Connect with us

National

Cross River ND-PYLF accuses governor Otu of neglecting youths

Published

on

The Cross River State chapter of the Niger Delta Progressive Youth Leadership Foundation (ND-PYLF), has criticized Governor Bassey Otu for failing to fulfill his promises to the youth since the beginning of his first term in office.

ND-PYLF lamented the absence of sustainable initiatives that could equip young people with skills, employment, or entrepreneurial support.

The secretary, Engr. Sunday Odey Ogbudu and spokesperson, Wilfred Ekawu, in a statement, expressed disappointment over what it described as the governor’s lack of commitment to youth development, job creation, and empowerment programs.

They said: “Governor Otu came into office with promises of a brighter future for the youth, but so far, there has been little to no progress. Unemployment remains high, and opportunities for young people are scarce. His administration has not prioritized youth empowerment as expected.

“We had high hopes that his leadership would usher in a new era of youth inclusiveness in governance and economic development, but what we see today is neglect and a failure to engage the youth meaningfully.”

The group urged the governor to reassess his administration’s approach and implement concrete policies that would benefit the younger generation before the situation worsens.

“The youth are the backbone of Cross River’s future, and if they are ignored, the state will suffer in the long run. We call on Governor Otu to fulfill his campaign promises and take decisive action toward youth development.”

ALSO READ:  Mrs Tinubu welcomes first baby of year 2024
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Oodua Group Urges Police Chief To Probe Alleged Gun Runner In Asaba

Published

on

The Oodua Integrity Group, a Nigerian civil society organisation, has called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to investigate and arrest an alleged gun runner, land grabber,popularly called then insert Lucky Blessings Abuah aka bullets of Achala Ibusa village operating in Asaba and Ibuzor, Delta State, accusing him of orchestrating criminal activities with the aid of rogue police officers.

Tosin Olaoluwa, the group’s South-South coordinator, made the appeal following intelligence gathered from concerned residents.

The suspect, identified as Achala Ibusa but popularly known as “Bullet,” is accused of running a network involving illegal arms trafficking, land grabbing, and cult-related activities.

Olaoluwa claimed Bullet operates with the protection of police officers from Rivers State, in violation of regulations prohibiting officers from working outside their command without approval.

According to the group, four AK-47 rifles were recently discovered hidden in a house in Ibuzor.

Two mobile police officers guarding the property reportedly distanced themselves from the find, raising suspicions of their involvement with Bullet, who is allegedly a leader of the Viking cult.

The Oodua Integrity Group further alleged that an assistant commissioner of police is complicit in Bullet’s activities.

The group highlighted that up to 10 mobile police officers are attached to Bullet, despite IGP Egbetokun’s recent directive to withdraw such personnel from individuals not legally entitled to their services.

“We urge the IGP to take immediate action to arrest the culprit in the interest of the general public,” Olaoluwa said, describing Bullet as a miscreant exploiting government security agents to perpetrate crimes.

In a separate incident, the group claimed that security agents from an agency in Abuja, acting on intelligence, were prevented from arresting Bullet by his police escorts.

ALSO READ:  Supreme Court reserves judgment in FG’s suit against LGs

The officers, reportedly from Rivers State, allegedly used tear gas and fired shots to obstruct the operation.

The Oodua Integrity Group warned that Bullet’s activities, including stockpiling AK-47s and other weapons in Asaba and Ibuzor, pose a significant threat to public safety.

They called for a thorough investigation into the allegations and the immediate apprehension of those involved.

The Nigeria Police Force has yet to respond to the allegations. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.

Continue Reading

National

FG lauds Ghana for rescuing 219 trafficked Nigerians forced into cybercrimes

Published

on

The Federal Government has lauded the Ghanaian authorities for rescuing not less than 219 young Nigerians trafficked to the country and forced into cybercrimes.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu spoke against backdrop of her visit to the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) in Accra, Ghana, where the victims of trafficking were detained.

She also restated Federal Government commitment to providing the youths with technical education and skills to curb growing unemployment.

The visit was also on the sideline of the inauguration of the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS and the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the group.

219 young Nigerians trafficked were trafficked to Ghana and forced into cybercrimes.
219 young Nigerians trafficked were trafficked to Ghana and forced into cybercrimes.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu lauded the Executive-Director of EOCO, Mr Bashiru Dapilah for the treatment meted to the victims.

According to her, trafficking is modern slavery, obnoxious and man’s inhumanity to man, describing it as exploitation of innocent young people, callous and inhuman.

The minister urged Nigerian youths to shun people, who may promise them irresistible job offers outside shores of the country, explaining it might just be bait to lure them into slavery.

She stated that the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana alerted her of the incident and how the victims were held under inhuman conditions by the perpetrators, before the sting operation which exposed the evil syndicate.

“Prior to their rescue, these boys had been locked up in about 25 rooms within the estate where they were used to perpetrate cybercrimes.

ALSO READ:  AfDB to release $2.2bn Nigerian Agro-Industrial Fund from 2025

“At the time of their arrest, many of them being locked inside confined spaces with computers for weeks on-end without being let outside, were even unable to get their eyes to adjust to the sun when they were led outside those dark rooms.

“Some had been serially abused with visible lacerations inflicted on them by their criminal ‘don’ while one had his legs broken for not tendering all the proceeds of his cybercrime,”Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.

She urged the trafficked victims to consider themselves lucky to be rescued, saying that many had lost their lives in similar circumstances, while others rot in jails across the world.

She, therefore, urged the victims to take advantage of this second chance that God had made possible for them by keying into some of the intervention programmes of the Federal Government.

She quoted Dapilah to have explained how his team acted on intelligence to achieve the feat adding, “We are not looking at this as a Nigerian crime because you have some backing of Ghanaian.

“The estate where they lived, we arrested the owner and he will be prosecuted. We require collaboration between our two countries. The crime is committed here in Ghana, but we know that somebody in Nigeria was behind it.

“So, these persons have been rescued, but the next thing is for the perpetrators to be apprehended.

“As you go home, take the message to our counterpart in Nigeria that we will be needing collaboration to roundup the perpetrators,”he said.

The Ghana anti-graft boss extolled majority of Nigerians in the country, who he said were law-abiding and contributing significantly to the development of Ghana and its economy.

ALSO READ:  Mrs Tinubu welcomes first baby of year 2024

He also thanked the Nigerian High Commission for working closely with the agency, lauding the Chargé D’Affaires, Ambassador Dayo Adeoye for collaborating with them.

Adeoye stated that not less than 3 million Nigerians reside in Ghana and they were doing well, helping the economic development of their host country.

According to him, there should be adequate sensitisation against trafficking to tackle the menace involving Nigerians intercepted in Ghana.

He said that no fewer than 231 of them were expected to arrive Lagos on Friday April 25, and handed over to government officials. (NAN)

Continue Reading

National

How Tax Reforms Bill will make housing affordable – Presidency

Published

on

The Presidency has said the Tax Reforms Bill, when passed, will make housing more affordable and available to Nigerians by reducing tax burden on the construction and real estate sectors

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, made this known in Abuja on Thursday at a Building and Construction Industry Forum.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum was organised by the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN).

Speaking on the theme “Nigeria’s Tax Reforms and the Building and Construction Industry: Implications and Opportunities”, Oyedele said the bill has many benefits, but it is being misconceived by some people.

According to him, when the bill becomes law, Value Added Tax(VAT) on real estate transactions will be exempted, thereby lowering the cost of building materials and houses.

“The bill is designed in a way to favour low income earners contrary to what is being claimed, it will also ease their burden.

“There will be no VAT on lands, sale of real estate, and rent is exempted from VAT. Some of these are areas of controversies in the past.

“There is an exemption on stamp duties for rents below N10 million a month and capital gains tax is also exempted on the sale of dwelling houses.m,” he said

Oyedele added that, in the bill, building materials production including non- metallic products are eligible for priority sector incentives to boost production.

He said reforms will be carried out on land transactions including titling and harmonisation of property taxes.

ALSO READ:  AfDB to release $2.2bn Nigerian Agro-Industrial Fund from 2025

“The Tax Reforms Bill will improve the affordability of housing. It will provide relief for people who are paying rent because what this bill is going to do is to remove a lot of the tax burden.

“The essence is to make life better for everybody and improve the economic activities in the building and construction sectors, and by extension, the whole of the economy,” he said

Oyedele encouraged Nigerians to seek more understanding of the tax reforms and stop relying on social media and headlines that were misinforming them.

Speaking in the same veins, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, said the bill offers a whole relief to construction firms and contractors.

Dangiwa, represented by the Director, Public Building, Temitope Gbemi, said the ministry has fully aligned its housing policies with fiscal reforms.

He said they were also working with tax authorities to ensure that real estate and housing investments were guided by clarity, equity, and investor protection.

On his part, the CORBON Chairman, Samson Opaluwah, identified poor access to finance and multiple taxation as major drawbacks toward the expansion of the council’s potentials.

He expressed the hope that the tax reforms bill would address the challenges and more

The Executive Director of HDAN, Festus Adebayo, said the VAT exemption on lands, real estate and building materials producers was a welcomed development.

He advocated for incentives in the tax reforms bill that would attract real estate developers and investors to go into building low cost houses for low income earners.(NAN)

ALSO READ:  Donald Trump Daughter Live In Nigeria
Continue Reading