Featured
Bar. Edeh Offers Scholarship To Over 40 Players

…Says Football Can Help Tackle Gender-Based Violence
Football as a sport is an important tool to bring people together and also educate boys about true masculinity, violence prevention, and the rights of women. That’s why NWFL Championship side, Naija Ratels Football Club took out time to play a novelty match against a team assembled by its President, Barrister Paul Edeh on the 6th of February 2021 at the Area 3 Football pitch, Abuja.

A minute of silence was held before the start of the match in memory of victims of Gender-based violence across the world.
The game which featured some notable individuals was filled with fun and excitement, as both teams united to end violence against women. The Naija Ratels Ladies scored first through Adanna Nwachukwu before Kenny Jubril equalized late on for the Barrister Paul Edeh side to make it 1-1.
“Sport is a vital tool for building peace and understanding across nations and can also be a powerful instrument to oppose violence against the girl child, helping promote gender equality and also children’s right”, said Naija Ratels President, Barrister Paul Edeh.
“I passionately believe in the power of sport. The values that I have as a man, leader, husband, and father must be used to help women who are being abused and to focus our attention on preventing abuse from happening by educating boys about true masculinity, violence prevention, and the rights of women.
The United Nations SDG Peace Ambassador further stated that he will be offering scholarships to all his players to the University level, noting that those who failed WAEC and NECO will retake it, while UTME forms will be brought for those with required credits.
“We live in a society where too much attention has been taken away from the girl child. We live in a society where the girl child appears to be abandoned and neglected. We live in a society where the emphasis on the social vices associated with what we do against the girl child isn’t highlighted.
“So today, I came together with my friends to be able to highlight a very topical theme which has to do with Gender-based violence, we have come here to say no to gender-based violence, that the girl child needs to be given the opportunity to express themselves in a society that belongs to them as well.
“When we forayed into the game of football, investing in the game of football, we decided we aren’t going to do it business as usual, we knew the education of these children was very key, hence we decided to give all of them scholarships and help them realize their dreams, also we diversified into farming and other business to keep funding these girls who have left their homes to come to play for Naija Ratels. Their welfare is well catered for and that’s very important for us.” He concluded.
A lawyer and human rights activist, Barrister Nicholas Elechi lauded the initiative and tasked the Federal Government, NFF, and other notable Stakeholders to give more support to Barr. Paul Edeh in the project.
“We are marking an end to violence against women in the society with this event. It’s amazing what Barrister Paul Edeh is doing. A single individual doing what so many Nigerians cannot do. He has given scholarships to over forty girls which will enable them to get the best of education. It’s really amazing
“He is a very good example of what it means to be a great Nigerian. Wilson Churchill once said: ‘ If every Englishman can defend his family, the whole of England will be defended.”
“I urge the Nigerian Government, NFF and other key stakeholders to support him in this course. I am really impressed.”
Also, Ex-International and Chairman of Kogi United and Confluence Queens, Abdul Sule, who was one of the participants, thanked the convener, Barrister Paul Edeh for giving support and recognition to the girlchild, noting that he will always be available for anything that has to do with gender-based violence.
The one-day event had notable individuals present, such as former Super Eagles striker Abdul Sule, legendary Goalkeeper John Gaadi, Barrister Nicholas Elechi, Future Eagles Manager, Usman Ilerika, Nigeria U-17 women football team manager, Bankole Oloowokere, Chairman Nigeria Coaches Association, FCT, Godwin Bamigboye, Special Assistant to the Minister for State, FCT, Ndaliman Babajirgi, Comrade Azikwe, Top Sports Journalists, Udeme George, Grace John, and many others.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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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