Obasempire reports that despite President Bola Tinubu’s June declaration suspending import duties and tariffs on essential food items for six months, Nigerian importers report they are still being required to pay these fees.
The presidential order was intended to address rising costs of food, raw materials, and manufacturing inputs, and also included agricultural production inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, pharmaceuticals, poultry feed, flour, and grains.
However, importers claim the suspension has not been enacted, contradicting the Executive Order titled “Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal Policy Measures, ETC.) Order, 2024,” issued under the President’s constitutional authority.
Also, the order, effective from May 1, 2024 stipulates that “authorized millers would now import paddy rice at zero duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) for a period of six months in the first instance in order to improve local supply and capacity utilisation of rice millers.”
On importation of rice, it says that from the commencement of this order, the following measures and reliefs shall apply: “Value Added Tax, where applicable, is hereby suspended on the for the rest of the year 2024: basic food items and semi-processed staple food items such as noodles and pasta; raw material inputs for the manufacturing of food items, electricity and public transportation; agricultural inputs and produce and pharmaceutical products for a period of six months.”
Contrary to the Executive Order’s directive to fast-track customs clearance and reduce processing time by at least 50%, the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) reports that its members continue to pay duties on all listed food items, agricultural equipment, manufacturing inputs, and pharmaceutical products, two months after the Order was issued.
The Nigeria Customs Service’s failure to implement the order’s provisions has resulted in ongoing delays and duties payments, contradicting the government’s aim to reduce inflation and stabilize prices.
Chairman of IMAN in Nigeria’s Northern region, Aminu Dan-Iya said, “Customs officials tell our members at entry points that they don’t have any written communication about the suspension.
Obasempire reports that the management of Liberty School Ikota has released a statement regarding a video circulating about Ms. Folake Olaleye, a former staff member.
Liberty School Ikota, established in 2012 by the Olive Tree Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is well-known for offering free primary education to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Over 1,000 children have benefited from its free education, uniforms, books, and daily meals.
The video has sparked concerns about Ms. Olaleye’s well-being, prompting the school to extend support within its means. The management clarified that Ms. Olaleye’s dismissal in 2020 followed a thorough process and competency evaluations, which she unfortunately did not pass. The school emphasized that the decision was made objectively, focusing on maintaining high educational standards.
The school assured that Ms. Olaleye would receive financial aid equivalent to what she would have been eligible for under the pension scheme, despite her ineligibility.
The statement also addressed the reference to former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, highlighting his previous role in founding the school and his ongoing honorary involvement in similar educational projects nationwide.
Liberty School Ikota reiterated its dedication to providing free, high-quality education and expressed gratitude to the community for its continued support.
Read the statement by the school below;
Re: Video Regarding Ms. Folake Olaleye- Statement from the Management of Liberty School Ikota
The Management of Liberty School Ikota has recently been made aware of a video circulating in the public arena concerning Ms. Folake Olaleye, a former staff member of our school.
Liberty School Ikota was founded in 2012 by the Olive Tree Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. It is a completely Free Primary School offering good quality education for children of underprivileged parents. So far, over 1,000 children have gone through Liberty School Ikota with sound free education, including free school uniforms, free books and a free meal every day
The recent video raised concerns about the condition of Ms. Folake Olaleye, a former staff member. We are deeply concerned about Ms. Olaleye’s situation and are actively reaching out to her to offer support within the school’s resources.
Ms. Olaleye’s termination in 2020 was carried out with strict adherence to due process and was free from any personal motives or intentions to replace her with other staff members. We want to reaffirm that the school’s administration consists of dedicated volunteers who generously contribute their time, resources, and talents. These individuals consistently uphold principles of fairness and integrity while prioritising the well-being of our students.
As part of a revitalisation project in 2020, the management team, led by Pastor Ngozi Udochukwu as the Protem Head, played a vital role in enhancing the school’s quality and standards. The team implemented comprehensive competency tests for all teachers and retained only those who demonstrated the necessary proficiency. Regrettably, Ms. Olaleye did not pass the competency test.
The school remains deeply committed to maintaining high educational standards, even as it provides quality education free of charge to underprivileged communities. This commitment to excellence ensures that our mission to serve the most vulnerable does not compromise the quality of education. Throughout this process, the management team acted with the highest level of fairness, making decisions impartially and with the best interests of the children as the foremost priority.
In addressing Ms. Olaleye’s pension, while the scheme has specific age and eligibility conditions for access, both the School and the Church are committed to providing compassionate financial assistance. We will ensure that Ms. Olaleye receives, at a minimum, an amount equivalent to what she would have been entitled to under the pension scheme had she met the eligibility requirements. Our goal is to resolve all matters in a respectful, dignified, and amicable manner.
It is also important to state that Ms. Olaleye’s children attended the school and benefited from the school’s free services, including free education, free books, and free school meals, until she chose to withdraw them voluntarily. We are committed to exploring ways to provide further educational opportunities for her children.
We also wish to address the mention of the former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, in this matter. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN was Pastor of the Olive Tree Parish and under his leadership in 2012 Liberty School Ikota was founded. Everyone knows that he ceased to be pastor of the church 9 years ago since 2015. The management of the school has remained in Olive Tree Parish from 2012 to date.
Indeed since 2012, using the same model, Professor Osinbajo, alongside others have established other free primary schools in other parts of the country, all, either run by local communities or not-for-profit organisations. Their roles in these institutions are purely honorary as patrons and benefactors.
Liberty School Ikota remains steadfast in its mission to offer free educational opportunities and support to children in need. We deeply appreciate the ongoing trust and support of our community as we strive to ensure a brighter future for all our students.
Sincerely, The Liberty School Ikota Management Team
Obasempire reports that the Bola Tinubu-led federal administration has introduced a new initiative to start providing monthly stipends to unemployed graduates across the nation.
The Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, revealed this recently while speaking with a group of young Nigerians at his office.
He stated that the federal government has allocated funds for the project but voiced frustration that the news was not adequately covered by the media.
“Also, something which hasn’t come out strongly in the media and people should know in a very robust way is that, every student who has graduated but has not secured a job is entitled to collect an allowance,” the minister said.
“The government has committed a certain allowance for every unemployed graduate in Nigeria. This is very important for graduates and every Nigerian to know,” he added.
Obasempire reports that civil society groups in Oyo State have criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding the management of the #EndBadGovernance protests, including the deaths of unarmed demonstrators.
This was conveyed in a statement endorsed by Prof. Ademola Aremu on behalf of the Joint Action Front (JAF), Socialist Labour, All Workers’ Convergence, Centre for Popular Education (CEPED), CSATF, NATA/ITESIWAJU OYO, and PAM.
The statement observed that the government’s attempts to discredit the protests were unsuccessful.
“This is a victory for the Nigeria working but suffering people. It has clearly shown that Nigerians are not slaves who would be told to surrender their fundamental and democratic rights to resist anti-poor policies. It has also demonstrated that no elected office holder is greater than the citizens of the country,” the statement read.
The groups frowned on the killing of protesters in some states, saying the violence experienced in some places were “largely instigated and provoked by members of the capitalist ruling class in these states either with the security agencies or hired political thugs to drown the movement in blood like they did during the EndSARS”.
They lambasted President Tinubu for failing to address concerns raised by Nigerians in the protest.
They said, “This to us is another gain of the protest except that none of the demands of the protest was addressed in the president national broadcast.
“As far as we are concerned, the national broadcast is just a mere justification for all of the neo-liberal policies responsible for the huge scale of pain and pangs Nigeria working people are going through at the present time.”
The groups also argued that the projects listed by President Tinubu do not have the capacity to bring any significant relief to the masses.
The statement said, “Aside from this, we note that none of the planned projects enumerated in the national broadcast has the potential to bring any significant relief and respite to the masses of the Nigeria working people.
“All achievements highlighted in the national broadcast failed to individually and collectively translate into any meaningful improvement in the life of the working people across the country.
“This is an indication that President Tinubu-led government will not be willing to accede and attend to any of the demands of our coalition except if it is challenged with struggle which is well drawn, determined and well-coordinated.
“Beyond the current ‘end bad governance protest,’ we require a bigger, broader and disciplined movement of the working people and youths for a better Nigeria.”
They also vowed to work with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the media to form a movement aimed at ensuring that Tinubu’s administration accedes to the demand of the people.
Some of the demands listed are: “Immediate reversal of the pump price of petrol to N197, repositioning of all of the public refineries and end to importation of petroleum products.”
They also demanded an immediate reversal of the recent hike in electricity tariffs including renationalisation of the power sector “under the control and management of the elected representatives of the working people”.
Other demands include placing political office holders on the salary scale and allowances earned by the civil servants, free education at all levels and reversal of current regime of fee hike across public tertiary institutions.
The group also urged the national leadership of the NLC and the TUC to convene a Joint National Executive Committee meeting to declare a 48-hour nationwide strike and street protests to support the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Obasempire reports that the Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, accompanied by Onuimo LGA Sole Administrator Dr. Emeka Obi, Major AI Maikarifi representing the Commander 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze, Commandant NSCDC Comdt. Mathew Ovye, and other security personnel, visited Umucheke Community in Onuimo LGA on Saturday for an on-site evaluation of the tragic event that resulted in the deaths of over eight members of the Eze Umucheke Cabinet.
A statement issued Sunday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, indicated that the victims were brutally killed by assailants suspected to be members of IPOB/ESN.
CP Danjuma used the visit to extend condolences to the victims’ families and the community over their tragic losses.
He pledged that security forces in the state are collaborating to capture those responsible for the heinous act and ensure they face severe legal consequences.
It was noted that on Saturday evening, armed attackers killed Hyginus Ohazuruike, the President General of Umucheke Okwe Autonomous Community in Onuimo LGA.
The assault also resulted in the deaths of six village chiefs from the same community.
An unnamed local reported that the attackers, who arrived by vehicle, struck while the victims were meeting at the President General’s shop in the community market.
The source recounted, “The gunmen arrived and opened fire, killing the President General and six village heads, after which they set the location ablaze.”
The motive behind the attack remains unknown, as no one knew the agenda of the meeting. According to the source, the gunmen arrived, opened fire, killed the village chiefs, and set the place on fire before fleeing.
Following the attack, the village has been deserted as residents fled their homes in fear. Emeka Obi, the sole administrator of the LGA, confirmed the killings and urged residents to remain calm while condemning the violence.
Obasempire reports that the coordinators of the protest against economic difficulties and poor governance have announced intentions to continue their demonstration at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos today.
This information was shared in a communiqué released on Sunday by Hassan Taiwo, Ayoyinka Oni, and Adegboyega Adeniji representing the organizers.
The announcement followed the President’s address earlier on Sunday, where Tinubu recognized the protesters’ concerns and called for them to halt their demonstrations in favor of dialogue.
Part of the statement read: “We consider the President’s decision to address the nation an important victory for our movement.
“Without our courage and resolve to dare the odds, even this acknowledgement would not have happened. So far, we have demonstrated that a President is not greater than the rest of the country.
“In our view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat.”
They called on young people and the general public to join them at 7 a.m. on Monday at Gani Fawehinmi Park for the fifth day of the protest.
Obasempire reports that the Nigeria’s D’Tigress have been matched up against the United States in the quarter-finals of the women’s basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Nigerian women made history by securing Nigeria’s first-ever spot in the final eight of the Olympic basketball tournament.
This achievement followed their impressive 79-70 win over Canada in their last group match on Sunday.
The team earned five classification points and initially led Group B.
However, their position changed when Australia defeated France 79-72 in another group match, causing Nigeria to fall to third place in the group standings.
The team is now scheduled to compete against the defending champions, the USA, on August 7 at 9:30 pm.
This match marks the second Olympic meeting between the two teams.
At the Tokyo Games, D’Tigress experienced a narrow nine-point loss to the Americans in their opening group match. They were also defeated in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers.
In other quarter-final matchups, Serbia will face Australia, Spain will take on Belgium, and France will go up against Germany.
Obasempire reports that former Education Minister Obiageli Ezekwesili has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday address regarding the ongoing nationwide protests against poor governance.
The former minister described the speech as profoundly disappointing.
Ezekwesili stated that Tinubu’s address was a significant missed opportunity to reassure citizens with clear, evidence-based solutions and a detailed plan to combat poor governance.
The government critic asserted that the speech seemed to be crafted from a perspective of “retaliating against Tinubu’s imagined adversaries.”
Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday about the protests, ruling out the reinstatement of the fuel subsidy and urging protest organizers to withdraw from the streets.
In a statement on her X handle, Ezekwesili lamented that it is regrettable to witness Nigerian public “leaders” talking and acting like failures on issues of governance.
She said: “@officialABAT , As one of millions of Nigerians who were at church when you delivered your late-in-coming Speech to Citizens on the #EndBadGovernancelnNigeria protests, let me loudly say it was terribly underwhelming to read.
‘Your Speech reads like a page from your party manifesto and terribly failed to connect to what our Citizens on the Streets are angry and protesting about.
‘Your speech is quite a monumental missed opportunity to placate citizens with sound answers and outline of convincing evidence-based actions that you and your @NigeriaGov will immediately take to address the priority #BadGovernance concerns.
“Your Speech was sadly again written out of a mindset that is focused on “getting back at our enemies”. Imaginary enemies at that! No true Leader has the luxury of having “enemies” among their Citizens. Not at all. A Public Leader becomes the Leader of ALL with a mind that does not think of any as their enemies.
“This is why it is ever unfortunate to see Nigerian public “Leaders” talk and behave like Losers on matters of public governance where they are expected to rally their ALL Citizens behind the common purpose of nation building.
“It is nauseating to observe this recurrent innate unwillingness of Nigerian public leaders to admit responsibility for the demands of the same public leadership that they kill and maim citizens to assume.
“@officialABAT, Citizens know when they are being badly governed and from what one can see, Nigerians have now realized that they must collectively speak up and take action otherwise their self-obsessed rulers (and not leaders) will not pay them any heed at all.
“As we remember and pray for families of all our citizens mauled down or maimed for demanding an End to Bad Governance, let me call on you @officialABAT to immediately instruct the IG @PoliceNG and his men to “STOP KILLING PEACEFUL PROTESTERS NOW!”
“Also fish out all law enforcement personnel that have killed and maimed citizens and ensure they are sanctioned as a deterrence to their colleagues.”
Obasempire reports that at least 205 chairs, musical instruments, and other equipment valued at millions of naira were reportedly stolen by vandals in Katsina State on the first day of the ongoing nationwide planned peaceful protest against adversity.
Vandals targeted a Living Faith Church in the Daura Local Government Area, making off with 205 chairs, musical instruments, and other valuable items worth millions of naira.
Pastor David Sarki, who oversees the church, informed our correspondent in Katsina on Sunday that the church service had to be canceled because of the incident.
He said, “Because the hoodlums took everything inside the church on the first day of the protest, they decided to worship at their various home cells.
“We have two security personnel working in the church; one was on duty while the other was off. When the protest began around 10:00 am, the hoodlums just diverted to the church, many of them in Keke Napep (tricycle), broke the door and windows and entered the church auditorium.
“They took everything inside the church auditorium, including the wall digital clock, musical instruments, pulpit, pastor’s chairs, plastic chairs, a desktop computer at the reception, and a scoreboard where the accountant usually kept church documents. They scattered everything.
“Three churches were their target. They succeeded in invading the Living Faith Church and Deeper Life, but couldn’t gain access to the third one, which is the Anglican Church, because of the strong protection at the gate.”
He added, “We have informed the police and the army about it, and the police told us yesterday that they have made some arrests.
“I am surprised by this attack. When we are thinking about ending bad governance protests, which have now escalated to the invasion of churches, it is something that everyone should seriously condemn. It is not food that we store in the house of God; it is a place of worship. Why is it only a church? The government should come to the reality that they are serving humanity, and God will judge us all, whether political or religious leaders.
“My prayer for the perpetrators is that they should repent from what they are doing because for you to enter a church, a place of worship, is wrong, and you know you are not fighting, man. They should seek repentance. I know God is forgiving, and He will forgive them.”
Similarly, the Pastor in charge of Power of Resurrection in Katsina State, Nelson Onyekachuku, whose church was also invaded by the hoodlums during the protest in Katsina town, lamented the vandalisation of the church windows as the hoodlums could not gain access to the building due to the iron protectors of the church gate.
Onyekachuku, who is also the former state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Katsina, condemned the action entirely, noting that they should not add to the pain of the church.
He called on the government to change its policy, address the issues of the people and always ensure the protection of the church whenever such an incident happens.
Obasempire reports that Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s national address concerning the ongoing protests throughout the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Soyinka voiced his dismay and apprehension about the government’s response to the protests.
Soyinka observed that while the presidential address detailed the government’s corrective measures since its inception, it failed to adequately address the management of the protests.
He denounced the use of live ammunition and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, calling it a “regression” that recalls colonial-era acts of contempt.
Soyinka said, “I set my alarm clock for this morning to ensure that I did not miss President Bola Tinubu’s impatiently awaited address to the nation on the current unrest across the nation.
“His outline of government’s remedial action since inception, aimed at warding off just such an outbreak, will undoubtedly receive expert and sustained attention both for effectiveness and in content analysis.
My primary concern, quite predictably, is the continuing deterioration of the state’s seizure of protest management, an area in which the presidential address fell conspicuously short.
“Such short-changing of civic deserving, regrettably, goes to arm the security forces in the exercise of impunity and condemns the nation to a seemingly unbreakable cycle of resentment and reprisals.
“Live bullets as state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest.
Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation. They belong indeed in a class of their own, never mind the collateral claims emblazoned on posters.
“They serve as summons to governance that a breaking point has been reached and thus, a testing ground for governance awareness of public desperation.
The tragic response to the ongoing hunger marches in parts of the nation, and for which notice was served, constitutes a retrogression that takes the nation even further back than the deadly culmination of the watershed ENDSARS protests.
“It evokes pre-independence – that is, colonial – acts of disdain, a passage that induced the late stage pioneer Hubert Ogunde’s folk opera BREAD AND BULLETS, earning that nationalist serial persecution and proscription by the colonial government.”
Soyinka noted that the “nation’s security agencies cannot pretend unawareness of alternative models for emulation, civilized advances in security intervention”.
He said, “Need we recall the nationwide 2022/23 editions of what is generally known as the YELLOW VEST movement in France? Perhaps it is time to make such scenarios compulsory viewing in policing curriculum.
In all of the coverage that I watched, I did not catch one single instance of a gun leveled at protesters, much less fired at them even during direct physical confrontations.
“The serving of bullets where bread is pleaded is ominous retrogression, and we know what that eventually proves – a prelude to far more desperate upheavals, not excluding revolutions.
“The time is long overdue, surely, to abandon, permanently, the anachronistic resort to lethal means by the security agencies of governance. No nation is so under-developed, materially impoverished, or simply internally insecure as to lack the will to set an example.
All it takes is to recall its own history, then exercise the will to commence a lasting transformation, inserting a break in the chain of lethal responses against civic society”.
