Author: Lekan Adeyeye

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria says it is expecting that the Dangote refinery will reduce the price of its diesel further to say about N700 per litre. The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, stated this on Wednesday while appreciating the Dangote refinery for reducing the price of diesel from over N1,200 to N1,000. Fashola, in an interview with our correspondent, maintained that the marketers have high expectations that the price of diesel would still go down. According to him, the rebound of the naira against the dollar will bring about an appreciable reduction in the diesel…

THE governor of Ondo State Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been declared the winner of the APC ward primary and the candidate of the party in the coming governorship election in the state. Aiyedatiwa amassed a total of 48,569 votes in the primaries while fellow contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, polled 15,343 votes, with Olusola Oke coming in third position with 14,865 votes. He was declared the winner by the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, in the early hours of Monday, who also noted that the electoral process went ”smoothly” with little skirmishes recorded. ”I…

ACTIVITIES are set to commence for the governorship primary of the All Progressive Congress in Ondo State. The primary which is taking place on Saturday has Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and 15 others including Senator Jimoh Ibrahim in the race for the party’s ticket. Also in the race are Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olusola Oke; former President of Nigerian Medical Association, Professor Francis Faduyile; Dr Funmi Waheed-Adekojo and the APC National Vice Chairman (South-West), Isaacs Kekemeke. Others are Dr Soji Ehinlanwo, Akinfolarin Samuel, Okunjimi Odimayo, Adewale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Edema, General Ohunyeye Olamide, Morayo Lebi, Garvey Iyanjan, Ifeoluwa Oyedele, Judith Omogoroye. For…

A MAGISTRATES’ court in Ikorodu, Lagos State, on Wednesday, remanded a 45-year-old woman, Rayinat Bakare, in prison for allegedly stealing a nine-year-old girl. The Magistrate, Mrs A B Olagbegi-Adelabu, who did not take the plea of Rakiyat, adjourned the case to May 16, while waiting for advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). Earlier, the Lagos State prosecuting counsel, Mrs Olawunmi Osibanjo, told the court that Rakiyat on March 14, at about 6pm on Allynson Street in Ikorodu held the hand of a nine-year-old girl while walking on the road and the girl kept crying. She said, “People who…

THE First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has flagged off the Renewed Hope Initiative Agricultural Support Programme for the South West Zone of Nigeria. According to the First Lady, the Launch is in fulfillment of her promise to continue to promote women, particularly farmers across the Nation. The programme which held simultaneously in three (3) other zones, namely: North Central – Plateau State; North East – Borno State; North West- Kebbi State had 20 women farmers empowered with Five Hundred Thousand naira (N500, 000.00) each in addition to being trained on produce preservation, cultivation and…

POLICE authorities in Oyo State in conjunction with other security agencies have arrested 20 suspects over the invasion of the state government premises in Agodi, Ibadan, on Saturday. Some weapons, ammunition, and ATMS were also recovered from the suspects. “In all, (20) twenty suspects have been arrested in possession of; (3) three pump action guns, (291)two hundred and ninety-one life cartridges, (2) two expended cartridges, (67) sixty-seven cutlasses, (5) five bulletproof vest, (6) six pair of boots, (10) ten megaphone (public address system),(3) three Oodua styles beret caps, (7) seven belts, (11) eleven Oodua Nation army camouflage uniforms, (1) one…

SOME armed intruders laid siege on the Oyo State Government Secretariat early Saturday, attempting to enter the Governor’s Office and the state House of Assembly complex. The reason behind this onslaught is unclear as the secretariat is on break and deserted. An eyewitness account said the men dressed in military camouflage covered their faces with masks and scarfs. According to the eyewitness account, it took the combined effort of policemen on duty at the Governor’s Office, operatives of the South-West Security Network better known as Amotekun, and other security reinforcements to stop the intruders. The intruders were said to have…

RESCUERS are currently combing the murky waters of the Lagos lagoon looking for the bodies of two passengers of a bus who were flung into the lagoon from the top of Third Mainland Bridge on Wednesday morning. The victims were among passengers onboard an LT 18-seater bus involved in an accident on the recently repaired bridge. The accident occurred around around the Adeniji Adele, end of the bridge inward Lagos Island. It was gathered that the driver of the bus was on high speed when it eventually swerved off the road and crashed into the bridge railings. “The bus swerved…

A TRUCK conveying food items was looted by some residents of Ondo state amid the current hardship ravaging the country. This newspaper gathered that the driver of the truck was overpowered after his vehicle developed a mechanical fault at the popular cultural centre junction on Ondo express road. However, remnants of the food items were observed on the roadside when our reporter visited the scene. The fully loaded truck was said to be conveying food items, particularly grains in some cartoons branded in President Bola Tinubu’s name. Several witnesses who confirmed the development to Daily Trust revealed that those who…

A DEPUTY Commissioner of Police (DCP), Gbolahan Olugbemi, has been found dead in his house in Ogbomosho, Oyo State. Olugbemi, who was of the Lagos Police Command, had gone to celebrate the Easter holidays. The senior police officer who was celebrated for his role during the #EndSARS protest died in a mysterious circumstance. The incident has thrown officers attached to Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) into instant mourning. When this newspaper visited FCID office in Lagos, officers were seen in groups of twos and threes discussing the incident. But the police through the FCID spokesperson, ASP Aminat Mayegun, have said…

THE Ogun State Police Command has confirmed an attack by some daredevil armed criminals who looted a commercial bus at Oke Ado Junction, in Ijebu Imushin, along the Ijebu-Ode-Benin Expressway. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed that the incident happened in the early hours of Saturday. The passengers were said to be on their way to the South-East geopolitical zone for Easter celebrations when the hoodlums launched the attack, robbed them and set the bus ablaze. “It happened in Oke Ado junction at Ijebu Mushin. A luxury bus of Mercedes Benz was burnt down. The vehicle was coming…

GUNMEN suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly attacked a Celestial Church in Ogun State, abducting two worshippers identified as Oladapo Seyifunmi and Oluboboye Abiola. The incident occurred at the church located near Oriyarin village, Mowe, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State on Thursday. According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola in a statement on Friday, the perpetrators fled through a thick forest behind the church. The statement reads “Suspected kidnapping: Report at my disposal reveals that on 28/3/2024, unidentified gunmen invaded a Celestial Church around Oriyarin village Mowe and abducted one Oladapo…

THE Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said that his administration would immediately begin the sale of rice to members of the public across the state at half price to cushion the prevalent economic hardship in the country. The governor also noted that the sale of the commodity will begin with public servants across the board, adding that it is the aspiration of his administration to return the purchasing power of public servants. He spoke during the special Iftar (Breaking of Fast) organised for the League of Imams and Alfas in the state at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta,…

TELECOMMUNICATION companies will disconnect more Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) numbers not linked to National Identification Numbers (NIN) on Friday, March 29, 2024, the Nigeria Communications Commission has said. The Director of Public Publicity at the NCC, Reuben Mouka, told this newspaper on a telephone call that that there would be no changes to the deadline for the next phase of disconnection The NCC’s directive for disconnection is being rolled out in stages, with the second phase set for March 29, 2024, continuing as previously announced. The initial phase took place on February 28, 2024. Subsequently, while the third phase is…

AN All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Ondo governorship election Paul Akintelure is dead. The spokesperson of the APC in Ondo State Alex Kalejaye confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation with Channels Television early Tuesday. While the cause of his death is still unknown, Akintelure’s demise came days after the medical doctor turned politician raised an alarm about threats to his life. “Initially, I hope these incidents would dissipate over time, yet regrettably, they have escalated to pose a serious threat to my life,” his spokesman Oladapo Akintelure said in a March 21 statement. “The threats against me…

THE Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has explained how a private company reportedly held on to N32bn paid into its account in 2003 for the supply of three million prepaid metres. According to a statement by the minister’s Special Adviser, Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, on Wednesday, the Federal Government had entered a tripartite agreement with Messrs Ziklagsis Network Limited and Unistar International in 2003 for the supply of three million meters to distribution companies in the country, within three years. The statement indicated that to kick start the project, a revolving metering loan of N32bn was released…

GOODS worth hundreds of millions of Naira were destroyed on Wednesday when an early morning fire razed some shops in the Nnamdi Azikiwe and Docemo section of the Idumota Market in Lagos State. The fire affected three buildings, including two two-storey structures and one three-storey building in the market popularly for clothes, bags and shoes. The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and other emergency service providers have arrived at the scene and firefighting efforts have commenced. “The Fire stations at Ebute Elefun, Ilupeju and Alausa have deployed resources to mitigate the situation effectively as firefighting operations is ongoing,” said…

ABOUT one year and four months after taking over rein of the state, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has moved into the Okefia Government House, Osogbo, the official residence of the governor. Adeleke was sworn in on Sunday, November 27, 2022, and rather than moving into the Government House to live like his predecessors, he chose to return to his private house in Ede, a neigbouring town to Osogbo. Despite criticisms by the opposition All Progressives Congress, Adeleke remained in his private house and sometimes conducted the business of the state from there. He explained that the Government House was…

THE Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, is dead. He was aged 81. Oba Balogun spent two years on the throne of his forefathers, having been presented the Staff of Office by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on March 11, 2022. Confirming his death in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, on Thursday, Makinde said Oba Balogun died Thursday evening at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The governor described the late monarch as a towering figure akin to an Iroko tree. He wrote, “With total submission to the will of God, I announce…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, vowed that Nigeria would survive the current economic hardship even as he took full responsibility for the adverse outcomes of his policy reforms. “Nigeria will survive the current economic challenges. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I requested the job, and I am not complaining about it. I take full responsibility,” said Tinubu when he addressed Afenifere leaders at the residence of Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, stated this in a statement he signed on Wednesday titled, ‘President Tinubu:…