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AGF committee working to recover N89tn stamp duty – Presidency funds
A duly authorised committee under the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), is currently working to reconcile, recover and transfer all Stamp Duties funds into Stamp Duties Central Account, the Presidency has said.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this on Tuesday in a statement titled “Stamp Duty: Facts Nigerians Need to Know”.
The fresh clarification came following the controversy over the purported trapped N89 trillion which started last Friday when the Secretary of the dissolved Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and Recovery of Stamp Duties Revenue, Muhammadu Gudaji Kazaure, said President Buhari secretly constituted the committee and that he was being denied access to the President to provide progress report.
Shehu, who on Saturday dismissed the accusations made against the administration and the notion that Gudaji was stopped from meeting with the President, said President Buhari had not “completely ignored these matters.”
He said the work of the Malami committee “is ongoing; it is not finished yet and the President will continue to show his keen interest in the matter of Stamp Duty collection.”
The statement read, “Our good friend and a committed party member, Hon Gudaji, has tried to draw me into a public debate which I don’t consider a good idea.
“In a video clip in Hausa and a press release in English both by this good friend of the administration, Hon. Gudaji Kazaure, invited me to answer questions, some of which are completely lacking in imagination.
“I would have ignored the allegations therein. Yet, a wise man once said that a lie can travel the world while the truth is still wearing his shoes. It is on the basis of the above that I decided to put some things straight and respond directly to Hon. Kazaure’s questions posed to me.
“Specifically, I will respond to each of his questions as follows:
“(A) “The money with CBN I & E window Account stood at $171 billion as at 2020; what is the source of that money? To my knowledge, the CBN-established Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window is a foreign exchange trading platform where banks and other authorized dealers can buy or sell foreign exchange. These trades are recorded by the CBN daily and reported as turnover or activity in the market.
“Contrary to Hon. Kazaure’s assertion, the I&E window is NOT an “account” where foreign exchange is deposited. It is simply a platform for trading foreign exchange. As of April 2020, the total amount of foreign exchange traded (either bought or sold) in the window was about $171 billion. The size of this amount suggests that there is adequate liquidity or availability of foreign exchange and that anyone who wants to buy or sell would easily find a counterparty to trade with. The amount does not mean that we have $171 billion stacked away in some vault or saved in any account.”
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Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibas
Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibok-ete Ibas
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (Retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.
The administrator was sworn in on Wednesday after a short meeting with the President.
Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly members.
The President said his decision was based on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he could not continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking concrete action.
The suspension of Fubara and other elected representatives has been rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigerian Bar Association.
However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.
Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021.
He is from Cross River State where he had his early education.
The new sole administrator went to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979 from where he proceeded to have a successful career in the Navy, rising through the ranks to the very top.
He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff conferred him with the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2022.
News
Breaking: Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers State
Breaking: Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers State
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following the protracted political crisis in the state.
Tinubu made the declaration during a nationwide broadcast, saying it is for six months.
He announced the suspension of the Executive Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.
He immediately named an administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Retd), to take charge of the affairs of the state for the six-month period.
Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger or disaster in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures to regain control.
A state of emergency allows the President to immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety. (Channels TV)
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BREAKING: Tinubu addresses Nigerians on Rivers political crisis
BREAKING: Tinubu addresses Nigerians on Rivers political crisis
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night will hold a nationwide broadcast to address the crisis in Rivers state.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said the broadcast will be transmitted by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
The broadcast is expected to be held by 7pm today.
Video: President Tinubu has declared state on emergency on Rivers state effective immediately, suspends Governor Fubara, his deputy governor and house of assembly members for six months.
He also nominated an administrator pic.twitter.com/jD1g9FHOez— Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) March 18, 2025
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