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NYSC Fortifies Partnership With NSCDC On Corps Members’ Security

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NYSC Strengthens Partnership With Nscdc On Corps Members’ Security

The National Youth Youth Service Corps has said it would strengthen its existing synergy with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in ensuring maximum security for Corps Lodges and NYSC Farms across the country.

It stated that in deepening the partnership, security would be provided for NYSC farmhouses, alongside other ventures of the Scheme.

NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu lbrahim stated this when he received the Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

Ibrahim who said all stakeholders must rally round Corps Members, described them as critical national assets that must be protected.

He disclosed that the Scheme has partnered relevant agencies, as well as transport unions, in addition to sensitising Corps Members on the need to take their safety more seriously and also avoid night journeys.

He revealed that Corps Members have been advised to break their journey if it is going beyond six in the evening and pass the night at the nearest police station, Nigeria Security and Defence Corps formations, or military barracks, including NYSC Secretariats, palaces, among other secured places.

The Director-General commended the NSCDC for introducing agro-rangers and female squad in the Corps.

He added that the Scheme has also resuscitated its farms in order to train Corps Members that have  passion for agriculture; but needs the assistance of NSCDC to ensure their safety while on the farms.

He lauded the Corps for its relentless efforts in tracking and arresting cybercriminals in the country.

Speaking further, Ibrahim commended the NSCDC personnel for their enthusiasm, commitment and resilience during Orientation programmes, adding “We want the Civil Defence Corps to be involved in tracking and prosecution of cyber criminals that may want to infiltrate our mobilisation process.

We will also like to sign an MoU with the NSCDC so that we can interface with you.

We will also appreciate if you can make your personnel available to secure our Corps Members so that they can leverage on the advantages of our farms and this requires protection”, he said.

The Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, said there is need for credible intelligence that will help the Corps in the discharge of its responsibilities.

He promised his readiness to strengthen the existing relationship between the NYSC and NSCDC.

The Commandant General said the NSCDC has been providing security for agro-allied investments in the country, especially the farmers.

He added that the three basic responsibilities of the Corps include; protection of critical assets and government infrastructures, disaster mitigation by assisting victims, and registration, licensing and monitoring of private guard companies.

“I am here to strengthen the existing relationship between NYSC and NSCDC. We must come together and we are ready to strengthen our collaboration” he said.

The NSCDC Commandant General and other members of his entourage were led by the NYSC Director-General on a tour of the newly established NYSC Museum before their departure.

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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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