12022018 - Fuel crisis : PDP, APC in verbal war over President's role

8—VANGUARD, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Nigerian UK property owners crash
VAIDS phone lines
•Request tax amnesty deadline extension
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
A
B U J A —
NIGERIANS,
who own property in the
United Kingdom, Friday,
crashed Voluntary Assets
and Income Declaration
Scheme, VAIDS, hotlines of
the Federal Ministry of
Finance with their
incessant calls.
Highly placed source
confirmed the
development, yesterday.
The level of calls, he said,
might be in connection with
the new UK regulation with
regard to Unexplained
Wealth Orders, UWOs.
“The confidential hotlines
that were provided to
enable the booking of
appointments had received
massive calls and frantic
requests from tax payers in
the last 72 hours, asking for
extension of time to
complete their VAIDS
declaration forms,” the
source said.
The UK Government had,
last week, introduced a new
law that requires foreign
owners of property in the
country to explain the
source of their funds or risk
forfeiting them to the
government.
The source said the UK
government orders have
created anxiety among
Nigerians at home and
abroad who own property
in that country.
According to the new law,
the UWOs can be obtained
for any property or
combination of property
valued at just £50,000
(about N25 million) or
more, for which the owner
is unable to explain legal
source of funds.
The source disclosed that
data already in the
possession of the VAIDS
Office in the Federal
Ministry of Finance
revealed that many
Nigerians who own
property in the UK have
under-paid their taxes
before transferring funds
overseas to buy them.
“Most of the calls received
are from high net worth
individuals, including
company executives,
bankers and even a
governor. All seem to be in
panic over the prospect of
losing their property,” he
said.
It was learned that some
of the affected Nigerian
investors in UK stormed the
ministry last Friday without
appointments, requesting
to see the Minister or the
Head of the VAIDS Office.
The source explained:
“Most of the enquiries are
about seeking assurance
from the Federal
Government that the
VAIDs programme can
protect them from
potential asset forfeiture to
the UK government.
Others requested to know
if their names had
appeared on the lists from
overseas.”
Vanguard gathered that
the data sharing
agreements between
Nigeria and many
countries where Nigerians
are suspected to have
invested stolen public
funds, have unsettled
corrupt politicians and even
private sector operators.
Consequent upon the
agreement, sources said
those who fail to key into the
VAIDS, thinking that their
investments were hidden,
would be shocked at the
revelations to be made by
the Federal Government at
the end of next month when
the amnesty will end.
PENSION VERIFICATION: Executive Secretary, Pension
Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor
(left) speaking to pensioners at the on-going second phase of pension
verification for NITEL/MTE in Kano State, yesterday. Photo: NAN.
Benue killings: We can’t continue to
promote sycophancy, mediocrity
—Ortom •Says truth suppressed too long
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA —
GOVERNOR Samuel
Ortom of Benue State has
vowed to protect the people
of the state in line with the
oath of office he swore to
always tell the truth.
The governor regretted
that those who had the
responsibility to stop the
killings of innocent citizens
by suspected herdsmen
have refused to live up to
their responsibility and
decided to insult him for
condemning the atrocity.
According to him, the era
of promoting sycophancy
and mediocrity is over.
Speaking to newsmen,
weekend, Ortom said
though some people had
planned to attack him, he
had decided to offer himself
like a sacrificial lamb to
ensure that the truth that
had long been suppressed
prevails in the country.
He said: “The Bible says
‘you shall know the truth
and the truth will set you
free.’ In Nigeria today, we
have no business being
where we are. We would
have been far ahead of
where we are today. It is
just that for a long time, we
have suppressed the truth.
“But the truth is that I
have decided to offer
myself. If it will require me
to pay the supreme
sacrifice for saying the
truth, I am ready to do it
because the time has come
that we must stop
promoting sycophancy
and mediocrity.
“We must promote the
truth. We must respect the
constitution and the rule of
law. The constitution and
the law of our land are the
only things that can guide
us to greater heights.
“They are the only things
that can lead us to where
we want to be, the only
thing that can promote and
project us to rank with other
countries that are doing
well.
“Was it not just yesterday
we said ‘Ghana must go?’
Why is it that on West
African soil today, the
whole world is turning
their attention, whether in
investment or whatever?
Ghana has become a
reference point against
Nigeria.”
The governor, who said
some people would have
killed him but for the
intervention of the media,
stated that he had
suspended every activity
concerning the 2019
elections to concentrate on
the resolution of the killings
of his people by the
marauding herdsmen.
He also lamented that he
was being persecuted and
ridiculed by those with the
constitutional right to
provide security to the
people, even as he
reiterated his faith in God
in the midst of the
turbulence and his efforts to
protect and defend his
people.
“Today, for the
persecution that I am going
through, for doing what is
right then, I have become a
target. For saying that ‘look,
enough is enough, stone
age laws should be
repealed, even if they were
laws or if they were policies,
we should discard them
because they will not help
us.
“The truth is that I felt so
sad when the Minister of
Defence and followed by the
IG (Inspector-General) of
Police) were acting the
script of Miyetti Allah,
instead of doing their jobs
that they are collecting tax
payers money for every
month."
Reps probe $5bn under
remittance by CBN
By Emman
Ovuakporie
ABUJA—THE House of
Representatives adhoc
committee constituted
to probe the Central Bank
of Nigeria, CBN, for
alleged under remittance of
over $5 billion into the
federation account began
work,weekend.
The committee, chaired
by Chairman, House
Committee on Customs,
James Faleke, has
fashioned out a work plan
and other necessary
modalities necessary for the
investigative hearing.
The committee was
constituted following the
adoption of a motion
promoted by Ayo Omidiran
(APC, Osun ), alleging that
the CBN was guilty of not
disclosing the true state of
the financial inflows into the
federation account on a
monthly basis.
She also indicted the office
of the Accountant-General
of the Federation for not
reporting the alleged
infractions by the CBN.
She said: “The CBN takes
advantage of this all
important function of
warehousing funds for the
three tiers of government
and preparation of the
federation account
statement to manipulate the
system by opening various
accounts not known to the
three tiers of government
where funds are remitted,
hidden, diverted and spent
without authorisation."
C’ttee probes
sugar import
waiver abuse
In a related
development, the House of
Representatives adhoc
committee investigating the
alleged abuse of import
duty waivers granted sugar
companies has resolved to
summon the Minister of
Industry, Trade and
Investment, Okechukwu
Enelamah, and other
stakeholders to shed light
on how firms granted
waivers by the Federal
Government shortchanged
the government of billions
of Naira in revenue.
Chairman of the adhoc
committee, Olasupo
Abiodun Adeola, disclosed
this to journalists,
weekend, in Abuja.
Olasupo said the
committee’s assignment
was to determine the
compliance by local sugar
companies with the waiver
granted them to import raw
sugar into the country
under a scheme to promote
backward integration and
ensure local sugar
production meets demand
to reducing Nigeria’s
dependence on imported
sugar.
Herdsmen attacks: Lawyers
tackle Buhari, accuse him of
shielding culprits
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
ABUJA—A group of
senior legal
practitioners, under the
aegis of Lawyers Alert,
yesterday, expressed worry
over what it described as
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s nonresponsiveness
to wanton
killings and destruction of
properties by marauding
herdsmen.
The group, in a statement
signed by its President, Mr.
Rommy Mom, said it was
perturbed that President
Buhari had yet to visit
Benue State and other
areas pillaged by
herdsmen.
It maintained that
President Buhari has
stayed “largely quiet” on
the increasing cases of
attacks by armed
herdsmen, saying the
“implication of what is
happening in Benue State
is the apparent notion that
herdsmen are somehow
above the law.”
The lawyers stated:
“While these attacks did not
begin with Buhari’s
administration, the killings
appear to have escalated
dramatically under
Buhari’s watch.
“Rather than
comprehensively
addressing the issue and
protecting citizens’ right to
life, the Buhari
administration is exhibiting
the same helplessness
Nigerians experienced
with the Jonathan
administration’s handling
of the Boko Haram threat.
“For instance, Jonathan
chose not to visit Borno
even as Boko Haram
ruthlessly plundered its
way across most parts of the
north and gradually earned
a reputation as the most
vicious terror group in the
world. By the same token,
President Buhari is yet to
visit especially Benue, the
state most pillaged by
herdsmen.
“In fact, a recent state visit
that took him to
neighbouring Nasarawa
State on February 6, 2018,
somehow neglected to
include a stopover in
Benue as part of the
itinerary.”