Author: TheScrutinyNG

The Senate on Thursday denied claims that it suspended deliberations on the tax reform bills as reported in some quarters. Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, clarified when he raised Senate Point of Order 42 during plenary. Raising the order, Bamidele said that it was reported by a news medium that “the hallowed chamber suspended further consideration of the tax reform bills before the Senate.” “Nowhere in our votes and proceedings was it stated that we suspended further deliberations on the tax reform bills, because we did not. “I felt it will be important to place on record that this…

A notorious cult leader in Rivers State, Ikem Thank God, popularly known as ‘General 2 Man’, has been killed by the operatives of the Rivers State Police Command. The deceased criminal suspect was known for kidnapping and armed robbery in Ahoada-East and Ahoada-West local government areas of the state. Parading the remains of the suspect before journalists at the Command headquarters in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the state’s Commissioner of Police, CP Mustapha Bala, accused the deceased of wreaking havoc in communities in the two local government areas. Bala stated that preliminary investigation showed that ‘General 2 Man’ was responsible…

Ebonyi State has recorded twenty three deaths from forty eight confirmed Lassa Fever cases in the state. This is according Governor Francis Nwifuru, who put between January and December as the period under consideration. Governor Nwifuru made the disclosure during the official closure of Medecins Sans Frontiers’ (Doctors Without Borders) Lassa fever project in Abakaliki and handover of supported activities to the State Ministry of Health. He stated that record has showed that in 2024, Nigeria recorded over 4,726 cases of Lassa fever with very significant death rate, adding that in Ebonyi, out of the 48 confirmed cases and the…

Fellow celebrities have sympathised with Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe, as fire gutted one of her buildings, even as no life was lost in the incident. The actress took to her Intagram page to upload a video of the burnt edifice and captioned it “Devastated! Thank God no life was lost! It is well.” Aigbe’s post has drawn an overwhelming response from fans and industry colleagues. Fellow actress Toyin Abraham empathised deeply with Aigbe, commenting, “Jesus Olorun, no wonder you were crying on phone. I’m so sorry, sis ,” while Juliet Ibrahim remarked, “Omg glory be to God! So sorry.” Celebrities…

The Labour Party (LP) caucus in the House of Representatives has suffered a significant setback as five of its members on Thursday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The defectors include Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Mathew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), Iyawe Esosa (Edo) and Daulyop Fom (Plateau). Their defection was confirmed during plenary session when Speaker Tajudeen Abbas read their official letters of defection on the floor of the Green Chamber. Donatus Mathew, who represented Kaura Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, cited personal conviction as the reason for his decision to leave the Labour Party. Mathew, who made…

Max Air flight carrying Borno Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Usman Kadafur, and over 100 passengers caught fire shortly after takeoff from Maiduguri International Airport. The incident, reported around 7 p.m. local time, was caused by a suspected bird strike, which ignited one of the plane’s engines. According to a Max Air staff member, the aircraft made a safe emergency landing back at the airport. In response, Max Air dispatched another plane from Kano to transport stranded passengers to Abuja, while some passengers retrieved their luggage and returned home. The damaged aircraft remains grounded at the Maiduguri airport, undergoing repairs as…

The Federal Government will embark on measures towards halting the incessant harassment of travellers by government agencies at the nation’s airports. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, revealed this, saying he has approved measures by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to ensure such harassments are arrested. In a post on X on Thursday, Keyamo announced the launch of ‘Operation Air Clean,’ an initiative aimed at eliminating corrupt practices and enhancing service delivery, among others, following a surge in passenger complaints at airports. Among the reforms for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) is the dissolution…

The Nigeria Police Force has disclosed how four officers attached to Zone 7 Headquarters declared only N31.7 million despite recovering N79.4 million from a man unlawfully arrested at Lagos Airport. The Force, in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the clarification was necessary against the backdrop of social allegations against the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, accusing him of shielding a cartel accused of smuggling suspicious new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Adejobi said the officers attempted to steal N43,160,000 from the cash recovered from an employee of a company who had…

The opposition against the proposed Tax Reform Bills may have swelled as the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) joined public spirited organisations in warning of grave consequences it may have on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). The teachers union said if the bills sail through the National Assembly, the sources of funding for TETFund might become impeded, thereby stifling the tertiary education in the country. In a statement issued in Abuja, COEASU president, Dr. Smart Olugbeko, criticised aspects of the proposed tax administration reforms, which he said threatened to cut off TETFund’s critical funding sources. Dr. Olugbeko described…

In order to deepen greener energy, the Federal Government has increased the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion centres to 158 in 2024, showing an increase of more than 2,000 percent. Programme Director and Chief Executive of the Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (Pi-CNG), Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this during a panel discussion themed From Policy to Practice: Strengthening Domestication for Economic Development at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content Forum in Bayelsa state. According to him, Pi-CNG plans to increase the number of conversion centres to 1,000 more to meet the increasing needs of CNG stakeholders. He said: “The…