Metro
MATAN president enumerates benefit for stakeholders, how it will end injustices
***MATAN to bring informal sector into FG tax
The emergence of Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) which is the umbrella body for all trading associations is an answered prayer for all those who have been shortchanged by government officials in the distribution of parliatives and intervention funds, its National President honorable Jamilu Abbas has declared.
Speaking at its National Executive Council Meeting held in Abuja recently, he said MATAN is a trailblazing association that holds the magic wand to resolve most of the issues bedeviling the country as a result of the greed of some leaders.
He recalled the action of some Governors and political office holders during the COVID19 pandemic when palliatives meant to be distributed to the poorest of the poor were hoarded and kept away from them by some governors, lawmakers, local Government chairmen and so on.
According to him, they in the informal sector have decided to channel their own energy to forming the MATAN,
“That is why we decide to float a project, leading to the launch of the Integrated Market Revenue Management System (IMRMS).
He said MATAN is in Partnership with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) from traders in marketplace, using the IMRMS platform.
According to him, the collaboration; known as the VAT Direct Initiative (VDI), is part of a push to widen the government’s tax base.
To that end he said, the FIRS has rolled out the implementation of the IMRMS, a purpose-built digital platform, to capture the informal sector, especially market traders in to the federal government’s tax net.
He said MATAN is the largest player in Nigeria’s market space with a membership of well over 40 million traders across the country.
“Under the arrangement, MATAN is expected to digitally enumerate its members, give them a digital identity and track their turnover so that VAT accrued is collected and remitted to the FIRS.
“Through this initiative, the FIRS will help tackle multiple taxation in the marketplace through partnership with security agencies to curb the activities of touts, miscreants and self-imposed tax collectors involved in illegal tax collection in Nigeria’s market spaces. ”
He said the solution is, MATAN is providing a platform that will go digital to bring all in the informal sector to become formal.
According to him, With the ongoing enumeration, each member will have his multi purpose Identity Cards which is called VDIIT
“So with the card, our agents will enumerate you as a trader, farmer, transporter or Artizan. We have analyzed it, the small Scale, the Medium Scale and the larger scale.
“Even if you are exempted from paying tax to government, you are not exempted from benefiting from services such as insurance, PENCOM, because when you fall ill, you will go to the hospital, when you have cases in your market places, the Lawyer is there to support you free of charge.
He said with the card, they are in partnership with government so if government wants to give palliative they don’t need to go through some one who will corner them for his personal use. They don’t need to go through any criminal or any offices.
He said President Tinubu is well informed of the Association because after enumeration, this is the only platform which the President will authorise for all banks to send government intervention funds to without passing through any criminal that has opportunity to occupy government position.
“Immediately we provided this platform, the State Governments, the joint tax board, invited us and we promised them that we are going to be paying their taxes, we are bringing our people to the tax net, so that if it is N1, on 10k, they will be contributing to government coffers.
“But when we make this contribution government must pay us back, the pay back is the tax relief, if I have children who want to go to school, through this card they can access free education.
Human rights activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju has issued a scathing response to comments made against him by Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister and former Rivers State governor. Wike had recently accused Adeyanju of being jobless, noting that the activist once sought his support in a bid to become the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national publicity secretary.
During a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Adeyanju didn’t hold back, describing Wike as “a bully and a coward.”
He went on to criticize Wike’s character and political approach, saying, “Wike has never worked anywhere in his life. He is a serial betrayer. The only difference between Wike and Portable is that Portable does not betray people who have helped him.”
Adeyanju praised Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his recent actions against Wike, saying, “I commend Governor Fubara for dealing decisively with him. That’s how to deal with tyrants. Wike is nothing without politics.”
He further expressed his concerns over Wike’s influence, stating, “The reason why he is making so much noise and constituting a nuisance all over the place is because of our political patrimony that he loots. Clowns and charlatans like Nyesom Wike will open their mouths and criticize true activists.”
Adeyanju also highlighted the importance of citizens participating in politics, saying, “Wike wants everyone to leave politics to rogues like him. His idea of nation-building is where people like him control everything. All citizens of conscience should get involved in politics.”
The back-and-forth between Adeyanju and Wike highlights ongoing tensions within Nigerian political circles and has sparked discussions about the role of activists and the nature of leadership in the country.
***Emotional Farewell as Nigeria Mourns a Dedicated Military Leader
Amid deep sorrow and heartfelt tributes, the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, was laid to rest on Friday at the National Cemetery in Abuja.
His burial concluded two days of solemn funeral rites that began in Lagos, marking the end of an impactful military career.
The casket bearing Lagbaja, draped in Nigeria’s green and white, arrived at the cemetery around 3 pm following a funeral service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
His body was lowered into the earth at 4:41 pm after a ceremony lasting over two hours.
The event was attended by numerous dignitaries, including President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Acting Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa, Defence Minister Abubakar Badaru, and other high-ranking officials.
President Tinubu, paying tribute, called Lagbaja’s appointment one of his most significant decisions and announced a posthumous national honor of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) for the late COAS. He urged the military not to lose hope: “Please, do not let death defeat us, and as Commander-in-Chief, I renew my pledge that the country will always support you and your families.”
General Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, echoed this sentiment, calling Lagbaja’s passing a call to strengthen the military’s resolve.
“Let us ensure his sacrifice continues to guide us as we defend this nation. We are resolved to defeat all enemies of the state, whether within or outside,” he stated.
Acting COAS Oluyede expressed personal gratitude for Lagbaja’s mentorship, sharing that he had nominated him for a national honor even while facing illness.
Lagbaja’s funeral rites began with a service of songs at the Army Headquarters Garrison Parade Ground, Mogadishu Cantonment, on Thursday, following the arrival of his body at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from Lagos.
Lt. General Lagbaja, born on February 28, 1968, served as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff for over a year, having been appointed by President Tinubu in June 2023. He passed away on November 5 after a brief illness, leaving a legacy of dedication and patriotism.
A civil society group, Good Governance Alliance – Nigeria (GGA-N), has condemned the Lagos State government following an alleged invasion of former Transportation Minister Admiral Festus Porbeni’s Lekki property by state officials on Friday morning.
They called for immediate action against alleged breach of court order on Admiral Festus Porbeni’s property.
According to the group, the invasion is in direct violation of a Federal High Court order and sets a dangerous precedent for lawlessness.
In a statement issued by GGA-N representative Nathaniel Obasi, the group reported that officials from the Lagos State Special Task Force forcefully entered Admiral Porbeni’s property at Wole Olateju Crescent around 7:30 am, accompanied by heavily-armed mobile policemen.
Obasi noted that the task force allegedly beat, arrested, and detained several individuals on the premises, placing them in a police vehicle known as ‘Black Maria.’
The statement emphasized that this raid contradicts a Federal High Court injunction prohibiting any disruption at the property and disregards a recent Supreme Court ruling granting federal control over inland waterways and adjacent lands within 100 meters.
Despite Porbeni’s possession of a Federal Certificate of Occupancy, the Lagos State Task Force allegedly threatened to bulldoze structures on the property, sparking concerns over escalating conflicts between state and federal jurisdiction.
GGA-N therefore urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Inspector-General of Police, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and federal agencies overseeing waterways to intervene, asserting that the Lagos State government’s actions could lead to “lawlessness and chaos.”
According to him, the disputed property was previously invaded in 2021.
Obasi claimed that at about 7:30am this Friday, officials from the Lagos State Special Task Force, illegally forced their way into Admiral Porbeni’s property at Wole Olateju Crescent, Lekki, despite the Federal High Court order, which barred any agent from entering the premises or harassing any person at the premises.
It added the Lagos State Special Task Force accompanied by heavily-armed mobile policemen, beat up, arrested and threw staff and other people met on the property into a police vehicle called ‘Black Maria’, which they brought “for the illegal raid”.
“The officials who cordoned off the area are now threatening to bulldoze all structures on the property, in brazen breach of the Federal High Court order (FHC/L/CS/1384/21).
“The actions of the Task Force is also in disregard of the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court in January which affirmed the federal government’s exclusive control of the country’s inland waterways and all lands within 100 meters of all declared federal waterways in Nigeria.
“The question is despite Admiral Porbeni being in possession of a Federal Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), how is the Lagos State Government allowed to flout not only an injunction from the Federal High Court but also a ruling from the Supreme Court?
“The Lagos state government’s brazen disobedience of court orders is a recipe for lawlessness and chaos. We draw the urgent attention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Inspector General of Police, the Governor of Lagos State and relevant federal government agencies in charge of federal waterways in the country to the illegal raid and occupation by the Lagos State Special Task Force,” Obasi stated
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