Soldiers abandon duty posts over ‘lack of weapons to fight Boko Haram’

 

About 100 officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army have deserted their duty posts around Marte in Borno state, military sources have told TheCable. 

Marte, Dikwa and other neighbouring communities have come under continuous attacks from Boko Haram insurgents in the past weeks. 

In February, the troops recaptured Marte from the insurgents. The victory followed a 48-hour ultimatum given by Ibrahim Attahiru, the chief of army staff. 

While giving the ultimatum, the army chief promised to provide the necessary things needed by the troops in the fight. 

But military sources said the troops’ requests for reinforcement and additional weapons from the authorities were turned down, and they learnt that the insurgents were planning to launch another attack. 

“They deserted in protest, actually,” one of the sources said. 

“When the enemies attacked earlier, the troops were dislodged because they didn’t have enough ammunition to match those of BHT. But, the troops pulled the courage, returned and cleared that area, giving the BHT a run back to the bushes.

“They were expecting that the authorities would send in reinforcement and more equipment for them to prepare against any incoming attack. But sadly, they didn’t see anything. Most of them got angry and left.”

Mohammed Yerima, army spokesperson, was not immediately available to comment on the development. 

In a memo, however, from the Operation Lafiya Dole headquarters, the officers and soldiers were accused of absconding from a defensive location during the Boko Haram attack on Marte and Dikwa.

“You are requested to declare the named officers and soldiers’ deserters WEF 19 Feb 21. You are also requested to cause HQ NAFC to freeze their accounts and apprehend/bring them under military escort to this Headquarters if seen within your AOR,” a part of the memo read. 

- THECABLE

Manchester United’s Phil Chisnall is dead

 

Manchester United legend, Phil Chisnall, is dead.

He passed on at the age of 78.

Man United made this known in a statement via its Twitter handle on Thursday ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester City on Sunday.

“We are saddened by the passing of our former forward, Phil Chisnall,” Man United tweeted.

“Phil was a product of our famed youth system and represented the club during Sir Matt Busby’s tenure.

“Our deepest sympathies are with his loved ones.”

Chisnall, a former forward, also played for Liverpool during his football career.

- DAILY POST

Pele receives COVID-19 vaccine

 

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Brazilian soccer great popularly known as Pele, has received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a post on his Instagram page on Tuesday, the football legend described the moment as “unforgettable” while urging people not to let down their guard against the deadly virus.

The 80-year-old, who forms part of the population considered at high risk of coronavirus complications, could be seen wearing a mask and giving a thumbs-up while he received his shot.

“Today is an unforgettable day — I received the vaccine! The pandemic is not over yet. We must keep discipline to preserve lives until many people have taken the vaccine,” Pele wrote.

“Please continue to wash your hands and stay home if possible. When you go out please don’t forget your mask and maintain social distance. This will pass if we can think of others and help each other.”

Brazil has already administered more than 8.47 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Pele has self-isolated at his house in Sao Paulo since the pandemic, which has left nearly 260,000 dead in Brazil, where vaccination has been slow.

Last week was the country’s deadliest since the beginning of the pandemic, with 8,244 confirmed virus-related deaths.

The football legend’s public appearances have been more limited in recent years due to deteriorating health.

Pele is regarded as the greatest football player of all time. He is the only player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).

- THECABLE

FIRS: We found 6,722 companies with N1bn banking turnover paying no taxes

 

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it discovered that 6,722 companies, partnerships and enterprises with a banking turnover of N1 billion were not paying taxes as of May 2018.

Mohammed Nami, the FIRS executive chairman, was speaking on Wednesday at a virtual meeting on the review of a ‘Report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Relation to Tax’ organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Nami said the tax agency wrote to all the commercial banks in the country in May 2018, requesting a list of companies, partnerships and enterprises with N1 billion banking turnover.

A total of 23 banks were said to have responded and provided a list of 18,602 companies, partnerships and enterprises with N1 billion banking turnover.

“The companies, partnerships and enterprises paying some type of taxes were 11,830 and 6,722 were not paying taxes,” Nami said.

The FIRS boss explained that N37.327 billion had been recovered from defaulting taxpayers as of September 2019 and there are 4,500 companies, partnerships and enterprises to be enforced upon.

For companies with a banking turnover of between N100 million and N999 million, tax compliance of above 56 percent was recorded and 45,283 companies not paying full taxes were discovered.

According to Nami, N45.8 billion had been recovered from defaulting taxpayers as of September 2019.

The FIRS boss said corruption and abuse of office by civil servants and political public office holders remained a major enabler of illicit financial flows (IFFs) from the country adding that the unwholesome practices of multinationals, financial institutions and oil and gas companies remained the biggest component of IFFs in Nigeria.

“We are striving to reduce the money laundering, terrorism financing, illicit flow of money from Nigeria and the effects of beneficial ownership as it is causing economic downturn which has an unprecedented effect on the economy and lives of Nigerians,” he said.

“Stiffer laws and regulations will be enacted to deter future IFF actions by people determined to engage in such acts most especially in the new trend of virtual currencies which is a new technology on illicit financial flows.”

Bolaji Owasanoye, the ICPC chairman, said taxation has played a strategic role in the economy of states hence the need for the gathering.

Owasanoye explained that taxation is more important for Nigeria because of the struggle to break the dependence on oil revenue and boost tax revenue.

- THECABLE

Lagos leads as COVID-19 kills 16 Nigerians in 24 hours

 

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 16 additional COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,939.

The NCDC made the disclosure on its official Twitter handle late on Wednesday, as Nigeria’s
confirmed cases hit 156, 963.

Three previously confirmed cases in Nasarawa State were added to the cumulative report.

The NCDC disclosed that the total number of active coronavirus cases was 19,212 after a decrease of 401 in the past 24 hours.

The agency also reported 464 new COVID-19 infections from 21 states and the FCT in the past 24 hours.

The number of recoveries was put at 135,831, with 1,280 new discharges in the past 24 hours.

The latest discharges, included 229 community recoveries in Lagos State, 144 in Imo and 45 in Akwa Ibom.

Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub remains the epicentre of the virus, recording 131 of the 464 new cases. But on Wednesday it recorded zero death out of the 16 reported..

Edo and Katsina led with five deaths each. Edo now has 175 covid-19 related deaths.

Katsina has its death toll increase from 29 to 34.

Oyo, already with 110 deaths, recorded four more on Wednesday.

Kaduna and Osun also recorded a death each. Kaduna now has a death toll of 63 and osun 51.

Here is a breakdown of the cases recorded on Wednesday:

Lagos-131
Kaduna-69
Akwa Ibom-33
Imo-31
Katsina-30
Kano-26
Ondo-23
Yobe-20
FCT-18
Ogun-13
Rivers-12
Kebbi-11
Ekiti-9
Osun-6
Oyo-6
Borno-5
Gombe-5
Plateau-5
Edo-4
Abia-3
Delta-3
Zamfara-1

156,963 confirmed
135,831 discharged
1,939 deaths

- PM NEWS

Makinde: Ranching is private business — we won’t provide land for free

 

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, says private investors who wish to rear cattle in the state will have to procure land for ranching.

Makinde was commenting on the reactions that trailed his statement on the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) in the state.

The NLTP was developed by states and adopted by National Economic Council to address the farmer-herder crisis in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday when he met with Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, his Kwara state counterpart, Makinde said the NLTP “which is already being implemented in Kwara state would be implemented in Oyo state leading to further collaborations between both states on economy and security”.

Some people, however, confused his statement with RUGA , a plan which was suspended by the federal government following a public outcry.

Clarifying his statement, Makinde said the NLTP will not be implemented as a whole.

According to him, only the aspect of the plan beneficial to the state will be implemented.

“My attention has been drawn to this tweet regarding the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan during the joint security meeting, yesterday. For the avoidance of doubt, when I said we would implement the plan, I didn’t mean a wholesale implementation,” Makinde wrote.

“We will be taking aspects which are beneficial for our state. As I have stated on several occasions, our position in Oyo State is that ranching is a private business and should be carried out as such.

“Our admin won’t be providing land for free to private investors for ranching.”

- THECABLE

Nation that treats bandits better than intellectuals will not succeed – Fmr Gov, Peter Obi

 A former governor of Anambra State and the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Peter Obi has said that Nigeria will hardly become a successful country if bandits are considered above intellectuals for a meeting by the federal government.

Obi stated this on Wednesday during the unveiling and presentation of a book by Prof. Chinyere Okunna at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka.

Prof. Okunna is the Director of UNIZIK Radio and was a Commissioner and chief of staff to Obi while he was governor.

Obi who was a special guest of honour said, “Oil money used to be the major earner for Nigeria, but today the world is moving away from oil. The knowledge sector is now the industry that is earning money.

“Prof Okunna (the author) who we are celebrating today, I can tell you earns less than a political thug. Nigeria prefers to pay bandits and dialogue with them than to pay or meet with resourceful and hard-working intellectuals.

“Nigeria will not succeed if we continue asking bandits to come to a meeting and we are not calling professors to a meeting. That is why the country is where it is today. May God help Nigeria.”

Obi said he never knew the author of the book before appointing her commissioner, but he became interested in her when he saw her CV as a nominee when he was governor. He said many people protested her appointment because they said she was not a member of the party but he remained resolute because he needed the right team to do the job.

He admonished that, “People come to me to ask advice on the kind of people they should give appointments to and I say to them, ‘take people who can tell you the truth no matter how painful’.

“If you listen to the people who tell you the sweet things all the time, then you’ll fail. If you have an exco where they do not argue and disagree with you, then you have a bunch of idiots and of course, we have a lot of idiots in Nigeria. People who claim they know everything are idiots. How can we pay people who are bandits when we have not paid those who are working?” Obi asked.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Charles Esimone said, “We’re working to become the 200th University in the world. I have seen the vision and it is achievable.

“It’ll take focus, innovation and a lot of hard work to achieve that. Excellence is the thing we should be celebrating in universities, innovation, scholarship and others.”

- DAILY POST