‘Saraki didn’t sponsor thugs to beat up observers at Kwara court’

Bamikole Omishore, special assistant on new media to Senate President Bukola Saraki, says his principal did not sponsor thugs to beat up observers at a high court in Kwara state.
 
On Wednesday, there was pandemonium at the court when some thugs unleashed violence on people who came to observe proceedings in the libel case between the senate president and Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters.

The court had asked Sowore to pay Saraki N4 billion for allegedly defaming him. But the activist is seeking a vacation of the order.

Sowore gave his own account of what transpired at the court on his Facebook page, alleging that thugs hired by the senate president attacked his lawyers and supporters.

But in a statement sent to TheCable on Wednesday, Omishore denied the allegation.

“It is absolutely false that supporters of the senate president attacked anyone. It is on the record that Sowore has been making frantic efforts to instigate people against Saraki,” he said.

“Sowore posted on his Facebook page a few days ago begging people to come to court in Kwara state to his defence which failed, that must have been why he paid two people to disrupt the court proceedings.

“I was informed that two individuals were apprehended in Ilorin Kwara state at the premises of the court for trying to cause a fracas, during questioning they mentioned that they were paid by Omoyele Sowore of Sahara Reporters.

“Since the judge ruled against Sahara Reporters to pay damages of N4 billion, Sowore has been running from pillar to post to intimidate everyone including members of the judiciary. But the time has come for that to stop and we are determined to follow this to the letter.‎”

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Adeosun: Even FG contractors evade tax

 
 
Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, says less than 20% of contractors paid by the federal government and its agencies state the income received in their tax returns.

Adeosun, who made this known in a statement released on Wednesday, said the lapse was discovered following the sampling exercise carried out by the ministry of finance.

She said the federal government has started reviewing the tax compliance records of contractors who have received payments from the federal government and its agencies in the last seven years.

“It was a matter of concern that those who earned money directly from government, which is both traceable and verifiable, still failed to pay the correct taxes thereon,” she said.

She also gave the assurance that the new multi-agency, data-driven approach will make it easier for tax authorities to cross check information provided in tax declarations to ensure that the correct taxes are paid.

According to the statement, the ministry of finance and office of the accountant general of the federation are now compiling records of all payments exceeding N100m made in the last seven years including details of the beneficiary bank accounts.

The statement also said that “all agencies have 30 days to return the information on payments made, and accounting officers are required to certify the accuracy of the data supplied. Deliberate omission or manipulation of data by accounting officers will attract sanction”.

According to the statement, a database project called Project Light House, which would build comprehensive profiles of tax payers using bank verification numbers, foreign exchange allocations, land registry records and information obtained from foreign governments, has commenced.
The data will be used to crosscheck information provided to tax authorities.

The minister said the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is committed to improving tax compliance as this is related to efforts being made to reduce dependence on oil.

She encouraged companies to take advantage of the concessions provided by the voluntary assets and income declaration scheme.


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Melaye: I must repent

 
Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west senatorial district, says, Nigerian leaders, including himself, must repent and deal sincerely with hunger and poverty in the country.

Melaye said this in a tweet on Wednesday.

“Hunger and poverty have no political party, hunger and poverty have no religion. To have brought people to discuss on the line of APC or PDP is not correct because the poor PDP man and the poor APC can all go to the same market.”

This comes less than a week after he listed himself among the elite who have failed Nigeria and her teeming youth.

“Unfortunately, we the leaders, myself inclusive, have failed this nation and have failed the younger generation — myself inclusive. The reason why we are where we are today is because there is a disconnect between leadership and followership,” Melaye had said at a symposium organised by The Osasu Show Symposium.

“Apart from militocracy, politics is responsible for poverty and hunger in Nigeria.”


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Mark Zuckerberg And Wife Welcomes Second Daughter, Named Her August

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan on Monday welcomed their second daughter whom they named ‘August’.

In usual practice, Zuckerberg announced the birth of August on Facebook, saying they hope “she doesn’t grow up too fast”.

“Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter August,” he said adding that they “wrote her a letter about the world we hope she grows up in”.

The letter reads:

“Dear August,

Welcome to the world! Your mom and I are so excited to see who you will become.
When your sister was born, we wrote a letter about the world we hoped she and now you will grow up in — a world with better education, fewer diseases, stronger communities, and greater equality.

We wrote that with all the advances in science and technology, your generation should live dramatically better lives than ours, and we have a responsibility to do our part to make that happen. Even though headlines often focus on what’s wrong, we still believe these positive trends will win out. We’re optimists about your generation and the future.

But rather than write about growing up, we want to talk about childhood. The world can be a serious place. That’s why it’s important to make time to go outside and play.
You will be busy when you’re older, so I hope you take time to smell all the flowers and put all the leaves you want in your bucket now.

I hope you read your favorite Dr. Seuss books so many times you start inventing your own stories about the Vipper of Vipp. I hope you ride the carousel with Max until you’ve tamed every color horse. I hope you run as many laps around our living room and yard as you want. And then I hope you take a lot of naps. I hope you’re a great sleeper. And I hope even in your dreams you can feel how much we love you.

Childhood is magical. You only get to be a child once, so don’t spend it worrying too much about the future. You’ve got us for that, and we’ll do everything we possibly can to make sure the world is a better place for you and all children in your generation.
August, we love you so much and we’re so excited to go on this adventure with you. We wish you a life of joy, love and the same hope you give us.”


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Adekunle Gold: Why I cannot make disposable music

Despite the prevalence and success of ‘disposable’ (commercial) music in the music industry, Adekunle Gold says he’s not ready to hop aboard that bandwagon.

The singer says although “there is that pressure” to make music that will possibly expand his fan base, he constantly reminds himself of why he got into “this business”.

Gold says he’s keen on making “timeless music” that will remain evergreen for as long as possible.
“My goal is not to make disposable music, I want to make timeless music. Constantly I remind myself. I feel like I can write any type of song but will it last me for a decade or a century,” he said in a YouTube Interview.

The singer also narrated how he came about the name ‘Gold’ in 2008.

He said: “I was in church one day and during a sermon, this guy said ‘you can’t substitute rice for gold’. He said it three times and I just knew there and then that this is my name.”

The singer, who wrote Orente for his collaborator/rumoured flame Simi, said one of the downsides of being an entertainer is getting misquoted often.

“I am misquoted almost all the time. You say one thing, someone says another,” he said.
Fame, Adekunle Gold said, has deprived him of his privacy and ability to stay closeted – as he’d love to.
“For some of us that don’t like attention, your privacy is almost gone. It’s okay. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying,” said the singer who was a graphic artiste for YBNL before getting signed by Olamide.


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