BREAKING: The Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit filed by several state governments that questioned the constitutionality of the legislation that established the EFCC, ICPC and NFIU.

The initial lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General of Kogi State, and subsequently, additional states joined in filing comparable lawsuits, with the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) named as the sole defendant.

Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, has sounded a warning that if state governments are permitted to collect value-added tax (VAT), it could lead to significant harm for businesses and a decline in the economy.

Oyedele noted that a comparable strategy was tried in the 1980s with sales tax; however, the sub-national governments were unable to generate considerable revenue from it.

He said, “By 1999, we were writing the constitution because we now have the 4th Republic. But what we did was to just replicate the 1979 Constitution.

“In 1979, there was no VAT. So, there was no VAT in the 1979 Constitution.

“However, by 1999, we had implemented VAT for about five years. And it was becoming our top revenue tax. How on earth did we forget to put it in the 1999 Constitution? “Because it wasn’t stated in the 1999 Constitution, lawyers will state to you that it’s a residual matter.

“Because it’s a residual matter means it belongs to the subnational. That’s why Rivers State and Lagos State have been to court and won.

“If we get a judgment from the Supreme Court today, it will tell you that VAT should be collected and administered by the states. That will be chaotic.

“States will collect less, businesses will suffer, the economy will retrogress.

“On balance, the new reform is meant to treat everybody equitably. Try to get us out of the impression that when you start doing VAT at state level, you make so much money, which is not the case.

“In fact, today, the VAT on imports and international services is actually more than the VAT we collect in Nigeria, within our jurisdiction.

“And that amount that is collected from international services and import VAT is not attributed to any state. It goes into the pool and is shared.

“So, today we shared VAT between and among states based on derivation, 20 per cent; based on equality, 50 per cent; and based on population, 30 per cent we are proposing that correct derivation and share, 60 per cent based on derivation, 20 per cent based on population and 20 per cent based on equality.”

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Ndume urges President Tinubu to dismiss additional ministers.

Ali Ndume, the lawmaker for the Borno South senatorial district, has urged the removal of additional underperforming ministers from President Bola Tinubu's cabinet.

In a statement made on Saturday in Abuja, Ndume expressed that certain ministers who are underperforming should be dismissed.

The legislator expressed approval for Tinubu’s recent reorganization of the cabinet, especially noting the establishment of the Ministry of Regional Development, which is tasked with managing all regional commissions.

“We saw President Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle last week, which was a masterstroke.

“More needs to be done as some ministers are still ‘missing in action.

“I’m particularly pleased about establishing the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee regional commissions. The President’s decision to streamline ministries also exemplifies his commitment to reducing the cost of governance,” he said.

The Abuja beggars express to Wike that they did not choose this situation.

During the flag-off ceremony for the construction of access roads in the Katampe District on Tuesday, Wike issued a warning concerning a potential crackdown on beggars.

Expressing concern over the rising number of beggars in the Federal Capital Territory, the former governor of Rivers State has instructed law enforcement officials to begin apprehending them starting this Monday.

The beggar expressed that he never found joy in begging, emphasizing his dislike for the discrimination that comes with it, particularly in the nation’s capital.

“This situation I find myself in is not something I wanted. It can happen to anyone who is still alive. Some people see us coming and run away.

“In public vehicles, nobody wants to sit close to us. You see, there are people who think that just by interacting with me, they will become blind.”

“We depend on what I get from begging. With the current economy, where people are suffering and there’s no food, my family and I will have to stay at home and wait for death because there will be nothing to live on—no food.

“I can knit very well, forget that I am blind. The government should empower us instead of arresting and detaining us. We have many of us who are gifted, a blind beggar in Abuja said.

The oil markets have addressed a letter to the President, dated October 21, in which they are requesting a grant of N100 billion to assist in preventing the closure of impacted 10,000 marketers’ businesses in the coming weeks.

Dr. Joseph Obele, the National Public Relations Officer for PETROAN, stated that the price of a truckload of PMS has surged from N7 million to N47 million over the past 16 months.

He said, “Three days ago, there was a meeting at the national headquarters of PETROAN. At the meeting, there was, an indication that about 10,000 of our members would quit business in the next 45 days because their trading capital had been severely affected.

“That was why we wrote a letter to Mr President, dated October 21, requesting a grant of N100bn to save the affected marketers’ businesses from shutting down in the next few weeks.”

Abubakar Maigandi, the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, acknowledged that there has been a decline in fuel consumption. He noted that the union's members have also been impacted by this situation.

“There is a drop in consumption and the price of a truckload is higher now. So, we have reduced the quantity of fuel we buy. For instance, someone who bought 10 trucks before can only buy eight now. So, we haven’t been getting the right quantity that we are supposed to get. We sell only the little quantities we get,” he said.

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has highlighted that the failure of oil marketers to purchase fuel has led to job losses for truck drivers and employees at petrol stations across the nation.

Mr. Afolabi Olawale, the Secretary-General of NUPENG, stated, “The economy is not smiling at all. Many petrol station owners cannot even buy a single truckload, and this has affected our members. Those of them that are truck drivers hardly get loads to carry anymore. Many petrol stations have closed down and our members who are petrol station workers have lost their jobs.

“This is an unfolding situation. It’s evolving, so I may not be able to give you the actual number of people affected now because we have those in the informal and formal sectors. We have people in the upstream, downstream, and midstream. But I don’t have the statistics right here with me to give you.

“Though everybody is affected, those in the downstream are the most affected. It affects those in the downstream sector directly because they are truck drivers, station workers, and the representatives of the marketers at different depots.”

The FG has granted approval for the distribution of one million science textbooks intended for secondary schools.

On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council gave the green light for the printing of one million science textbooks to be distributed to every public secondary school across the country.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, informed reporters that the initiative aims to address gaps in essential subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science.

This came after a memo was presented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, on behalf of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

He clarified that the initiative aims to close the divide, empowering Nigeria to align its engineering and technology advancements with those of the global community.

He said, “We brought a memo on behalf of the PTDF that had initiated a program called the PTDF stem fund.

“Some time ago, the PTDF, which is the creation of law, you know, with the mandate to build the capacity, of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry came up with a program called PTDF Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Programme.

“They sought to obtain presidential approval. And today, we brought a memo to the council to be able to print 1 million science textbooks.

“The science courses that were identified that Nigerians have deficiency, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, computer science.”

Lokpobiri said, “This program is meant to print 1 million science textbooks that will be distributed to all the local government, 74 local government areas in the country, and also to support the 104 unity schools that we have in the country, and then 122 special schools, that we have in the country.

“This memo was approved by Council. Essentially, this is a support at the secondary school level. To catch up with the rest of the world in terms of technological and engineering development, we need to lay a very solid foundation.

“Some time ago, we found that we are lagging, and so we decided that look, we are going to build both physical and digital libraries.”

THE 48 LAWS OF POWER.

A Book written by Robert Greene that offers a Series of Strategies for Obtaining and Maintaining Power in various situations. Here I leave you a summary of the 48 Laws:

1.
Don't Outshine the Boss: Make your Superiors feel Superior. Don't expose your Talent too much or you might Trigger their Insecurity.

2.
Don't Trust friends too much, use your Enemies: Friends Betray you more easily, but if you Manage to WIN an Enemy, they will be more Loyal.

3.
Hide your Intentions: Keep People Off Balance so they can't anticipate your Actions.

4.
Always say Less than Necessary: Silence Breeds Power, and Talking too much Reveals your Plans.

5.
Protect your Reputation at all Costs: Reputation is the Cornerstone of Power.

6.
Call Attention at all Costs: Be Visible to be Relevant.

7.
Make others Work for you and Attribute it: Take Advantage of the Work and Effort of others to your Advantage.

8.
Make others come to you: Don't Run after Others, make them Look for you.

9.
Win with Actions, Never Arguments: Prove your Point through Actions, Not Words.

10.
Avoid Losers and Unhappy: The Misfortune of others is Contagious; stay away from those who Bring you Down.

11.
Make People Depend on you: If others Depend on you, you're in Control.

12.
Disarm with Sincerity and Selective Generosity: Emotional Disarmament will give you an Edge.

13.
When you ask for Help, Appeal to the Interests of Others: Appeal to what Benefits Others, not Gratitude or Compassion.

14.
Introduce yourself as a Friend, act as a Spy: Learn to Extract Valuable Information from others without them Noticing.

15.
Crush your Enemy Completely: Do not let your Enemy Recover, or he will seek Revenge.

16.
Use Absence to Increase Respect: The Value of something Increases with Scarcity..

17.
Keep Others in Suspense: Be Unpredictable, you will Confuse Others and Gain Power.

18.
Do Not Isolate yourself: Loneliness Weakens you; Engage yourself in the Web of Influence.

19.
Know Who You’re Dealing With: Choose Your Opponents And Partners Wisely.

20.
Don't compromise with anyone: Maintain your Independence so you don't get Caught up in other People's Affairs.

21.
Pretend to be a Fool to Catch the Sly: Let others think they have an Advantage over you.

22.
Use the Surrender Tactic: Sometimes giving in at the Right Time gives you the Advantage.

23.
Focus your Forces: Keep your Energy Focused on what really Matters.

24.
Be a Master at Simulation and Disguise: Don't reveal all your cards.

25.
Recreate your own identity: Be the architect of your own destiny.

26.
Keep your hands clean: Make sure the responsibility for the problems falls on others.

27.
Play with people's needs to create devotion: Satisfy their deep desires to earn you their loyalty.

28.
Be bold in acting: Timidity is dangerous, boldness is powerful.

29.
Plan everything to the end: Having a detailed plan allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises.

30.
Make your accomplishments look easy: Minimize the effort you put in to make others think you have innate talent.

31.
Control Other People's Options: Guide the decisions of others by giving them limited options.

32.
Play with people's fantasy: Appeal to people's emotions and dreams to gain clout.

33.
Discover the weaknesses of others: Identify what drives people to manipulate their actions.

34.
Be rule in your behavior: Power lies in the appearance of greatness and dignity.

35.
Master the art of timing: Don't rush; everything has its right time.

36.
Despise what you can’t have: Don’t obsess over things that are out of your reach.

37.
Create engaging spectacles: Theatrics and spectacles capture attention.

38.
Think as you wish, but behave like everyone else: Do not openly defy social norms.

39.
Stir the waters to catch fish: Destabilize others to make mistakes.

40.
Despise free: What is free usually comes with a hidden cost.

41.
Avoid imitating great men: Forge your own path instead of following in the footsteps of others.

42.
Beat the shepherd and the sheep will scatter: He demolishes leaders to weaken his followers.

43.
Work on the hearts and minds of others: Conquer the spirit of people to control them.

44.
Disarm and anger with mirror effect: Reflect the actions of others to destabilize them.

45.
Preach the need for change, but never reform too much: Radical change can generate resistance.

46.
Never look too perfect: Perfection breeds envy and haters.

47.
Don't exceed your goal: When you achieve what you want, retire on time.

48.
Be amorphous: Be adaptable, don't limit yourself to a rigid form.

These laws are designed to handle situations of power, but it's important to consider context and personal ethics when applying them.

Taken from the net.

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Legislation Aiming to Promote Responsible Resource Management and Improve Revenue Generation Passes Second Reading.

The House of Representatives has passed the second reading of consolidated legislation aimed at repealing the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007. This new initiative seeks to establish a revised Fiscal Responsibility Act for 2024, which will focus on the careful management of the nation’s resources, promote long-term macroeconomic stability, and enhance accountability and transparency in fiscal operations over the medium term.

The second reading of the consolidated Bills was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu and six others to enhance economic stability and strengthen the management of financial resources.

Leading the debate on its general principles on behalf of the Deputy Speaker, other sponsors and co-sponsors, Hon. Marcus Onobun said the bill aims to address loopholes in the existing framework and equip the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) with the tools necessary for effective enforcement and revenue generation.

He said, "I am honoured to lead the debate on the general principles of these important consolidated Bills which seek to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act, No. 31 of 2007 on one hand and also to repeal the Fiscal Responsibility Act, No. 31 of 2007 and to enact the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2024 to provide for prudent management of the nation’s resources; ensure long term macro-economic stability of the nation’s economy; secure greater accountability and transparency in fiscal operations within the medium term fiscal policy framework; and the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to ensure the promotion and enforcement of the nation’s economic objectives. These Bills were read the first time, in this hallowed chamber on different days.

"The Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, which has been in operation for over one and half decade now, has been observed and found to contain certain loopholes and weaknesses which have hampered its effective and efficient operation and the smooth achievement of its intendment. It is important to note that the extant Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 comprise 57 sections, structured into 14 Parts with one Schedule. The Act lists Corporations and Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) directly covered by the Act. Between the time of enactment and now, many other agencies have been added to or removed from the list by pursuant to reviews undertaken by Ministers of Finance therefore bringing the total to 68 Corporations and GOEs. These additions have necessitated the review of over 47 sections of the extant Act.

"Again, the contemplated review of the extant Act, proposes a review of the powers of the Commission under section 2. This Bill seeks to expand the powers of the Commission, to among other proposed powers include conferring the Commission with direct prosecutorial powers. This will greatly enhance the powers of the Commission to effectively enforce the provisions of the Act, especially in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies. It is important to note that without the contemplated prosecutorial powers, the Commission remains a mere toothless bull dog. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Colleagues, considering the severe setbacks being suffered by the Commission in carrying out its mandate due to paucity or dearth of funds and shortfalls in monthly allocations, section 4 of this Bill proposes provisions to improve the Commission’s funding for greater service delivery. Sections 50-52 of the Bill proposes elaborate provisions on offences and penalties for the infringements and contraventions of the provisions of the Bill when passed into law. The proposed punishments have been categorized into administrative and penal sanctions."