Category: 📃Supers News

Nigerian lady flaunts a wad of cash, an iPhone, food treats, plane tickets, bags, etc. after accepting a man’s proposal to be his girlfriend.

This is evident in a recent post she made on her page on a popular social media platform.

The caption of the post, which reads: “Him: ‘Be my girl please, I promise to treat you right and never hurt you,’” reveals that the lady was asked by a Nigerian man to be his girlfriend, and she accepted.

After accepting, the lady showcases the things she begins to enjoy, including moments on a plane, flaunting a wad of cash, food treats, manicured nails, a new bag, an iPhone, and several other gifts her man has spoiled her with.

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, May 7, Vladimir Putin kicked off his fifth term as the Russian leader with a grand Kremlin inauguration. He’s starting another six years in office, having faced political opponents, being involved in the Ukraine conflict, and consolidated power.

Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when he will be constitutionally eligible to run again.

At the ceremony inside the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it as a crowd of hand-picked dignitaries looked on.

He spoke about his invasion of Ukraine and the future of Russia, describing the current situation as “difficult.” “We will pass through this difficult period with dignity and become even stronger,” Putin said, adding: “We are a united and great nation, and together we will overcome all obstacles, realize everything we have planned, and together, we will win.”

The Russian leader said he considers leading the country a “sacred duty” as he was inaugurated for a fifth Kremlin term, prolonging his more than two-decade rule. “Serving Russia is a huge honor, responsibility and sacred duty,” the 71-year-old said.

 

In pursuit of securing a new $750m loan from the World Bank, the Federal Government may reintroduce previously suspended telecom tax and other fiscal measures.

This is according to the Stakeholder Engagement Plan for Nigeria – Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms programme between Nigeria and the World Bank.

A copy of the plan’s document posted on the World Bank website indicated that the government might reintroduce the excises on telecom services, and EMT levy on electronic money transfers through the Nigerian Banking System among other taxes.

President Bola Tinubu in July 2023 ordered the suspension of the five per cent excise duty on telecommunications and the Import Tax Adjustment levy on certain vehicles.

However, it appears that this suspension may be lifted to meet the programme targets for a new, yet-to-be-approved World Bank loan with negotiations ongoing between the government and the World Bank.

Checks by our correspondent showed that the government had initially requested to obtain the loan in 2021 but was halted without clear reasons.

The programme’s development objective is to strengthen the government’s financial position by enhancing its capacity to manage and mobilise domestic resources effectively, which includes improving tax and customs compliance and protecting oil revenues.

The planned tax reforms under the ARMOR programme are expected to have significant implications across various economic sectors.

The PforR Programme is part of a larger governmental initiative running from 2024 to 2028, aimed at reforming tax and excise regimes, enhancing the administrative capabilities of tax and customs, and ensuring transparency in oil and gas revenue management.

The World Bank’s contribution of $750m constitutes a significant portion of the programme’s budget and the government is expected to contribute $1.17bn through annual budgetary.

According to the plan, affected stakeholders will include manufacturers of goods such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, sugar-sweetened beverages, telecom and banking service providers, as well as the general tax-paying public, importers and international traders.

Key industry groups such as the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria are engaged regarding the excise duties on telecom services.

The draft document stated, “Domestic Revenue Mobilisation drive in the government ARMOR program seeks to increase revenue on some targeted industries and sectors of the economy. Specific groups and agencies within affected sectors include the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria: The introduction of excises on telecom services requires that all telcos are mobilised to fully participate in the collection of such revenue.

“Committee of Bankers: Introduction of EMT levy on electronic money transfers through the Nigerian Banking System would need the buy-in of all banking institutions

“Manufacturer’s Association of Nigeria: Manufacturers of tobacco products, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcoholic beverages who would be required to collect excises on their products are critical stakeholders for the introduction of the new excise regime. They are currently organised into various sectoral groups under the Manufacturer’s Association of Nigeria. Producers of alcoholic beverages organised under the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria also need to key into the reforms.

“Also, strategic partners involved in the importation of different items into the country will be mobilised to participate in the ARMOR programme. A key stakeholder group is the Association of Nigeria Customs Agents.

“Vehicle Importers and Manufacturers: Stakeholders in the automobile trade industry must be engaged in reforms involving the introduction of green taxes on high GHG emission vehicles. Local manufacturing and assembly of vehicles is growing through a phase of growth in Nigeria. The demand for vehicles is mostly met through importation by vehicle importers under the aegis of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria.”

The document also emphasised the importance of engaging vulnerable groups to ensure they are not disproportionately affected by these changes.

It also said, “Services that will be subjected to the newly introduced excises are regulated by key public sector agencies. The introduction of the new revenue measures will require the application of existing regulatory mechanisms available within these institutions. The concerned institutions include the Nigerian Communication Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“There are also agencies with the mandate for making policies on some of the issues covered in the ARMOR program concerning policy framework on matters of public interest in Health and Environmental Protection. The government institutions relevant to ARMOR in this regard are the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency, and the Federal Ministry of Health.”

Additionally, the programme outlines specific allocations for technical assistance, with $5m each going to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service to support their capacity to implement these new measures effectively.

This includes the development of systems for better data sharing, risk-based audits, and compliance processes, as well as substantial investments in program management and capacity building.

“The government program is funded from annual budget allocations of $1.17 billion to FMF, FIRS and NCS. The PforR with results-based financing of $730m, and $20m investment financing, is 62 per cent of the program budget”

“There will also be $10m for project management, tax policy capacity-building and other expenses. In total, the amount makes the $20m investment financing before the release of $730m in line with the fiscal targets met.”

 

The crisis rocking the Kogi State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)has reached a high point as 13 chairmanship aspirants on Tuesday rejected the consensus candidate to lead the party in the state.

A committee comprising of former governors and party leaders had endorsed Mr Enemona Anyebe as the consensus candidate for the PDP chairmanship position in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Lokoja on Tuesday, the spokesperson, forum of Kogi state PDP chairmanship aspirants Aruwa Ismaila, said the purported endorsement of Anyebe as the party’s consensus candidate for the office of the state chairman was blatantly misleading and only existed in the imagination of their sponsors.

Ismaila said, “It has therefore become imperative to issue this rebuttal so that the unsuspecting public and particularly our PDP supporters and members are not misled, misguided and sold a dummy. We rejected outrightly, especially on the issue of the elders going outside their mandate to source for and nominate one Mr Anyebe from Olamaboro as consensus candidate at the scantly attended meeting of Kogi East critical stakeholders held at Lokoja on Monday, 29 April 2024, when the Elders Review Report on zoning was presented on their behalf.

“We the chairmanship aspirants spoke through our spokesperson Mr. Ismaila Aruwa, at the meeting and advocated for outright rejection of the Review report which even fell far short of the initial Zoning committee report led by Hon. Tom Zakari. Our position has not changed.

“We hereby profoundly and vehemently reject the Elder Review Committee Report. It should be noted that at no time between 29th April to 1st May 2024 was any meeting held to the knowledge and or in consultation with us the aspirants to solicit our views and or our input on the zoning issues. We the aspirant have not delegated our position to any elder to canvass for on our behalf nor are we ready to do so going forward. A consensus candidate can only be arrived at by all 13 aspirants discussing and agreeing with each other and not the elders.”

According to the spokesperson, the leadership of PDP in Kogi State under Senator Danjuma La’ah as Chairman and Senator Philip Gyunka as Secretary has not put in place or activated any process among the 13 aspirants to arrive at a consensus candidate.

“The purported endorsement of Mr Enemona Anyebe the party consensus candidate is an affront to the Kogi State PDP leadership and a benign attempt to overreach their mandate and authority and such is hereby outrightly rejected.

“On the issue of the so-called Mr Enmona Anyebe who never showed interest in the contest for state chairmanship, and did not participate in the screening and personal presentation processes before the zoning committee in Lokoja on January 20, 2024, his purported candidature is dead on arrival.”

 

 

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks operating in the country to start charging a cybersecurity levy on transactions.

A circular from the apex bank on Monday disclosed that the levy implementation would start two weeks from today.

The circular was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others.

The circular revealed that it was a follow-up on an earlier letter dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023), respectively, on compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.

However, the apex bank exempted loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank from the levy.

Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠and Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

Nigerians on social media are lamenting the new levy, which they complain has added to the multiple levies paid for electronic transactions. In this report, PUNCH Online highlights the five other transaction levies paid and the amount deducted on transactions between N1,000 and N1,000,000.

1. Cybersecurity levy

N5 is charged on the transaction of N1,000

N50 is charged on the transaction of N10,000

N500 is charged on the transaction of N100,000

N5,000 is charged on the transaction of N1,000,000

N50,000 is charged on the transaction of N10,000,000

2. Transfer fee

N10 is being charged on the transaction below N5,000

N25 is being charged on the transaction between 5,001 and N50,000

N50 is being charged on transactions above N50,000

3. Stamp duties

N50 is being charged on transactions between N10,000 and N10,000,000

4. Short Messaging Service (SMS)

N4 is being charged on each electronic transfer notification

NB: This is only applicable to customers on eligible electronic transactions. Those who opt for e-mailing services are not charged the same.

5. Value Added Tax

N0.75 is being charged on N10 transfer fee

N1.875 is being charged on the N25 transfer fee

N3.75 is being charged on N50 transfer fee.

 

 

 

The naira traded at a loss at the official market, depreciating to N1,402 against the United States dollar on Thursday.

According to data from the FMDQ exchange securities, the naira dropped by N12 or 0.86 per cent from the N1,390 recorded at the close of trading activity on Tuesday.

There was no trading activity on Wednesday due to the Worker’s Day celebration.

At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, the intraday high closed at N1,445 on Thursday weaker than N1,450 on Tuesday. The intraday low also depreciated to N1,299 on Thursday as against  N1,200 on Tuesday.

Dollars supply at NAFEX appreciated by 3.1 per cent or $7m to $232 on Thursday from $225.36m recorded on Tuesday.

The naira had depreciated following a renews demand for the greenback at both the official and parallel market.

Based on data from the FMDQ official trading platform, the naira gained N28.15 on the final trading day of April, settling at N1,390.96/$ as against N1,419/$ on April 29.

The positive trend was also reflected in trading volumes, with a 52.45 per cent surge in forex turnover, reaching $225.36m, up from the prior volume of $147.83m.

However, compared with the beginning of April, the April 30 rate was a 5.8 per cent depreciation from N1,309.39 seen on April 1.

Similarly, Bureau De Change operators said the naira recorded a reduction in value at the parallel market on Thursday.

Abubakar Yahu, a BDC operator in Wuse 2, Abuja, said traders bought the dollar at N1,310 and sold at N1,360 leaving a profit margin of N50.

He said the dollar was rising marginally due to constant demand but not at the same rate when the naira slid to N1,900 two months ago.

He said, “The naira depreciated today. We sell at N1,360 per dollar and we buy from customers at N1,310 depending on how you bargain. But we are expecting that the rate will drop tomorrow. Demand is still coming, it is not like before but it is still high.”

Another currency trader, Ibrahim Isa, in Ikeja, Lagos, confirmed the rate while reiterating that the government must stabilise the naira for a long period.

“The market is moving slightly but it will be better if we can stay on a particular amount and stabilise the economy.”

 

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed concern over the declining economic activities in the country.

The CBN deputy governor of Corporate Services, Bala Bello, disclosed this in a statement published on the bank’s website.

He noted that the country’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index declined sharply to 39.2 index points in February 2024 from 48.5 index points in the previous month.

According to Bello, economic activity has contracted for eight months due to exchange rate pressures, inflation and security challenges.

“It is concerning to note that the Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index declined sharply to 39.2 index points in February 2024 from 48.5 index points in the previous month.

“Economic activity has been contracting for eight consecutive months, mainly due to exchange rate pressures, rising input prices, security challenges, and other idiosyncratic headwinds. This calls for well-nuanced policy decisions targeted at price stability to forestall stifling economic activities and derailing output performance.

“Of more concern is the rising inflationary trend despite sustained hikes in the monetary policy rate, with forecasts of further price increases in the near term.

“Both food and core inflation rose in February 2024, underpinning an acceleration in headline inflation to 31.70 per cent in February 2024 from 29.90 per cent in the previous month.

“This continued rise in inflation was mainly due to high production costs, lingering security challenges and exchange rate pressures,” he said.

He added that the country’s inflation soared to 33.22 per cent in March, which was unacceptable and required coordinated efforts to curb it.

“Inflation is currently unacceptably high and requires decisive and coordinated efforts to curb it, given its adverse impact on citizens’ purchasing power, investment decisions and broad output performance.

“The Federal Government’s initiatives addressing food insecurity, such as releasing grains from the strategic reserves, distributing seeds and fertilizers, and supporting dry season farming, are important and commendable,” he added.

Recall that the MPC raised the country’s interest rate to 24.75 per cent in March.

 

 

The Federal Government (FG) has directed Deposit Money Banks to immediately begin the deduction of 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.

Mortgage-backed loans are loans extended by financial institutions to individuals or entities to buy a home and repay the loan amount over time with interest while bonds are debt securities issued by governments, municipalities, corporations, or other entities to raise capital.

The new directive was contained in a message sent to customers by banks as directed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

It indicates that the government is expanding the scope of stamp duty charges to include foreign transactions and loans, alongside regular bank transfers, as part of efforts by the tax authority to enhance fiscal performance.

Recall that banks were also in January directed to deduct stamp duty on old foreign transactions between January 2021 and December 2023 by January 31, 2024.

Before that, the electronic money transfer levy was only applicable to accounts receiving electronic deposits of N10,000 and above or its equivalent.

In an electronic message sent to their customers on Thursday notifying them of the deduction, Access Bank wrote, “We would like to inform you that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has directed all Nigerian banks to implement stamp duty on certain transactions that require duty payments such as contracts and legal mortgages.

“In compliance with this directive, we have taken measures to streamline the process to make transactions more convenient for you.

“To this end, a stamp duty charge of 0.375 per cent will be applied to loans backed by legal mortgages, shares, debentures, or bonds. The charge will be applied to the value of the Legal Mortgage, Shares, Debentures or Bonds and remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Services.”

The notice further clarified that the directive did not affect previously approved loans, which will still be repaid in full according to the agreed terms and conditions.

“However, all previously approved loans will remain unchanged and should be repaid in full as per the agreed terms and conditions. We are committed to providing you with exceptional service,” the notice stated.