younglee's Blog

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), has approved an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of evasion of taxes on income and capital benefits, between Nigeria and Singapore. Also on Wednesday, the FEC approved bilateral air service agreement with the State of Qatar and Singapore. The Minister Of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, told State House Correspondents at the 22nd FEC meeting, that the agreement is aimed at encouraging “more direct foreign investments into Nigeria. Furthermore, it is aimed at “letting investors know what their tax obligations will be and ensuring sustainable tax regime for each country.” According to her, the agreement was because Singapore is a major trading partner with Nigeria. Also in attendance were Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed and the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika. The agreement seems to be an indication that Singapore’s rejection of clemency appeal by a Nigerian man a...

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has destroyed expired and counterfeit medicines and other regulated products which it says is worth over 70 million naira. At a press briefing before the destruction exercise in Abuja, the Acting Director-General of the agency, Mrs Yetunde Oni told journalists that NAFDAC is winning the war against counterfeiting in Nigeria. “Today, we witness the destruction of various categories of regulated products as one of the strategies employed by NAFDAC to prevent the circulation of fake, counterfeit medicines and unwholesome regulated products. “These products are worth over 75 million naira. We must stress that some of these products were voluntarily submitted to NAFDAC by various governmental and non-governmental organizations whilst others were mopped up from open market via enforcement activities and surveillance system of NAFDAC,” she said. She however explained that the agency is in the process of rev...

The Executive Arm of the Edo State government has restated its commitment to work closely with the other two arms of government on a hitch free passage of the 2017 budget. This is in a bid to facilitate the realization of its vision of transforming the state into an industrialists’ hub. The Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu stated this while speaking to Channels Television at the Government House in Benin City the Edo State capital. He disclosed that the executive has commenced the process of ensuring a smooth passage of the 2017 budget when it is presented to the state assembly

The Niger State Police Command on Thursday intensified its fight against cattle rustling in parts of the state with the deployment of additional 500 men in areas identified as dangerous points. In a press briefing in Minna, the Commissioner of Police, Mu’azu Zubairu, said that the men would strengthen the joint task force team already on ground in Alawa, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state. Cattle rustlers had re-launched what security agencies in the state referred to as “major offensive”, especially in Shiroro communities with 11 deaths from two attacks. CP Muazu said that the bandits were fleeing military offensive in Zamafara state and are taking refuge in forests bordering Kaduna and Zamfara states. He said the Police had decided to take the battle to the rustlers with the deployment of three units which include counter-terrorism, anti-cattle rustling and men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Muazu said that the state was rid of cattle ru...

The Nigerian Senate has set up a committee to address the industrial crisis between the Federal Government and officials of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Setting up the committee on Wednesday, Senate President Bukola Saraki said it would liaise with the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office to look into the outstanding financial demands of the union. Dr Saraki set up the committee during a meeting with ASUU officials in Abuja. He told members of the union that the Senate was mindful of the longstanding issues between the union and the Federal Government, but stressed that the upper chamber wanted a resolution of the problem. ASUU is embarking on a one week warning strike to protest the failure of the Federal Government to implement terms of the 2009 and 2013 agreements. Academic activities were shut down in most institutions across Nigeria on Wednesday, as a result of an industrial action by the union to push their demands. The directive for the n...

The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has said that the anti-corruption war is tough and grueling, with corruption fighting vigorously back, but assured that the battle would be won. The President made this known at a meeting with the American Secretary of State, John Kerry on Wednesday, at the climate change, COP22, in Marrakech, Morocco, President Buhari said corrupt people had accumulated a formidable arsenal of illicit wealth, which they were now deploying against the government on diverse fronts. “But it is a war we are determined to win, and which we will win,” President Buhari said. “People of goodwill are behind us, countries like America and many others are with us, and we will surely win.” The President also updated Mr Kerry on the war against insurgency in the North-east of Nigeria, efforts being made to tackle humanitarian problems caused by the insurgency, informing that a presidential committee had been launched “under Gen T.Y Danjuma, a man of high ...

As the 7-day warning strike declared by the national body of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) enters its second day, a faction of the lecturers at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun state have boycotted the nationwide strike. Channels Television’s visit to the university revealed that students are currently having their first semester examination for the 2015/16 academics session under the supervision of the lecturers. Speaking on the strike and their reason for not joining, the chairman of the Committee of Deans in OAU, Professor Adeagbo Amusan, said that the boycott was in the interest of the students, who had wasted so much time since the start of the session due to incessant strike. “It’s a unanimous decision that much as we are aware of the directive of NEC, we would want our examinations to go on unhindered. We key into the national body of ASUU but we have some local issues to sort out here and we don’t want to externalize our internal aff...

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to give government more time to sort out the shortfalls in salary payment and other related issues affecting the education sector. President Buhari made the plea as the visitor at the grand finale of the 68th Founders’ Day and convocation ceremony of the University of Ibadan which took place at the International Conference Center, Ibadan. Represented by the Director, Tertiary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Fatimah Ahmad, President Buhari decried the standard of education which has left a vast majority of the people poorly educated. Describing the trend as unhealthy and saddening, the President reiterated his administration’s commitment to revamping the sector. Mrs Ahmad added that government was in dialogue with the affected unions and would continue to explore means of amicable resolutions. A total of 442 graduates bagged doctorate degrees in various fields wh...

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has described the sentencing to death of a Nigerian in Singapore for drug related offences as heartbreaking despite repeated calls for Nigerians to desist from criminal activities like drug peddling. In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun in Abuja, she said that since Singapore is determined to enforce its laws as a deterrent to drug trafficking, which has reduced as a result of its stringent capital punishment, nothing much can be done except to continue to appeal. She reiterated her appeal to Nigerians to avoid drug peddling in their host countries as laws of countries, whether acceptable or not, will be difficult to influence. “While we regret the death sentence passed on the Nigerian, we once again appeal to Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug trafficking with most countries especially in Asia declaring zero tolerance for drug trafficking,...

Amnesty International  on Wednesday, called on Singapore to immediately halt the execution of Chijoke Stephen Obioha, a Nigerian national, on death row for possession of drugs. The family of Mr Obioha was also informed on Wednesday that his appeal for clemency had been rejected and he was set to be executed on Friday 18, November 2016. “The Singapore government still has time to halt the execution of Chijoke Stephen Obioha. “We are dismayed that clemency has not been granted in his case but remain hopeful that they won’t carry out this cruel and irreversible punishment against a person sentenced to the mandatory death penalty, for a crime that should not even be punished by death,” Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Rafendi Djamin, said. Furthermore, he stressed that “the death penalty is never the solution. It will not rid Singapore of drugs. By executing people for drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of most serious...

Boko Haram has dramatically scaled back attacks in Cameroon in recent months, analysts said on Wednesday, suggesting a regional security force is gaining ground against the militants. The Islamist movement – which controlled an area the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria last year and raided Cameroon and other neighbors to expand its “caliphate” – had since suffered a string of defeats, International Crisis Group (ICG) said. The report came days after security and U.N. sources said hundreds of Boko Haram fighters and their families had surrendered on another frontline in Chad. There was no comment from any of the factions of Boko Haram which is still seen as one of the main security threats in West Africa. “We’ve seen a dizzying downwards spiral in the number of attacks and suicide bombings,” said Hans De Marie Heungoup, one of the report’s authors. Two years ago, attacks were happening on an almost daily basis, he said. But the number had fallen to between six and eigh...

Hillary Clinton, in her first public speech since her surprising loss at the U.S presidential election held on November 8, 2016, has admitted that making the appearance “wasn’t the easiest.” Speaking at the Children’s Defense Fund’s “Beat The Odds” Gala on Wednesday night, Clinton emotionally reflected about the 2016 loss and how she wished she could tell her mother, who decades ago was abandoned as a child, that her struggles were worth it because of what her daughter had accomplished. “I will admit, coming here tonight wasn’t the easiest thing for me,” Clinton said. “There have been a few times this past week where all I wanted to do was curl up with a good book and our dogs and never leave the house again.” She however chose not to wallow in defeat and instead turned to what she will focus, on going forward. Clinton said she wished she could say to her mother as she sat on her train to California: “I dream of going up to her, and sitting next to her and taking her in...

Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday that he submitted his letter of resignation but would stay until the end of the Obama administration. “I submitted my letter of resignation last night, which felt pretty good. I’ve got 64 days left,” Clapper said during a U.S. congressional intelligence committee hearing. Clapper, 75, has served as the U.S. top spy since 2010 and has said for months he intended to step down when President Barack Obama leaves office in January. Clapper’s service in government spans six decades, beginning in the 1960s as a U.S. Air Force officer. Clapper “always exhibited sober judgment and put the fate of the nation first,” said Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

South Africa’s deputy finance minister said on Thursday that patronage and corruption were undermining efforts for a credible government, a day after an audit showed the government had made $3 billion in irregular expenditure this financial year. South Africa’s political elite has been involved in a slew of corruption scandals which have eroded the trust of investors and weighed on Africa’s most industrialized economy. Ratings agencies have warned of downgrades before the end of the year. Mcebisi Jonas’ remarks in a speech at a labor congress came a day after the auditor-general said irregular expenditure by government departments swelled 80 percent to 43.4 billion rand ($3 billion) in the 2015-16 financial year. “Leadership that looks beyond its own narrow confines is needed,” Jonas said, adding that “patronage and corruption had undermined efforts to build a credible government”. Last week President Jabob Zuma survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote over allegations of...