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Katsina to Bar Children Without Birth Certificates from Accessing Healthcare

Katsina to Bar Children Without Birth Certificates from Accessing Healthcare

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has announced his administration’s plans to ban children without birth certificates from accessing healthcare and education in the state.

He said the state government will soon make birth certificates a mandatory requirement for accessing the essential government services.

Radda, who announced this during the formal launch of an e-birth registration exercise at the Continental Event Centre in Katsina yesterday, said the ban will soon be enforced in the state.

He said birth registration certificates will serve as one of the basic requirements for children and adults seeking healthcare, school admissions and employment in the state.

“Very soon, we are going to make the birth registration certificate a necessary requirement for children seeking school admission, healthcare and even employment,” Radda said while addressing the gathering in Hausa language.

He said the decision will enable parents and guardians in the state to avail their children for birth registration for accurate data of the state’s population.

He explained that birth registration is the first legal recognition of a child’s identity and the foundation for accessing education, healthcare, social protection, and civic participation.

Radda lamented that millions of Nigerian children have grown up without the fundamental recognition. “This is not just a systemic failure but a moral deficit we must correct,” the governor.

He reiterated that under his administration, birth registration has become a viable platform and key pillar of child protection and inclusive governance.

The governor directed that the ward and village across the 34 local government areas of the Katsina State will serve as permanent birth registration centres.

“This strategic decision embeds the registration process at the very heart of our communities, ensuring accessibility, cultural acceptance, and long-term sustainability,” he said.

He called on traditional and religious leaders, as well as parents, to support the ongoing birth registration exercise in the state in order to achieve the desired results. 

In his remarks, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, Rahama Farah, said the launch of the e-birth registration has given every child in the state the opportunity to be counted, recognised and given identity from birth.

He said, “We are pleased that a vital opportunity is now being provided to all children in Katsina State to have access to a birth registration system which is sustainable and community based. 

“This is a fulfilment of one of the fundamental rights in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which Nigeria had ratified and now is domesticated into law in many states across Nigeria including Katsina State.”

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Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has announced his administration’s plans to ban children without birth certificates from accessing healthcare and education in the state. He said the

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Peter Obi: Investment in Healthcare Sector Can Raise Life Expectancy in Nigeria

Peter Obi: Investment in Healthcare Sector Can Raise Life Expectancy in Nigeria

.Donates N20m to nursing college, mission hospital 

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka 

Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has said that investment in the healthcare sector can help raise life expectancy in Nigeria.

Obi, who was at College of Nursing Sciences, Amichi, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, yesterday, to make a donation to the college, said Nigeria presently was among the countries with the lowest life expectancy.

He however said that investing in the training of doctors and nurses and also equipping hospitals can help Nigerians live longer, bearing in mind that a country is only productive when its health sector is functioning well.

Obi who presented a cheque of N15 million to the college also addressed the students, encouraging them to take their profession seriously.

He said, “By 2030, we will have a shortage of healthcare workers in Nigeria. Many healthcare workers are leaving Nigeria, but with support, we can train enough nurses and doctors to help Nigeria.

“Life expectancy today in Nigeria is about 55 years, it is among the lowest in the world, but I believe that with investments in healthcare sector, we can raise life expectancy in Nigeria.

“That is why I have been supporting the healthcare sector in Nigeria in my own little way by donating to hospitals and nursing colleges. We are here to support the Bishop (Ephraim Ikeakor) in our own little way, because we know how he started this college and what he has done to bring it to what it is today.

“You as nurses have a job to do, to better the healthcare sector. Don’t just accept that the country is messed up, but do your own part to make it better because everyone has to do their own part.

“I’m here because I consider you very important and I have to do this as my own way to support healthcare in Nigeria. Health is number one measurement of any society. The first measurement of life of any society is life expectancy, and some of us are aware that Nigeria has the least life expectancy in the world.”

Reacting to this, the Anglican Bishop of Nnewi Diocese and Proprietor of the College, Bishop Ephraim Ikeakor, praised Obi for continuously coming back to donate to the college despite his contribution to its establishment when he was governor.

He said Obi’s consistency reflects his sincerity and passion for uplifting the community.

He said, “Obi’s style of politics is different. I have never seen a place where someone contested election and even after election he is still making donations as if it is campaign period. This is a man Nigeria will treasure for a long time.”

The Students’ Union Leader, Onyedikachi Otubaluonye, who spoke on behalf of the students, described the former Anambra governor as a blessing to the school and the wider community.

Obi also visited St. Felix Catholic Hospital, Nnewi, where he donated N5 million, while also reiterating his call for investment in the healthcare sector. 

The former governor commended the commitment of the medical team.

Manager of the hospital, Rev. Fr. Peter Ugochukwu, who recalled how Obi visited 2023, thanked him for coming back again. He said the hospital wants to expand as they have already acquired a permanent site to build a multi-specialty hospital and establish a School of Nursing and Midwifery.

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.Donates N20m to nursing college, mission hospital  David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka  Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has said that investment in the

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Oyedele: Capital Gain Tax Will Not Erode Nigeria’s Competitiveness 

Oyedele: Capital Gain Tax Will Not Erode Nigeria’s Competitiveness 

James Emejo in Abuja

The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the proposed introduction of a 30 per cent tax rate on capital gains from the disposal of shares would not deter foreign investors or  erode the country’s competitiveness.

Addressing investor concerns, he explained that many developed countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa, apply CGT and still remained attractive investment destinations.

He said, “Competitiveness depends on overall returns and risk factors — not the absence of CGT.”

Oyedele also clarified that Nigeria was not tripling CGT for foreign investors, stressing that both local and foreign investors benefit from exemptions based on thresholds and reinvestment. 

He said, “Tax applies only where those thresholds are exceeded without reinvestment. Labelling this as a punitive tax on foreign investors is misleading.”

He pointed out that investors in Nigeria’s capital market have earned over 100 per cent average returns in dollar terms since May 2023, through capital gains, dividends, and currency appreciation.

He added that the ongoing tax reform aims to promote fairness, progressivity, and broaden participation in the capital market. 

He said, “This is an opportunity to attract more investments, especially by retail investors, away from gambling and virtual asset trading.”

In his presentation on impact of CGT on the capital market, he said CGT on Shares lower business risk, increase harmonisation and progressivity.

He said the policy objectives were to reduce burden of tax on business entry or startup especially input VAT on assets. 

This, he said, would also lower cost and enhance operating cash flows particularly lower CIT rate, and no minimum tax on capital.

He said the policy will harmonise with income tax to make CGT progressive similar to the practice in many countries 

This, he further noted, would curb arbitrage loophole by local investors and BEPS by foreign investors.

According to him, the current regime has flat CGT rate of 10 per cent while gains are isolated and taxed, adding that capital losses are not relieved for tax purposes.

He explained that in the new regime, businesses are taxed based on payer’s income band and rate like US, UK, Australia, SA, Ghana, Brazil, among others, as well as taxed on a net of gains and losses.

He said small companies pay zero per cent and individuals  with less than N150 million proceed and  N10 million gains exempted. 

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James Emejo in Abuja The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that the proposed introduction of a 30 per cent tax rate on capital