In the last 12 hours, Edo State’s tax administration featured prominently. The Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) reiterated that it is the sole authority for assessing and collecting state revenue, warning the public against illegal cash collections and stressing that its cashless policy remains the approved method under the Edo State Revenue Administration Law 2012. EIRS also clarified that while haulage-sector levies remain valid, they must be paid through government-approved revenue scratch cards processed via POS terminals. In parallel, EIRS unveiled a new organisational structure aimed at improving revenue generation and operational efficiency, including specialised departments (such as Enforcement and Compliance, Landlord Tax and Stamp Duty, and a Digital Economy/Emerging Taxpayers unit) and a reduction of zonal offices from 14 to eight.
Economic and trade-related coverage in the same window also highlighted the cost of doing business across borders. Aliko Dangote was quoted saying it costs more to ship from Lagos to Accra than from Spain to Lagos, pointing to inefficiencies that raise the cost of intra-African trade and complicate cross-border movement. The same period also carried broader macroeconomic and security-linked economic warnings: an IMF outlook report warned that the Middle East war is expected to slow Africa’s economic growth and worsen cost-of-living pressures, while an INTERPOL-coordinated crackdown reported seizures of USD 15.5 million in unapproved and counterfeit pharmaceuticals across 90 countries.
Beyond Edo and trade, the last 12 hours included regional and sectoral developments with wider relevance. There was reporting on Africa’s health financing research capacity with the launch of a bilingual, open-access health economics journal (English and French) amid declining aid funding, and coverage of Dangote’s stated intention to expand into the power sector with a target of up to 20,000MW—framed as addressing Africa’s electricity constraints (though the evidence provided does not specify location or timeline). Sports and public life also appeared, including South Africa’s push for Formula 1 to return to Africa, with President Ramaphosa expected to attend a grand prix as part of the Kyalami campaign.
Looking slightly further back (12 to 72 hours ago), the coverage shows continuity in themes rather than a single dominant new event. For example, power-sector constraints were again discussed via reporting that national generation remains stuck around 4,500MW–5,000MW, alongside efforts to address transmission and evacuation challenges. In governance and accountability, the Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP) invoked Nigeria’s FOI Act to demand disclosure on Edo flyover projects, including costs, timelines, bidding processes, and financial arrangements—an issue that aligns with the more recent EIRS emphasis on transparency and compliance. Overall, the most concrete, locally grounded developments in the past day were the EIRS enforcement/cashless reminders and its internal restructuring, while the broader regional economic and policy narratives (trade costs, power constraints, and health financing) provide context for why these governance and infrastructure issues matter.
