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THIS IS WHAT GOV. UGWUANYI SAID AFTER THE UZO-UWANI MASSACRE IN 2016.

Published

4 years ago

April 29, 2021

By Jeff Ejiofor

In the words of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a former President of Nigeria, people can go out of their way in a most vicious manner just to achieve political power. The malicious actious of some Enugu politicians especially their despicable campaign of calumny against Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is a perfect reflection of the above views. Simply because of succession struggle and quest to become politically relevant prior and post 2023, some desparate politicians of Enugu State extraction have thrown caution and decency to the winds. They have wittingly engaged in dirty wars of attrition against the state chief executive. This became more despicably pronounced after the 2019 elections that urshered in the current office holders.

Quite unfortunately, the latest in the serries of these malicious actions was the recent online publication about a purported call to Mr President by Governor Ugwuanyi in the wake of April 25th, 2016 massacre of some indigenes of Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state. Suddenly, a publication of fabricated story of Governor Ugwuanyi narrating his ordeal in the hands of the presidency after a purported call emerged barely four years after the incident. What got me and any other informed mind thinking was the possible undercurrent agenda of the perpetrators of this dastardly act which is capable of misleading the gullible segment of the society in a country where people don’t apply critical reasoning when digesting news articles. Uptill this moment, I am yet to come to terms with the motive behind this strange allegation on an innocent good man who should ordinarily be receving maximum support from the people at a perilous time like this when leadership is most demanding in the history of Nigeria.

Well, having gone through some malicious narratives on social media where the Governor’s rebuttal was posted, I am compelled to put the records straight from a conventional media publication about what actually transpired for people to judge.

Below was a story by Vanguard of 30th April, 2016. We will also recall that the incident took place on April, 25th, 2016. I did not remove or add anything as the records are there on the internet for anybody to access.

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ENUGU ATTACK— I alerted security operatives before Fulani herdsmen attack, says Ugwuanyi
I alerted security operatives before Fulani herdsmen attack, says Ugwuanyi

By Francis Igata

Following the slaughter of 46 Ukpabi, Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State natives last Monday, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on Friday, accused security agencies in the state of complicity despite assurances they gave him that planned attack will be forestalled.

Ugwuanyi made the accusation while speaking in an emotional laden tone during a news briefing at Government House attended by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu,Deputy Governor,Cecila Ezeilo,all serving senators and House of Representatives members in the state.

The governor’s speech read in part:”On Sunday, April 24, by 7 pm, the night before this carnage took place, I got security information from Uzo-Uwani Local Government Transition Chairman, Hon. Cornell Onwubuya that such an incident was likely to take place in the state.

I immediately summoned a meeting of the State Security Council which commenced by 10 pm.

The meeting was attended by the following: Garrison Commander, Brigadier General Olufemi Akinjobi who normally represents the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division Nigerian Army; the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu; the State Director of Department State Security Services (DSS), Mr. M. Abdul Malik; the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Lar Stephen; Representatives of the Nigerian Air force, Federal Road Safety Corps and Nigerian Prison Services, who attended as observers.

“From the side of government were, myself, the Governor, the Deputy Governor, the Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff, the Chairman, State Traditional Rulers Council and the Honourable Attorney General of the State.

“In the meeting, we received assurances from the Commissioner of Police that the Area Commander of SARS was on ground in Nimbo. That the Anti-Terrorism Unit was at Nimbo. That he was in contact with the Kogi State Commissioner of Police and reported suspected herdsmen grouping at Odolu in Kogi State preparatory for an attack on Nimbo and Abbi communities. That Police mobile force and conventional police were already drafted to Nimbo and Abbi communities. That he was in touch with the Area Commander, Idah, ACP Ikegwuonwu and had linked him with the Area Commander, Nsukka, ACP Monday Kuryas. Both men according to the CP reported that there were no traces of suspected herdsmen in Nsukka or Idah.

“That he ordered the Area Commander, Nsukka to redeploy to Nimbo. That the Garrison Commander on his part assured the meeting that Military was already deployed to6 Nimbo. Let me state that the State Government provided logistics for these deployments. After receiving these assurances of deployments to Nimbo, I felt quite confident that we had done everything possible to forestall an attack on Nimbo.”

“I have deliberately narrated what transpired at the Security Council meeting fully conscious of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution pertaining to my oath of office. I am doing this in due discharge of my duties as Governor.

“Sadly, in the early hours of Monday reports of this carnage reached me. More disturbing was the report that the attack of innocent and defenceless citizens were carried out at about 6.30 am. Further reports available to me indicate that apart from the killing and maiming of innocent and defenceless citizens of Nimbo, a Church was also burnt. Following this development, I engaged the security agencies in order to ensure that the Nimbo area was secured from further attacks that might escalate the situation.

“I am at once, constituting a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the immediate and remote causes of all the violent occurrences in the State associated with suspected Fulani Herdsmen and recommend appropriate measures that will be put in place to prevent future occurrence.

“What happened between 6.30am and 7.30 am on Monday 25th April, 2016 despite assurances from the Security Agencies? Only the Security Agencies can answer this question”.

From the above publication by a reputable conventional media organization, Vanguard Newspaper, people with rational mindset have seen the true situation of things. As declared by Gov. Ugwuanyi, at no time did he call anybody in the presidency, let alone Mr President. This is the true account of what happened as captured by the media. Ugwuanyi on receiving security reports prior to the attack, convened a security council meeting as the Governor where he got assurances from security agencies that the situation was under control. As a result of lapses on the part of the security agencies which were largely headed by southerners then, the Governor naturally expressed displeasure as clearly shown in the above publication and nothing more. Unfortunately, what the peddlers of this evil and malicious rumour intend to achieve is beyond any rational reasoning. This is pure wickedness from children of perdition already condemned to the abyss.

Finally, I want to encourage my Governor, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to continue doing good without wavering, the grace of the Almighty God is abundant to him and in the fulness of time, he will be vindicated and providence will surely smile at him.

Enugu remains in the hands of God!

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

2 weeks 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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