Nigerian Academic Excellence Magazine (NAEM)

By Punchng.com Matthew Kukah The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Kukah, has expressed support for the proposed tax reform bills introduced by President Bola Tinubu, stating that they have the potential to curb the recklessness of the elite in the country. The clergyman shared his views during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief programme on Tuesday. The PUNCH reports that the tax reform bills have sparked significant controversy since their introduction to the National Assembly. The bills have also faced opposition from lawmakers, state governors, and notable political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, and former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal. Despite the opposition, Kukah expressed optimism, describing the reforms as a step towards better fiscal management and a remedy for financial mismanagement in the country. He stressed that effective reforms are essential to set Nigeria on a path ...

By Leadership  The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced an increase in application fees for several temporary resident categories. The new fees which range from 2.80% to 4.69% will affect individuals applying to restore their temporary resident status, return to Canada after inadmissibility, or apply for temporary resident permits (TRPs). According to Immigration News Canada (INC), IRCC has also updated its fee structure for a range of applications, including those from visitors, workers, students, and others seeking temporary status in Canada. The fee adjustments apply to eight distinct application categories, each experiencing different increases. For instance, the fee for restoring Visitor Status has risen to $239.75 from $229.00; the restoration of Student Status is now $389.75, up from $379.00; and the fee for restoring Worker Status has increased to $394.75 from $384.00. Also, the cost for authorisation to return to Canada has been raised to $479...

By the VOA President Joe Biden gestures next to Prime Minister of Cabo Verde Ulisses Correia e Silva and Jose Luis Livramento, Cabo Verde ambassador to the US on the tarmac of the Amilcar Cabral International Airport near Espargos, Cape Verde, on Dec. 2, 2024. Nairobi —  After promising to visit Africa two years ago at the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, President Joe Biden makes his first presidential trip to the continent where he is visiting Angola with a quick stop in Cabo Verde. Analysts in Africa say the trip should’ve come sooner and some are asking why Angola is the primary destination – given its troubling human rights record. White House officials say President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting the continent after a promise he made in 2022. But some analysts tell VOA that Biden’s trip, which comes weeks before he steps down, would’ve had more weight if he had done it earlier. Louw Nel, senior political analyst for Oxford Economics Africa, spoke to VOA from South ...

By NewsMirror   A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, owns the large estate in Abuja with 753 duplexes forfeited to the Nigerian government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a court ruling on Monday. Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, confirmed the development in a post on his Twitter. Emefiele is standing trial on several charges bordering on corruption, including in the new naira redesign before the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Maitama, Abuja. Justice Maryann Anenih had adjourned the matter till December 4, 2024, and January 21, 2025 for continuation of trial. Sowore had earlier blasted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for refusing to name the former Nigerian “top brass” who owned the large estate in Abuja with 753 duplexes. Sowore, former presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general elections, had not...

  By Daily Trust Barring any last-minute changes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will soon retire about 1,000 of its employees before the end of the year, investigations by Daily Trust have shown. Reliable sources at the apex bank’s headquarters revealed that the retirement would gulp over N50 billion in payoff to the affected workers. In what it described as a strategic realignment of its workforce, the CBN’s Board of Governors, led by Olayemi Cardoso, had expressed commitment to reducing the workforce. In the last 10 months, the CBN had disengaged many of its staffers, including 17 directors, who served under the immediate past governor, Godwin Emefiele. Those 17 directors are yet to be replaced. A circular released three weeks ago by the CBN, sighted yesterday by our reporter, said the application for Early Exit Package (EPP) was open to all cadres of staff and will close by Saturday,  December 7. Exempted are those yet to be confirmed or who have served less than one ye...

 By Ben AHANONU  Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad, and Mrs Excel Ihekweme, wife of Fabian Ihekweme, is proceeding like one under the manipulation of evil gods. The gods are really smart but many do not know and when they have decided to deal with anyone, they will employ deceptive tactics but the victims will think they are acting properly without knowing that they are already on the path of self-destruct because they have been preset by the wicked gods of the land. Just like her husband, Fabian Ihekweme, who declared and prosecuted an unprovoked media war on the Governor, Government and people of Imo State, Mrs Excel Ihekweme has also declared her own media war ostensibly from paranoia because there is no other justifiable reason for such. When I watched her insulting the Governor of Imo State, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, who mercifully spent N10 million (naira) to save her from a strange disease that was determined to destroy her, then I knew...