Northern Senators convened a closed door meeting on Thursday, lasting over two hours, following the Senate’s passage of the contentious Tax Reform Bills for a second reading.

The closed-door session, held in Room 301 of the National Assembly Complex, was announced during the day’s plenary, igniting speculation about the agenda.

However, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, refrained from divulging the details of their deliberations.

The Tax Reform Bills, which include significant changes to Nigeria’s fiscal landscape, have drawn considerable attention. Earlier in the day, the Senate instructed its Committee on Finance to organize a public hearing involving state governors, the Governors Forum, traditional rulers, and other key stakeholders. The committee is expected to present its findings and recommendations within six weeks.

During plenary, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) spearheaded discussions on the bills, emphasizing their importance for modernizing the nation’s tax framework. The four bills include:

The Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 – designed to establish a comprehensive fiscal framework for taxation in the country.

The Tax Administration Bill – aimed at providing a unified legal structure for all taxes in Nigeria while minimizing disputes and ambiguities.
The Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill – which seeks to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service for improved efficiency in tax collection.
The Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill – intended to create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman to resolve disputes and enhance accountability in revenue management.

The Senate described the reform bills as critical to ensuring sustainable revenue generation and streamlining tax administration. Lawmakers highlighted the need for robust engagement with stakeholders to address potential concerns and ensure a fair and inclusive tax system.

However, the Northern Senators’ meeting has raised questions about whether regional interests or specific provisions within the bills influenced the closed-door discussions. The region’s lawmakers have previously expressed concerns about the disproportionate fiscal burdens placed on states with lower internally generated revenues, often reliant on federal allocations.

Observers are keenly watching for outcomes from the public hearing and the Senate Finance Committee’s report, as the Tax Reform Bills could significantly reshape Nigeria’s fiscal policies and their impact on citizens and businesses.

Nigerian investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, has been reportedly arrested and detained by the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The arrest, which took place three days ago, was confirmed by the Foundation For Investigative Journalism (FIJ) on its official page on Friday morning.

It was gathered that Soyombo’s detention may be linked to his work exposing corruption and smugglers aided by Nigerian Customs Services.

The FIJ has called for his immediate release and raised the alarm over the increasing threats to press freedom in the country.

Soyombo, known for his investigative reporting on high-profile issues such as corruption, abuse of power, and human rights violations, has previously faced various threats and harassment.

“The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt has been detaining our founder ‘Fisayo Soyombo 3 days running. Journalism is not a crime,” FIJ said.

Earlier in November, the media had reported that Soyombo released more videos to establish his smuggling allegations involving Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) officers.

Fisayo, in a statement issued on his verified social media handles, had alleged that Nigerian customs officers had conspired with Adeyemi Habeeb Abdulganiy, an alleged multi-billionaire-naira smuggler better known as Abuga, to illegally pass about 2000 cars and smuggle in bags of rice into the country.

He had said the illegal operation was slated to take place on Sunday, 10th of November, 2024.

The journalist wrote: “All is set. Your men, working with Adeyemi Habeeb Abdulganiy, the multi-billionaire-smuggler better known as Abuga, are primed to pass more than 2,000 cars containing at least 65 bags of rice each from Bebe in the Benin Republic into Sango, Nigeria.

“Some of these cars will enter Sango from the toll gate by driving against traffic, consequently endangering lives, while some will gain entry into Sango through Ifo; others will use the Oju-Ore-Ota route.

“Road users in Sango can expect traffic congestion early tomorrow morning unless this post prompts an about-face from the actors. I understand as well that soldiers from the 192 battalion at Owode will be patrolling during the journey to prevent any resistance.

“So, @CustomsNG, just so you know, the people are watching; they will be hysterically laughing at you when you announce “seizure of one million bags of rice and 25 cartons of guns” later this week.”

However, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, said that Fisayo’s claims were fictitious.

He had said it was illogical for anyone to believe their personnel were involved in the illegal operation.

In his another post, Fisayo had released two more videos to substantiate his smuggling allegations against the customs officers.

He said: “Since Maiwada considers my revelations ‘tales by moonlight’, I am supplying two more video evidence of smuggling-ready rice cars merely awaiting final clearance from rogue Customs officers.”

“If, after this, Maiwada still considers my revelations fictitious, I’m happy to share more videos with you. I’m just trying to be useful to you, so you can in turn be useful to Nigerians rather than your pockets,” the journalist added.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced a significant update to its redeployment policy for married female corps members. Going forward, changing one’s maiden name to the spouse’s name will no longer be a requirement for concessional deployment or relocation.

This was disclosed in a circular signed by the NYSC Director of Corps Mobilization, Abubakar Mohammed. The document, dated November 25, 2024, was addressed to state coordinators, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) coordinators, and other relevant officials.

Details of the New Policy
The circular, titled “Review of Criteria for Concessional Deployment/Relocation for Married Female Corps Members”, outlined the approved revisions to redeployment criteria.

Key directive:

Married female corps members seeking relocation will no longer need to adopt their spouse’s surname to qualify for redeployment.
The memo further emphasized that all other existing requirements for redeployment remain unchanged and must be adhered to.

Ensuring Compliance and Monitoring
The NYSC has mandated state and FCT coordinators to strictly comply with this updated directive. Directors in area offices have also been tasked with monitoring the policy’s implementation to ensure consistency nationwide.