News

Nigerian Technical Aid Corps to Partner Federal Inland Revenue Service for Enhanced Service Delivery

Published

2 years ago

November 21, 2024

Joel Ajayi

The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have agreed to constitute an Ad Hoc joint Committee to work out modalities on how the both federal agencies will interface for a greater service delivery of their both mandates for the benefits of recipient countries of the Technical Aid Corps scheme.

This was the high point of a meeting held, Wednesday,in Abuja when the Director,Inter-Governmental Relations Department of the FIRS,Dr.Umaru Idris Ahmed led a delegation of the Service to a courtesy call on the Director General of NTAC,Rt.Hon.Yusuf Buba Yakub.

Speaking during the visit,Rt.Hon. Buba informed his guests that the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps was established in 1987 with a mandate to drive the Technical Aid Corps scheme as an instrument of soft power diplomacy for the promotion of the nation’s foreign policy goals in African, Caribbean and the Pacific nations.

He added that in the past 37 years of driving the mandate NTAC has deployed over 10,000 highly trained professionals in diverse fields of endeavour to 40 countries across the world and has showcased Nigeria as a friend to those countries in the spirit of the United Nations’ South-South Co-operation.

“Today,as we speak,the Scheme is not limited to just interventions in the Health and Education sectors,but also in Engineering,in the Judiciary and even Artisanship.

“For instance,today,the Chief Judge of The Gambia and many Legal Draftsmen are Nigerians.Nigerian Professors are also currently heading the prestigious University of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology in that country.There are so many cases like these across the world so that today going forward we are thinking,with the necessary amendments to our statues here,of attracting the needed foreign exchange from the services of some of these professionals we send out to share our abundant human resources with our sister countries of the ACP Region,”the DG informed.

Earlier speaking,the Director of the IGRD and leader of the Federal Inland Revenue Service delegation,Dr.Ahmed told their hosts that the delegation was at the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps to advance the building of new relationships with MDAs in line with the mandate of the newly established Inter-Governmental Relations Department of FIRS.

He also informed that the Department,which was established at the FIRS in March this year, had the sole mandate of fostering relationships between the Agency,the MDAs of Government and the private sector. The above he said was in order to further project the image of the Service in good light in relation to its role in tax reforms for national development in the Tinubu Administration.

Dr. Ahmed further informed that,being a member of both the African Tax Forum(ATAF) and the West African Tax Forum(WTAF),he would strive to liaise with those professional bodies to ascertain how NTAC could assist some ACP countries with the competencies of some Nigerian tax experts.

Among those present at the meeting on the side of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps were the Director of Administration at the Agency,Amb.Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed;the Director of Programmes,Amb.Zakari Usman as well as the Deputy Director of Administration,Amb.Saidu D
Muhammed and Mr.Saidu Idris Yusuf,a Deputy Director in the Accounts Department.

Officers from the FIRS include the following:
Mrs.Shehu Ganiyah,Ashu A.S,Mr.Silas Onweydu as well as Mr.Okim Thomas.While others were Mr.Usman Ibrahim and Amina Abdullahi.

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Politics

APC Alleges Atiku, ADC Plot to Undermine Kaduna Campaign Flag-Off

Published

6 hours ago

October 24, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of allegedly orchestrating a disinformation campaign to discredit the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.

In a statement issued on Saturday, October 24, 2026, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, alleged that the former vice president and the ADC planned to circulate fake news, manipulated documents and doctored videos to undermine the campaign, President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
Alake claimed that the alleged disinformation campaign involved the use of artificial intelligence, deepfake videos, counterfeit documents and social media platforms to manipulate public opinion.
According to him, the alleged plot had already begun with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.

He alleged that the image was misrepresented to suggest that security personnel had been deployed to protect APC billboards, adding that the narrative was subsequently published by a national newspaper and shared by Atiku on his official social media accounts.

The APC spokesperson further alleged that another document had been circulated online, purportedly showing a letter from Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, concerning an alleged release of ₦2.3 trillion by the Kaduna State Government to host the rally.

Describing the claim as baseless, Alake questioned the possibility of a state government spending such an amount on a political rally.

He noted that Kaduna State’s budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 stood at ₦458.271 billion, ₦790.439 billion and ₦985.9 billion, respectively.

According to him, the combined budgets for the three years amounted to less than ₦2.3 trillion, which he cited as evidence to challenge the claim circulating online.

Alake also alleged that the ADC and Atiku’s supporters were preparing to circulate old, manipulated and deepfake videos during the rally to create the impression of public resentment against the APC.

The council urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and verify information before sharing it, warning against the spread of misleading content on social media and other platforms.It further accused Atiku and the ADC of resorting to what it described as desperate tactics to gain political advantage ahead of future electoral contests.

The allegations were contained in a statement signed by Alake on behalf of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on Saturday.Atiku Abubakar and the ADC’s response to the allegations was not included in the statement.

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