President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday in Abuja, decorated his Aide-de-Camp, Col Nurudeen Alowonle Yusuf, following his promotion to the new rank.

Lt Col Yusuf was promoted to Colonel by Nigerian Army Promulgation AHQ MS/G1/300/252/2 on December 19, 2024.

The rank’s seniority took effect on September 22, 2023.

Speaking after the decorations, Tinubu said: “He is worthy of the promotion, and I am very happy for him. Nurudeen is a diligent and reliable officer with the right temperament. I believe he will go farther and farther in his profession.

“We are with you. We love and really care about you. We will continue to do so. Character defines man, and it has defined you. With your promotion, you are highly respected. From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you. We thank God for you. May God bless our armed forces and keep them safe.”

The President commended the ADC’s wife for “keeping the home front steady, calm, and reliable” while he served the nation.

Governor Abdul Rahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, National Security Adviser ⁠Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Minister for (State) Defence Dr Bello Mohammad Matawalle, Chief of Defence Staff ⁠General Christopher Gwabin Musa, Chief of Army Staff ⁠Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, and Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun attended the State House event.

The ADC’s family—mother, ⁠wife and daughter—were in attendance.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has come under fire for celebrating his son’s recent graduation from a foreign institution.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, shared the celebration on his X handle, drawing backlash from critics, particularly Rivers indigenes.

Critics recalled that in 2015, shortly after Wike assumed office as governor, he discontinued the sponsorship of Rivers State students studying abroad under the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency, RSSDA.

The scholarship programme, initiated by Wike’s predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, became dormant during Wike’s tenure, leaving students and their families in distress.

Aggrieved residents accused Wike of depriving Rivers youths of international educational opportunities while funding his own son’s foreign education.

An old video of Wike speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily also resurfaced online.

In the clip, Wike argued that certain courses, including law, should be studied in Nigeria rather than abroad—coincidentally the same course his son studied overseas.

A Port Harcourt-based youth activist, Charles Jaja, described the situation as hypocritical, questioning why Wike prioritised his son’s education abroad while cancelling similar opportunities for others during his administration.

According to him: “Years back, former Governor Wike pulled out all Rivers children sent abroad to study at various foreign universities by Rotimi Amaechi’s administration, claiming that Amaechi only wasted Rivers money in sending those children abroad to study courses that could have been offered here in Nigeria.

“Today, he’s on his handle celebrating the graduation of his own son in the UK, where he studied law. Is this not hypocritical in all ramifications?

“He says one thing and does another. Why didn’t he allow his own son to study law here in RSU (Rivers State University) or in any other university in Nigeria?

“It is a complete injustice on his own part to have deprived these children of benefiting from what the state had to offer them, by returning them to Nigeria and not allowing them to complete the course of their dreams where they were sent to study.

“I certainly believe that the cry of these children has risen to God as a memorial and that God will certainly avenge their cries for them. If not now, certainly later.”

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has summoned the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, over issues of the Expatriates Employment Levy, EEL.

According to the court summons, both are to appear before the court on January 16 to explain why implementing the proposed expatriate taxation regime should not be stopped.

The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, gave this ruling on Thursday after a motion ex parte moved by Patrick Peter, counsel who appeared for the plaintiff.

Ekwo directed that the minister and the AGF be served with the motion within three days of the order.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CD/1780/2024, was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of New Kosol Welfare Initiative.

The group sought an order of interim injunction barring the defendants from commencing the implementation of the new expatriates’ taxation regime in Nigeria until the motion is heard and decided.

In the affidavit attached to the suit, the Programme Implementation Coordinator of the group, Raphael Ezeh, said the EEL taxation policy was announced by the federal government on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

“According to KPMG and other online information analysts and dissemination agencies, the federal government intends to compel all companies and organizations who engage the services of expatriates to pay EEL as follows: For every expatriate on the level of a director, fifteen thousand United States dollars ($15,000) equivalent to twenty-three million naira, by the current exchange rates, per annum.

“For every expatriate on a non-director level, ten thousand United States dollars ($10,000) equivalent to sixteen million naira, by the current exchange rates (N16,000,000) per annum,” he said.

According to Ezeh, the federal government has also proposed additional regulations, including penalties and sanctions for non-compliance with the proposed taxation regime.

Ezeh stated that inaccurate or incomplete reporting would result in five years of imprisonment and/or a fine of N1 million.

He noted that the failure of a corporate entity to file the EEL within 30 days will attract a penalty of N3 million.

The Programme Implementation Coordinator added that failure to register an employee within 30 days or the submission of false information will also attract a penalty of N3 million.

The failure of an organization to renew the EEL before its expiry date will incur a sanction of N3 million.

“The proposed taxation regime is totally an anti-people policy because of its radical effect on different aspects of the Nigerian economy, and it works like a choke-hold against the economic growth of the nation,” he said.

He noted that taxation is a sensitive issue that requires collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He pointed out that, under Section 59 of the Constitution, the executive arm alone lacks the authority to impose taxes on corporate bodies and citizens.

The matter was adjourned to January 16 for the defendants to appear before the court and show cause.

The Federal Ministry of Interior suspended the implementation of the EEL in 2024 to allow for further consultations with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, NACCIMA, and other stakeholders.