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NDUME THE PETREL AND TINUBUS TAX REFORMS OF TROUBLE.By: Inuwa Bwala
NDUME THE PETREL AND TINUBUS TAX REFORMS OF TROUBLE.By: Inuwa Bwala
Intrigues, intimidation, blacknail,bribes, and lobbying were said to be part of the strategies used in the moves to get the 4 Tax Reform Bills presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu passed.
Unconfirmed reports had it that, Senators were offered N50m each, while N30m was dangled before each member of the House of Representatives.
Recalcitrant Senators and members were either threatened or blackmailed, even as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s foot soldiers employed lobbying tactics to get the bills passed.
But like the infamous Third Term Bill of the Olusegun Obasanjo era, the bills seem to be heading for the dustbin. Nigerians, especially Northerners, have never been so united in opposing a particular government policy, as they did over the obvious ill-fated tax reform bill of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In what could be described as a courageous stance against their own government, members of the rulling All Progressives Congress, APC, were in the vanguard of campaigning against the bill and may eventually shoot it down.
Both Senators and members of the House of Representatives, seem to tow the lines of the Northern Governors Forum, the Arewa Consultative Forum and the National Economic Council: all of whom advocated for the withdrawal of the bills, to allow for wider consultations and Public sensitization.
To them, the tax reform bills are delicate and require a deeper reflection on the mood and socio-economic realities of the country, before presentation, and passage.
In the face of attempts by their leadership to have the bills sail through, the lawmakers were vehement in opposing the passage of the bills, arguing that the mood of the country and the socio- economic realities in Nigeria cannot accommodate the assumed bebefits.
The petrel in the red chambers, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume: who represents Borno South Senatorial District, seem to have spoken the minds of other Nigerians, in the crusade against the tax bills.
To him, the benefits of the bill were only apparent to the President and his tax reform experts, but the generality of Nigerians are bound to suffer in the long run, if the bills are allowed.
Ndume, during plenary and in an interview with Channels Televission insists that the seeming desperation on the part of the leadership of National Assembly smacks of a plot to further deprive Nigerians of the dividends of democracy.
Ndume’s position was re-echoed in the House of Representative, where members shouted down attempts by the Speaker, Honorable Abbas, to get a soft landing for the bills.
While the Senate President, Godswill Akpadio seem to have had his way with the bills, using the gavel: referring all four bills to the Finance Committee, the story with the House of Representatives is a different ball game.
Debates on the bill have been differed for Tuesday in the House of Representatives apparently buying time to further lobby. But most vocal memberst of the house: names with held told me in confidence that, since the law requires the passage of the bills by both chambers of the National Assembly, any action taken by the Senate will be an exercise in futility, as the House of Representative is determined to shoot the bills down.
Whatever becomes the fate of the President’s four tax reform bills, it is clear that, the Executive and the leadership of the National Assembly may have their ways but as Senator Ndume said, the lawmakers will have their says.
NDUME THE PETREL AND TINUBUS TAX REFORMS OF TROUBLE.By: Inuwa Bwala
News
Troops detect, detonate IED along Ngoshe–Pulka road in Borno
Troops detect, detonate IED along Ngoshe–Pulka road in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team of 82 Division Task Force Battalion have successfully detected and detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) along a major supply route in Gwoza LGA of Borno State.
Security sources said the device was discovered at about 9:42 a.m. on March 22 during a routine scan of the Main Supply Route (MSR) between PAPA 4 and PAPA 5 along the Ngoshe–Pulka road.

The IED, suspected to have been planted by terrorists to target troops and commuters, was safely recovered and detonated in situ by the EOD team without causing any casualties.
Military sources said the operation was part of ongoing counter-IED measures aimed at ensuring the safety of movement along critical routes in the North-East.
Residents and road users have been urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious objects or activities to security agencies for prompt action.
Troops detect, detonate IED along Ngoshe–Pulka road in Borno
News
ISWAP cleric threatens attack on Malam Fatori, after humiliating defeat, troops urged to remain alert
ISWAP cleric threatens attack on Malam Fatori, after humiliating defeat, troops urged to remain alert
By: Zagazola Makama
A suspected ISWAP cleric has issued threats of a possible attack on Malam Fatori following the recent neutralization of 75 terrorists in a failed attack on March 18 2026.
According to intelligence sources, the cleric, who reportedly led this year Eid Fitr prayers in a location near Sabon Tumbu, warned during his sermon that the group would soon retaliate against Nigerian troops for operations carried out in Malam Fatori.
The source said the cleric specifically threatened that the town could be “reduced to ashes” in a reprisal attack, stressing that such statements by insurgents should not be dismissed as mere rhetoric.
Sources noted that past experiences have shown that insurgent groups often act on their threats, urging troops deployed in Malam Fatori to remain on high alert and adequately equipped to counter any potential assault.
They also warned that the insurgents could deploy heavy firepower and adopt tactics such as coordinated assaults and the use of vehicle-borne explosive devices in any attempted attack.
Malam Fatori has for long been described as the town as a long-standing stronghold of military resistance against terrorist elements. The town has, over the years, witnessed decisive military victories against ISWAP fighters, nick named the “Grave Yard of ISWAP” and earning a REPUTATION as a difficult terrain for insurgents to operate.
The troops of the Armed Forces, supported by other security agencies, remain on high alert and have continued to fortify defensive positions in anticipation of any attempted incursion.
According to the sources, intelligence and surveillance have been intensified, while logistics and operational readiness have been enhanced to ensure that any threat is decisively neutralised.
“Experience has shown that insurgents often suffer heavy losses whenever they attempt to attack well-defended positions like Malam Fatori,” the source said.
ISWAP cleric threatens attack on Malam Fatori, after humiliating defeat, troops urged to remain alert
News
Baban Chinedu says Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo is a former Armed robber now turned crises entrepreneur
Baban Chinedu says Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo is a former Armed robber now turned crises entrepreneur
By: Zagazola Makama
Sheikh Yusuf Haruna Baban Chinedu, popularly known as Baban Chinedu, has launched a scathing and evidence-based attack on controversial Plateau pastor Ezekiel Dachomo in a viral video, accusing him of being a former armed robber and a liar who fabricated stories about meeting Jesus after a 1980 bank robbery in Jos.
Baban Chinedu declared: “Ezekiel Dachomo isn’t just someone seen in a photo with a bandit; no, he is the bandit! … Ezekiel committed armed robbery. We have records on him from 1976, from ’76 to sometime after 2000. … This man is a hardened armed robber.”
He played a clip of Dachomo admitting: “Because I went in 1980 is our gang that robbed a bank in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 1980, they make away with a lot of money. It was my best friend that led the operation.” Baban Chinedu challenged: “Praise be to God, I hope you all heard the statement this man made. … He is lying! I want you to listen and know that first of all, this man is a complete hypocrite and a total liar. I swear, it was a gun that shot them! Angels? He claims Jesus came down with seven angels who struck them and killed fourteen people while he hid in the blood? You see, even the angels God sent down… only managed to kill fourteen people and lost track of where that one man was?”
The sheikh alleged Dachomo hid among corpses and was rescued by a gang member named Emmanuel, not Jesus: “He was begging Jesus for God’s sake to forgive him and spare his life. He claims that was where he met Jesus… By Allah, he is lying! … It was a gun that shot them! No Jesus descended there; he is lying to you.” He added: “A lady told me; she heard him when he was shot, and he still has the scar from that wound on his left side. … He is lying! At that time, it was the police, Nigerian security agents, Nigeria Police MOPOL who she said shot them.”
Baban Chinedu accused Dachomo of transitioning from “practical, street-level bandit” to “spiritual bandit” and inciting religious conflict: “The armed bandits of the past are the ones who transformed into these kidnappers. … All those who are making these plans are your boys… You’re insulting her religion, she told us the truth about everything that happened… You are a robber, and the government should investigate you; you’re behind all of this.”
He challenged Dachomo to court: “Ezekiel, I, Yusuf Haruna Baban Chinedu, challenge you: if you know there’s any falsehood in what’s being said about you, take it to court.” The sheikh demanded investigation: “We want the government if possible to investigate this man, I swear to God he’s an armed robber… By Allah, the government should know that Ezekiel is involved in this. Let him tell you the names of those he robbed with.”
The viral video has ignited fierce online reactions, with many praising Baban Chinedu’s evidence-based approach while others condemn the personal attacks on Dachomo, intensifying Nigeria’s ongoing religious and ethnic tensions occasioned by US recent remarks on Christians genocide propaganda. Watch the video in the comment section.
Baban Chinedu says Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo is a former Armed robber now turned crises entrepreneur
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