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UAE Yet to Lift Visa Ban on Nigeria, Says Presidency

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The Nigerian presidency has denied reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted visa restrictions on Nigerians.

Multiple news outlets earlier on Tuesday reported that UAE has lifted the visa restriction on Nigerian travellers.

However, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, refuted the viral document in an update on his “X” page on Tuesday, March 5.

Reacting on Tuesday, Onanuga said: “UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorized either by the Nigerian government or the UAE.”

In October 2022, the UAE implemented a ban on citizens from approximately 20 African nations from entering its borders.

Among the affected countries are Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, and the Dominican Republic.

The Emirati authorities issued a notice to trade partners and travel agents, instructing them to reject all applications.

Since the ban, the UAE and Nigeria have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute concerning flight allocations and travel restrictions.

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Tax Reforms: Ndume Mocks Tinubu, Says Bill Dead on Arrival

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The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly (NASS), Ali Ndume, has declared that the tax reform bills sent to the legislative arm of government by President Bola Tinubu are dead on arrival.

Ndume argued that the President should listen to the National Economic Council (NEC) and the Northern Governors’ Forum and immediately withdraw the bills.

“If it goes on like that, I can tell you that it will be dead on arrival. We don’t need to study the bills,” the unsparingly blunt lawmaker said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.

Ndume, one of the longest serving lawmakers in the National Assembly, said the Federal government should be looking at ways to reduce the tax burden on Nigerians and not increase it.

“The general thing is that Nigerians are not willing to talk about or pay any tax now considering the (economic) situation we are in now,” he said.

“Nigerians are willing to pay taxes but they can only pay taxes when they can afford it. Right now, people are struggling to survive. Let people live first before you start asking them for taxes,” he added.

The senator said: “It will be fair to shut the bill down; it is the fairest thing to do”, indicating that he has started campaigning against the bills among his colleagues and he is getting good support to throw out the bills.

Ndume, a stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),  said the Tinubu administration needs to reform itself and not increase taxes paid by Nigerians.

“What he (Tinubu) needs to do is to withdraw the bill, educate Nigerians and make us understand it. We are representing the people and the people that we are representing have already spoken.

“The governors, the traditional rulers have said that the bill is not good. So, the best thing to do is to immediately withdraw it.

“Right now, what our people are saying is that they don’t want VAT bill, they don’t even want to hear about it. That is why we are going to make it dead on arrival.”

The tax reform bills which have been sent to the National Assembly have faced scathing criticisms with the 36 state governors asking the President to withdraw the bills from the legislature.

However, the President insisted that the bills would not be withdrawn, saying that “inputs and necessary changes” can be made by the lawmakers.

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National Grid Suffers 10th Collapse in 10 Months

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The national power grid appeared to have collapsed again on Tuesday, reports The Punch

Checks confirmed that the grid lost power generation around 1:39 pm.

As of 1 pm, power generation was 2,711 megawatts, having previously peaked at 3,631 MW.

Earlier, power generation peaked at 3,934.77 MW around six o’clock in the morning.

However, between 2 pm and 3 pm, hourly generation dropped to 0.00 MW.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria confirmed that “the national grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 1:52 pm today, 5th November 2024.”

TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah said, “This followed a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.”

She stated that data from the National Control Centre revealed that a part of the grid was not affected by the bulk power disruption.

“TCN engineers are already working to quickly restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the partial disturbance. Presently, bulk power supply has been restored to Abuja at 2:49 pm, and we are gradually restoring it to other parts of the country.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our electricity customers,” she said.

This is the 10th time the grid will collapse in 2024.

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Just In: EFCC Arrests Former Delta Gov, Ifeanyi Okowa

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested a former Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa.

The former governor was arrested on accusations of misusing funds derived from resource allocation.

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