I remain in PDP, I’m not going anywhere – Plateau Gov Mutfwang

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, says he remains loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, dismissing rumours of him joining the All Progressives Congress, APC.




A social media report had gone viral containing an electronic flex banner with the governor’s image suggesting his defection to the APC.




Responding in a statement, the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Gyang Bere, described the reports as misleading.




According to him, the governor firmly upholds the party’s values and the trust placed in him by the people of Plateau State who overwhelmingly elected him in the 2023 elections under the PDP.




Bere said while this baseless rumour does not warrant a formal response, it has become necessary to dispel any misconceptions that may mislead the public and to preserve the governor’s integrity.




He added that the governor acknowledged that the people of Plateau State regard the PDP as their trusted political platform for leadership and the notion that he has contemplated leaving it for APC is entirely false.




He urged the public to disregard the actions of the detractors, with the sole aim of tarnishing the governor’s reputation for their selfish political gain, adding that Governor Mutfwang has not authorized anyone to create or circulate any such flex banner, and he remains steadfast in his commitment to the PDP and the people of Plateau State.




“This orchestrated falsehood, crafted by certain individuals and executed by mischief-makers, is aimed at creating division between the governor and the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as well as his dedicated supporters in Plateau State,” the statement read.

I remain in PDP, I’m not going anywhere – Plateau Gov Mutfwang

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, says he remains
loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, dismissing rumours of him joining
the All Progressives Congress, APC.



 



A social media report had gone viral containing an
electronic flex banner with the governor’s image suggesting his defection to
the APC.



 



Responding in a statement, the Director of Press and Public
Affairs to the Governor, Gyang Bere, described the reports as misleading.



 



According to him, the governor firmly upholds the party’s values
and the trust placed in him by the people of Plateau State who overwhelmingly
elected him in the 2023 elections under the PDP.



 





Bere said while this baseless rumour does not warrant a
formal response, it has become necessary to dispel any misconceptions that may
mislead the public and to preserve the governor’s integrity.



 



He added that the governor acknowledged that the people of
Plateau State regard the PDP as their trusted political platform for leadership
and the notion that he has contemplated leaving it for APC is entirely false.



 



He urged the public to disregard the actions of the
detractors, with the sole aim of tarnishing the governor’s reputation for their
selfish political gain, adding that Governor Mutfwang has not authorized anyone
to create or circulate any such flex banner, and he remains steadfast in his
commitment to the PDP and the people of Plateau State.



 



“This orchestrated falsehood, crafted by certain individuals
and executed by mischief-makers, is aimed at creating division between the
governor and the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as well as
his dedicated supporters in Plateau State,” the statement read.

We’ve exited ways and means… CBN would no longer fund FG’s debt —Wale Edun

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of
the economy, says the federal government had “exited” servicing its debts
through ways and means.



 



Edun spoke on Thursday at the 2024 Access corporate forum,
themed, ‘Nigeria’s Economic Rebirth: Hopes and Implications’.



 



His statement comes days after the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) said it would sustain its ways and means advances to the federal
government at a 5 percent limit for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.



 



Ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN
finances the federal government’s budget shortfalls.



 





Speaking on plans to boost revenue and managing finance, the
minister said the government would no longer be going to the CBN to clear
debts.



 



“We have exited Ways and Means. What does that mean? It means
that the government, when it has to pay domestic debt service or foreign debt
service, does not go to the central bank to debit the consolidated revenue fund
of the government, which means just printing the money,” Edun said.



 



“But more importantly, we are putting in place, with the
backing and support of Mr. President, a world-class treasury and liability
management system that will take this country to where it should be in terms of
financial management.”



 



Edun said the successful delivery of the government’s
economic stabilisation plan would reinforce the gains being recorded from
reforms.



 



 The minister also
said plans are ongoing to mobilise 360,000 farmers to cultivate 360,000
hectares of land to yield an estimated harvest of 1.4 million metric tonnes of
maize, wheat, and cassava because “we must produce the food that we eat”.



 



In addition, he said the government is providing support and
relief to manufacturers through fiscal measures, noting that the economic
management team would be reconvened soon, as the government is documenting its
economic plan.



 



According to Edun, the federal government aims to reduce the
number of taxes businesses pay to a single digit.



 



 “The rationale is
this: 90 percent or so of the tax revenues that arrive in the government
coffers comes from less than 10 taxes,” he said.



 



“There is ongoing work to bring down the rate of corporate
income tax as we are trying to encourage investments in order to grow the
economy.”



 



Edun said foods, pharmaceuticals, and health products will
exempted from VAT, while “taxes on luxury items will be adjusted upwards”.

Nigeria is bankrupt – Governor Obaseki

Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State has stated that Nigeria is technically bankrupt.




Obeseki during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, elaborated on his concerns over the country’s financial health.




While criticising the Federal Government for being stuck in the past, the governor emphasized the urgent need for restructuring to facilitate progress.




“Nigeria is technically bankrupt. When you are bankrupt anywhere in the world like in the state.




“You restructure your affairs so that you can reorganize and be able to meet your obligations. But Nigeria is still behaving as if they have money like it used to.




“Nigeria has been in trouble for a while. We don’t have enough to cover our expenditures and we are not reducing our expenditures and we are not earning more. The federal government does not have the capacity anymore to manage the economy.”

Edo people don’t need Wike to know whom to vote for – Obaseki

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said that Edo people are wise enough to decide whom to vote for.




Obaseki stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday,




The governor also insisted that his fallout with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, will not hurt the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party to emerge victorious in Saturday’s governorship election in the state.




Recall that Wike was one of the figureheads that worked for Obaseki’s victory against Adams Oshiomhole-backed candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All-Progressives Congress, APC, in 2020.




Wike has vowed not to support his candidate, Asue Ighodalo, come Saturday, having fallen out politically with Obaseki after the 2020 election.




Obaseki said, “He (Wike) came to get Edo people to vote for me, right? Wow! Edo people are not that dumb, they know who to vote for.




“They don’t require the services of an outsider to make their decisions. Edo people will make their decisions this time because they know what they want.”




According to the governor, he does not regret falling out with some of his political associates, including Oshiomhole, Philip Shaibu, among others, adding that some politicians were not happy with him because he had used money from government’s revenues to solve people’s needs.

Refiners kick as Marketers dump Dangote Refinery for imported petrol

Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria has kicked against a move by petroleum marketers to import Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) despite the availability of Dangote Refinery Petrol.




Publicity Secretary of CORAN, Eche Idoko, made this known in a statement condemning the move.




His comments come as a report emerged that 141 million liters of PMS are being conveyed to Nigeria by oil vessels following the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Federal Government.




Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Monday announced a fresh price list for its retail outlets nationwide upon the lifting of Dangote Petrol.




According to the NNPCL, the price adjustments will see petrol sold between N950 to N1,019.22 per liter depending on the location.




This comes after NNPCL trucks successfully lifted Petrol from Dangote Refinery on Sunday.




The development had created a price controversy between Dangote Refinery and NNPC. NNPC had insisted that it bought Dangote Petrol at a per liter pump price of N898, but the 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery had disagreed with the state-owned firm.




However, in the latest move, petrol marketers, who seemed unsatisfied with the price regime of Dangote Refinery, had to consider the importation of petrol.




Reacting to the development, CORAN alleged that some imported petrol was substandard and was blended in Malta or Togo.




“So I would assure you this regime will pay them way better than the regime of importing petroleum products, where they sell to us, substandard products blended in Malta or Togo and imported into our country,” Idoko stated.




He called for backward integration, saying some were afraid that Dangote would become a monopoly.




“The fear marketers are having is that Dangote will become a monopoly, but that has been taken care of by Dangote subscribing to our association.




“With the Petroleum Industry Act in place and all the agencies in play, there is no way that Dangote can become a monopoly”, he said.




Earlier, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had declared that imported petrol would be subjected to three tests before being allowed to be sold across the country.




NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, disclosed this amid petrol import concerns.




He stressed that marketers with import licenses were free to import PMS but noted that the products must be subjected to three major tests by the agency.




The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote had earlier in May 2024 stated that the commencement of his refinery will end fuel importation in Nigeria.

Kano journalist accused of ‘insulting’ Abba Yusuf rearrested, remanded in prison

Muktar Dahiru, a journalist, accused of making a Facebook
post considered “insulting” to Abba Yusuf, governor of the state, has been
rearrested and remanded in prison.



 



Yusuf Isah, Dahiru’s lawyer, said the journalist was
rearrested two days after his release and sent to the Kurmawa correctional
facility for failing to perfect some of the bail conditions.



 



Dahiru, who works with Pyramid FM Kano, a radio station
managed by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), was arrested on
August 29.



 



The journalist was said to have been secretly charged with
criminal conspiracy, defamation of character, and intentional insult.





Ummah Kurawa, the presiding magistrate, remanded Dahiru in a
correctional centre, pending the hearing of the bail application on September
3.



 



The journalist allegedly shared multiple audio interviews in
which opposition politicians criticised the Kano governor.



 



He was also said to have posted an audio programme in which
one person accused Muhammadu Sanusi, the reinstated Emir of Kano, of portraying
himself as sympathetic to the poor while living an expensive lifestyle.



 



At the court session on September 3, the presiding
magistrate granted the journalist a N1 million bail and banned him from posting
content on social media that may be deemed offensive to the officials of the
state government.



 



The defendant was also asked to provide three sureties,
including his wife, the chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),
and a reputable individual endorsed by the Kano hisbah board.