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DG Advises Corps Members On Security

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Joel Ajayi 


Corps Members gave been advised to avoid risky engagements throughout the service year. 


NYSC Director-General, Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim, gave the advice on Tuesday while addressing the 2022 Batch ‘A’ Stream One Corps Members deployed to Kogi State at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Asaya, Kabba.


He urged them to avoid night travelling, lone movements and acceptance of ride from strangers, adding that they should report suspicious activities around them to the law enforcement agencies. 


Ibrahim also enjoined them to use the period of the Orientation Course to imbibe teamwork, build lasting friendship, promote the unity of the country, add value to themselves and the NYSC.


The DG said many of their predecessors had made history by distinguishing themselves through participation in national assignments such as elections, immunization programmes, population and housing census and COVID-19 prevention, among others.


He also stressed the need for them to always be of good conduct, adding: “Shun cybercrimes, drug abuse, cultistism and other acts of criminality. You must be good ambassadors of families, NYSC and your institutions”.


The Director-General urged the Corps Members to obey set rules and regulations in their places of primary assignment. 


He warned that the Scheme would not condone acts of indiscipline, and that every infraction would attract sanctions as stipulated in the NYSC Bye-Laws.


“You are the future leaders of this country, you must be disciplined, respectful, obedient, patriotic and hardworking. Note that the rules and regulations in your places of primary assignment are also binding on you,” he added.


General lbrahim sensitized the Corps Members on the criteria for selection of winners of the President’s NYSC Honours Award, stressing that they must excel in all the four cardinal programmes of the Scheme, namely: Orientation Course, Primary Assignment, Community Development Service and Winding-Up/Passing-Out activities. 


“Once you relocate from Kogi State or change your place of Primary Assignment, you are disqualified,” he said. 


The DG advised the Corps Members to embrace the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme of the Scheme, aimed at  empowering them for self-employment and wealth creation. 


He said many of their predecessors that went through the programme had become employers of labour.


“Please, open your minds so that you will benefit immensely from the skill acquisition training. Avoid cutting corners: drive your vision with passion; remain focused and the sky will be your limit,” he added. 


He informed them that Bill for the establishment of NYSC Trust Fund that would empower Corps Members with start-up capitals to establish their businesses as they exit service had passed through the second reading followed by public hearing at the National Assembly.  He said when actualized, the Fund would reduce the rate of unemployment and insecurity among the youths.


The Director-General enjoined the Corps Members to identify felt needs of their host communities and initiate projects that would positively improve their standard of living.
He warned against using their personal money or borrowing to fund the projects, stressing that they should source for funds from within the community.


He urged the Corps Members to be guided by the spirit and letters of their Oath of Allegiance even beyond the Service period.


“As Corps Members, you are supposed to propagate the ideals of NYSC. 


“The unity of the country should be paramount to you and you should avoid anything that will jeopardise the unity, integration and cohesion of this country. You must let the spirit of NYSC live in you,” lbrahim added.


The DG warned against the negative use of the social media, advising that they should use same for promotion of national unity and development.

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Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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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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