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Naija Ratels President, Barr. Paul Edeh Visits New NWFL Secretariat

Published

5 years ago

September 10, 2020

….Donates Photocopier-Printer, Match-Balls Others

…. Advocates For More Teams in the NWFL.

The president of the Nigeria Women Football League side, Naija Ratels FC, Barrister Paul Edeh on Wednesday visited the new NWFL Secretariat which is under renovation, where he paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of the league, Mrs. Faith Ben-Anuge. The Naija Ratel boss also took advantage of the visit to donate a digital multi-functional copier, an embossed number clock, and twenty match balls to the NWFL.

The visit was primarily to congratulate Mrs Faith Ben-Anuge over her appointment by the NFF and seemed to touch on some critical issues on the growth and development of the league as well as seek for collaboration with the league body on the annual Naija-Ratels Pre-season Championship.

The Ratels President in his remarks said he deemed it necessary to pay the new Chief Operating Officer of the league a visit because the team enjoyed a very robust relationship with the former C.O.O, Dr Ayo Abdulrahman and thought the good tidings should continue considering the dynamism she was bringing to bear on the league.

” We have no doubt, that with your pedigree and dynamic leadership, having been around the women’s football cycle for some time now, your unique touch will boost the work of your predecessor. We are sure that you would get the job done diligently with the full backing of your boss, the Chairperson of the NWFL Ms. Aisha Falode.” He noted.

“Over the years, we have had to contend with the women’s league playing second fiddle to the men’s league.

” There is so much disparity when you compare the wages of the male footballers to female footballers both at the league level and at the level of the National Team.

” I urge you to use your good office as Chief Operating Officer to advocate for equal pay for both the men’s and women’s league. This I think is achievable considering the fact that some state-owned teams are already paying the same wages for both their male and female teams.

“No doubt, the NWFL Chairperson, Aisha Falode has introduced a lot of innovations and discipline into the league, she has succeeded in making the NWFL a huge success as she isn’t one who would bend laid down rules. She operates by the books as she thinks outside the box.

The Benue-born philanthropist went on to say that there is a need for the expansion of all tiers of the Nigeria Women Football League if there must be an improvement in female football in Nigeria.

” The expansion of the various tiers in the NWFL is also very necessary. It is not enough to advocate for equal pay, it is also important to emphasize that the male and female league should have more teams participating that that of the male league.

He noted further that “The NPFL has 20 teams, while the NWFL Premiership has 16 teams, the NNL has over 40 teams, while the NWFL Championship as at last year had only 5 teams, the NWFL Nationwide, which is meant to be the grassroots league had just 6 teams as at last year, while the NLO has over 300 teams.

” It is our responsibility to make grassroots football more attractive, as it is the bedrock of our football. Our vision as a club is to discover talents and bring them to the limelight.

“We have a great structure as a club and our clubhouse in Makurdi covers a landmass of 2000sqm and it is tastefully well furnished.

” I am glad to also announce that most of our players are on scholarship because we believe education must go together with football, while those who are not opportune to go to school are engaged in vocational training. Our recent enrollment of our girls in vocation training cost an upwards of 1.8M Naira in its first phase.

” I want to use this medium to solicit for collaboration with the NWFL to partner with Naija Ratels FC to host the Naija Ratels Pre-Season Tournament which will enable teams to test their players before the league fully takes off.

” The Naija Ratels Pre-season Championship is the biggest Pre-season tournament in Nigeria and it’s necessary that we form a partnership with the NWFL to make it even more robust.

” We look forward to having a bigger and better Pre-season Championship this year and we know with the support of the NWFL, we shall achieve our aims. “

Finally, the legal luminary cum football administrator while making a donation of a digital multi-functional Sharp Photocopier and Printer, embossed number clock, and twenty match balls to the NWFL Secretariat, stated that the urge to ensure a smooth and functional environment for the NWFL inspired him on the donation of the office equipment.

The Chief Operating Officer of the NWFL, Mrs Ben-Anuge, while receiving the donated equipment, described the donor, Bar. Paul Edeh as a women’s football patriot and one who has shown selflessness to the development of the league.

” We would like to express our very sincere gratitude to Bar. Paul Edeh for his contribution to the development of women’s football in the country.

” The Photocopier, Printer will indeed help to ease our official duties here at the NWFL Secretariat.

” Just like you rightly said, the chairperson of the league, Aisha Falode has done a lot to see our league become one of the best in the world. Last season, she single-handedly went all out to get sponsors for the league. We are looking forward to getting sponsorship for the league and call on corporate organizations and individuals to come forward and assist the league to grow. She said.

” Your proposal to partner with the NWFL is a welcome development and I will present your proposal to the Board and I have no doubt that the board will be favorably disposed to partner with you to host the Pre-Season Tournament. It may be necessary to consider hosting this edition in Abuja to encourage participation.”

“I hope someday, the Nigeria Football Federation sees a treasure in you and bring you to the glasshouse, where you can exhibit your wealth of experience. She concluded.

Also speaking, a board member of the NWFL, Mr. Joe Amene, who was present at the event, said the level of women’s football in Nigeria and indeed Africa has improved drastically, citing the introduction of the CAF Women’s Champions League as a leapfrog to success.

Mr. Amene also hailed Aisha Falode for the steady leadership in the NWFL, since she came in three years ago.

The experienced football administrator while thanking the President of Naija Ratels FC, Barrister Paul Edeh for his generosity also praised him for laying down good examples for other clubs in the NWFL to follow.

The C.O.O. took the Naija Ratels round the new NWFL office complex located in the former NFF Headquarters where he inspected the ongoing renovation of the office complex.

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

The Gleamer

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D

The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.

The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.

In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”

The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.

The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.

Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.

In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.

Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.

Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.

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