Author: PeakNews

Buhari Govt Praises China For Improving Nigeria’s Infrastructure

President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has hailed China for helping Nigeria to enhance its infrastructure.

Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said when the history of the administration’s efforts to reverse the infrastructure deficit is written, China’s role will be included.

Adesina spoke on Friday at the State House when he hosted Ambassador Cui Jianchun and the new Deputy Chief of Mission/Ministerial Councilor, Zhang Yi.

The aide thanked the Chinese government for sustained efforts to improve Nigeria’s infrastructure in power, rail, aviation, among others.

‘‘President Buhari has very great respect for China. Many times he has spoken about the support from China.

“President Buhari and President Xi Jinping share respect and friendship.”

Adesina added that Nigeria appreciates the cooperation with the world power, expressing hope that the relations will continue to be strong and beneficial.

2023: SOWORE APPOINTS ONYINYE-GANDHI CHUKWUNYERE AS CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON.

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has appointed Onyinye-Gandhi Chukwunyere as the official spokesperson for his 2023 presidential campaign.

Mr. Chukwunyere is a lawyer, policy analyst, public and international affairs commentator, and a social crusader. He is from Ekwereazu, in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State

The appointment is effective immediately.

Muslim-Muslim ticket: Pope ‘endorses’ my appointment as DG – Lalong

Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organization, Simon Lalong, says he will not resign as the party DG campaign organization.

Lalong said that even Pope is not opposed to his appointment

Lalong, who is also the Governor of Plateau, an ardent Catholic, said the Pope had not told him that accepting to lead the Muslim-Muslim APC presidential ticket was against the tenets of Christianity.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some groups had staged rallies in Abuja, calling on Lalong to reject the offer to serve as the DG of APC presidential campaign organization.

However, the governor said he would not reject his new appointment just to satisfy the wishes of certain individuals or groups.

”The Pope is not angry with my decision to be the DG of the Muslim-Muslim presidential campaign.

“I came back home and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) welcomed me at the airport.

”The next day I addressed stakeholders of Plateau and I told them why I’m accepting and then there was jubilation, all of them accepted.

“So, if you see people talking about me rejecting, I have accepted already – is not an issue. Some of them have already keyed into it – I’m a Christian. If you watch my TVC interview I saw, I was born a Catholic, baptized a catholic, confirmed a catholic.

“Today, I went through missionary schools. I was taught by missions I respect my being a Christian.

“I have been given the highest award by the Pope, I still hold that award – the highest Papal Award, I want people to know, Knight of Saint Gregory the Great, I have it and one day if you want I will wear my uniform and come here. So those who are talking it I don’t even know where they are.

“I hold a Papal night and as a catholic everything we do, we do it and send the advice to the Pope.

“The Pope has not told me that what I’m doing (to accept Director General) is bad – As a catholic, we take that direction.

“But, generally as a governor of a State, I’m not responsible to only my faith. I’m responsible to other people who belong to other faiths, who are not even Muslims or Christians’’

He urged Nigerians to grow up from ethnic or religious sentiments.

Lalong said that he had already accepted the job and there was nothing anybody could do to dissuade him from performing his responsibilities.

Lalong said he was in the Presidential Villa to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the University of Jos as a national cancer centre as well as granting presidential pardon to the former Governor of the state, Joshua Dariye.

According to him, the people of the State will remain grateful to the president for delivering a lot of democratic dividends to the State.

“My visit to the President is to come and show him appreciation because of what he has done for Plateau State in the last few months.

”Just a week or two ago, we just got approval to make the University of Jos a Cancer Centre.

“I saw over N3 billion approved for the institution as a special centre for cancer. So, it’s not a small achievement.

“Recently, the President approved the establishment of an orthopaedic hospital in Jos, Plateau; the only one in North-Central.

“He also approved the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Wase. Another one is the Federal Polytechnic Shendam, which is almost starting this year in October to be precise.

“The president has also approved the conversion of the Federal College of Education, Pankshin, to a Federal University of Education and immediately approved the establishment of another Federal college of Education in the State.

“We were just celebrating that one then we also heard of the establishment of a Zonal campus of the Nigerian Law School for North-Central in Jos.

“We cannot have all these achievements and not come and show appreciation to the President,” he said.

Kizz Daniel Refused to Perform at Tanzanian Concert Because of Gold Chain

“Kizz Daniel had a gold chain on his neck, yet he refused to perform because the airline had failed to deliver his luggage that contained his other gold chains; insisting he must wear all of it for the show”

The singer had arrived in the country earlier but refused to perform because of unavailability of his clothes.

But in an Instagram Live session with Daddy Freeze after the news of the singer’s arrest by the Tanzanian police went viral, the show promoter, identified Steve claimed Vado refused to perform because the luggage containing his other gold chain was delivered.

According to Uwah, although Kizz had a gold chain on his neck, yet he refused to perform because the airline had failed to deliver his luggage that contained his other gold chains; insisting he must wear all of it for the show.

He noted his manager, Paulo called the singer from America, crying while begging him all night to honour the show but he refused to bulge.

Explaining reason for Kizz Daniel’s refusal to perform at the concert to Daddy Freeze, Uwah stated: “He only said the airline did not bring his bag, that is why he cannot perform because his gold chain is not there and he had a good chain on his neck, one but he wanted everything.”

“And I brought him harmonised skin. I brought in different clothes. So, he said just because the airline didn’t bring one of his bags, he cannot perform without his gold on his neck.

“That show, I spent nothing less than $300,000 because the show was a premium show. I’ll send you a video of that show. That show wasn’t a joke. A table for that show was sold for $5,000 and the highest table was sold for $10,000.

“I have all the contract with Paulo. Paulo is the one who I booked Kizz Daniel directly from.

“Paulo cried all night calling from America trying to beg this guy saying, ‘please go for the show’s, but he refused.”

Nigeria Named 4th Top Debtor In World Bank‘s Top Debtors List

Nigeria now has an IDB debt stock of $13 billion since June 30, 2022 to claim the number four position on the list of World Bank‘s top debtors.

This is according to the newly released World Bank Fiscal Year 2022 audited financial statements for International Development Association (IDA).

Out of the top 10 IDB borrowers’ list, Nigeria had been rated fifth with $11.7bn IDA debt stock as of June 30, 2021.

As at June 30, 2022, the debt has increased to $13 billion.

The International Financial Institution revealed in its audited financial statements Nigeria has accumulated about $1.3bn IDA debt within a fiscal year, with the country taking over the fourth top debtor position from Vietnam.

This debt is different from the outstanding loan of $486m from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Other top five countries on the list are said to have slightly reduced their IDA debt stock, except Nigeria.

The report showed that India, which is still the first on the list reduced its IDA debt stock from $22bn in the previous fiscal year to $19.7bn, followed by Bangladesh from $18.1bn to $18bn.

It is followed by Pakistan which cut its debt from $16.4bn to $15.8bn, and lastly, Vietnam, which went down the list to fifth position, from $14.1bn to $12.9bn.

Nigeria has the highest IDA debt in Africa, as the top three IDA borrowers (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) are from Asia. The World Bank disclosed recently that Nigeria’s debt, which may be considered sustainable for now, is vulnerable and costly.

The bank said, “Nigeria’s debt remains sustainable, albeit vulnerable and costly, especially due to large and growing financing from the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The Washington-based global financial institution highlighted that Nigeria’s debt was also at risk of becoming unsustainable in the event of macro-fiscal shocks.

The bank further expressed concerns over the nation’s cost of debt servicing, which according to it, disrupted public investments and critical service delivery spending.

Economists have also raised concerns over the rising debt profile of the Federal Government.

The Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader of PwC, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, expressed his agreement with the World Bank on the high cost of debt servicing.

He said, “I agree with the World Bank. Although the debt to GDP ratio is not too high, if you think about the debt service cost to revenue ratio, it is already over 70 per cent. That’s when you know it’s costly.

“Nigeria borrows at double-digit, and even when we borrow in dollars, the rates are very high and then you devalue the naira and the cost of servicing the debt in naira goes up because it is dollar-dominated debt.

“Put all of that together, and you can easily say to yourself that even though our debt to GDP ratio is very low, our cost of borrowing is unsustainable because it is very high, and therefore, make it very costly.”

In one of his publications, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu also criticised the increasing borrowing tendency of the government, urging the officials to re-consider other ways of generating revenue for the country.

Moghalu said it was also not reasonable to borrow for infrastructural development as the government could expand the public-private partnership options for such development.

If federal government proposal to raise the consumption tax on telecom services is approved, call and data rates could rise by as much as 100%.

According to the Daily Trust, the federal government recently announced its intention to impose a 5 percent excise duty tax on telecom services, bringing the overall consumption tax on these services to 12.5 percent.

Call, Data Costs To Double As FG Invokes New Telecom Tax

The new tax regime, according to industry sources, will not only affect subscribers but also add tax burden on the telcos which would translate into rise in tariffs.

If the 5 per cent increment is eventually implemented, industry experts say, Nigerians will now be paying as much as N40 per minute call, up from about N20. And data tariffs could also go up to about N2,500 per gigabyte.

The finance minister, who unveiled the plan at a stakeholders’ forum on the implementation of excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the 5 percent excise duty was in the Finance Act, 2020.

She said the accrued taxes would be remitted on monthly basis, on or before 21st of every month. The move, according to the minister, was part of effort by the government to boost non-oil revenue in the face of dwindling income, especially from the oil sector.

The proposal has, however, set Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami, on collision course.

While the Ministry of Finance cites a presidential approval to apply the new excise on telecommunication services, as provided by the Finance Act, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy is kicking on the ground that the new tax would be harmful to the sector and to subscribers.

How I was raped, impregnated by my uncle – Fashion Designer Toyin Lawani

Popular celebrity designer and one of the cast of the Real Housewife of Lagos show, Toyin Lawani, known as Tiannah, has revealed how she was raped by an uncle as a teenager, which resulted in a pregnancy.

Lawani made this known in an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo on his show, #WithChude.

She said, “When I was 15, I got raped by someone in my neighbourhood. And it was one of my uncles. And I couldn’t tell my mum. It was just so bad for me. You know when someone bullies you to the extent that you can’t talk?

“It was so bad. I opened up to one of my aunties. Aunty Bola. She’s late now. She took me to Ibadan. They tried to get rid of the pregnancy. It was the same time I had to get admission to UNILAG.

“My mum and dad are late now. They had to take me to a hospital when the pregnancy was about five months already because I didn’t tell anyone. There was like a baby already and it was coming out on me. I got so sick.

“My mum was calling me to come back, asking why I was still at my grandma’s house. I went to get my admission and fainted on the premises. They took me to a hospital and my mum came. The doctor opened up to her.

“He said, ‘Your daughter was pregnant, and we took it out.’ She couldn’t take it because I was so young, and I didn’t tell her these things. The person was so close to our family. This is why I’m so strict with my kids.

”In an update on her Instagram page, Lawani added, “Most of my family didn’t understand when I refused to invite my abuser to my wedding. They felt I was harsh, but seeing him just brings bad memories that won’t stop.

“Sharing your story at times makes you lose a lot of people, yes people will get hurt, family will blame you for sharing, but I might just be saving so many other people so they don’t fall into this mentality of my family can’t harm me ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️ for the first time in my life, I felt like a big weight left.”