Amid the raging Covid – 19 pandemic , All Progressives Congress stalwart , Asiwaju Bola Tinubu , has asked the Federal Government to stop collection of the Value Added Tax immediately.
Recall that the government of the President , Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , had last month increased VAT from five per cent to 7 . 5 per cent .
However , Tinubu said the government must reduce the sufferings of Nigerians by introducing tax cuts while the Central Bank of Nigeria must reduce interest rates
Tinubu said this in a statement he wrote in commemoration of his 68 birthday .
He wrote , “Government should announce a tax credit or partial tax reduction for companies or firms . VAT should be suspended for the next two to four months. This will help lower import costs and protect against shortages .
“ We need to protect the people from food shortages and high prices . As such , we must quickly improve farm -to – market delivery of agricultural produce . Also , government should initiate a crash program to decrease spoilage of agricultural produce by construction of storage facilities in local marketplaces in and around major cities and towns throughout the country. ”
All Progressives Congress leader , Bola Tinubu , has asked the Federal Government to print more naira notes in order to save the economy from collapse even as the Covid – 19 pandemic continues to bite harder .
Tinubu said this in a statement he wrote in commemoration of his 68 birthday .
The former governor of Lagos State said the United States Federal Reserve had printed more dollars in order to boost the economy .
Tinubu added , “ Already, the price of oil has fallen to less than 30 dollars a barrel . This will bring a dollar shortfall . This does not , however , necessitate a corresponding shortfall in public sector naira expenditures .
“ The US controls dollar issuance . We control naira issuance as is our sovereign right . Just as America has used its sovereign right to issue its currency to stave economic disaster , so too may Nigeria issue naira for the same purpose . ”
The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ), and the Minister of Health , Prof Osagie Ehanire , have just rounded off a meeting at the State House, Abuja.
In attendance was the Director -General of the National Centre for Disease Control , Dr Chikwe Ikekweazu .
The photographs of the meeting, just uploaded online by the State House, showed Buhari and the other officials observing social distancing during the meeting .
Findings indicated that the official came to give Buhari update on the raging coronavirus pandemic .
Nigeria now has 81 confirmed cases with three discharged and one death .
The meeting came amid speculation that the President had been flown out of the country for Covid – 19 treatment .
He has earlier on Monday tested negative to the virus , but Buhari has yet to address the nation since Nigeria recorded its first case of the pandemic .
Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has assured Nigerians of uninterrupted fuel supplies nationwide as the nation battled to contain the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic.
The union explained that uninterrupted product supplies nationwide are part of its contributions to lessen the hardships and pains Nigerians are going through this trying period.
In a statement by its President and General Secretary, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, respectively, the union informed that it will provide additional safety wears and other assistance to members in the essential supplies value chain to ensure that they perform their duties without fear of avoidable exposures the virus.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed the $2.2 trillion (N827 trillion) financial stimulus package to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
This came hours after the country’s House of Representatives approved the bipartisan bill, which the Senate passed on Wednesday.
U.S. is currently the hardest-hit country in terms of the COVID-19 infections, accounting for no fewer than 99,000 cases.
Under the law, the government will make direct payments totaling $290 billion (N109 trillion) to Americans earning below $99,000 (N37 million) per annum.
They are expected to get directly get up to $1,200 (N451,000) each, in addition to $500 (N188,000) per child.
On Wednesday, a record 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits amid massive job losses occasioned by the pandemic.
The package includes the payment of another $260 billion (N97 trillion) to jobless and laid-off workers for up to four months.
Small businesses with less than 500 employees and airlines will get a total of $881 billion (N331 trillion) as soft loans to cushion the economic effect of the virus.
In brief remarks, after the signing at the White House in Washington, Trump thanked “Democrats and Republicans for coming together and putting America first”.
He said the package would pave way for economic recovery in the U.S., adding that the country would have “a tremendous rebound’’.
Habib Kasali , a 35 – year – old motorcyclist was arrested by police officers of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly killing a man in his community at Ibafo area of Ogun State with a pair of scissors after suspecting the victim was having an affair with his wife . He tells DAUD OLATUNJI his side of the story
When did you marry your wife?
We have been married for over six years and we have one child .
How did you get into trouble?
A cult member in my area had been dating my wife and I had reported him to one of his superiors in the cult group but he never listened to me. I begged everyone who could talk to him but he never listened to me.
In fact , one of his superiors who I reported him to told me that he also knew that he was dating my wife and had tried all he could to stop him but all to no avail .
Later , I went to report to the Baale ( traditional leader ) of our community and the Baale said I should bring my mother . So I went there with my mother and my wife. When we got there, my wife was asked if she was still interested in me and she said yes , but despite that she didn ’ t give me any rest of mind. She was coming in late and if I asked her where she was coming from , she would say she was coming from the salon and it had been going on like that . Again , I called his friends and they also confirmed my findings to me; I left them feeling very sad .
So on Saturday, I went to buy liquor from a woman selling herbs and on getting there, I saw my wife and the guy eating from the same plate , that was how a fight broke out between us . In the course of the fight , I saw a pair of scissors and I used it to stab him in three places . That was how he died .
Where did you stab him ?
Close to his eye , chest and stomach area , but I never wanted to kill him . In fact , before that day , I had begged him to leave my wife alone . I am not promiscuous and I only love my wife but he never listened.
How well did you know the victim?
He was one of the cult boys in our area whom I gave money anytime they asked me for money .
Are you a member of the same cult group with the deceased ?
No , I am not a member of any cult group . Everybody in our community knows that I am not a cult member .
Since you got into detention , has your wife been here to see you ?
No , she has never been here . I have not seen her .
What about your family ?
I don ’ t know if my family members are aware that I am in trouble , especially my mother . If anyone had told her , she would have been here .
Or are they ashamed of identifying with you ?
No , I have relatives and they will definitely come here if they are told about my predicament.
Did your mother ever warn you about the danger of not being able to control your anger?
Yes , she always warned me against having anger and that was why I didn ’ t want to fight initially but my disobedience to her warnings has landed me into trouble .
If you get out of here, what kind of relationship will you have with your wife?
I will do nothing to her but I will have nothing to do with her again . I will ensure that I cut off every tie between us . The only connection that will remain between us is our child . Before the incident , I had spoken to her on many occasions about her adulterous ways but she never listened, so if I accept her back , she will just continue in her adulterous ways. In fact , her grandmother was tired of the matter because I reported the matter to her every time to the extent that my wife even thought I was bribing her to support me .
What is going on in your mind right now?
I can ’ t explain what is going on … ( He bursts into tears ) .
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed , has warned that the Nigerian economy may slide into recession if the coronavirus pandemic continues for the next six months.
She stated this during her appearance on Channels Television ’ s Politics Today where she spoke on steps being taken by the government cushion the impact of the pandemic on the nation’ s economy .
She said , “ We are hopeful that this pandemic will be limited in time. If it is an average of three months, we should be able to close the year with positive growth.
“ But if it goes longer than that – six months, one year – we will go into recession . ”
This came as the International Monetary Fund said the global economy has entered recession over the ravaging impact of the COVID- 19 on different countries .
The Managing Director , IMF, Kristalina Georgieva , who said this while making an opening remark during a conference call of the International Monetary Fund and Financial Committee , declared that no fewer than 80 countries had approached the Fund for help.
She said , “ We have reassessed the prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021 . It is now clear that we have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009 .
“ We do project recovery in 2021 – in fact there may be a sizeable rebound , but only if we succeed with containing the virus – everywhere – and prevent liquidity problems from becoming a solvency issue.
“ A key concern about a long- lasting impact of the sudden stop of the world economy is the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs that not only can undermine the recovery but can erode the fabric of our societies . ”
She added , “ We have seen an extraordinary spike in requests for the IMF emergency financing – some 80 countries have placed requests and more are likely to come . Normally , we never have more than a handful of requests at the same time . ”
Following the stay – at – order by different governments as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus , a health centre in Delta State has recorded high family planning requests .
The Reproductive Head Supervisor at Alihame Primary Healthcare Centre in Ika South Local Government Area of the state , Loveth Durojaiye , said the centre had received 80 percent above its usual request since the beginning of the lockdown .
Dourojaiye disclosed this during an advocacy visit to Alihame and Owa – Oyibo Primary Healthcare centres in the state .
She said , “ Now , the compliance is very high . We are recording over 80 percent increase in patronage.
“ We urge other women to key in to avoid unwanted pregnancy especially this period of stay – at – home . ”
Speaking further , the Delta State Technical Support Lead for Family Planning, Bernard Emonena , said there would be an increase in sexual relationships as the lockdown prolongs .
“ Ordinarily , when you to go to work and come back , there is this natural tiredness, on that , it is a form of family planning on its own because you will be too tired to start up something that is intimate .
“ But now , you are at home fulltime, you are so open to a lot of things and sexual intimacy is part of it. So , if it goes continuously unprotected , you find out that in trying to curb this menace of COVID- 19 pandemic , you will end up with another problem of population explosion .
“ There should be high support for family planning services, if not , it will run counter to what we are already achieving in the state, ” he said .
He said , “ Our mathematical modelling shows that the worst – case scenario is that we may see up to 39 , 000 cases in Lagos , but if everyone practises good social distancing , the figure will be limited to 13 , 000 .
“ If we add social distancing to active contact tracing , then we will be able to bend the curve further . The figures may seem alarming at this point , but this is just to emphasise to the Lagos community to follow instructions of the incident commander to make sure that we practice social distancing .
“ Looking at the same timeframe from the introduction of the index case , you can see that Lagos State is not seen anywhere near what Spain , Italy , and Iran are showing . So , at weeks two and three of our index case , we are flat ; and at week four , we have 37 cases; while at the same fourth week, Italy , Iran , and Spain had more than 20 , 000 cases. ”
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu , has said that curfew may be imposed in the state with the increasing cases of coronavirus.
He said this during a live broadcast at the State House, Marina .
He said , “ We are moving to the direction of curfew, but there are indices and numbers we need to see , we haven ’ t seen that number yet to warrant a curfew.
“ The disease is not a respecter of anybody . It doesn ’ t look at class , gender or race , everybody is at risk, that is why we need to obey the rules and regulations set for ourselves. ”
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Thursday said the cases of the coronavirus in the country had increased to 65 – three have been discharged and one dead .
Currently , the majority of cases were imported to the country from high -risk nations such as the United States , the United Kingdom , and other European countries .
Among top officials who have tested positive are the Chief of Staff to the President , Abba Kyari , and the Bauchi State Governor , Bala Mohammed .
The disease has spread to eight states and the Federal Capital Territory. There are 44 cases in Lagos ; 12 in the Federal Capital Territory ; Ogun State , three; Ekiti State , one ; Bauchi State , two ; Oyo State , one ; Edo State , one ; Osun State , one and Rivers State , one .
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