The Chairman of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), Chief Uche Anya, says the military officers from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu did not beat him but attacked his residential building.

Anya disclosed this when the former members of the Enugu State House of Assembly led by Dr Alex Ogbonnia visited him in his office on Wednesday in Enugu.

He debunked the social media reports that he was manhandled and beaten, and that of his police aide being killed during the raid.

The chairman described what occurred as a face-off between ECTDA and army officers.

“Indeed, there was a face off between the government agency I head and the personnel of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army while discharging my duties.

“I am very fine, hale and hearty,” Anya said.

Narrating what transpired, Anya said that on Dec. 5, the organisation got a report from one of its units that a development was going on somewhere at Park Avenue, GRA.

The chairman said that when they requested for approval from the developers, they got no response.

He said the unit reported that the area was guarded by soldiers, so they decided to visit the site to see what was happening.

Anya said that they discovered that people were trying to erect a fence.

“We pleaded with them that we are from the ECTDA and needed to see their approved plan and permit but they asked me to call the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu.

“We insisted on seeing their approval, which they did not provide, leading to our stopping them from working and marking the place with ‘Stop Work’ notice immediately.”

He said that he thereafter reached out to the GOC and informed him about what transpired.

Anya said he was told that they were trying to secure their land.

“I told him that under our law, once a development is taking place in the capital territory, there must be permission.

“So, three days later, in the course of our routine work, we discovered that they had wiped out our stop work order and proceeded with the work.

“We rolled down our equipment and pulled down the fence because they reneged on our agreement,” he said.

Anya said that two hours later, he started noticing strange movement around his street, with some people taking photographs.

“So, around 2:30a.m, two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) arrived on my street. Some people in mufti with guns jumped into my compound and I was seeing them through my CCTV.

“They tried to break into the house but it took them almost 90 minutes to break in through the kitchen.

“Somehow, the Social Media added pepper and salt to what transpired,” he said.

While commending his former House of Assembly members for the visit, Anya said the matter had been resolved.

Earlier, Ogbonnia said they were touched by the information reaching them as well as what they read on social media and felt that they should come and visit Anya as a former legislator.

“Anya is one of us. We know his pedigree. He is a meticulous man; a lawyer, former lawmaker, and a law abiding person who can not act arbitrarily.

“It is therefore irresponsible for any government to ignore the outright defacement of Enugu based on elite status,” he said.

Ogbonnia said that, in democracy, no person or group should undermine a constituted authority.

“Enugu is what it is today because of what ECTDA is doing through their urban planning. Unfortunately, most Nigerians don’t observe urban planning.

“What Anya did is to add value to the beauty of Enugu by making sure that illegal structures are not allowed in the city

“We want to use the opportunity to thank God for you and to tell the world that we hold you in a very high esteem,” Ogbonnia said. (NAN)

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has underscored the urgency of improving Nigeria’s tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, to meet the ambitious N34.82 trillion revenue projection.

The LCCI Director-General, Dr Chinyere Almona, said this on Thursday in Lagos, in reaction  to the contents of the 2025  budget proposal.

President Bola Tinubu had,  on Wednesday, presented the country’s 2025 budget titled “The Restoration Budget: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity” to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Tinubu revealed that in 2025, the country was targeting N34.82 trillion revenue to fund the country’s projected expenditure of N47.

According to Almona,  to achieve this, accelerating tax reforms, simplifying processes, and incorporating the informal sector were essential.

She said that the country must leverage technology to expand the tax net, minimise leakages, and foster

“Fiscal discipline must complement these efforts to effectively manage the N15.81 trillion debt servicing allocation.

“Nigeria must prioritise high-impact, self-sustaining projects and explore alternative funding mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships, to keep debts within sustainable limits.

“Structural reforms are indispensable to reducing inflation to 15 per cent and stabilising the exchange rate at N1,400 to the dollar, ”she said.

She said that addressing food and energy supply chain bottlenecks, fast-tracking local petroleum production projects, and fostering alignment between monetary and fiscal policies would restore confidence in the Naira and ease inflationary pressures.

“Achieving the ambitious oil production target of 2.06 million barrels daily requires decisive action to resolve pipeline vandalism, theft, and underinvestment.

“Across the three streams of operations in the oil and gas industry, a sound regulatory environment can boost activities and investments in the short term,”she said.

Addressing the priorities of the budget, Almona lauded the Tinubu’s attention to security, infrastructure, education, health, and agriculture, to achieve macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth.

She said that the allocation of N4.91 trillion for defence was commendable compared to previous allocations.

She, however, said that the funding must be complemented with enhanced intelligence, surveillance technology, and simultaneous investment in poverty reduction and youth empowerment.

Almona said that the N4.06 trillion earmarked for infrastructure and significant allocations for education and health called for swift and transparent project execution.

According to her, while the budget outlines bold goals, these aspirations hinge on robust policy implementation, sustained execution, and coherence across government strategies.

“Beyond the figures and assumptions, budget implementation is the key performance driver.

“The 2024 budget implementation cycle extension to June 2025 should be closely watched to avoid such in the future as it can signal weak budget execution.

“We call on the National Assembly to expedite action on the appropriation debates.

“We are concerned that much-needed scrutiny and consultations on the budget may not be possible if the January-December budget cycle is to be maintained,” she said.(NAN)

Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State has signed the 2025 budget of N692.2 billion into law.

The governor submitted NN682,244,449,513,87 to the state assembly for consideration and approval.

The budget indicates that recurrent expenditure stands at N157.9 billion, representing 23.

The budget, tagged: “Building Your Future II”, has an increase of N200.

Signing the proposed document on Wednesday in Katsina, Gov. Radda said that the budget had a slight increase of N10 billion against the initial estimate.

He lauded the state assembly for working tirelessly to ensure that the state has a budget which would open door for development activities in 2025 fiscal year.

The governor also acknowledged the diligent exercise exhibited by the MDAs to ensure the state has budget that would guide the administration.

“Our budget is one of the shining examples in budget performance in 2024, I believe we have done extremely well”, the Governor said.

Radda explained that the 2025 budget prioritised capital projects with education taking the lead, followed by agriculture.

He noted that the capital projects would make citizens more lively, make life better and reduce the level of poverty in the society.

The governor equally commended the state assembly’s efforts for carrying out their oversight function thoroughly in 2024.

He urged the legislators not to relent in their efforts for the state to achieve optimum transparency, accountability and good governance.

Earlier, the Speaker, Katsina State House Assembly, Alhaji Nasir Yahaya-Daura, described the 2025 budget as a product of rigorous legislative process.

He said that the lawmakers were proud to have worked tirelessly to ensure that it reflected the needs and aspirations of the people.

“After a careful review during the budget defence by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, N10 billion was added to the budget.

“This gives us a total sum of N692,244,449,513,87, against the previous N682,244,449,513,87 submitted by the governor.

“We are confident that with this budget, more progress will be recorded across the state,” he concluded. (NAN)