Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says duty payable on imported cars has been reduced from 35 percent to 20 percent.

Timi Bomodi, spokesman for NCS, confirmed the development on Saturday.

“The new common external tariff (CET) 2022 to 2026 puts the duty for cars at 20 percent. However, we await further directives from the federal ministry of finance with regards to levies,” he said.

He explained that the CET is the harmonised system for the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for the processing of imports adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for common duty rates.

“These rates are reviewed every five years. The old ECOWAS CET expired in 2021,” he added.

Bomodi also said the new rate applies to both new and used cars imported into the country.

Asked if the new rate has been implemented, he said: “They are already using the 20 percent duty rate. Finance can still introduce whatever measures in line with the national automotive policy.”

Meanwhile, in a phone conversation, Emmanuel Ogu, a member of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), said no circular has been issued regarding the reduction of import duty on cars.

“We have not gotten any circular. I have not seen an official circular. So, if something is said without an official circular, then it is a rumour,” he said.

Federal government says the recent nationwide blackout was caused by the vandalisation of a transmission power in the Southsouth region.

The national grid had collapsed on Friday night — the third incident in less than four weeks.

Earlier, the ministry of power said a detailed investigation into the causes of the recurring grid collapse was ongoing.

In another statement on Saturday, Isa Sanusi, media spokesperson of the ministry of power, said the latest incident had been traced to the Odukpani-Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuit transmission line.

“Further to our earlier press release, we wish to apprise the general public that the immediate cause of national blackout (system collapse) was an act of vandalism on a transmission tower on the Odukpani-Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuit transmission line thus resulting in a sudden loss of about 400 MW of generation,” the statement reads.

“This consequently led to a cascade of plants shutdown across the country.

“We wish to notify the public that power on the grid is being restored sequentially by the system operator as other on-grid power plants are being dispatched to cover the lost generation capacity from the Calabar power plant owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd.”

France votes on Sunday (today) in the first round of a presidential election, with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen posing an unexpected threat to President Emmanuel Macron's re-election hopes, Reuters has reported.

Until just weeks ago, opinion polls pointed to an easy win for the pro-European Union, centrist Macron, who was boosted by his active diplomacy over Ukraine, a strong economic recovery and the weakness of a fragmented opposition.

But his late entry into the campaign, with only one major rally that even his supporters found underwhelming, and his focus on an unpopular plan to increase the retirement age, have dented the president's ratings, along with a steep rise in inflation.

In contrast, the anti-immigration, eurosceptic far-right Le Pen has toured France confidently, all smiles, her supporters chanting "We will win! We will win!". She has been boosted by a months-long focus on cost of living issues and a big drop in support for her rival on the far-right, Eric Zemmour.

For sure, opinion polls still see Macron leading the first round and winning a runoff against Le Pen on April 24, but several surveys now say this is within the margin of error.

Voting starts at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and ends at 1800 GMT, at which time the first exit polls, will be published. Such polls are usually very reliable in France.

"We are ready, and the French are with us," Le Pen told cheering supporters in a rally on Thursday, urging them to cast a ballot for her to deliver "the fair punishment which those who have governed us so badly deserve."

Macron, 44 and in office since 2017, spent the last days of campaigning trying to make the point that Le Pen's programme has not changed despite efforts to soften her image and that of her National Rally party.

"Her fundamentals have not changed: it's a racist programme that aims to divide society and is very brutal," he told Le Parisien newspaper.

Le Pen rejects allegations of racism and says her policies would benefit all French people, independently of their origins.

RUNOFF RISKS FOR MACRON

Assuming that Macron and Le Pen go through to the runoff, the president faces a problem: many left-wing voters have told pollsters that, unlike in 2017, they would not cast a ballot for Macron in the runoff purely to keep Le Pen out of power.

Macron will need to persuade them to change their minds and vote for him in the second round.

Sunday's vote will show who the unusually high number of late undecided voters will pick, and whether Le Pen, 53, can exceed opinion poll predictions and come out top in the first round.

"Marine Le Pen has never been this close to winning a presidential election," Jean-Daniel Levy, of Harris Interactive pollsters, said of Le Pen's third run at the Elysee Palace.

Supporters of hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, running third according to opinion polls, hope for another kind of surprise, and have called on left-wing voters of all stripes to switch to their candidate and send him into the runoff.

Macron and Le Pen agree the outcome is wide open.

"Everything is possible," Le Pen told supporters on Thursday, while earlier in the week Macron warned his followers not to discount a Le Pen win.

"Look at what happened with Brexit, and so many other elections: what looked improbable actually happened," he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, a bill that “establishes and provides legal framework for the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, as a degree-awarding institution to provide academic and professional training.”

This was disclosed by presidential aide Garba Shehu in two statements on Friday.

Mr Shehu said the bill was one of six signed into law by the president on Friday. Another bill increases the retirement age of teachers in public schools from 60 to 65.

In the first statement, Shehu said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to two Bills recently passed by the National Assembly as detailed below:

“1. ANIMAL DISEASES (CONTROL) ACT, 2022

“This Act repeals the Animal Diseases (Control) Act, Cap. A17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enacts the Animal Diseases (Control) Act for the purpose of prevention, detection, control and eradication of infectious and contagious transboundary and zoonotic animal diseases, prevention of antimicrobial resistance through the control and regulation of the use and administration of veterinary biologics, veterinary medicinal products and chemicals in animals, animal products, medicated animal feeds, sales and distribution of pet foods, veterinary medical devices, other veterinary products, and for the enhancement of animal welfare and food safety.

“2. NIGERIA POLICE ACADEMY (ESTABLISHMENT) ACT, 2021

“This Act establishes and provides legal framework for the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, as a degree awarding institution to provide academic and professional training.

“The Academy will be headed by a Commandant not below the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police, and shall be appointed by the Police Service Commission on the recommendation of the Inspector General of Police as stipulated in Section 8 of the Act.

“Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), was at the State House for the signing of the bills.”

In the second statement, Shehu mentioned the other four bills signed by the president. This includes a bill that increases the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to four Bills recently passed by the National Assembly as detailed below:

“1. Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, 2022

“This Act repeals the Nigeria Law Reform Commission Act, Cap. N118, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Enact the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act, 2022 to facilitate the effective implementation of the Commission’s Law Reform Proposals and enhance its performance and bring the Law in conformity to best practices.

“2. National Biotechnology Development Agency Act, 2022

“This Act provides legal framework for the National Biotechnology Development Agency to carry out research, create and develop public awareness in biotechnology in order to encourage private sector participation in biotechnology industry in Nigeria.

“3. Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022

“This Act provides for the retirement age of teachers in Nigeria. Section 1 of the Act clearly states that Teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.

“While the provision of Section 3 of the Act provides that the Public Service Rule or any Legislation that requires a person to retire from the Public Service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of Service shall not apply to Teachers in Nigeria.

“4. Federal Medical Centre, Hong (Establishment) Act, 2022

“This Act establishes the Federal Medical Centre, Hong, Adamawa State to provide Legal framework for its due management and administration.

“The Medical Centre will be headed by a Medical Director who shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, and shall be the Chief Executive and accounting officer of the Medical Centre as stipulated in Section 9 of the Act.

“Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), was at the State House for the signing of the bills.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

April 8, 2022

Matthias Schmale, United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, says up to $351 million is needed to provide humanitarian support for people in northeastern Nigeria. 

Schmale said this on Friday at an advocacy event held in Abuja on food security and nutrition in north-east Nigeria.

He said 8.4 million Nigerians need humanitarian support, adding that the gap between people in need and people supported with food keeps widening due to reduced funding. 

“Across northeast Nigeria today, 8.4 million people need humanitarian assistance. Alarmingly, almost half of these crisis-affected people — 4.1 million — are expected to face the severe pain of food insecurity in the approaching lean season,” he said. 

“In 2021, the gap between people in need and people supported by food and nutrition assistance was 1.8 million. Due to reduced funding, that number is projected to dramatically increase to 2.9 million this lean season. 

“Unless resources are urgently mobilised, almost three million people in dire need of food and nutrition support will go unassisted.”

He said an operational plan has been developed to enable the UN and its partners to deliver life-saving aid to affected people, adding that “this multi-sector plan has a financial requirement of $351 million and is part of the overall request of $1.1 billion for the 2022 humanitarian response plan”.

“Without food assistance, desperation may compel extremely vulnerable people into transactional sex, child labour, and selling their few possessions,” he said.

“I have heard stories from last year’s lean season of people in the northeast eating grass to stay alive, and I fear the recurrence of this tragedy if we fail to act quickly.” 

Nadia Soso, head of special duties, federal ministry of humanitarian affairs, said the $351 million will ensure the sustained delivery of life-saving assistance, as well as “enable vital support through activities like cash, voucher assistance, mobile clinics in hard to reach locations and provision of agricultural inputs”.

Catriona Laing, UK high commissioner to Nigeria, spoke on the her country’s commitment to providing humanitarian support to Nigeria.

According to her, the Russia-Ukraine war has put pressure on global humanitarian budgets, but the UK government has said its support to Ukraine will not be “at the expense of others”.

An unnamed 61-year-old man in German reportedly got 90 doses of Covid-19 vaccine injected into his body so he could make money selling vaccination certificates to people who didn’t want to get vaccinated, oddity central has reported.

The man from the eastern German city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released, allegedly managed to receive up to 90 shots of Covid-19 vaccine at various vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months, before being caught earlier this month. He was finally discovered when he came to a vaccination center in Eilenburg, Saxony for the second day in a row, asking to get a Covid-19 jab. It turns out the man kept getting Covid-19 shots in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

According to information obtained by the Freie Presse newspaper, the 61-year-old man got vaccinated up to three times a day, racking up no less than 87 coronavirus vaccinations in the state of Saxony alone. It’s unclear what, if any, effects the 90 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, which were from a different brand, may have on the man’s body in the long term.

A police report made available to the media suggests that every time the man entered a vaccination site, he brought a new, blank vaccination document with him. Then, after getting the shot, he removed the pages with the information about the vaccine batch numbers and sold them to vaccine opponents who wanted to enjoy the freedom of having proof of vaccination.

The unnamed man always registered for the vaccination appointments using his own name and birthdate, but never presented his health insurance card at the appointments, as that would have raised suspicion.

This isn’t the first time we cover the topic of multiple Covid-19 vaccinations. Back in January, we featured the story of an 83-year-old man who received 11 vaccine doses, and they were feeling excellent. Then there was the guy who got five doses of vacine injected into his body in 3 days.

The suspect was not detained but is under investigation for unauthorized issuance of vaccination cards and document forgery.

Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, says he did not ask Nigerians to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Soyinka spoke on Thursday at a media briefing in Lagos.

During the build-up to the 2015 presidential election, the Nobel laureate, on several occasions, criticised the administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2015 Soyinka was widely reported to have said that he would not advise anyone to vote for Jonathan, while questioning the re-election bid of the former president.

Speaking at the media briefing, the Nobel laureate said despite criticising Jonathan, he never supported the candidacy of Buhari in 2015.

“Jonathan had a chance to win that election and I told him this. He blew it. He really blew it on many levels,” he said.

“Before the election, I told him frankly. I told him why I was not going to vote for him or support him because he lost the confidence and trust of the people — a couple of actions and inactions, including his failure to tackle corruption. Despite that, it is false to say that I supported the election of Buhari.

“If I believed that is what I should do, I would not hesitate one moment to come out and say this is the candidate. I challenge anyone to say where I did say vote for Buhari — when, what occasion and in what language?

“What I said very distinctly is ‘do not vote for Jonathan’. I don’t regret that because the level of corruption at that stage was such at number one.

“It is a shame that one has to recall negativities. At no time did I ever say ‘vote for Buhari’. You can’t find it anywhere. I did not vote for Buhari. If you do not believe me, go and ask the security man in Abeokuta who used to accompany me if I left my house that day.”

Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Mele Kyari, has lamented the negative impact of the activities of oil vandals and operators of illegal refineries.

Speaking when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), on Thursday, he said this has led to the loss of $1.5 billion worth of crude from January till date.

He said the country’s oil sector was recording an all-time low crude oil production of 1.49 million barrels per day due to increase in the activities of vandals and operators of illegal refineries.

“What is going on has nothing to do with the PIA. It is purely an act of thieves; acts of vandals which have rendered the industry unworkable and taken us to the level where today, our production is around 1.49 million barrels per day.”

“When you lose about 200,000 barrels per day, even at an average price of 65 dollars per barrel, we lost close to 1 billion dollars between January and March. From January till date, we lost an average of 250,000 barrels per day and at the current price of about 100 dollars to the barrel, even within this short period, we have lost close to 1.5 billion dollars.

“This situation deteriorated to the extent that by March 7, 2022, it came to zero and so, we shut down the line and declared force Majeure. Even on our most reliable pipeline which is the Forcados pipeline, we still lose about 7,000 barrel per day. Needless to say that this is all coming as a result of the acts of vandals and oil thieves,” he said.

Kyari, however, assured the lawmakers that massive joint security operations among agencies were currently ongoing to address the situation.

“Many of these illegal refineries are being taken down and also the insertions are being constantly removed and we believe that these interventions will pay off. And we will be able to restore production. And this is centrally coordinated. There is a coordinated action now because we are using a number of strategies including community based security outfits”, he said.

Kyari said in view of the negative impacts of the activities of the oil vandals on the country’s economy and environment, there was the need to set up a special court to prosecute such cases to ensure speedy dispensation.

Earlier, Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Sarki Ada (APC-Sokoto) said the interface with the NNPC GMD was to ascertain the factors responsible for the decline in country’s oil production with a view to proffering solutions.

He assured that the House would give the necessary support to ensure the menace is addressed in the interest of the country.

Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.

Peoples Democratic Party had taken Ayade to court seeking an order directing him and his Deputy, Ivara Esu, to vacate office following their defection to the All Progressives Congress.

Ayade who was elected on the platform of PDP in 2015 defected to the APC on May 20, 2021, along with his deputy.

PDP in the suit asked the court for “a declaration that in view of the provisions of section 221 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidate or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties.”

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that all trials of terrorism cases in Nigeria will henceforth be held in camera.

In a statement titled "new practice directions on hearing of terrorism cases", John Terhemba Tsoho also said coverage of any part of such proceedings would be prohibited.

He said the new ruling was designed to ensure the security and safety of all parties and members of the public and ensuring fair trials.

Separately, the leader of a banned separatist movement charged with terrorism offences filed a suit alleging that he cannot be tried because he was illegally extradited from Kenya, court papers showed.

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017.

He was arrested after years on the run. His lawyer said last year he was mistreated in detention in Kenya before being returned to Nigeria. The Kenyan high commissioner has denied his country's involvement.

Kanu's lead lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, on Thursday said that he cannot be tried on charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods because he was not surrendered to Nigeria based on those charges.

Ozekhome is asking the court to declare his detention illegal. The suit is also claiming 50 billion naira ($120 million) in damages and 100 million naira in legal costs.

Another court is expected to rule on Friday on the merit of the 15-count charge filed against Kanu, which could terminate the trial if the judge agrees with his defence.

Kanu, who is a British citizen, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

IPOB, which Kanu founded in 2014, is pressing for the secession of the Igbo ethnic group's homeland, which covers part of southeast Nigeria. Authorities view IPOB as a terrorist group. IPOB says it wants to achieve independence through non-violent means.

An attempt by the Igbo homeland to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 - the year that Kanu was born - triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.