Category Nigeria News

Ms. Grace Morenike Henry has been appointed as the new head of the Nigerian Legion’s National Council, according to the Presidency.

The appointment of Ms. Henry, who will become the first female and first non-commissioned officer to lead Nigeria’s most renowned veterans’ organization, was approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This was made known to Channels Television on Thursday by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Legion, Abdul Lauya, in a statement released on Thursday.

He stated that Senator George Akume, the secretary to the Federation’s government, has signed the appointment, which will take effect on June 7, 2025.

Ms. Grace Morenike Henry, who was born on October 5, 1964, has over 25 years of distinguished service experience and left the Nigerian Army in 2000, according to the statement.

Read more about Tinubu’s Personnel and Skills Gap Audit for the Federal Civil Service.

Prior to her appointment, she served as the Legion Headquarters, Abuja,’s Director of Corporate Affairs. She also serves as Nigeria’s National Coordinator for Female Military Veterans.

Maj. Gen. AbdulMalik Jibrin (rtd), who succeeds her, is widely regarded as a testament to the Federal Government’s commitment to gender equality and inclusion in the veterans’ community.

President Tinubu praised her leadership and demanded that she use her wealth of experience to reposition the Nigerian Legion, a group that has long been the nation’s ex-servicemen and women’s voice and support system.

Lauya added that her emergence signals a new era for the Legion as she assumes the role of leader in a time when there are mounting demands for institutional revitalization and veteran welfare.

The Nigerian Legion is a statutory body established to protect the rights of former service members and their dependents, particularly those who served in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Its main responsibilities include assisting military veterans in their rehabilitation, reintegration, and economic empowerment, as well as promoting patriotism and national unity through commemorative days like those marked by the Armed Forces, and working with government agencies, security organizations, and civil society to uphold the honor and contributions of retired service personnel.

Taiwo Oyedele, the head of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, claims that his and his family were affected emotionally by the controversy that initially surrounded the tax reforms that were proposed by his committee.

The former PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) tax leader said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, just before President Bola Tinubu rebuffed four new tax bills, saying that the “most important sacrifice” is the emotional impact, particularly on my family.

At the height of the controversy, his wife allegedly held daily vigils for him.

“My family was affected greatly by the people who would write up stories for blogs and newspapers at the height of it.

For instance, my wife, for example, struggled to stay awake the night before going to bed.

“Thank God, my kids are still young. They don’t know what I’m going through, he said, but it’s been difficult. “It’s a big sacrifice,” he said.

Oyedele, who was appointed by the president in July 2023 as the tax committee chair, urged Nigerians to simplify their tasks.

“I believe it’s crucial to make the case that Nigerians should not deter honest people who want to help if they truly want a better country.

“It’s already a difficult choice to try to work in the public sector.” He claimed that making things harder than they should be is not helpful.

The tax boss, however, defended his sacrifice and said he was grateful for the change in the country’s tax system.

Looking back, it’s possible that the financial sacrifices were even smaller. The government’s proposed payment was absurd.

I responded, “You don’t need to give me a salary; just cover the cost of what you asked me to do.” And that’s okay with me. In the context of this, he said, “it’s a small sacrifice.”

He claimed that the new laws’ goals, which would become effective from January 2026, are intended to reduce tax collections and prevent tax evasion.

Oyedele: Households Making $250,000 or Less on a Monthly Income Won’t Pay Taxes

Oyedele added that the new laws are people-centric, growth-focused, and efficiency-driven, and that they would also protect businesses and prevent the government from taxing poverty.

Before it was passed and approved, the tax was fraught with scathing criticisms and stiff opposition from many, including some governors who argued that some states would not be able to pay staff salaries if certain bills were passed into law.

However, the Presidency and the National Assembly claimed that allies had been present and that governors’ fears had been flung out.

The four new tax bills that the National Assembly recently passed were signed into law by Tinubu on Thursday, describing them as crucial to the administration’s success and prosperity.

The Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), which aims to harmonise Nigeria’s symbiotic tax laws into a unified statute, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, to provide a uniform legal and operational framework for tax administration across federal, state, and local governments.

At the request of Abiy Ahmed Ali, the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Kashim Shettima has made an official state visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Gedion Timothewos, the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps’ minister of foreign affairs, and other officials welcomed him at the airport.

Vice President Shettima will take part in Ethiopia’s flagship environmental initiative’s official launch during the visit.

Read more about Shettima’s official visit to Ethiopia in Nigeria.

The planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over the course of four years is a goal of the program’s goals to combat deforestation, increase biodiversity, and combat climate change’s negative effects.

The Ondo State Government has stated that it was necessary to restore the dignity of Owo’s culture by destroying the memorial park constructed in Owo in honor of the victims of the massacre at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church on June 5, 2022.

In response to the Catholic Church’s position on the matter, it made this known in a statement signed by Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, the governor’s chief press secretary.

According to the state government, the key to the response was to correct the church’s statements.

INCLUDE   Ondo government demolishes victims’ memorial park in an owo church attack

The Catholic Diocese of Ondo has condemned the demolition of the Memorial Park in Owo in memory of the victims of the massacre at the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church on June 5, 2022.

The statement said in part that it was necessary to restore Owo’s cultural dignity and the site’s original purpose. Following thorough consultation with the Olowo-in-Council’s Owo-in-Council representatives, this was done.

AgroMore Limited (of No. 10) was the first to control the land for the Memorial Park. Before he became the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye owned the business 1, Oke Ogun Street, Owo. The Olusegun Mimiko administration deposed the land in 2010 to make way for road dualization. The land was re-allocated to AgroMore Limited, the land’s previous owner, in January 2021 by the (Oluwarotimi) Akeredolu administration. ”

There was no record of an official revocation of the land from AgroMore at the time of the cenotaph, according to the statement, adding that the state government later realized the errors made when the land was taken over for the construction of the cenotaph.

There have also been protests by various Owo residents against the location of the memorial park, which is said to be against the culture of the land, which is located in the town and in front of the palace. ”

It was built in the style of a cemetery, complete with insignia of the dead and inscriptions of the names of all the victims, even though there were no bodies buried there. It stated that Olowo-in-Council and Owo people were against and detested as taboo.

Further, it added that Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the former governor’s tragic death, had been the subject of ongoing discussions between the palace and the state government regarding the possibility of moving the park.

Bishop Arogundade’s statement, however, did not mention that the Catholic Diocese had never sought engagement with the state government in an effort to slam the protests against them. ”

Prior to the tragic passing of the former governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, there had been ongoing discussions between the Palace of the Olowo and the state government regarding the possibility of moving the Memorial Park.

INCLUDE   Owo Memorial Park Demolition Is Condemned By Catholic Church, Akeredolu’s Widow

Some former government officials jumped to the finish line of the cenotaph, which was never completed, claiming that some of the former’s leaders had benefited from Akeredolu’s (due to ill health) delaying those discussions.

The Olowo-in-Council and the government engaged in a conversation after Governor Aiyedatiwa took office, according to the statement.

The state government made the decision to reverse the incorrect revocation of the land and give it back to its original owner, the Olowo of Owo, after an agreement was reached with the Palace of the Olowo regarding the cenotaph’s relocation. Therefore, the state government authorised the demolition of the cenotaph, and it was Olowo of Owo and AgroMore Limited, the land’s owners who were the ones who were the ones who were the rightful owners. ”

A team of government officials has been assigned to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to arrange the construction of a new cenotaph in an area that is respectful to the Owo people, according to Governor Aiyedatiwa.

In a statement, the Catholic diocese, Most Rev. Most Rev., the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, signed. Arogundade’s daughter, Jude, was upset about what had happened.

The demolition was deemed a “violation of our shared respect for the dignity of life and the memory of the “41 brothers and sisters who were unjustly murdered” on June 2, 2022, according to the statement.

At the request of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, Vice President Kashim Shettima has flown from Abuja, Nigeria, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit.

Shettima will take part in the official launch of Ethiopia’s flagship Green Legacy Programme, a statement from his spokesman Stanley Nkwocha during the visit.

The planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period is a goal of the program, which is intended to combat deforestation, increase biodiversity, and reduce climate change’s negative effects.

The Vice President will also take a strategic tour of important industrialized regions and integrated agricultural facilities in some of Ethiopia to further strengthen bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development.

The statement read, “These include the Adama Industrial Zone, Mojo Poultry Farm, Shera Dibandiba Mojo Family Integrated Farm, Lume Avocado Nursery Site, and Bishoftu Pea Youth Farm.”

Read more about Tinubu’s four tax bills becoming law as a new tax system begins in 2026.

The Ethiopian prime minister will host Shettima and his entourage for a dinner at the National Palace, the statement states, strengthening the country’s long-standing diplomatic and cooperative relationship.

Ethiopia and Nigeria have a rich history of bilateral cooperation, with notable examples of regional peacekeeping, and economic cooperation.