News
Sen. Adeola empowers 5,500 Ogun traders with financial grants
Sen. Solomon Adeola, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, on Tuesday ,empowered 5,500 market women and men from Ogun West Senatorial District with grants to support their businesses.
Disbursing the financial empowerment through bank transfer at an event held in Ilaro, Adeola said the essence was to eradicate poverty among market men and women in the senatorial district.
Adeola said that the programme was a micro financing scheme to boost the businesses of market men and women, emphasising that it was not a loan but a grant to bring succor to a critical sector of the people.
He said that he facilitated the empowerment programme tagged “Oloja Yayi” in Ogun West in conjunction with Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR).
The senator said that the traders had been contributing their quota to the socio-economic development of their communities and the nation generally.
“In the face of economic challenges facing our nation, there is no doubt that our market women and men are facing challenges in their trading activities of goods and services at the lowest level in our markets.
” We have a good exception here in Gov. Dapo Abiodun’s commendable programme tagged “Oko Owo Dapo” which provided our market women and men some succor in trying times,” he said.
The chairman, senate committee on finance, stated that beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were drawn from the five Local Government Areas of Ogun West Senatorial District.
” Beneficiaries were drawn from Ado Odo Ota, Yewa South, Yewa North, Ipokia and Imeko Afon local governments.
‘My vision here is to further impact directly on critical sectors of the society in ways to cushion the effects of the downturn of the economy on vulnerable persons.
” The various market associations were given forms through their leaders (Iyaolojas and Babaolojas) for onward distribution to members to ensure transparency and the apolitical nature of the exercise,” he said.
Adeola appealed to the beneficiaries to judiciously apply the grant to increase their various trades, saying they should not divert it to other uses unrelated to their marketing activities.
He stated that if well invested, the grants would ultimately yield increase and profits for their businesses to improve their standard of living.
Adeola maintained that the empowerment of 5,500 market men and women was the beginning of developmental strides that would happen in Ogun West, if elected as Senator in the February 25 National Assembly election.
The News reports that Adeola currently represents Lagos West Senatorial District at the National Assembly.
In her address, Mrs Yemisi Abass, the Iyaloja General of Ogun State, commended the senator for the kind gesture.
Abass said the financial support would help the traders and prevent them from obtaining outrageous loans with high interest rates.
News reports that the beneficiaries received N25,000 instantly through SMS credit alerts as start-up capital to support their business.
News
Stop using repressive laws to intimidate journalists – SERAP, NGE tell FG
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and Nigeria Guild of Editors, NGE, have called on Nigerian authorities at all levels of government to stop using repressive and anti-media laws to target, intimidate and harass journalists, critics and media houses.
The groups made the demand after an interactive session on ‘the state of press freedom in Nigeria’ held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja.
In a joint statement, SERAP and NGE said that, “the government of President Bola Tinubu, the country’s 36 governors and FCT minister must now genuinely uphold press freedom, ensure access to information to all Nigerians, obey court judgments, and respect the rule of law”.
They expressed concerns about the escalating crackdown on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by authorities at all levels of government.
The groups note that the suppression of the press in recent times takes various forms ranging from extrajudicial to unlawful detentions, disappearances, malicious prosecutions and wrongful use of both legislation and law enforcement.
The statement read in part: “We would continue to speak truth to power and to hold authorities to account for their constitutional and international obligations including on freedom of expression and media freedom.
“Nigeria as a country has a long and unpleasant history of press gagging and clampdown on media freedom, which is evidence of extensive state censorship of media and in some cases, the utter control of state-owned media houses.
“This position has not changed considerably despite almost 25 years of unbroken democratic rule in the Fourth Republic.”
News
FG adds 625MW to national grid – Minister
News
Tax: Court orders FCT-IRS agency to seal off defaulting coys
A Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) to seal off a company, Ifedi A.K. Nigeria Ltd, over allegations bordering on non-filing of annual returns.
The Magistrate, Janada Balami, gave the order after lawyer to FCT-IRS, Michael Towolawi, moved the application to the effect.
Towolawi told the court that the company had failed to file its annual returns from 2019 to 2023 in breach of Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act, LFN, 2004, and amended in 2011.
He said all efforts to make the company comply with the law proved abortive.
The lawyer, therefore, applied that the company be compel to appear before the court to explain why it acted in breach of the law.
Balami, who held that the application by the agency against the company had merit, accordingly granted same to seal the No 6, Rudolph Close, Off Katsina-Ala Street, Maitama, Abuja.
She, consequently, ordered the company, the sole defendant in the matter, to appear before the court on May 16.
The Director, Legal Services of the FCT-IRS, Festus Tsavar, told journalists after the proceeding that the service would move against companies that do not file their annual returns as provided by law.
“You know that we have a new minister in FCT that is doing a lot of projects and that hinges on money.
“And of course, you are aware that FCT has come out of TSA.
“So it is the internally generated revenue that will make the government of FCT to be able to do those projects completely within required time,” he said.
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