Category: Featured

Actress Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days in prison.

Huffman also received a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and one year supervised release, federal court Judge Indira Talwani said today in Boston.

Before announcing the sentencing, Talwani said Huffman knew what she did was wrong, saying, “She knew it was a fraud it was not an impulsive act.”

A group of civil society organisations (CSOs) have urged the Federal Government not to follow through with the plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT), saying that it will increase poverty and widen inequality.

Daybreak reports that the CSOs were reacting to the recent announcement by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, that the Federal Executive Council had approved the proposal to increase VAT from five percent to 7.5 percent.

The CSOs, under the auspices of Tax Justice and Governance Platform, (TJGP) Nigeria, in a joint statement on Friday in Abuja, advocated for the promotion of a progressive, fair and transparent system in which domestic resources would be utilised for people-oriented development.

NAN reports that the statement was made available to newsmen by Mr Chinedu Bassey, on behalf of the steering committee and members of the Tax Justice and Governance Platform

The CSOs in the Platform are Christian Aid, ActionAid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, OXFAM Nigeria and Imo State Tax Justice and Governance Platform.

“We call on the Federal Government to pay serious attention to widening the tax net rather than increasing the rate, which will only place more burden on the few that complies and still exempts the majority that do not pay taxes.

“If government wants to still go ahead with the increase, we expect empirical projections and evidence-based expected outputs to indicate that the tax yield from the increase will outweigh any disadvantage and potential negative impact.

“We also want the government to guarantee that majority of Nigerians will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the proposed measures,” they said.

The CSOs urged government to, in the meantime, reduce the tax incentives granted to multinationals and consider full digitisation of the processes of tax administration to curb leakages in the system.

They also called for the establishment of the beneficial ownership register in Nigeria as a measure of knowing people’s real worth and what they were expected to pay as tax.

“We call on the Federal Government to again beam its searchlight on illicit financial flows from Nigeria, as it represents a source of substantial revenue leakage and loss to government.

“We call on the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that the FIRS is not compelled to impose hardships on hapless Nigerians in a bid to generate taxes to meet unrealistic targets.

“The platform calls on the Federal Government to improve market information and transparency by implementing the National Tax Policy,” they said.

The group called on all Nigerians, especially civil society organisations, the media and labour, to continue to raise their voices against measures and policies that would further impoverish Nigerians.

By Jennifer Yusuf

Chinese Cultural Centre has organized the first Chorus Competition for secondary schools in Abuja as part of activates to celebrate the 70^th National Day of the founding of the People’s Republic of China which coincides with Nigeria’s national day of October 1^st.

The musical showpiece which had 9 secondary schools in Abuja competing was hosted by Government Girls Secondary School, Dutse, in the Bwari area council of the Federal Capital Territory.

In a speech delivered by the Director, China Cultural Centre, Mr. Li Xuda, he stated that the competition was put together to promote education and the cultural values of Nigeria and China. He noted that China and Nigeria are blessed with rich cultural heritage which should be promoted and protected at all cost.

“China and Nigeria would benefit a lot in the future by these acts we have undertaken to harness talents and promote cultural heritage through this “Jasmine flower song competition.”

Mr. Xuda, also used the occasion to reiterate the commitment of China towards the sustenance of the cordial and bilateral relationships that exist between Nigeria and China.

“Nigeria has gained a lot of benefits since the inception of diplomatic ties with China. Both countries have had shared benefits in education, social, cultural and economic development, of which Education and Culture are priority to the Chinese Cultural Centre” he said.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Chairman, FCT secondary Education Board, Hon. Yahaya Musa Muhammad who sent a representative said, China has done a lot to promote education in Abuja, noting that lots of students have been beneficiaries of its scholarships and awards.

“I am glad to see our students beautifully kitted and performing the ‘Jasmine flower song in Chinese language. I would give honor to the Chinese Embassy  and the Cultural Centre for organizing this competition to harness the exceptional talents of our students The Education Board will continue to work hand in hand with the Chinese Cultural Centre to see that this maiden edition is not the last,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the competing schools Mr. Yusuf Barde, Vice- Principal, Government Girls Secondary school, Dutse thanked the Chinese Cultural Centre for its eagle eye in identifying “culture” as a tool of moral regeneration in our youths saying that our culture has been devalued by copying negative western cultures which are presented as popular culture to our youths.

“What China Cultural Centre has done is first of its kind by an international cultural organization and we are very grateful that our students have experienced speedy cultural orientation as it concerns Chinese and Nigerian cultures. Since the announcement of this competition earlier this year, our students have shown a lot of enthusiasm” he said.

The competition which is a first in the country, had Government Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja claiming the first prize. Awards were given to outstanding performers and consolation prizes to all participants.

By Mike Mike

The move by the government to regulate the financial inflow of non-profit organisations(NPO) has been described as a right step in the right direction.

This was the concession reached on Friday as Spaces For Change, a non-profit organization held its consultative meeting with civil society organisations in Abuja.

According to them, the move will help checkmate the inflow of funds for illegal use by some of the organisations which may be aiding money laundering and terrorism.

Speaking on the need to improve their services and help the government in that direction, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said the Financial Action Task Force, (FATF) which is responsible for the assessment of national risk  understands the need.

Ibezim-Ohaeri said it must be noted that money laundering and terrorism funding if properly monitored will help countries take appropriate measures to counter any threats so identified.

She said that this year’s meeting centred on the review of the Space for Change’s 2017 review which examined the link between the FATF recommendation 8 and restrictions on civic freedom in Nigeria.

“That study detailed how domestic efforts to comply with this international provision has not only opened the door for states to introduce the restrictive legislation but also given them further ground to crush dissent, violate civil liberties and impose restriction on civil society,” she state.

Space for Change was established in 2011 with the intent to increase the participation of women, youth and communities in the development of social economic policy and also helped public authorities and corporate entities put humanity right at the heart of their decision makings.

On their part, the CSO numbering over 20, said while it welcomes the evaluation of FAFT, they believed that there are critical areas of concern which should be put in  place to curb corruption or combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government will take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

Osinbajo’ spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the vice president made the pledge on Thursday during a visit to Alhaji Muhammadu Bashar, the Emir of Gwandu in Kebbi State.

The vice president, who thanked the traditional ruler for hosting him, said he was in the state to “do a lot of things” one of which was to inaugurate the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).

He said he would also take a look at the new markets that had been rebuilt after the fire, and also ensure that some of the schemes being implemented to boost living standards were truly in place..

“ One of the very important schemes is what is called the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, which has the TraderMoni and MarketMoni.

“ TraderMoni is the scheme where we give petty traders N10,000, and when they pay back, N15,000, then N20,000 and it goes on and on to N100,000.

“The president’s desire for this programme is that every hard-working citizens of this country should be able to have some support from government, no matter how little their inventory.

“Today, at the market, I passed a woman who was selling vegetables and I asked her how much her whole inventory was, the whole thing was N500; it is for such people, such petty traders, that the TraderMoni N10,000 is meant, so that they can buy more.

“The President has promised that by the grace of God, we are going to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

“I believe very strongly that we are going to achieve that, but we can only achieve it with the able support of the state governments,’’ the statement quoted Osinbajo as saying.

A physiotherapist, Dr Michael Egwu, has said that back pain, neck pain, urinary retention, spinal dysfunction and cervical headache can be treated effectively through physical and manual methods of physiotherapy.

Egwu made the assertion in his address during the Nwuga Physiotherapy Foundation Distinguished Annual Lecture on Thursday in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture was entitled: “Nwugarian Techniques of Manipulative Therapy (NTMT): A Solution to Myriads of human ailments’’.

According to him, the manual NTMT method of physiotherapy can help a lot of people suffering from different debilitating ailments over medication and surgery.

“Millions of people are suffering from problems relating to the back and many of them have given up hope on ever finding relieve.

“Back pain is a long recognised ailment challenging clinicians till date and it is conveniently treated using surgery and chemotherapy.

“In developing countries, pain especially back pain is culturally interpreted as a harmless experience that accompanies ageing, ” he said.

According to Egwu NTMT which was named after its inventor, Emeritus Prof. Vincent Nwuga, aims to improve the sufferer’s quality of life, reduce human suffering, relieve pain and restore function.

The physiotherapist said that the NTMT method of manipulation attempts to rectify inadequacies inherent in traditional physiotherapy techniques.

“The Nwugaruian technique discovered that physiotherapist who are trained in conventional practice often are not able to identify the problem, causes and also lack the skills to resolve the problem.

“The use of NTMT by physiotherapists will breathe a new air of professionalism into the practice and improve wellness of humanity and improve quality of life.

“Rendering better and more qualitative physiotherapy services to humanity will make the world pain-free and full of laughter, ” he said.

The President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Dr Rufai Ahamad, said that interprofessional collaboration was key to delivering qualitative healthcare to Nigerians.

“There is no way one profession alone can take care of all the problems of patients, every specialty has a scope of practice.

“Physiotherapists play important role in healthcare delivery.

“A physiotherapist is a highly trained healthcare professional who provide treatment for people suffering from physical problems arising from issues like injury, disease, illness and ageing.

“We aim to improve a person’s quality of life and lessen the effects of any dysfunction, “he said.

Ahamad, who is an associate professor at Bayero University, Kano, urged physiotherapists to continually update their career potential. (NAN)