Facebook has teamed up with Ray-Ban to create smart glasses that can take photos, record video, answer phone calls and play podcasts, extending where Google glasses failed.

“Today we’re excited to launch Ray-Ban Stories: Smart glasses that give you an authentic way to capture photos and video, share your adventures, and listen to music or take phone calls — so you can stay present with friends, family, and the world around you. Starting at $299 USD and available in 20 style combinations, the smart glasses are available for purchase online and in select retail stores in the US as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the UK”, with that Facebook unveiled a new generation of smart glasses which may actually work!

Facebook is hoping that our glasses will replace our smartphones in the near future.

But instead of reaching into my pocket for my iPhone, I tapped the side of my Ray-Ban sunglasses until I heard the click of a shutter. Later, I downloaded the photos that my sunglasses had just taken to my phone.

The process was instant, simple, unobtrusive — and it was powered by Facebook, which has teamed up with Ray-Ban. Their new line of eyewear, called Ray-Ban Stories and unveiled on Thursday, can take photos, record video, answer phone calls and play music and podcasts.

Many in the community have asked me to comment on the decision of the military to establish a naval base in Kano, Nigeria. But before I comment, let me explain what a naval base is. According to Wikipedia, a “ naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock.” Largely, a naval base needs to have water bodies that must “host” warships.

Now – why is Kano a location when we have many locations in Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, etc? Simply, it is the fruit of centralized government and the national demon of converging all wealth in Abuja.  That is the national demon!

No warship will make it to Kano but with Kano being classified as the official base, all the associated CSRs for communities that host these warships will be executed in Kano. We are all adults in Nigeria now, and it is very offensive for us as a people to say it does not matter. The ships will be docked in Rivers, Bayelsa, etc but the Navy will spend community developments in Kano!

If that is not the case, the military can explain! Decisions like this weaken the national spirit of comparative advantages, creating unhealthy relationships. We love Kano, Owerri, Jos, Osogbo, and all cities in our nation. Each must be chosen for national “posts” on pure technical merits; Kano on this one is a WRONG choice – and I want to tell Mr President that he will confuse primary school kids when they write that ‘Kano shares borders with the Atlantic Ocean because it has a naval base”.

As a response to the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s request for the presence of Nigerian Navy in the state, to strengthen the security of the state, the Nigerian Navy has approved the establishment of Kano State Naval Base.

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, disclosed this yesterday in Kano when he paid a courtesy call to the governor at his office.

The CNS is in the state for the Chief of Naval Staff Annual Conference 2021, between September 1 and 4, 2021.

This is a pure offensive poor policy which diminishes a professional institution like the military. As Afghanistan has shown us that military gears alone do not win wars: hearts do. That explains why Taliban overran fellow Afghans, on the “government” side, within days. Nigeria needs to show in deeds and actions of a nation of justice, fairness and equity.

People, I do not believe that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will convert US dollars, Euro and Pounds Sterling in Nigerian bank accounts into Naira as it battles the shortage of foreign currencies in the nation. So, that is a pure rumour, and happily the apex bank has put a statement (see below) that it has no plan to do such.

Yet, if nothing is changed on the framework upon which Nigeria is currently run, I do not rule it out that by 2028, depending on who becomes the next president of Nigeria in 2023, that hitting these accounts would not happen.

Today, there is no need for that as Nigeria has many assets to source for funds including universities which can be privatized or sold!

The statement below.

CBN Categorically Denies, and Strongly Condemns Peddlers of Rumor on Domiciliary Account Holdings,’

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a fake circulation, in social media circles, of a circular with a fake CBN logo curiously dated “13 September 2021”, and purportedly issued by its Trade and Exchange Department to the effect that all Deposit Money Banks, International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and members of the public are to convert domiciliary account holdings into naira.

“We wish to reiterate that the Bank has not contemplated, and will never contemplate, any such line of action. The speculation is a completely false narrative aimed at triggering panic in the foreign exchange market.

It will be recalled that the Bank had previously assured members of the public that there was no plan whatsoever to convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into Naira in order to check purported shortage of availability of the United States dollars.

Operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public are therefore advised to completely disregard these fictitious documents and malicious rumours, and go about their legitimate foreign exchange transactions, as we have no doubt that these rumours
are only aimed at impugning the integrity of the CBN and activating chaos in the system.

The public should note that any circular issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is posted on its website (www.cbn.gov.ng) for the attention of the general public.

We also wish to warn corporate bodies and members of the public against the unauthorized use of the Bank’s logo for any purpose whatsoever. We have drawn to the attention of appropriate authorities to this and culprits will be sanctioned accordingly.”

The statement, which was dated September 11, 2021, was signed by Osita Nwanisobi, Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Value Added Tax (VAT) controversy between states and the federal government has taken a new turn. In a ruling on Friday, the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal temporarily suspended the execution of the judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, stopping the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) from collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Rivers State.

The appellate court specifically ordered parties to the legal dispute to refrain from implementing “the judgment pending the hearing of the motion filed by the FIRS for an order staying the execution of the judgment.

Justice Haruna Tsanami who led the three-member panel ruled that it was for the overriding interest of justice for the parties who submitted themselves before the court not to take further steps that would destroy the res.

“It is hereby ordered that status quo ante belium should be maintained pending the hearing of the motion,” Tsanami said.

Meanwhile, the court has adjourned till September 16 to hear the application by the Lagos state government seeking to be joined in the dispute.

The court also ordered the appellant to file and exchange their processes in the motion for joinder filed by Lagos state just as the respondents were equally given two days to respond.

The ruling came just as Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, signed the Bill of VAT collection into law to give the State a legal backing in its quest to collect the taxes instead of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike, has inaugurated a four-man tax appeal commission with a mandate to deal with “complaints arising from those who do not want to pay their taxes, while also prevailing on those who believe that the tax body is doing what it is not supposed to do.”

The situation has further compounded the controversy, with no party willing to back down, it’s going to be a long legal battle.

The FIRS had, in a circular distributed during the week, urged taxpayers not to panic over the trial judgment that granted Rivers State the right to collect taxes under its jurisdiction.

“The FIRS having lodged, in the Court of Appeal, both an appeal against the decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Rivers State in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/149/2020, Attorney General of Rivers State Vs Federal Inland Revenue Service, and an injunction pending appeal of the said judgment, assures taxpayers that there is no cause for alarm.

“The Federal High Court ruling should not breed any confusion as to the obligations of taxpayers. Taxpayers should continue to comply with the Value Added Tax Act pending the final determination of the appeal.

“Tax payers should continue to honour their tax obligations under the VAT Act. Failure to do this would put them on a collision course with the law. The Service is confident that, given the extant laws, the arguments and case put forward, it will earn a favoured judgment at the appellate court,” the Service said.

With all parties laying a claim of being backed by the law, the winner of the tax legal battle will be determined by how the appellate and Supreme Courts interpret the law. The court had earlier dismissed FIRS’ prayer for stay of execution of the trial judgment.

Benue and Oyo States

Meanwhile, Benue and Oyo states are also evaluating the regulation and would likely follow Rivers and Lagos state if the Supreme Court rules for Rivers State. From governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom.

“I have asked the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to study the law and let me know its implications.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong in embracing the law as long as it conforms with the constitution, whether it affects states positively or negatively.

“I support the governors of Rivers and Lagos States for what they are doing.

“Anything that is in tandem with the rule of law I will accept, but if anyone thinks otherwise the best thing to do is to go to court.

“I heard they are in court and if the case is decided otherwise by the Supreme Court we will accept it,” he said.

The Epic v. Apple legal tussle came to an end on Friday morning, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers issuing a permanent injunction, putting new restrictions on Apple’s App Store rules that had prohibited developers from using external links for payment.

The decision is the result of a fight that’s been brewing for years between Apple and larger developers, particularly in gaming, whose businesses account for a hefty majority — 70%, the judge noted — of App Store revenue.

The ruling reads partly:

Apple Inc. and its officers, agents, servants, employees, and any person in active concert or participation with them (“Apple”), are hereby permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from (i) including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.

Putting a permanent end to what has been described as monopolistic practice by Apple, the ruling said that iOS apps must be allowed to direct users to payment options beyond those offered by Apple. The injunction is scheduled to take effect in 90 days — on December 9th — unless it is enjoined by a higher court.

However, Judge Gonzalez-Rogers sided with Apple in the issue of its contract with Epic, and gave Apple its biggest win of the year. The Judge said that “the court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under either federal or state antitrust laws.” That does not only exonerate Apple from Epic’s allegation, it takes the tech giant off the hook of federal watchdogs who have placed it under antitrust investigations over the iOS Store alleged monopoly.

The ruling was based on the interpretation of the marketplace. The judge rejected both parties’ definition of the marketplace at issue in the case and redefined it. “The relevant market here is digital mobile gaming transactions, not gaming generally and not Apple’s own internal operating systems related to the App Store,” Gonzalez-Rogers wrote.

Based on this market definition, Gonzalez-Rogers explained that “the court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under either federal or state antitrust laws,” she added. “Nonetheless, the trial did show that Apple is engaging in anti-competitive conduct under California’s competition laws.”

But the court ruled that Epic Games was in breach of its contract with Apple when it implemented the alternative payment system in the Fortnite app. It ordered Epic to pay Apple 30% of the $12 million it earned when it introduced its alternative payment system in Fortnite, — a sum of more than $3.5 million.

Apple said the ruling is a victory for the App Store model which has grown over the years through rigorous competition.

“Today the Court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the App Store is not in violation of antitrust law,” an Apple spokesperson said. “As the Court recognized ‘success is not illegal.’ Apple faces rigorous competition in every segment in which we do business, and we believe customers and developers choose us because our products and services are the best in the world. We remain committed to ensuring the App Store is a safe and trusted marketplace that supports a thriving developer community and more than 2.1 million U.S. jobs, and where the rules apply equally to everyone.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted that Fortnite will return to the App Store when and where it can offer in-app payment in “fair competition with Apple in-app payment,” and would pass along the savings to consumers.

“Thanks to everyone who put so much time and effort into the battle over fair competition on digital platforms, and thanks especially to the court for managing a very complex case on a speedy timeline,” he wrote. “We will fight on.”

The dispute between Apple and Epic Games has lasted for years. It took a drastic turn in August 2020, when Epic installed an alternative payment feature to avoid paying the 30% commission Apple has imposed on apps in the iOS App Store. Apple sees the commission as operating cost while Epic sees it as a monopolistic tax.

When Apple responded by removing Fortnite from the app store, Epic filed a legal complaint. However, as The Verge noted, Epic’s lawsuit has triggered inquiries into Apple Store’s activities outside the US, with watchdogs in Japan and South Korea forcing Apple to allow for alternate means of payment in its apps store with new laws.

Although recently, amidst the growing controversy that surrounds Apple’s App Store policies, the smartphone maker has made some changes in attempt to calm nerves; including slashing the 30% commission for apps making less than $1 million yearly, the ruling allowing for external links for payments is likely going to spark a flurry of antitrust inquiries against Apple outside the US.

Shares of gaming companies went up following the ruling on Friday. AppLovin, which owns several game studios saw its shares went up 8.5%, while mobile game developer Zynga rose 6.28%. The shares of Playtika, an Israeli game company with many popular games in the iOS Store recorded a 6.08% rise, while Roblox, a gaming app for kids, jumped 1.77%.