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We Are 100% Ready for Productive 2020 Prudent Energy Handball Premier Tournament- Maigidansanma

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2020

….As Teams Arrives Friday, Hostilities commence Saturday 31st

Joel Ajayi

The Secretary-General of Handball Federation of Nigeria Mohammed Haruna Maigidansanma has revealed that the federation is 100 percent ready to have the best and special 2020 edition Prudent Energy handball league.

He stated this in an interview with Journalists in Abuja on the federation preparedness for the biggest handball tournament in the country.

According to him, we want to thank God for giving us another year, 2020 edition of Prudent Energy handball Premier League is going to be a special edition, consolidated one.

“Consolidated in the sense that we are not able to organize it in the phases, unlike previous editions, we used to have the first Phase by April and second phases by October because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are able to collapse it and have championship here in Abuja.

“Having said this, it’s so special in the sense that, there is a lot of hectic challenges of COVID, we went through a lot of assessment from the ministry to ensure we have all the COVID measure, procedural on the ground and through that ministry has sent the inspection teams they came, they saw and they were able to assess and made observations and some corrections so, along this line we have been given the approval.

“We thank the ministry for believing in the federation and we are going to follow tenaciously arrangement of the COVID.

“We are expecting the teams from Friday, although we would have started the league ENDSARS protest cause the delay and this Friday by God’s grace the teams will arrive and by Saturday 31st October we start the matches

“And we are going to have 10 female teams and 12 male teams respectively.” He hinted

Speaking on the expectations Maigidansanma, said that every team is coming to win and luckily for them, the subsidy has been jerked up to N300,000 against the previous N250,000 while the winner price is N1.250, 000 million; N1,000,000 and N750,000 respectively for both male and female categories.

“With all these motivations, it’s going to spur all the team to the action, however, we have sent out messages, we have communicates all teams all of them have done the test as they are arriving on Friday, we are going to get their certificates of the test which I believe they will not disappoint us.

“Every team is coming here to prove their worth, I want to believe we are going to have a very productive championship though, and there will be no spectators apart from stakeholders, Ministry possibly the journalists.

We are expecting to see the emergence of new players, this year we have newly four teams Delta force, Kogi Confluence for male and Kwara Adorable Angels, and Benue Queens and who promoted into elite division among these they are coming into the elite and they have young players, so it going to be an avenue to see more of our national teams.”

When asked if the federation having any challenge toward the Tournament? He replied: we don’t have many challenges because its sponsor championship and we have been enjoying the support of the ministry, the facilities are ready, both for the indoor and outdoor as well as the high-performance center where athletes will camp.

“The only challenges we have are the COVID but we are going to overcome it.” He assured.

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Featured

Tax Reform Bill Passage: New Tax Laws, Better Nigeria

Published

15 hours ago

May 9, 2025

The Gleamer

By Arabinrin Aderonke

Nigeria must work; this is the vision we have held onto for so long. When the news came that the Senate had passed all four tax reform bills, it was one of those moments you stop and ask yourself, is this really happening? For years, Nigeria’s tax system has been a source of frustration, something we all got used to criticizing. Truthfully, it was not just tax. From electricity to education to healthcare, we have long complained about the failure of government systems.

On top of that, Nigeria remained tied to the unstable global oil market, leaving us with unpredictable revenue and a shrinking ability to fund our future. That is exactly why we must keep believing in the idea of a new Nigeria. And this time, it is not just another round of promises, this is action.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu understood that to truly rebuild Nigeria, we needed a tax system that would create sustainable revenue, spread the burden fairly, and give every Nigerian, rich or poor, north or south, a reason to trust government again. That is what led to the introduction of the tax reform bills in 2024. It has taken months of serious policy work, consultation, and courage. Now, with the National Assembly passing all four bills, the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration (Procedure) Bill 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill 2024, and the Joint Tax Board (Establishment) Bill 2024, we are seeing decisions that could finally loosen Nigeria’s dependence on oil and give states the resources they need to grow.

One of the features is the new VAT sharing formula. Under the proposed structure, 50 percent of Value Added Tax revenue will be shared equally among all states, 20 percent will be distributed based on population, and 30 percent will be distributed according to actual consumption. It is a formula designed to balance fairness with performance, giving each state a stake while also encouraging economic activity and good governance.

The Senate also made it known that the VAT rate will remain at 7.5 percent, resisting pressure to increase it. For Nigerians, that means no new burden added to goods and services. But more importantly, the bills approved also provided for the continued funding of development agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). These are the institutions that support learning, research, and innovation across the country, and their survival is necessary for the future of the Nigeria we all want.

Another part of the bill is the plan to turn the Federal Inland Revenue Service into the Nigeria Revenue Service (Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill). But this is not just a name change. It is a coordinated effort to build a system that supports states, strengthens local government revenue, and makes tax collection more transparent.

Dr. Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of FIRS, has led the redesign of the agency and introduced many measures aimed at improving tax collection across the country, and even these Tax Reform Bills are one. If anyone has earned respect in this space, it is him. His work shows that reforms are possible when people in charge are ready to do better.

As it stands, all four tax reform bills have been passed, and these laws are now in place. This means Nigeria has completed what many consider the most needed tax reform in years.

The process now moves to the harmonization stage, where both the Senate and House of Representatives will come together to resolve any differences in their versions of the bills. Once they reach an agreement, the bills will be sent to the President for his final approval. After the President signs them into law, they will be published in the official gazette, making them official. From there, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which will be renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service, will take the lead in implementation. With the capable Tax Boss, Dr. Zacch, we can be sure that the results will exceed expectations.

This is the Renewed Hope Nigerians have been waiting for. The changes are here, these reforms give us the chance to do things right!

Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi is the technical assistant on broadcast media to the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service

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