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Construction Industry Urges FG On Tax Reduction

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The Federal Government has been called upon to reduce the tax on construction industry from five per cent to two and a half per cent.
President of the Federation of Construction Industry, Solomon Okebusola, made the call in Abuja recently at the 57th Annual General Meeting of Federation of Construction Industry.
According to him, the five per cent for withholding tax is too high and it is affecting the running of business in the industry.
Okebusola said stakeholders also had a major challenge affecting the construction industry as billions of naira were trapped at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS).
“Various sums, ranging from N5 billion to N15 billion, were being owed to various construction companies as refunds from withholding tax.
“We have up to N15 billion owed by the FIRS to some of our members.
“The stakeholders’ problem was rather that when the time for tax refund came, the chairman of FIRS would say he had no power to make such refund and would refer them to the minister of finance.
“They were also informed that the tax-collecting agency was allocated only N5 billion for refunds, which was responsible for the huge default,’’ Okebusola said.
However, the Deputy Director, Tax Policy, at FIRS, Mr Matthew Gbonjubola, gave the assurance that the issue would be addressed.
“We are reviewing our withholding tax system to make sure that it will allow all tax payers to be able to utilise their withholding tax credits when they are supposed to utilise them,” he said.
He said that the current tax regime now being criticised was the making of the law and not that of the FIRS, saying that the law must be amended first before the required changes could be effected.
“All arms of government are working on it and very soon we will come out with a new tax regime,” he pledged.

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Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina

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The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.

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Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three

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The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association,  Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo  also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.

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AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition

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The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.

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