By Matthew Atungwu
The presidency has taken a swipe at the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, over his recent comments criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In a post via X on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said El-Rufai was suffering from “small man syndrome.”
The immediate past governor of Kaduna State had, during an interview on Arise Television, stated that President Tinubu would require a miracle to secure re-election in 2027.
He claimed that a poll conducted by his group across various regions of the country, particularly in the South-East and the North, showed a 91 per cent disapproval rating for Tinubu.
According to him, the disapproval rating in Lagos stands at 78 per cent.
Responding to El-Rufai’s comments, Onanuga cited a remark made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo against El-Rufai in his three-part memoir, My Watch.
“El-Rufai’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological. Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent.
“At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir el-Rufai.
“He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends. I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.
“I shuddered when I heard the story of what he did to his half-brother in the Air Force, who is senior to him in age,” Onanuga posted, quoting an excerpt from Obasanjo’s book.
In the memoir published in 2014, Obasanjo stated that el-Rufai is battling with the “small man syndrome.”
DAILY POST recalls that Obasanjo appointed el-Rufai as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007.
El-Rufai is currently one of the opposition political leaders organising a coalition to unseat Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
In March, El-Rufai resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Tinubu to sign four tax reform bills into law ThursdayPublished on June 25, 2025By Seun Opejobi
President Bola Tinubu will, on Thursday, sign into law four groundbreaking tax reform bills set to transform Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue framework.
The four bills — the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill — were passed by the National Assembly following extensive consultations with various interest groups and stakeholders.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday.
A statement by Onanuga said: “When the new tax laws become operational, they are expected to significantly transform tax administration in the country, leading to increased revenue generation, improved business environment, and a boost in domestic and foreign investments.”
The presidential assent to the bills at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will be witnessed by the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Majority Leader, the House Majority Leader, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and his House counterpart.
Also expected at the ceremony are the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Attorney General of the Federation.
One of the four bills, the Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), aims to consolidate Nigeria’s fragmented tax laws into a harmonised statute.
Onanuga said that by reducing the multiplicity of taxes and eliminating duplication, the bill will enhance the ease of doing business, reduce taxpayer compliance burdens, and create a more predictable fiscal environment.
The second bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, seeks to establish a uniform legal and operational framework for tax administration across the federal, state, and local governments.
The third bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, repeals the existing Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establishes a more autonomous and performance-driven national revenue agency — the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). It defines the NRS’s expanded mandate, including non-tax revenue collection, and outlines mechanisms for transparency, accountability, and efficiency.
The fourth bill, the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, provides for a formal governance structure to facilitate cooperation among revenue authorities at all levels of government. It introduces essential oversight mechanisms, including the establishment of a Tax Appeal Tribunal and an Office of the Tax Ombudsman.
PoliticsTinubu describes coalition as ‘political IDPs’Published on June 25, 2025By Matthew Atungwu
President Bola Tinubu has criticised those leading efforts to form a coalition aimed at unseating him ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The president described them as individuals who have been internally displaced politically.
Tinubu made the statement on Wednesday during a one-day presidential state visit to Nasarawa, where he commissioned several projects.
He called on his supporters to disregard his political opponents, stating that they were, in fact, forming a coalition to unseat themselves.
“Just don’t pay them any attention. They are the political IDPs. Don’t give them a home. The hope is here,” he said.