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VCs write FG, reject 40% universities IGR deduction
VCs write FG, reject 40% universities IGR deduction
The Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities has written a protest letter to the Federal Government, demanding that the government rescind the plan to deduct 40 percent of the Internally Generated Revenues of federal universities.
The Secretary-General Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, who disclosed this to our correspondent in a phone interview at the weekend, said the government could not be demanding 40 per cent of varsities IGR when it had refused to grant them autonomy.
It was reported that the Federal Government in a letter dated October 17, 2023, titled ‘Implementation of 40% automatic deduction from internally generated revenue of partially funded federal government institutions,’ said it would begin the deduction with effect from November 2023.
The letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, Director of Revenue and Investment, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Felix Ore-ofe Ogundairo, said the auto-deduction policy of gross IGR was in line with the Finance Circular with reference number FMFBNP/OTHERS/IGR/CRF/12/2021 dated December 20, 2021.
Ochefu, speaking with our correspondent, said should the Federal Government spurn the plea by the VCs and goes ahead with the policy, parents would bear the consequences.
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Ochefu explained that the Finance Act 2020 specified that 40 percent could only be sent to the FG if there was a surplus, saying in the case of universities, there was no surplus but a lack of funding because universities only get user charges from students and not profits or revenues.
He said, “If you look at the Act, it didn’t say 40% IGR, but surplus. So, who determines what is surplus? The Finance Act of 2020 is explanatory and it is the institution that is supposed to decide and send you the surplus if there is any. But FG says it now wants to deduct it from the source. We have protested, and written to the Ministry of Education. If they insist, it means they want to ground the universities to a halt. Or we will be forced to add the 40 percent to what we are charging the end users and these end users are complaining already. We told the Ministry of Education to write the Ministry of Finance to halt the development. The letter was written on Thursday.”
He added, “Ultimately, any decision taken, it is the parents that will bear it. Schools are not commercial activities; they are social entities. Parents will bear it if FG insists on a 40 per cent deduction. For the government to sit down somewhere and equate universities, colleges, and polytechnics as revenue centres, that isn’t possible. They are not funding universities well enough. If you grant autonomy and we are charging the normal rate then we will give you the 40 percent.”
Also, the National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said, “As a union, we are in a meeting to take the decision. They are not supposed to deduct anything from anyone. The university is not generating revenue, this means you want to give students loans and you want to go back to the universities to collect it as 40% IGR.
“These are universities that are not properly funded. Parents are complaining that they can’t pay the current fees, yet you want to collect 40 percent of the little universities earn.”
VCs write FG, reject 40% universities IGR deduction
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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