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NIN REG: Prepare for consequences, NIMC warns unregistered Nigerians
The National Identity Management Commission says Nigerians who have not registered and obtained their National Identity Numbers should be ready to face the consequences.
NIMC stated this in a tweet on Tuesday.
“By order of the Federal Government, today is given as the last chance to register your NIMC or face the wrath of what comes next,” NIMC tweeted.
On December 15, 2020, the Federal Government declared that after December 30, 2020, all SIMs that were not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.
It later extended the December 30, 2020 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement and gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021.
It also gave six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021, but many organisations have called for a further deadline extension or outright suspension of the NIN registration process due to the large crowds who had yet to have their NINs.
Although the NIMC refused to speak on the matter after several calls and messages were sent to senior officials of the commission on the subject, operators in the telecommunications sector told The PUNCH on Monday that about 43 million NINs had been submitted to the agency for verification.
About 43 million National Identity Numbers have been submitted by telecommunication companies to the National Identity Management Commission for verification in order to have them registered with their respective Subscriber Identification Modules.
The Nigeria Immigration Service had in 2019 made NIN a prerequisite for obtaining passports while recently, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the National Examinations Council made it compulsory for intending candidates.
This has caused several persons to gather at NIMC enrolment centres in disregard of COVID-19 protocols.
January 19, 2021
A’Ibom PDP chairman feared dead
The Akwa Ibom state chapter chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Mr. Udo Ekpenyong, has been feared dead.
Ekpenyong was reported to to have passed on in the early hours of Tuesday, January 19, 2021 from suspected Covid-19 complications.
Details of his rumoured demise are sketchy as neither the state government nor the party in the state has issued any official statement on it.

Our correspondent, however, reports that the PDP chairman Ekpenyong has not been seen in the public for quite a while, raising concerns that he may have been receiving treatment at the isolation centre.
Details shortly…
January 19, 2021
Despite COVID-19, FIRS generates N4.9 trillion tax revenue in 2020

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collected N4,952,243,711,728.37 in total tax revenue in the year 2020. This landmark achievement represents approximately 98% of the national tax target of N5.076 trillion set for the FIRS by the Federal Government.
This was disclosed by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Muhammad Nami during a press conference in his office. While briefing the press, Mr Nami pointed out that this near 100% collection feat was all the more remarkable when placed against the backdrop of the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy; the all-time low price of crude oil in the international market; business disruptions and lootings during the #EndSars protests; generous tax waivers granted by the FIRS to ease the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown; additional tax exemptions granted to small companies in the 2019 Finance Act; and insecurity in some parts of the country.
While analyzing the significance of the 2020 performance, he further noted that the FIRS recorded this feat at a time when the price of oil hit an all-time low. In other words, oil which used to contribute over 50% in tax returns through the Petroleum Profits Tax in previous years, accounted for only 30.6% contribution to the tax revenue generated in 2020. He also added that the non-oil tax collection was 109% in 2020, which is 9% higher than the previous year.
Mr. Nami attributed the FIRS revenue generation success in 2020 to a number of reforms initiated by the Board and Management of the Service under his leadership. The reforms included capacity building for members of the staff; improved staff welfare package; promotion and proper placement of staff; deployment of appropriate technology for tax operations; segmentation of taxpayers to ease tax compliance; and continuous collaboration with relevant stakeholders, among others.
Mr. Nami commended “the conscientious taxpayers in the country and dedicated members of staff of the FIRS nationwide for their support and devotion to work which made this performance possible despite the numerous obstacles encountered by the Service in 2020”.
The Executive Chairman added: “The FIRS is optimistic this current fiscal year 2021 will be better than 2020. We shall perform exceedingly well given that our Service reforms are expected to yield greater dividends, especially as different parts of tax administration are being automated. We are also optimistic that exploration activities will improve in the oil sector and increase the prospect of higher tax revenue from the sector. Similarly, the ongoing reforms by the Service together with increased stakeholder collaborations will brighten the prospect of improved voluntary compliance and consequently higher tax revenue generation for the country this year and beyond.”
January 19, 2021
We must create tomorrow’s leaders today – Gov Ikpeazu
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has described the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) as a veritable platform that can motivate the youths and enjoined the Council to avail the youths of business prospects through education and mentorship.
Governor Ikpeazu was speaking when he received at the Government House Umuahia, a delegation of the South East leadership of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.
He said that the State’s investments in the development of youths are key, adding that, “we must create leaders of tomorrow today”.
The Chief Executive Officer of Abia State, further said that his conviction is to try to imbibe in youths the possibility of excelling even in difficult situations.
The Abia Governor said he would want to see youths that can excel, pointing out that he sees in Abia youths the capacity to become great and add to the economy of the nation.
Ikpeazu urged young people to look inwards as everything they need to survive is available within their immediate environment and stressed the need for Abia youths to sustain their resilience and hardwork they are known for.
He reassured that his administration will continue to take deliberate steps aimed at preparing young people for the challenges of leadership.
According to him, his administration has invested heavily in the youths of the State in various ways including availing youths of opportunities to hold top positions in his government.
Governor Ikpeazu approved the request of the State Council of the NYCN to incorporate the Abia Youth House into the planned remodeling of the Nsulu Games Village.
Speaking earlier, the State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Emeka Ikwuagwu who described Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as a youth friendly Governor, highlighted many of his achievements geared towards youth development, including Education for Employment programme (E4E), establishment of Abia State Homeland Ministry, TMASS among others, all of which have employed thousands of youths in the State.
The Commissioner assured that the Ministry will continue to prioritize youth matters in the State to aid youths to achieve their potentials.
In his speech, the State Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Abia State Chapter, Comrade Sylvanus Smith who said that the South East leadership of the National Youth Council of Nigeria was in Abia State for its stakeholders meeting and thanked the Governor for changing the narrative of youth empowerment to youth development.
He appealed to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to sustain the financial support being given to the State Ministry of Youth & Sports as well as encourage the social State investment Office to reach more youths among other requests.
January 19, 2021
Better to have Amotekun with fewer errors than rampaging armed herdsmen- HURIWA
The foremost civil rights advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA ( HURIWA) has dismissed the trenchant criticisms trailing few instances of human errors in the operations of the south west of Nigeria -based Amotekun security outfit.
The rights group which argues that the few human errors are mere teething institutional problems that will be resolved with better strategic finetuning of training and improvement of manpower capacities of Amotekun security platform, urged massive support for the body because it is better to have home-grown institutional mechanism to protect lives and property than to permit the hitherto uncontrollable rampage and killing of citizens living in the south west of Nigeria by the rampaging bunch of determined armed herdsmen whose origin are mired in politics and deceit. Moreover, the Rights group said the Federal Attorney General and minister of justice Abubakar Malami SAN had stated that his office couldn’t prosecute Armed Fulani herdsmen because according to him, there is no case file against them.

In a statement by the National coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National media affairs director miss Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA ) said those at the forefront of irrational criticisms of Amotekun because of the few but avoidable human errors, are suffering from ‘intentionally deceitful amnesia’ because if they think deeply how the south west came under incessant massive attacks and violence by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen , they would have seen that the errors were the less of the two evils.

Besides, the Rights group backs the order made by the Ondo state Governor Barrister Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu ( SAN ) on armed herdsmen to quit south west forests , said it expected the rest of the country such as South East, North East, North Central and South South to Embrace the Example set by the South west by replicating similar law- based institutional body to protect the lives and property of their people to complement the efforts of the regular policy institution.

“ we also do expect that with Better training, retraining and a purified system of recruitment, Amotekun will become a shining example on how the state legislature working in partnership with the executive Governors should protect the lives of their people. “

The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group-:HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) affirmed thus: “ We support Amotekun 100% and we think it is better than allowing armed Fulani herdsmen to continue to carry out genocide and be left to operate by the Nigerian police which has so far failed to prosecute a single of those armed Fulani herdsmen responsible for the killing of over 6,000 farmers all over the country in the last five years. Those now raising their compromised voices against Amotekun, are they saying they are happy with the constant spilling of blood of the innocent attributed to armed non state actors and particularly the armed Fulani herdsmen?”

The Rights group said the south western state’s legislature were right to pass the law Setting up the AMOTEKUN SECURITY OUTFITS IN THEOR STATES because it is in total compliance with section 4 (7) of the constitution thus; “The House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State or any part thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-
(a) any matter not included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.
(b) any matter included in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and
(c) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”

HURIWA recalled that the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, had asked all Fulani herdsmen in Ondo State to vacate forest reserves within the state. He also issued a seven-day ultimatum to the herdsmen.
The governor gave the ultimatum on Monday while meeting with leaders of Hausa/Fulani and Ebira Communities in the state.
The meeting held at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s office, Alagabaka, Akure, the state capital.
Mr Akeredolu said the activities of the herdsmen have long been causing a threat to security in the state.
He also shared his statement on his official Twitter handle.
“Today we have taken major steps at addressing the root cause of kidnapping, in particular, and other nefarious activities detailed and documented in security reports, the press and debriefings from victims of kidnap cases in Ondo State.”
“These unfortunate incidents are traceable to the activities of some bad elements masquerading as herdsmen. These felons have turned our forest reserves into hideouts for keeping victims of kidnapping, negotiating for ransom and carrying out other criminal activities.”
“As the Chief Law and Security Officer of the State, it is my constitutional obligation to do everything lawful to protect the lives and property of all residents of the State. In light of the foregoing, the following orders are hereby issued:
1. All Forest Reserves in the State are to be vacated by herdsmen within the next 7 days with effect from today, Monday 18th January, 2021.
2. Night-grazing is banned with immediate effect because most farm destruction takes place at night.
3. Movement of cattle within cities and highways is prohibited.
4. Under-aged grazing of cattle is outlawed.
  “Our resolution to guarantee the safety of lives and property within the State shall remain utmost as security agencies have been directed to enforce the ban.
  “In its usual magnanimity, our administration will give a grace period of seven days for those who wish to carry on with their cattle-rearing business to register with appropriate authorities.”
  HURIWA said every right thinking citizen of Nigeria should applaud the South West governors for standing up to defend their people.
January 19, 2021
Heavy Fire Outbreak Wrecks Sokoto Central Market
By Muhammad Goronyo, Sokoto
Just this morning as people wake up preparing to reach their areas of marketing, heavy fire smoke was seen in the Sokoto Central Market.

When contacted on the action taken to stop the menace of the havoc, the Acting Director-general of Sokoto Fire Service, Sani Muhammad Budah said all vehicles within the metropolis were directed to the market.

He added that the source of the outbreak is not yet known, “we are after stopping the menace of the outbreak before going into investigation, a great number of shops are involved, you know lives and wealth, some marketers would not be patient, they would try to go into their burning shops and may cause dangers which may eventually lead to death “,averred Budah.

Some of the good Samaritans around trying to assist remove some movable items especially within atampa brocade and rubber shops could not move closer as heavy smoke locks every entry into shops.

One of the unanimous atampa brocade shop owner said it was only two days ago he purchased over two million naira worth of materials and along with what was in the shop were consumed by the inferno.

As at the time our correspondent sent in this report the inferno, men of the state fire service were doing their best to bring the disaster to the end.
January 19, 2021
One feared shot as Kaduna residents protest outrageous electricity bills
One person was shot while a car and several bicycles were burnt after a peaceful protest organized by residents of Kafanchan in Kaduna State over outrageous electricity bills and epileptic power supply, turned violent on Monday, January 18.
The protesters in their numbers stormed the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), Kafanchan business office carrying placards with inscriptions: ‘Stop charging us high’, ‘Stop the blackout’, ‘Give us stable power supply.
Some of the protesters lamented that power supply in the area was not commensurate with the ‘high billing’ they usually received monthly. They maintained that the power situation in Kafanchan had deteriorated in recent times and called for an end to excessive billing by KEDC.
The protest however turned violent when the security agents in their bid to contain the protesting, fired a shot that hit the back of one of the protesters. A car and several motorcycles were burnt afterwards.
January 19, 2021
Gov. Yahaya Bello rejects COVID-19 vaccine, says it’s meant to kill
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has falsely claimed that the Covid-19 vaccines are meant to kill people and he discouraged its use.
The increase in coronavirus cases in Nigeria has led to demand for vaccines to curb the spread of the virus.
The federal government had announced that Nigerians will receive the coronavirus vaccine by January 2021.
However, in a viral video, Yahaya Bello questioned the authenticity of the vaccine and condemned its use.
Bello questioned why there is no cure for HIV and many other diseases troubling mankind yet a vaccine for coronavirus has been created after only 1 year.
He said: “Vaccines are being produced in less than one year of COVID-19. There is no vaccine yet for HIV, malaria, cancer, headache and for several other diseases that are killing us. They want to use the (COVID-19) vaccines to introduce the disease that will kill you and us. God forbid.
“We should draw our minds back to what happened in Kano during the Pfizer polio vaccines that crippled and killed our children. We have learned our lessons.
“If they say they are taking the vaccines in the public allow them take their vaccines. Don’t say I said you should not take it but if you want to take it, open your eyes before you take the vaccines.”
January 19, 2021
Bishop Kukah bags Pope’s special appointment on human development
Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese , Mathew Hassan Kukah has been appointed as a Member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Human Integral Development by Pope Francis
This is contained in a statement signed by the Director, Social Communications Catholic Diocese of Sokoto Reverend . Father Christopher A. Omotosho and made available to newsmen
According to the statement the appointment was contained in a letter to Bishop Kukah dated 11th December, 2020, and signed by His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Turkson, the Prefect of the Dicastery.
By this appointment, Bishop Kukah will join other members of the Dicastery drawn from different regions of the world to advise and promote the holy Father’s concerns on issues of justice and peace, human rights, torture, human trafficking, care of creation and other issues related to the promotion of human dignity and development.
The appointment, which is renewable is for an initial period of five years. The Council will be formally inaugurated on a later date.
The Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development* was created on January 1, 2017, when four Dicasteries, namely, the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Pastoral Care of Immigrants and Itinerant People and Health Care of Workers, were all merged by the Holy Father.
This appointment adds to Bishop Kukah’s string of national and international engagements within the universal Church.
January 19, 2021
One feared dead, scores of cars burnt as tanker explodes in Ogun
One person was feared dead while scores of vehicles got burnt in a tanker explosion that occurred in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The incident occurred around 8:15 am on Tuesday on the Presidential Boulevard Road around Guarantee Trust Bank opposite Lawson Group School, Kuto, Abeokuta.
The explosion, which reportedly involved a 33,000-fuel laden tanker, happened due to a break failure.
Our correspondent, who was at the motor park close to the scene observed that the tanker which was coming from Sagamu-Siun-Oke-Mosan Road climbed the overhead bridge but suddenly lost control while descending from the bridge .
The tanker hit a motorcycle which was in motion and rammed into some commercial vehicles waiting for passengers at the end of the bridge.
Shortly after it rammed into the scores of the vehicles, it exploded.
The fire which spread to a few offices around the place caused panic as many motorists started making reverse to avoid being caught up in the explosion.
There was anxiety over the fate of some pupils who were in the vehicles around the place and in the school premises opposite the scene of explosion.
As of the time of filing this report, some officials of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps were seen at the scene controlling the traffic.
Officials of the fire services were still being expected at the scene.
Details later…
January 19, 2021