Around the World
Why Nigeria should start taxing vacant houses – UN
The United Nations (UN) has advised the Nigerian Government to start taxing vacant houses in the country.
The United Nations (UN) has advised the Nigerian Government to start taxing vacant houses in the country.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Adequate Housing, Leilana Farha said there was a need for the Nigerian Government to address housing challenges in the country by imposing vacant home tax on citizens.
Farha expressed concern over human rights crisis presented by poor living conditions in Nigeria’s informal settlements, saying the informal settlements house about 69% of the urban population.
She further stressed that there was an estimated housing shortage of 22 million units in Nigeria.
[READ MORE: 10 Nigerian companies pay a combined N187.9 billion taxes in first half of 2019]
Farha explained that most residents in Nigeria’s ballooning informal settlements live without access to even the most basic services, like clean pipe-borne water, emphasising that the residents lacked security of tenure, forcing them to live in constant fear of being evicted.
Farha’s words: “My 10 days fact findings visit to Nigeria has presented an economic inequality in the country, which has reached an extreme level and is playing itself out clearly in the housing sector.
“At the same time, newly built luxury dwellings are springing up throughout cities and made possible often through the forced eviction of poor communities. These units do not fulfil any housing need, with many remaining vacant as vehicles for money laundering or investment.”
What you should know: Presently, Nigeria’s housing deficit is about 22 million units, and for a country with a population of nearly 200 million people, it will require a minimum of an additional 2 million housing units per annum for 10 years.
[READ ALSO: Tax defaulters: Firms can challenge FIRS in court as deadline approaches]
The Nigerian government, however, estimated that the housing sector would need about $400 billion investment over the next 25-30 years to resolve this deficit. On the other hand, the World Bank said bridging the deficit would cost the country about N59.5 trillion, which further tallies with the estimation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria which puts it at about N56 trillion.
Around the World
Trump to return to social media with his own platform in 2 months
Over 2 months after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook, others, Donald Trump is working on making a return.
Former US President, Donald Trump, will be back on social media in the near future, over 2 months after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook, and others.
This follows plans by the former President to launch his own social media platform within the next 2 or 3 months.
This disclosure was made by Trump’s Senior Adviser, Jason Miller, on Sunday, March 22, 2021, during a chat with Fox News’ #MediaBuzz.
READ: President Biden revokes Trump’s ban for green card applicants in US
What Donald Trump’s Senior Adviser is saying
Jason Miller, who was a spokesman for Trump’s 2020 campaign, told the media network that the former President would soon get back to social media space with a new platform of his own that would completely redefine the game.
Miller, while talking to Fox News, said, “I do think that we’re going to see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here, with his own platform. And this is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media; it’s going to completely redefine the game, and everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what exactly President Trump does.”
Although he did not provide more in terms of details, Miller revealed that Trump had been having high-powered meetings at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, with various teams regarding the venture, and that numerous companies had approached Trump.
Miller said the new platform was going to be big, while also predicting that Trump would draw tens of millions of people.
In case you missed it
- It can be recalled that former President Trump was banned from Twitter after the January 6, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. He was accused of inciting his supporters after he rejected the US Presidential election result which he claimed was a fraud.
- Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing its policy and considering whether leaders should be held to the same rules as other users.
Around the World
Tesla investor sues Elon Musk for causing problems with his tweets
An investor in the US electric car maker, Tesla, has sued the company’s founder, Elon Musk over alleged erratic tweets.
Elon Musk, the controversial multi-billionaire is being sued by an investor in his company. Musk is being accused by the investor of unsettling the markets and exposing his investors to high risk with his “erratic tweets”.
Chase Garrity an investor in the US electric car maker, Tesla, has sued the founder of the company for his erratic Twitter messaging which according to him, has exposed the company to high legal risks and billions in price losses.
The 105-page lawsuit was published in the US court of Delaware and it accuses Musk of violating the settlement negotiated with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018.
READ: Battle of Titans: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos share world’s richest title
The lawsuit also includes the entire Tesla board and its supervisory body for not calling Musk to order.
In May 2020 Musk caused a 14 billion dollar loss in market value on a single trading day with a series of unguarded tweets. He tweeted about Tesla’s market value being too high and how he was going to dispose of all physical assets.
The lawsuit stated that any further unbridled tweet from Musk would have dire consequences for Tesla’s future funding opportunities.
READ: Elon Musk gains $25 billion in a day, as Tesla surges by 20%
What you should know
- Remember Nairametrics posted a story on how Musk tweets once again caused a serious ripple effect in the crypto world. His tweet helped Bitcoin gain $6000. He later invested heavily in Bitcoin.
- Manager Magazine stated that analysts are not comfortable with such a move and view it as some kind of manipulation.
- Musk in April last year posted a joke photo of Tesla going bankrupt. This once again unsettled investors.
- Tesla Management has not released a statement on this fresh lawsuit.
