News

Before You Call Asiwaju Bola Tinubu A Thief, Read This

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2022

It is preposterous to see many people go online and call the former Lagos state governor all sorts of names. Now, if they are being asked why they hate the Jagaban Borgu so much, they will of course fail as usual to identify or point out one single reason why they hate him.

In view of the above, it’s imperative that I share this piece with my viewers and of course their contributions after reading is welcome.

VAT ISSUE: LAGOS STATE AND TINUBU PHENOMENON

Since the VAT conversation began few days ago, I have read a lot. Many said Lagos, Rivers, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna states were directly and indirectly developed by either Federal or Regional governments of the past. Hmm! It sounds good and true to some extent.

But let me start with a Yoruba proverb that says, “TI A BA BI NI, A NG TURA ENIBI NI” literarily means when you are born, then you need to reborn your self through personal efforts.

Let me kick off with this by laying some facts bare, one after the other. As at 1999, Lagos state and all other states were on the same level. What exactly is the magic? Please follow me.

1. When Tinubu won the 1999 governorship election and was given the certificate of return by INEC, he setup a broad committee to look into LAGOS STATE, past, present and future. All this happened before he was sworn in as Governor.

2. The committee presented their report and it was 25-Year LAGOS MEGACITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN. A comprehensive development blueprint to develop the entire Lagos state from EPE to BADAGRY, in all areas and sectors of Lagos lives.

3. He received the report as swung into action. He discovered in the report that POWER is essential to power the industries in Lagos state, so he partnered with ENRON on IPP and ENRON brought power plant badge to Lagos and birthed well. But OBJ stopped it. That was the beginning of animosity between Tinubu and OBJ.

4. A spectacular thing Tinubu did was to recognize the importance of INFORMATION i.e. information gathering, processing, interpretation and dissemination. Therefore, he embarked on robust IT INFRASTRUCTURES and SOLUTION deployment. Those who can remember ORACLE Center within Alausa back then can bear me witness. Nigerian Professionals from CANADA, US, UK were brought in and started coding.

5. When Lagos civil servants saw that Tinubu has come to disrupt their plans, they refused to cooperate. Tinubu didn’t fight them, he simply employed CONSULTANTS for all ministries and worked with few that cooperated. That is what birthed all AGENCIES (LASSA, LAWMA, LAWA, etc) you see all over Lagos state today. Tinubu never stopped their salary, he simply created a replacement within the system to bypass their bureaucracy in order not to distract him.

6. In that first year, Tinubu was called “BABA GO SLOW” Why? Because there was no visible activities on ground apart from ORACLE. CENTER and the deployment of IT infrastructures in all 20 local government and linked them to Alausa. During period, Tinubu was busy collecting data. DATA! DATA!! DATA!!!

7. Tinubu released data enumerators in Lagos, they were busy capturing data of many types, company data, association data, even PROPERTY data. That is, there was PROPERTY CENSUS in Lagos. All buildings and properties in Lagos were enumerated. As at this time, many Lagosians didn’t know what was happening.

8. Part of the initial data on TRAFFIC was used to solve the traffic logjam on Allen and Agidingbi by introducing the road median that forced everyone to remain on their lane. The success of this was replicated throughout Lagos state. Likewise educational data processing which I was directly involved in year 2000.

To cut the long story short, all these data processed into meaningful information led to the development of today’s Lagos State.

The information about Lagos and basic statistics about Lagosians, property, businesses, etc helped the TAX CONSULTANT that was employed to collect tax for and on behalf of Lagos. The state government never involved the civil servants in the IGR drive. That was what helped Lagos to increase their IGR from paltry N600million per month to N2billion in the first month of operation. Today, Lagos gross well over N30 billion monthly.

When TINUBU saw this, they intensified their efforts and brought more to the REVENUE dragnet. He didn’t stop at that, he started LASSA on advertisement and many others. Before he could say Jack Robbinson, the IGR of Lagos started climbing. When OBJ tried his resolve by stopping monthly state allocation, he wasn’t perturbed, he just rebuffed him. He told his team that OBJ is helping them to save the money. He immediately asked his Commissioner for Justice, now Vice President Osinbajo to kick start a legal battle. As at this time, Lagos was already generating more revenue internally than the monthly allocation.

Now on VAT, Lagos via Bola Ahmed Tinubu changed the entire business landscape for tax collection generally in Lagos state which FG benefitted tremendously from it in other taxes. The Lagos of 1999 till date is not the Lagos State FG developed and left for Abuja in 90s after the Orkar Coup incidence that made IBB to run away.

Many forgot that MAROKO and the entire today’s Lekki axis were on ground zero as at 1999. Tinubu started the NEW LAGOS DEVELOPMENT that attracted millions of Nigerians and thousands of corporate citizens to Lagos state who now increase the VAT. The entire LEKKI, IBEJU LEKKI and EKO ATLANTIC CITY were the creation of Tinubu.

Therefore, can we now say FG developed Lagos of today? Far from it. If Tinubu had behaved like his counterparts from other states in his class, Lagos would have remained the one FG left behind in early 90s.

Consequently, Lagos state deserve to collect her CONSUMPTION TAX or VAT generated and collected in the state. Let others borrow leaves, look inward and do something positive for their state. Let us test our laws in the court for mineral resources OR mobilize NASS members to initiate bills to take control of resources in their lands. Let the CHANGE we voted for also come at the state level.

Let us stop this beggarly attitude to Abuja every month and the time starts now. This will really make us to hold our governors accountable to the resources that truly belong to the state and not the national cake being shared monthly.

MAY ALL THE STATES SUCCEED.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

Culled from WhatsApp

News

Nigerian rapper Oladips is dead

Published

3 weeks ago

November 15, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Nigerian rapper, Oladipupo Oladimeji, popularly known as Oladips is dead.

The news of his death was announced on his Instagram handle on Wednesday.

According to the post, he died last night (Tuesday) at 10:14 pm.

The Instagram post reads: “We are saddened to inform the general public that Oladipupo Olabode Oladimeji aka OLADIPS passed away yesterday Nov 14th Tuesday evening, at exactly 10:14 pm. We are still in shock as we speak!

“For over 2 years he has kept his battles within himself, his body is now with his family.

“The family asked that we respect their privacy in this trying time. May God give us all the fortitude to bear this great loss. (amen).”

His funeral services will be announced as soon as it is concluded, the statement added.

The news of his death comes barely three months after the death of Oladimeji Aloba popularly known as Mohbad.

News

Osun Workers Displease With Gov. Adeleke Over Decision Not To Increase Salary

Published

3 weeks ago

November 13, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Workers under the banner of Osun Workers Union (OWU) have chided the state government for foreclosing the chances of paying workers palliative wage at a time Governor Adeleke had secretly obtained approval in the Supplementary Budget to spend N10billion for his office.

Recall the hope of the Osun state workers to earn special Minimum Wage to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal was dashed on Saturday when the state government sounded unequivocally that it could not embark on upward wage review in order not to repeat the half-salary regime experienced in the state during the tenure of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

In a press statement authored by the state’s commissioner for information and public enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, the only support the state government could offer Osun workers at the moment is a “well-packaged transport scheme aimed at alleviating the pressure of transportation as a fall out of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.”

Alimi’s statement was a reaction to a N25,000 salary allowance news that trended over the weekend.

In the purported news, Governor Adeleke was quoted to have assured Osun workers of his government’s readiness to begin from November payment of N25,000 extra wage to the state workforce to help reduce the economic hardship.

Commenting on the development, Comrade Gabriel Adeoye bemoaned the leadership of the state government for what he termed their act of wickedness towards the state civil servants and pensioners.

Adeoye, who is the organising secretary of the Osun Workers Union, expressed the Union’s utter disappointment in Governor Adeleke, stating that unless he rescinds his decision on not to increase their salary as done by other states, the state workers would have no other option than to embark on peaceful protests. In his words, “What is the excuse of Governor Adeleke not to increase our salary at this difficult time? In the neighbouring Oyo state, civil servants and pensioners have begun to receive N25,000 and N15,000 palliative wage respectively.

Ogun has been paying palliative support of N10, 000 to its workers since August. Same in Ekiti. Same in Lagos. Only Osun is odd out of the states. Yet, the governor has approved N10b (Ten Billion Naira) for himself in the 2023 supplementary budget. The Governor is also yet to account for the N9billion palliative relief money the federal government gave the people of the state. Is this not sheer wickedness?”

The Union wanted Governor Adeleke to disclose to the people of the state the rationale behind the additional budget of N10billion for only his office.

They equally wanted him to account for the N9billion palliative fund received from the Federal Government since July.

News

Hope Uzodinma wins all 27 LGAs as INEC annoucnes final result in Imo

Published

3 weeks ago

November 12, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Hope Uzodinma has won all 27 LGAs as INEC has annoucned final result in Imo state.

It was reported that Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), emerged victorious in 27 local government areas in the just-concluded election, with the collation completed at 08:30 am on Sunday.

The collation of results is currently taking place at the State Collation Centre in Owerri, the state capital.

The process commenced around 02:30 am on Sunday in Owerri, with the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof Abayomi Fashina, serving as the state Returning Officer for INEC in the election.

The APC, represented by Uzodimma, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with Samuel Anyanwu, and the Labour Party’s Achonu Nneji, were the primary contenders among the 18 parties fielding candidates in the election.

According to INEC, a total of 2,419,922 registered voters in the state for the poll, with 2,318,919 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected.

At the culmination of the collation at 08:30 am on Sunday, Fashina announced that the center would take an hour-long break and reconvene for the announcement of the winner.