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The Senate on Thursday directed the Federal Ministry of Education to build and maintain for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria, an e-validation portal, to enable employers and relevant authorities or organization within and outside Nigeria, to verify and validate academic result/certificate obtained from tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Starnews Nigeria reports that the decision was sequel to a motion by Senator Nicholas Tofowomo, the lawmaker representing Ondo South Senatorial District at the red chamber with the title: ”the urgent need to compel all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to subscribe to e-validation of results portal so that employers and relevant organisations within and outside Nigeria can verify the results of Nigerian graduates.

Senator Tofowomo noted that the use of fake results/certificates by Nigerians to work in the Ministry, Department, and Agency (MDA’s) and private organisations, and the use of same, to run for elective offices in Nigeria, is very disturbing and embarrassing.

The motion partly reads: ”Note that in Nigeria today, many unqualified and dubious people are riding to the corridor of power with fake certificate results even when the minimum qualification to run for the highest office of the land is a school certificate.”

”That suspected corrupt tertiary institutions’ personnel are aiding and abetting this evil menace which has become a source of embarrassment to Nigeria in the comity of nations.”

”More concerned that Thisday Newspaper, on December 4, 2019, quoted Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, the Executive Secretary of NUC that about 100 fake professors were uncovered in our higher institutions.”

After presentation, the motion was seconded by Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers West) with little amendments and the Senate resolved as follows:

i. THAT the Federal Ministry of Education should build and maintain for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria, an E-validation portal, to enable employers and relevant authorities or organization within and outside Nigeria, to verify and validate academic result/certificate obtained from tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

ii. THAT the Federal Ministry of Education should compel all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to subscribe to the E-validation result portal proposed in the (1) above, like the WAEC, NECO and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) portals to verify, authenticate and validates results/certificates obtained from tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

iii. THAT all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and all employers of labour to use the portal as proposed in (1) above to check, verify and authenticate academic results/certificates brought before them in the course of employment/recruitment into respective offices.

Speaking with Starnews Nigeria in a telephone interview, the Ondo South Senator said the chain of fake degrees and school certificates being paraded by Nigerians in the political sector, ministry and industrial sectors respectively can not be overemphasised which hence his reason for the motion.

”Just as we have fake professors, so also we have fake lawyers, fake medical doctors, fake engineers and many others parading themselves with fake results.

”It is a recurrence national malaise because of the poor database in our institutions and lack of e- validation of result portal across our tertiary institutions. This is why I think this motion is urgently needed as a matter of public importance, Senator Tofowomo told Starnews Nigeria correspondent on phone.

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THE 2020 Finance Bill seeking to reduce import levy on buses, tractors and other motor vehicles has passed first and second reading at the senate. The proposed law passed first and second reading yesterday, after the senators gave it a special consideration.

A letter by President Muhammadu Buhari asking the National Assembly to pass the bill was only read on the floors of the House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday.

Normally, when a bill is read for the first time, a day is fixed to debate the general principles of the legislation after which it will be passed for second reading.

But speaking in his lead debate at the Senate yesterday, Senate leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, All Progressives Congress, APC, Kebbi North, said special consideration should be given to the bill because of its importance to the economy. While leading his colleagues to debate the bill, Abdullahi said the legislation was seeking to provide fiscal relief for taxpayers by reducing the applicable minimum tax rate for two consecutive years of assessment.

He said the bill was also seeking to amend the Procurement Act to implement key procurement reforms previously proposed by the National Assembly in 2019.

The leader said: “Section 4 of the VAT Act has been amended by increasing the value added tax payable by consumers from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent. Section 19 increased the penalty payable by a taxable person for non-remittance within the specified period from 5 per cent to 10 per cent

“Under section 28, the penalty for failure to give notice of change of address or permanent cessation of business was increased from N 5,000 to N 50,000 in the first month and N25,000 in subsequent months.

‘’There is a new section 8 of the VAT Act to cater for the registration of a taxable person upon commencement of business. The penalty for failure to register has been increased from N10, 000 to N50, 000 in the first month and from N 5,000 to N 25, 000 in the subsequent months. ‘’However, the time within which a taxable person is required to register with the service is not specified under the new law as the law simply hinged the time ‘upon commencement of business.’ This is somehow ambiguous and may be subject for court’s interpretation.

“The new section 15 of VAT introduces a threshold for VAT compliance. Thus companies with turnover of N25,000,000. 00 or more shall render their tax on or before the 2lst of every month.

“Essentially the bill has six strategic objectives thus: Adopt appropriate counter-cyclical fiscal policies to respond to the economic and revenue challenges precipitated by the decline in international oil prices, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the economy

“Reform extant Fiscal Policies to prioritize job creation, economic growth, socio-economic development, domestic revenue mobilization, as well as to foster closer coordination with Monetary and Trade Policies;

“Provide fiscal relief for taxpayers by reducing the applicable minimum tax rate for two (2) consecutive years of assessment, as well as reforming the conunencement and cessation rules for small businesses;

“Propose measures to fund the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Pandemic response and introduce provisions to enhance the recovery of corporate donations towards responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as any similar crises in the future;

“Amend certain aspects of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, to align this Act with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as to enhance fiscal efficiencies by controlling the cost-to-revenue ratios of key State and Government Owned Enterprises; and

“Amend the Public Procurement Act, to implement key procurement reforms previously proposed by the National Assembly, in 2019, to extend the scope of the Act to the Federal Iudiciary and Legislature, accelerate procurement processes, increase mobilization fee thresholds and provide for essential eprocurement reforms. “As such, the 2021 Appropriation Bill is based on the provisions of this Bill. The additional revenues will be used to fund health, education and infrastructure programmes.”