News
We Can’t Stabilise Naira if smuggling goes unchecked – FG admits
By Mario Deepromoter
The National Security Adviser (NSA) Mal. Nuhu Ribadu has decried the rising trend of smuggling of petroleum products outside the country, adding that instability in the foreign exchange market will continue if it is not tackled.
Ribadu made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday at a stakeholder engagement on operation Whirlwind hosted by Nigeria Customs, which is targeted at tackling smuggling of petroleum products outside the country.
He said, “We have been suffering due to smuggling, and if we want to address our economic problems, smuggling has to stop. It is difficult because it is like cancer and eats up everything. It destroys us and even our security forces because of the very few individuals making profit from it and half of them are not even Nigerians.
“I don’t think there is any country that suffers from smuggling like Nigeria and we have to address it now because with they trouble we are going through, we can’t stabilize Naira and if we can’t stabilize Naira, then we are in trouble.”
The NSA further revealed that his office will provide the necessary support needed for the Customs Service and other security agencies to tackle the current issue.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator, Operation Whirlwind, Comptroller Hussein Ejibunu stated that the programme started on May 28 2024 and officers of the Service swung into action in collaborating with NMDPR to assist with the implementing the assignment.
Speaking further, he said, “From May till date, the Customs has made about 27 seizures and detected smuggling networks in Badagry and Adamawa.
Other activities have also improved border security and we have succeeded in ensuring fuel smuggling is reduced. Our collaboration with NMDPRA has also been critical and germane. So far, we have seized 500,000 litres of PMS with 7 trucks amounting to 475m.
“The seizures were done in Kebbi, Sokoto, Lagos and Adamawa. We have opened other axis in Kwara, Niger, Katsina and Kano. Because of this work, most of our officers are on death threats including myself and they sent us messages to desist from fighting, but we won’t relate because we ought to fight and ensure survival of Nigeria,” he stated.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi stated that the stakeholders’ engagement was to nip smuggling in the bud.
“We won’t spare any effort in combating the menace and this explains why we launched Operations Whirlwind and we have made some progress.
“However, we need funding because we spend about N230 million monthly to sustain the operation and because it is not in our budget it is not sustainable and Customs may not be able to drive it alone. As such, we will need funding collaboration and we intend to sustain it till the end of the year,” he added.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service has announced plans to implement an e-invoicing platform to advance Nigeria’s tax administration system.
The new digital platform, named FIRS e-Invoice, is set to streamline invoice management in alignment with the Tax Administration and Enforcement Act of 2007.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Zacchaeus Adedeji, made the announcement during the LCCI-FIRS Organised Private Sector Stakeholders Engagement held in Lagos on Wednesday.
Adedeji emphasised the significance of e-invoicing for modernising and enhancing the efficiency of Nigeria’s tax system stating “Our collective efforts will pave the way for a more prosperous and resilient Nigeria. As we advance, we encourage support for these initiatives through constructive feedback and collaboration.”
Credit: PUNCH
The media office of the former Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has alleged that EFCC operatives on Wednesday night, laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to arrest the ex-governor.
The team’s Media Director, Ohiare Michael, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, alleged that the anti-graft officers shot sporadically in the air in the bid to carry out their aim.
The statement reads: “It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello. They were shooting sporadically.
“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily earlier today but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount a Gestapo-like attack on the Kogi State Government facility in Asokoro.
“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.
“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation.
“The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.
“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they were fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption.
“This action reflects much more than the fight against corruption.
“We will keep Nigerians posted.”
Reports have that the anti-graft agency had filed a 19-count money laundering charge against Bello before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Lagos State Government has raised the alarm over an imminent building collapse at Mopol 20 Barracks, Onigbongbo in the Ikeja area of the state.
This is as the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency is set to begin an emergency evacuation at the old block 3 section of the barracks.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said its response team had assessed some parts of the structure and found them to be in a precarious condition.
Oke-Osanyintolu stated the building and adjacent structures would also be evacuated immediately to prevent any loss of life or property.
“The Agency dispatched a response team to the location and the findings indicate that the building and those adjacent must be evacuated with immediate effect. We are conducting a response plan which comprises an assessment, safe and orderly evacuation and controlled demolition
“Under the watchful eye of the Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu administration, we will be carrying out this preemptive demolition action due to the precarious conditions of the building and possible secondary incidents that could occur if left unmanaged,” the statement partly read.
He, however, urged members of the public within the vicinity to remain calm and refrain from spreading misinformation on social media.
He also assured that the situation was being closely monitored and managed.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement in July, disclosed that the police were carrying out a comprehensive renovation of some police barracks in the state.
He noted that the renovation would be carried out in partnership with the state government.
FIRS to Introduce e-invoice to Enhance Nigeria’s Tax System
EFCC officers shoot sporadically in a bid to nab ex-gov Yahaya Bello in Kogi Govt Lodge
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