Kaduna clerics under the umbrella of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA) have petitioned Governor Uba Sani, condemning the utterances of his predecessor, Nasir el-Rufai and alleging a plot to Islamise the country. The protest letter by the Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan chapters of the body deplored the recent viral video in which el-Rufai was seen addressing Islamic clerics, with Sani in attendance. It was signed and copied to President Bola Tinubu as well as the Vatican. “Having soberly considered the contents and implications of such communication by a former governor, who is known to be your close ally, we feel compelled to write you, to know where you stand with regard to the commotion Mallam el-Rufai intends to propagate and perpetuate in our state,” the letter read in part. The petition was also addressed to the pontiff in the Vatican. The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) have criticised the Islamisation allegations of Christian clerics, instead asserting “clearly, emphatically and unequivocally that what happened during the elections in Kaduna was the actualisation of core democratic principles” in a statement.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced an upward review of the country’s tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for 2021 to 10.86 percent from 6 percent. In a new report on ‘Tax-to-GDP Ratio Revised Computation (2010-2021)’, the statistics agency said the revised calculation now includes relevant revenue collected by other agencies of government. The report said the revised computation is a collaborative effort of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the federal finance ministry and the NBS. According to the World Bank, tax revenues above 15 percent of a country’s GDP are a key ingredient for economic growth and poverty reduction.
Speaker Alban Bagbin has reversed an earlier order that Ghana’s Parliament retain the name of James Gyakye Quayson in its records. The Speaker expressed uncertainty regarding the clarity of the Court’s order and believed that Parliament as a whole should make a collective decision on the matter. This was after the Supreme Court recently made public the full reasoning behind its decision to declare the Assin North MP’s victory unconstitutional. Speaking in the House on Thursday, Mr Bagbin explained that “the order did not say the Speaker should expunge [Qyayson].” In the 17 May ruling, Presiding Judge Justice Jones Dotse stated that the Electoral Commission (EC) had acted unconstitutionally by allowing Quayson to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without providing proof of renouncing his Canadian citizenship. Following the court’s ruling, the Clerk of Parliament wrote to the Electoral Commission (EC) declaring the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the scheduling of a by-election for 27 June.
Guinea-Bissau’s opposition coalition has won a majority in legislative elections that will restore parliament after a 13-month absence, but likely end the president’s hopes for constitutional reform. The PAI Terra Ranka coalition, led by the former ruling PAIGC party, won 54 of 102 seats in Sunday’s poll, the electoral commission said on Thursday. Madem G15, the party of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who dissolved parliament in May last year amid accusations of corruption, won 28 seats. The result, for now, ends Embalo’s plans to push through a change to the constitution that would have allowed him to consolidate power by ridding the country of its semi-presidential system. Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government, but the president has the power to dismiss it in certain circumstances. The West African country has seen at least 10 coups or attempted coups since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.