Author: oduduwanews

Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai has stated that it is foolish for anyone to opine that the north must give power to the south in 2023.

This was stated by Nasir El-Rufai while speaking with journalists in Kaduna on Monday.

This was in response to the demand of southern governors who had said power must go to the south in 2023.

According to the governor, rotational presidency is possible but there has to be an agreement between the north and the south.

He added that no one has the right to sit in any part of the country to make the demand.

“We are not saying there cannot be a rotational presidency,” he said.

“It can be done but you have to come and sit with the politicians in the north and dialogue and then we agree to give our support to the south but no one has the right to sit in Lagos or Port Harcourt and say whether northerners want it or not, they must relinquish power to the south, that is wrong.

“It is not how we do politics and in fact, it is foolish.”

El-Rufai in August 2020 said the next president of Nigeria should come from the south.

The Oyo State House of Assembly Wednesday approved the appointment of all ten Commissioner designates forwarded to the State Legislature by Governor Seyi Makinde.

The list which was submitted to the House on the 22nd of September, 2021 contained names of five returning Commissioners and another five new ones.

The Lawmakers while welcoming the Commissioner designates to the hallowed chamber said they were all eminently qualified to serve as Commissioners in the State having been part of the present administration in one way or the other.

They therefore unanimously agreed that all of them should take a bow.

The Speaker charged the Commissioner designates to justify the confidence reposed in them by the State Governor which made.

Hon Ogundoyin urged them to support the agenda of the present administration which he noted were aimed at boosting the socio-economic activities of the State.

The former Commissioner for Information, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, Former Commissioner for Education, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye and Prof Misbau Babatunde pledged to use their offices to further advance the growth and development of Oyo State.

The five returning former Commissioners are Mr Seun Fakorede, Mr Adeniyi Adebisi, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, Mr Wasiu Olatunbosun and Mr Abdulrahman Abdulrahim.

Other five new Commissioner designates screened by Governor Seyi Makinde are Mr Abiodun Oni, Prof Misbau Babatunde, Mr Segun Olayiwola, Dr Bode Ladipo and Alhaja Kafilat Omolabake Olayiwola.

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde on Tuesday presented the Appropriation Bill of two hundred and ninety-four billion, five hundred and sixteen million, four hundred and forty-five thousand, one hundred and seven naira to the Oyo State House of Assembly.

Christened Budget of Growth and Opportunities, Makinde said N156 billion will be injected into the economy through investments in infrastructure and ensuring that Oyo residents have higher purchasing power.

Speaking further, Makinde affirmed that for the first time, the proposed capital expenditure is more than the recurrent expenditure.

For the 2022 fiscal year, the governor projects N79.5 billion for the internally generated revenue which he noted that his administration intend to achieve without increasing taxes but will continue to expand the tax base to include more in the informal sector.

The budget Presentation had in attendance, Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, Olubadan of Ibadanland who was represented by Otun Olubadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun, Soun of Ogbomoso among other traditional rulers in the state. His words:

“Last year, we presented to you our budget on Continued Consolidation. I had a chance to present to you a report of our accomplishments over the previous budgetary cycle and our plans for the 2021. Mr Speaker Sir, Honourable Members of the House, this year, it gives me great pleasure to be with you again this year for the presentation of the 2022 Fiscal Budget which we have tagged a Budget of Growth and Opportunities.
But before I make this presentation, let me express my gratitude to Mr Speaker, Right Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin and all Honourable Members of this 9th Assembly for your continued support of our policies and programmes in Oyo State. Let me also use this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to a stronger working relationship with the legislature as we strive to move Oyo State to prosperity.
Mr Speaker Sir, Honourable Members of the House, the last time I was here to present the State of the State Address, I took the opportunity to invite you to the commissioning of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba. Let me thank you all for honouring that invitation. You must have been as proud as I was to see our darling Shooting Stars get the first feel of the turf and beat their opponents in an international friendly.
We know that bolstered their confidence to go on to secure a return to the NPFL after four years of relegation.

As we complete projects, we start new ones.
Last year, we promised that we will continue to invest on infrastructure in the state. We have worked hard to ensure that infrastructural development is not restricted to just one zone of the state.
In education, we have continued to make investments at all levels. At the primary level, we completed 26 model schools across all zones in Oyo State, we built 57 classrooms, installed boreholes and improved the sanitary condition of existing schools through the construction of toilets. We have also continued to improve the quality of education in Oyo State. We not only recruited teachers as reported, but we have also trained them on best practices.
More recently we completed the recruitment of 692 education officers in the state.

In Healthcare, we have continued to keep our promise of one Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in each ward in Oyo State. In the past year, we have completed the renovation, upgrade and equipping of 40 PHCs. Secondary healthcare facilities have not been left out as we continued to upgrade and rehabilitate existing facilities to serve the good people of Oyo state.

On Security, we have made provision to recruit more Amotekun Corps members and we will continue to make investment on technology that supports our security architecture in Oyo State.

We have always prioritised infrastructural development in Oyo State. And last year was not an exception. We have recorded strides in the development of infrastructure which we believe will generate more income for the state. The Challenge Bus Terminal is 70% complete, while the other three terminals at Iwo Road, New Ife Road and Ojoo are ongoing. The Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub is at about 40% completion. Significant progress has also been made in reconstructing the 21km Airport- Ajia-New Ife Express Road with a spur to Amuloko, 12km Apete-Awotan-Akufo Road and the 44.7km Saki-Ogbooro-Igboho Road. The Idi Ape-Basorun-Akobo- Odogbo Barracks Road and the 5.2km Gedu-Oroki-Sabo-Asipa Road are nearing completion.

There is still so much more that needs to be done. We are aware of the complaints of our people regarding roads in Oyo State. We are determined to meet their yearnings for high quality infrastructure in the state and that is why we continually embarking on road rehabilitations and reconstructions. In the immediate, we are carrying out palliative works on these roads.
Mr Speaker, Honorable Members of the House, in keeping with our tradition in the last two years, we again embarked on a Townhall Meetings on the 2022 budget and given stakeholders the opportunity to contribute towards the direction of this budget. The people have again spoken and based on their feedback; we have prepared our budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year. I have the honour of presenting to the House this Two Hundred and Ninety-Four Billion, Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Four Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, One Hundred and Seven Naira (N294,516,445,107.00) 2022 Budget Proposal.

As stated earlier, this is a budget of growth and opportunities.
Growth, as we inject One Hundred and Fifty-Six Billion, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-One Naira (N156,000,136,971.00)into our economy through investments in infrastructure and ensuring that our people have higher purchasing power. For the first time, our proposed capital expenditure at 52.97% is more than our recurrent expenditure. A major project we will be carrying out in 2022 is 110km Ibadan Circular Road. This tolled road will be a major economic boost as it will create an alternate entry and exit point out of Ibadan and connect the new economic corridor and business district, we are building at Moniya. Also, we will commence the reconstruction of the Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road to further boost economic activities in the state.
Opportunities, as we continue to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and open our doors to both local and foreign investors in agribusiness, tourism and other sectors. We are also exploring new areas of comparative advantage and encouraging investments in them. As we always say, our doors are open, come and talk with us. In the next few weeks, we will be welcoming the world to Ibadan as we host the Oyo Agribusiness Summit 2021. This is a collaboration between the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Let me use this opportunity to invite you all to come and be part of this three-day event.

Of course, we have maintained a lower recurrent expenditure to capital expenditure ratio. For the 2022 fiscal year, our recurrent expenditure isOne Hundred and Thirty-Eight Billion, Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Three Hundred and Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Naira (N138,516,308,136.00). This represents 47.3% of our total budget.As with the 2021 budget we used the tenets of the Federation’s Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) and other development aspirations as a guide.

Mr Speaker Sir, Distinguished Members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, please permit me, at this point, to give a report on the performance of the 2021 budget going by half-year analysis.

The Oyo State Budget performance stood at 60%. We still have our sights on raising this to 75% before year-end.
On the revenue side, the state’s actual aggregate revenue was N78.2billion.The sum of N16.2 billion representing 31.49% was realized as the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) while Statutory Allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee was N17.13 billion representing 62.29%.

For the 2022 fiscal year, we are projecting and Internally Generated Revenue of N79,796,513,040.00 (Seventy-Nine Billion, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Six Million, Five Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, and Forty Naira). This is a tall order, but we intend to accomplish this without increasing taxes. As in the previous years, we will continue to expand our tax base to include more in the informal sector. We already see this working to our advantage as the recently released figures shows that our contributions to Nigeria’s Value Added Tax shot up to over N64 Billion.

“We have continued to follow the Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State, 2019-2023 which highlights the four sectors that our administration has prioritised in engineering a prosperous Oyo State.

For the 2022 Budget proposal our budgetary allocation to the Education sector atFifty-Four Billion, One Hundred and Sixteen Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-three Thousand,Seven hundred and Sixty-four Naira (N54,116,773,764.00) represents 18.37% of the total budget. As can be noted, we have continued our tradition of keeping the education allocation above UNESCO standards.

The highest allocation of Ninety-Six Billion, Six Hundred and Eighty-Six Million, Five Hundred and Thirty-Four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Seven Naira (N96,686,534,987.00) goes to Infrastructure. This is 32.83% of the total budget. We will continue to reduce the infrastructural deficit in Oyo State.
Our total proposed Healthcare budget is Seventeen Billion, Four Hundred and Five Million, Seven Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Two Naira (N17,405,741,792.00) that is or 5.9% of the budget.”

“Finally, we continue to use agribusiness as one of the main drivers of the Oyo State Economy. To this end, we propose an allocation of Eleven Billion, Three Hundred and Nineteen Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Seven Naira (N11,319,289,737.00) which is 3.84 % of the budget to this sector.

Mr Speaker, Honourable members of the Oyo State 9th Assembly, we firmly believe that our 2022 Budget of Growth and Opportunities will keep Oyo State on the track to prosperity. We are resolved to continue to make the lives of the good people of Oyo State better. And I once again thank you for your noble role in making this possible.

It has been an honour to make this proposed budget presentation to you, Mr Speaker Sir and Honourable Members of the House. We are assured you will give our proposal the usual timely consideration, as we work together to engineer a modern Oyo State.”

Senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu has condemned Yoruba nation agitators and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for protesting at the United Nations.

Recall that the self-determination groups had protested in New York, US during the 76th general assembly of the UN.

The protest was described as “tribal bullying of government officials” by the presidential spokesman in an article titled ‘My takeaways from the 76th UN general assembly session’.

He said: “While President Buhari was focusing on the problems plaguing the nation and in some instances asking for international support to deal with such, a coalition of groups protested outside the UN building.

“This happens with all countries- the United States, UK, India, Iran, China, Egypt- about everyone and about every conceivable issue but most especially climate change, gender and animal rights among others

“There are some from the so-called “Yoruba nation” group and the so-called “Indigenous People of Biafra” (IPOB) terrorist group who worked together to protest outside the United Nations building in New York.

“They sought to claim astonishingly that, somehow, they have earned rights through violence, murder of law enforcement agents and the innocent, and extortion to run their own affairs.

“Many Nigerians at home were disconcerted by the tribal bullying of government officials as they moved to carry out their diligent work between the Nigerian Mission in New York and the UN building, a walkable distance of less than 400 meters.

“Protests are allowed by all who had anything to say. Tribal bullying is uncivilised. So is any effort to strengthen insurgency in the country.”

Shehu praised the pro-Buhari protesters for “the maturity and decorum with which they carried on” during their solidarity march.

He criticised the Yoruba nation agitators for associating with IPOB, saying they are “demonstrating there is little difference in their beliefs or their intent”.

NORTH’S governors yesterday kicked against the establishment of Value Added Tax (VAT) laws by Rivers and Lagos states.

They claimed that the enactment of VAT law by states will lead to multiple taxation and push up prices of goods and services.

The governors under the auspices of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), said VAT laws in states would lead to the collapse of inter-state trade.

In a communique read by its Chairman, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, they described their southern colleagues as confused on VAT collection.

Rivers and Lagos states have enacted VAT laws. The VAT has become a legal issue between the Federal Government and the two states over which tier of government has right to collect the revenue.

The NSGF said Lagos accounts for over 50 per cent of VAT collection because most of the telecommunication companies, banks, manufacturing and other trading activities have their headquarters domiciled in the state.

Noting its constraint by the pending VAT matter before the courts, the forum stressed the importance of speaking on it to educate the general public.

In the communique, the governors said they will only respect the outcome of Supreme Court’s ruling on the VAT row.

The communique reads: “The Northern State Governors Forum considered the on-going National debate on the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT). As responsible leaders while we are constraint by the fact that the matter is sub judice we however for the purposes of educating the public make the following observations:

“The judgement of the Federal high Court calls to question the constitutionality of VAT, withholding tax, education tax, Niger Delta Development Commission, National Information Technology Development Agency, 13% derivation, National Economic Development Council and many other currently levied and collected by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Federal Inlands Revenue Service.

“Rivers and Lagos State Government had enacted their own VAT laws and the Southern Governors Forum have expressed support for this course of action;

“VAT is being confused by these State Government as a sales tax. If every State enacted its own VAT Law, multiple taxation will result in increases of prices of goods and services and collapsed in interstate trade. VAT is not a production tax like excise, but terminal tax which is paid by the ultimate consumer.

“Another confusion is ignoring observation above and its ‘overall effect’. The reason Lagos account for our 50% Vat collection is because most of the telecommunication companies, Banks, manufacturing and other trading activities have their headquarters in Lagos with the resultant and wrongful attribution of VAT.

“Until and unless the Supreme Court pronounces judgement on the substantive matter between Rivers State and Federal Government, the matter is subjudice and Northern States Governors Forum would respect this.”

The Governor traveled out of the country shortly after his late father’s burial ceremony.

Abiodun was said to have left Oke-Mosan, the seat of power for the United Kingdom from where he went to visit the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

It was gathered that contrary to the requirement of the constitution which empowers the deputy governor to take charge from the governor in his or her absence, the governor reportedly handed over to Tokunbo Talabi and ignored his deputy.

The governor’s action reportedly infuriated Salako-Oyedele who hurriedly took a trip to London until further notice.

Newsmen further gathered that the deputy decided to avoid allowing the matter to degenerate into a full-blown crisis.

Earlier, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo had also left the state to attend a conference in the United States of America.

The annual Independence church service was attended by the SSG who represented the governor.