment of taxes and levies is a civic responsibility and that deliberate evasion of tax payment or tax sheltering in any form is a crime punishable by law.

MEET JOSEPHINE OKEME POPULAR TRAFFIC WARDEN AT HERBERT MACAULAY WAY JIBOWU, LAGOS

Anyone who plies Herbert Macaulay, Jibowu, Yaba. Lagos definitely knows this woman named Josephine Okeme. She's a police officer, traffic warden extremely diligent and dedicated to her work. Her attitude is always pleasant, inspiring and she's definitely a worthy ambassador of the Nigerian Police Force.

NLNG pays $1.6bn dividend to Buhari government

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (NLNG), a joint venture between the government and foreign oil majors, has paid a handsome $1.6billion dividend to the new Muhammadu Buhari government. the company’s Chief executive, Babs Omotowa disclosed weekend.
Omotowa said since 1999, NLNG had generated some 85 billion dollars from exports since its inception 15 years ago.
He said the company, which was set up to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce liquefied natural gas for export, has also paid billions of dollars to the state in tax.
“Just a few days ago, we paid 1.6 billion dollars to the government as tax and this will go a long way to assist the new government in solving some of its problems,” he said.
The new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who became the first Nigerian to oust a sitting president in democratic elections in March, is facing a severe economic crunch.
About 20 of the country’s 36 states are unable to pay workers salaries.

One Fear Dead To Stray Bullet In Nanka

RESIDENTS of Nanka Orumba North Local government Area of Anambra State were recently,
dismayed as attempts by men of the National Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to uncover the mystery behind the death of a man from Enugu-Nanka who was recently found beheaded in his house resulted to another death.
  it was gathered that the NDLEA officials had same day, apprehended one Mr Sunday and other youths at a place in the village for questioning, over the death of the beheaded man.
  According to our source, some youths of the area staged a fight against the law enforcement agents who were said to have started shooting sporadically in the air in order to scare the youths away.
  In the process, Mr Sunday was hit in the abdomen by a stray bullet and he died on the way to a nearby hospital.

BUHARI CONSIDERS FASHOLA, ORONSAYE, OTHERS FOR VILLA POSITIONS

As the jostling for cabinet posts in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration intensifies, there are indications that the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Babatude Fashola; former Head of Service, Mr. Steve Oronsaye; a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Abdulrahman Dambazzau; a former Managing Director of New Nigerian Newspapers, Adamu Adamu, and a former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Col. Hammed Ali, may have been shortlisted for positions in the administration.

Specifically, Dambazzau is being considered for the post of National Security Adviser (NSA) while Fashola, Oronsaye and Ali are being considered for the position of Chief of Staff to the president.

Adamu, on the other hand, may be made the Principal Secretary to the president. Adamu is also being considered for the post of Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but has expressed reservations about heading the anti-corruption agency.

A frontline contender for the post of Chief of Staff is Fashola, whom Buhari personally likes and has a lot of confidence in. The president has already shown his confidence in Fashola by asking him to chair a committee he empanelled to review the 800-page report submitted by the Ahmed Joda-led Transition Committee.

Why FG Lifted Ban On Importation on Textile, Furniture Products

THE Federal Government has lifted the embargo on the importation of textile materials into the country. Confirming this in Lagos yesterday, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko said that Nigerians can now import textile materials subject to payment of right duty.
Speaking at the official launching of the implementation of Economic Community of West Africa States, (ECOWAS), Common External Tariff, (CET), Dikko said that the items were removed from the prohibition list in line with the laws guiding the CET regime. “Textile, furniture and others have become dutiable as both commodities have been removed from the Import Prohibition Lists and it is going to be implemented” said Abdullahi Dikko.
The Customs boss, who was represented by Victor Gbemudu, Assistant Comptroller General, Zone ‘A’, said that importers of these goods are now expected to pay 35 percent duty as agreed by ECOWAS member countries as well as the levy as contained in the Import Adjustment Tax (IAT).
“CET also comes with some adjustments for member countries. There are 97 chapters with the 5,899 tariff headings but every member country is entitled to 3 percent adjustment. “This 3 percent adjustment translates into 177 tariff headings to enable member countries to protect their local industries.”

APC GOVS ACCUSE ODIGIE-OYEGUN OF TAKING ‘BRIBE’

The chairman has been accused of playing double standards in the National Assembly leadership crisis. For example, he is accused of collecting “gifts” from Senator Bukola Saraki before the election, while pretending to be doing the bidding of party leaders who wanted the seat ceded to Ahmed Lawan.
Eight of the 23 Governors, including that of his home state (Adams Oshiomhole of Edo), were at the party’s secretariat yesterday to deliver the message to the embattled Chairman.
Other members of the Governors entourage, who met the Chairman behind closed door were: Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa).
To further prove Odigie-Oyegun’s complicity in the NASS leadership debacle, those who want him sacked recall that all the candidates sponsored for positions in both chambers of the National Assembly lost to their opponents who contested, against the directive of the party.
Also, while other party leaders were still engaging the camps of the Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the party Chairman openly endorsed their elections.
Meanwhile, Oyegun, in an attempt at settling the rift on Monday, met with the Saraki and Ahmed Lawan, as well as Dogara, his deputy, Lasun Yusuf, separately in his residence at Asokoro in Abuja.
Odigie-Oyegun, who was presiding over the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting at the time, excused himself and met with the Governors in his office.

Nigeria May Return To Second Republic Days – EZEKWESILI

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has compared Nigeria’s recent economic situation to that of 1982 during the regime of former President, Shehu Shagari.
Ezekwesiili explained that the situation surrounding the economic, social and political sector is precarious and that managing such situations with uncertainty is most difficult.
The ex-minister made the statement while presenting a public lecture at the annual Public Service Celebration which took place at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Ikeja, lagos.
She stated that the economy had taken a nose dive and wondered how possible it was for Nigeria to find itself in the current situation.
She recalled that back in 1981 to 1982, Nigeria witnessed the same economic relapse as it is witnessing now, and that she had hoped that Nigeria would not suffer such situations ever again.
She said: “We have found ourselves in a situation where every sector is in a precarious situation. We are operating on uncertainty and it is most difficult.
“Our economy has taken a nose dive, and I ask how it is possible for Nigeria to find itself in this embarrassing situation.