Hot News in Nigeria Tonight

NetworknewsngSept 8, 2023Read original

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings Group, Tony Elumelu, has urged the Indian private sector to invest in Nigeria because it poses a huge market on the African continent.

Elumelu told the Indian investors to seize the opportunity to invest in Nigeria because this is the best time.

He made this statement during the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference on Wednesday, in New Delhi, India.

The roundtable was jointly organised by the High Commission of Nigeria to India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC).

Elumelu, who has built pan-African financial service businesses and controls significant power and natural resources operations, all focused on value creation in Africa, was in Delhi for the G20 Summit.

He was in the company of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as an invitee and as well as a co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African economic integration, the private sector counterpart to the G20.

Speaking during a keynote address, Elumelu invited urged the Indian private sector leaders to join him and other global investors in accessing the rapidly evolving Nigerian economy, home to 20% of Africans and one of the largest consumer populations globally.

“This is the time to invest in Nigeria. I speak as a private sector investor in Nigeria, the companies in our Group’s investment portfolio demonstrate the opportunity. I believe you also can take advantage of our track record and success,” he said.

“Nigeria is a huge market; over 200 million people with the largest economy on the continent. Most importantly, the population is not just over 200 million people; the demography of the population is exciting.”

At the Presidential roundtable, hosted by Tinubu, Indian investors pledged investments of nearly $14 billion to Nigeria, following the Nigerian president’s commitment to create the enabling environment for foreign investments to thrive.

“We have a cohort of young people who are there to consume, and we also have people who are intelligent, energetic, hardworking, who provide the human capital that investors need to drive their businesses,” he added.

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Thursday, vowed to approach the Supreme Court to seek justice following the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

Obi revealed this on Thursday at a press conference in Onitsha, Anambra state.

He said he disagreed with the court’s “reasoning and conclusions” in the judgment it delivered on Wednesday.

The former Anambra State governor also said that his legal team had already been instructed to file an appeal against the decision.

Obi said, “Yesterday, 6 September 2023, the Presidential Election Petition Court finally delivered its long-awaited judgments on the Petitions challenging the outcome of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023. This judgment was delivered within the statutory time frame under the extant statutes. We acknowledge the Court’s contributions to due process and the seeming attempt to strengthen our democracy.

“As petitioners in this case, we respect the views and rulings of the court, but we disagree with the court’s reasoning and conclusions in the judgment it delivered. It is my intention as a presidential candidate and the intention of the Labour Party to challenge this judgment by way of appeal immediately, as allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The PEPC has rendered its judgment, but that esteemed body is not the final arbiter. The responsibility now falls on the Supreme Court. I do know that judgment is not coterminous with justice. I implore Nigerians to remain focused, steadfast, and peaceful; abide by the rule of law, and understand that this matter has not reached its logical conclusion.

“Our legal team has already received our firm instruction to file an appeal against the decision. I shall not relent in the quest for justice, not necessarily for myself but indeed for our teeming supporters all over the country whose mandate to us at the polls was regrettably truncated by INEC.

“The strength and value of our democracy reside in solid national institutions and our confidence in them. Electoral litigations will be almost unnecessary and nonexistent if the Independent National Electoral Commission discharges its statutory functions creditably, transparently, and with discernible fairness. When that body fails, as it did recently, thus subverting the will of Nigerian voters, the recourse to the judiciary becomes imperative, as is now the case.

“I thank every Nigerian who has supported our cause and campaign for a New Nigeria characterized by fairness, equity, justice, the rule of law, peace, prosperity, inclusiveness, sustainable growth, and development. A New Nigeria is possible and achievable. I especially thank our legal team, the Labour Party and Obidient Family, and all those who showed up daily during the court trials. God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has advocated for a proper implementation of tax justice to enable higher-income earners in the country to pay higher taxes than low-income earners.

Mr Eustace James, NLC Focal Person on Tax Justice, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

“Those who occupy public offices, those who erect mighty buildings with public funds, and yet they don’t pay taxes, should be made to pay taxes accordingly, ” he said.

He decried the system where low-income earners and the vulnerable in society pay higher and double taxes while those occupying high public offices do not pay taxes.

“Tax justice is about bringing equity and justice to tax payments, about people paying based on what they earn. It is about eliminating extortion and exploitation of the poor as well as taxing on the basis of pure justice,” he said.

He explained that the poor are those who are exploited and extorted in the name of multiple taxes, while the rich keep invading and avoiding taxes.

According to him, the tax justice campaign has brought tax payments into the limelight to address inequality and injustice.

“We in NLC have no other option but to key into this campaign and to also be the champions of tax justice and good governance, ” he said.