A bill to abolish the dichotomy and discrimination between Bachelor’s Degree holders and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.

According to the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, the bill sought to replace HND with Bachelor of Tech so that graduates of polytechnic would be able to compete favourably with other university graduates.

The bill, which was sponsored by a member, Fuad Laguda from Lagos State, also emphasised the importance of technical education.

Speaker Abbas said the position taken by all boards of polytechnics in Nigeria is “the abolition of HND and in place of it to have Bachelor of Technology so that at least graduates of polytechnics will be able to compete with those from universities”.

“At the same time, they are calling for hybrid supervision where the degree component of the polytechnic education will be handled by the NUC (National Universities Commission) while the national diploma will continue to be handled by the NBTE (National Board for Technical Education).

“Because of the degree component of this amendment, they felt that the qualification for being rector should also be upgraded to a Ph.D holder at the minimum since you will now be talking about degree programmes, it is only proper for such kind of establishment to have a Ph.D holder as the head of the institution,” he said.

Abbas subjected the bill to a voice vote and the lawmakers approved it to scale second reading.

The chairman, Senate committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, says the Senate will consider viable opinions of all stakeholders in the passage of current Tax Reform Bills .

Senator Musa who stated this during an interview with newsmen in Abuja emphasized the need for Nigerians to be patient for a tax regime that would be beneficial to all and sundry.

He explained that the red chamber would evolve a legislation that is workable in line with international best practices.

Senator Musa told newsmen that president TINUBU needs one trillion dollar economy adding that the proposed Tax regime would outlive every individual including the lawmakers.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has summoned MultiChoice Nigeria to explain its proposed subscription price increase, set to take effect on March 1, 2025.

Exercising its mandate under Sections 32 and 33 of the FCCPA, the FCCPC directed the Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria to attend an investigative hearing at the Commission’s headquarters on Thursday, February 27, 2025.

In a statement, the Director of Corporate Affairs in FCCPC, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu said the action follows MultiChoice’s formal notification of the price adjustment, which raises concerns about recurrent unilateral price hikes, potential market dominance abuse, and perceived anti-competitive practices in the pay-TV industry.

“The FCCPC is deeply concerned that Nigerian consumers continue to face frequent price increases, amid accusations that MultiChoice applies different pricing strategies in other markets, heightening questions about fairness and market abuse and should MultiChoice fail to provide satisfactory explanations or be found in violation of fair market principles, the FCCPC will be left left with no other option than to impose regulatory penalties, sanctions, or other corrective measures to protect Nigerian consumers” He warned

In his words”Furthermore, the FCCPC is engaging the sector regulator and other relevant agencies to ensure fair competition and consumer protection within Nigeria’s broadcasting and digital subscription landscape”.