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•Decision splits leaders, groups  •CUPP, Afenifere, Ali Ndume, Okorie, northern coalition speak Major stakeholders, at the weekend, disagreed on the decision of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to tinker with the provisions on derivation and Valued Added Tax, in the tax reforms bill initiated by President Bola Tinubu that is currently before the National Assembly. While some stakeholders described the …

CNN — Donald Trump will flex one of the most intense and sweeping demonstrations of presidential power on the first day of any administration, seeking to fundamentally change America’s course by sundown on Monday. On a frigid day that forced inside his swearing-in as the 47th president, Trump plans a blizzard of hardline executive actions on immigration, energy production, transgender athletes and the pardoning of January 6 rioters. …

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday departed Abuja to represent Nigeria at the 2025 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled for Davos, Switzerland. According to his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha the Vice President will join world leaders, top business executives and representatives of development partners at the meeting to discuss the state of the world economy with the …

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has finally taken effect after nearly three hours delay. This brings to a halt a 15-month war that has led to the death of more than 46,707 people in Gaza, the majority women and children. The war started after Hamas militants on 7 October 2023, attacked Israel and caused …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sunday posthumously pardoned Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders and was convicted of mail fraud in the 1920s. Also receiving pardons were a top Virginia lawmaker and advocates for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention. Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey, with supporters …

Trump appeared solemn as he placed a wreath on an easel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Moments later, Vance did the same. Once the ceremony was complete, Trump’s motorcade headed to a separate section of the cemetery, a burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Federal High Court in Lagos, South-west Nigeria, has barred the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from impounding vehicles with faded number plates or imposing penalties on their owners. According to TheCable newspaper, the judge, Akintayo Aluko, handed down the decision in a suit filed against the FRSC by Chinwike Ezebube, a lawyer. The lawyer, in the suit filed on 13 February …

The minister described the tragic incident, which claimed no fewer than 50 and left several others injured, as a heart-wrenching disaster. The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has instructed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to initiate an investigation into the tanker explosion incident which occured in Dikko, Niger State.   The minister said he …

WashingtonCNN — As President Joe Biden was making one final lap around town this week, delivering farewell speeches to his diplomatic corps, military leaders and the nation at large, his appearances belied a grim reality: This is not how he’d hoped his half-century career in Washington would end. Biden leaves office on Monday reluctantly, firm in the view he had more to …

The League of Northern Democrats (LND) has expressed reservations about the recently proposed tax reforms endorsed by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), citing concerns over the definition of “derivation” in the revised Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula. In a press release issued by its spokesperson, Dr. Ladan Salihu, on Saturday, the LND acknowledged the NGF’s endorsement of a new …