The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Court saves 11-year-old marriage from collapse

    An Ikorodu Customary Court in Lagos, on Monday, reconciled a couple, Peter Obaze and his wife, Chiamaka, whose 11-year-old marriage was on the verge of collapse.

    Obaze, 47, a marine engineer, had instituted a divorce suit in March, claiming that his wife was not supportive, unproductive and lazy.

    “My wife is too lazy, she became lazy after our first child, I have wanted her to start a business; even his brother gave her money to earn a living but she could not.

    “She always provokes me to make me angry and she does not take good care of me.

    “I am not interested in the marriage anymore; please separate us,” the petitioner, who resides at Oriokuta St., Ogijo in Ikorodu, told the court.

    Chiamaka, 40, a mother of three and a trader, had earlier pleaded with the court for reconciliation, and pledged to mend her ways.

    Read Also: Court grants interim forfeiture of Patience Jonathan’s property

    However, following the intervention of the court, presided over by Mrs Funmi Adeola and the couple’s families, they were reconciled.

    The husband also wrote a withdrawal of case letter to the court and told them that they would work to resolve their differences and reconcile themselves.

    Adeola ordered that Chimaka should sign an undertaking that she would be a good housewife, promise to be productive, supportive and respectful.

    “The undertaking would also indicate that you will now be supportive and also help your husband build a bright future for your children,” she said.

    NAN

  • FRSC blames construction companies for road accidents

    The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has expressed worry over the high rate of accidents at road construction sites in the country.

    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Oyeyemi said that most of the accidents were caused by lack of traffic signs at diversion points in construction areas.

    “We have been having problems with the construction companies, and we have taken this up with the Minister ( Power, Works and Housing ).

    “The major problem is at diversions; we lost 22 people on the Lagos-Ibadan road just two days and 25 people recently.

    “The crash that happened between Bauchi and Kano on Feb. 13, in which school children died, was also at a diversion point in a construction area.

    “I will step up my meeting with the minister to ensure that these construction companies comply with the statutory mandate of ensuring appropriate signage in construction areas,’’ he said.

    However, Oyeyemi said that the Corps had recorded about 70 per cent compliance by commercial vehicle owners with installation of speed limiting device, whose enforcement started on Feb. 1, 2017.

    According to him, most of the local assembly plants had complied with the policy by installing the device in vehicles being produced at the factory.

    He commended the National Automotive Design and Development Council and the Dangote Group for complying with the policy.

    He said, “The only thing remaining now is to get the full buy-in of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, and we are almost at the last stage.

    “The essence of this is to cut down the rate of crashes. Notwithstanding, we have made provision in our budget this year to buy more radar guns and focus on private vehicles.’’

    Read Also: FRSC advises passengers to caution reckless drivers

    Oyeyemi stated that although accidents involving commercial vehicles had dropped, their fatality rates had remained “a bit high’’ due to the large number of people involved.

    “We are having more problems now with the private vehicles than commercial ones. The assault level is more with the private vehicles.

    “That is why we have so many court cases now; we have taken them to court, and will continue to do that.

    “We currently have about 201 mobile courts, but I am writing to the Chief Judges of the states; we want to increase it to about 300 by the end of the year so that mobile courts can be sitting every day.

    “We are not a revenue-generating agency; our aim is to deter. So, if we prosecute you now, and you are jailed for one week, it is enough for me.

    “The fine is not the issue but the attitudinal change for it to be useful to the country,’’ he added.

    NAN

  • Killings: Protests, prayers in Lagos, Benue, Ibadan

    Anger in Akure

    March on Ekiti Govt House

    Pope prays for harmony, peace

    It was a day of prayers and protests yesterday over the killings in some parts of the country.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Supo Ayokunle called for the protests as a wake-up call to the Federal Government that the bloodletting must stop.

    However, there were no protests in the Southeast. The protests in Lagos, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Makurdi, among others, were largely restricted to the Baptist Church. Rev Ayokunle is of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

    Pentecostal churches, which are mostly affiliated to the Pentocostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), did not join the protest.

    In Kano, the state chapter of CAN chose prayers instead of a protest.

    It declared that the killings were the handiwork of mercenaries and urged the Federal Government to treat the killers as terrorists.

    State CAN Chairman Rev. Adeolu Samuel Adeyemo said the prayer was to seek divine intervention to end the killings of innocent Nigerians “after due consultation”

    He said:  ”The alleged herdsmen killers are mercenaries. We demand the Federal Government to declare and treat them as terrorists.

    “The military should confront them as thus to stop the dastardly act of theirs and, as well, demand that Federal Government should look out for their sponsors and bring them to justice.”

    The association praised Governor Aabdullahi Umar Ganduje and the Emir of Kano,  Muhammad Sanusi II, for the peace among residents.

    Rev. Adeyemo said CAN in Kano decided not to protest the killings so as not to give hoodlums the opportunity to hijack it, adding that through prayers, “God in His infinite mercy will intervene and restore peace in those trouble areas”.

    “We demand the need to go the extra mile to free the Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu and all those abducted by the terrorists irrespective of tribe and religion,” he said.

    Christian leaders in Kano gathered at Believers Baptist Church, 6, Zungeru Road where they prayed to God to save Nigerians from killers.

    Rev. Ayokunle led the protest in Ibadan where church members converged on the Oritamefa Baptist Church in the Oyo State capital. The protest was restricted to the church premises.

    Youth groups and women estimated to be about 2,000, walked round the church premises and vicinity. They called on the government to stem the killings.

    The service in the church was also to offer thanksgiving for the success of the just- concluded Annual Baptist Convention, which held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Inscriptions on some of the placards read, “CAN says No to Violent Killings”; “FG, stop this wicked act”; “CAN says No to Religious Killings”; “FG, release Leah Sharibu from Captivity”; “Enough of Bloodshed in Nigeria, CAN rejects FGN poor handling of insecurity”; “Human beings are more valuable than cattle, protect human beings”; “FG be sensitive to families that are mourning”; “No more excuses for mass murder”; and “Enough of unlawful killings in the country”, among others.

    There was also a protest at the Gospel Faith Mission International International (GOFAMINT) Church, Akanran Road in the Ona Ara Local Government Area.

    The protesters sang and condemned the  killings.

    In Lagos, protests were held at the Shepherded Hill Baptist Church, Obanikoro where congregants protested at the Obanikoro Bus Stop, chanting “no more bloodshed”. They carried placards, with inscriptions such as, “CAN rejects poor handling of insecurity”, “Arrest and prosecute wicked killers in Nigeria”, “Federal Government of Nigeria, take full responsibility for security in Nigeria”, “Enough of bloodshed in Nigeria” and “Federal Government ensure immediate release of Leah Sharibu from captivity”.

    Senior Pastor Israel Kristilere said the protest was to make Nigerians realise that the church was no longer find the killings palatable.

    “We want the whole world to know that we are against bloodshed in this country and we are not part of them.”

    He said the government must stand up and ensure security of Nigerians.

    “Government must be responsive and responsible. It is their responsibility to ensure the security of lives and properties and whatever it takes to do this can never be too much. If there is need for more gadgets, they should get it,” Kristilere said.

    He noted that many of those troubling the country were no ghosts, adding that if the government spends billions of dollars to tackle insecurity, it is not too much.

    “We are also demanding the release of Leah Sharibu from the custody of Boko Haram,” he said.

    Kristilere urged the government to be serious with insecurity.

    He prayed for the exposure of all those sponsoring bloodshed, adding that God will destroy all the plans of the wicked ones.

    In Ekiti, the protesters took to the streets from about 2.00 pm. Policemen and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) members watching over them.

    This was aside the protest in the early hours by various individual churches, such as Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT) and the Baptist Church among others.

    Led by the CAN Chairman Rev. Joshua Orikogbe, the protesting Christians marched from the CAN House at Ori Apata on Adebayo Road in Ado-Ekiti to the Adekunle Fajuyi Memorial Park. They ended the protest at the Government House where they sent a letter to President Buhari through Governor Ayo Fayose.

    The CAN chairman said: “We are for peace in Nigeria but it is like we are being pushed to the wall by these wanton killings of Christians and clerics.

    “To us in Ekiti CAN, the only way to sustain peace is for  the government of the day at the federal level to abandon politics for sometime and focus the needed attention on security and safety of lives,” he said.

    Fayose, whose Special Adviser on Religious Matters, Pastor Seyi Olusola, received the protesters, praised them for being peaceful.

    The Ekiti State Baptist Conference President Rev. Yinka Aribasoye has called on the Federal Government to stop the killings.

    He called for the resignation of the Service Chiefs if they could not guarantee the security of ordinary Nigerians.

     

    The presiding pastor of the First Baptist Church, Okeyinmi, Ado-Ekiti, Reverend Kayode Ayinde, enjoined Christians to pray for Shaibu’s safe return.

    Christian faithful in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, wore black and white dresses as a mark of mourning for the murdered Catholic priests and parishioners of St Ignatius Church, Mbalom, Gwer East Local Government Area.

    Two Catholic priests  Rev.  Father Joseph Gor and Rev. Father  Felix Tyolaha, as well as  16 worshippers were killed at  mass  on April 24.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who went round some churches in Makurdi,  reports that most worshippers, regardless of denomination, wore black and white dresses.

    NAN also reports that the worshippers held peaceful protests within their churches to denounce “the acts of barbarism” on innocent citizens.

    They held placards with inscriptions such as  “Enough of the killings”, “We want peace in our state”, “No more bloodshed”, “Lord, what have we done to deserve this?’’  among  others.

    At the NKST church in Iyortyer, Makurdi, the worshippers carried placards, marching peacefully within  the premises.

    Pastor Frederick Ikyaan of   NKST  Church at High Level area of the metropolis said the Christian community was mourning

    “ We are saddened by these killings and we want the world to know our displeasure over these acts,’’ he said.

    Ikyaan said that the dress code was reminiscent of the  tradition of the church in  wearing sack clothes when faced with such calamities.

    “ In the olden days, Christians wore sack clothes when confronted with calamities of monstrous nature but since we no longer have such clothes, we wear black and white to show our grief and anguish.

    “Our concern is to express our displeasure and feelings to the immediate society, our leaders in Nigeria and President Buhari,  without mincing words that we are offended by the ongoing killings in the state and the  country,’’ he said.

    He said that with the killing  of the priests and worshippers,  it was very clear that the invaders were not after the green vegetation but the soul of the state.

    The cleric  said that the killing of the priests had further deepened their faith, adding that no amount of intimidation would stop them from practicing their faith.

    He said that the priests and faithful  killed had become martyrs of the herdsmen invasion in Benue,  adding that they were the seeds  sown by the church.

    Security operatives were patrolling the state capital while the church services were ongoing

    Members of the First Baptist Church in Rivers State staged a peaceful protest within the church’s headquarters.

    A church leader, who declined to be named, said: “It is unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari has not said much since the advent of the herdsmen killing of Christians in Southern Kaduna, parts of the Northeast and recently Benue State.

    ”We are demanding the immediate release of Leah. They want to turn this into a religious war. If the Federal Government does not act now and end this madness, Christians will rise up and defend themselves and Nigeria will be worse than Afghanistan, Mali and  Rwanda,” he said.

     

  • Lagos attracts $43b investments in three years

    The Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, otherwise called Lagos Global, has said the government has received over $43 billion worth of investment proposals within three years.

    The Special Adviser, Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof. Ademola Abass, who spoke at a news briefing to mark the third year in office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, said since the creation of Lagos Global, investors’ confidence had been inspired to believe in Lagos as a place to conduct business and live in.

    “Lagos State as an emerging market is becoming the financial hub and a preferred investment destination in Africa,” he said.

    “The advocacy to arouse investor’s confidence and interest has translated to considerable success that we now experience by all the infrastructural renewal and development that are evident for all to testify.

    “In furtherance of its desire to continue to strategically position the state as a leader in investment promotion in Nigeria, Lagos Global continues to prospect for and pioneer methods for advancing the overall vision of the state to be the preferred investment destination globally. This is achieved by projecting and effectively communicating the investment opportunities that abound in the state to the world.”

    The special adviser said some of the approved projects included deployment of energy savings streetlight, development of Crescent Island, establishment of a detergent manufacturing plant and setting up of LED manufacturing factory.

     

  • NiMet predicts cloudy skies, thundery activities on Saturday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy weather conditions over the central states of the country on Saturday morning.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Friday also predicted day and night temperatures in the range of 34 to 36 and 17 to 27 degrees Celsius respectively.

    It added that there were chances of localised thunderstorms over Lafia, Makurdi, Abuja and Lokoja in the afternoon and evening hours.

    The agency predicted that the southern states would experience cloudy conditions in the morning hours with localised thunderstorms over Lagos and Ijebu-Ode.

    It also predicts isolated thunderstorms over Uyo, Calabar, Port-Harcourt, Eket, Owerri, Umuahia, Benin, Akure and Oshogbo later in the day with day and night temperatures of 30 to 34 and 22 to 24 degrees Celsius.

    According to NiMet, Northern states will experience partly cloudy to cloudy conditions during the forecast period with day and night temperatures in the ranges of 34 to 42 and 24 to 29 degrees Celsius.

    “Partly cloudy to cloudy conditions are expected over the extreme northern cities with prospect of localized thunderstorms over few places in the central down to the southern cities in the next 24 hours,” NiMet predicts.

    NAN

  • 100 students participate as Olympafrica Futbonet berths in Lagos

    As the much anticipated Nigeria Olympic Committee organised ( NOC ) 2018 Olympafrica Futbonet berths in Lagos, over 100 students from schools and football clubs marked the opening ceremony at the Olympafrica ground, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

    The newsmen reports that the International Olympics Committee ( IOC ) initiated competition is meant for the less privileged students, giving them a feel of sports.

    The event which is expected to hold between April 26 and May 6, has in attendance the Project Coordinator Abdulmalik Ibrahim, who said he was impressed with the turnout of the children.

    He said that the annual Nigeria Olympics Committee ( NOC ) sponsored event had given life to many less-privileged children in the society, adding that it gives hope to those who never dreamt of travelling out.

    “This is a competition with a rare opportunity for the less-privileged to have an opportunity to express themselves through sports.

    “The turnout today is impressive being the first day, others will still come when it is their turn to play. It is a wonderful opportunity because the competition is not all about winning.

    “The competition seeks to imbue in them the spirit of brotherliness and fairness, lessons we hold in high esteem during competition. What we want is discipline and fair play.

    “This competition is not about who wins and not winning at all cost; it may interest people to know that the team with the highest goals may not b the eventual winners,’’ he said.

    Abdulmalik said that the competition for school children between the ages of 13 and 15 would seek to foster unity among them.

    He added that the winners and the runners-up from Lagos and Port Harcourt zones would represent Nigeria at the international Olympafrica Futbonet scheduled for Togo this year.

    Read Also: Whither NCE in Lagos schools?

    The participants who spoke to the newsmen expressed their happiness with the competition.

    Adegoke Sulaiman said that he was happy to be among those selected to play in the competition, adding that the selection process was fair enough.

    “I am happy to be here, I think we are just picked randomly and I was surprised when my name was called,’’ he said.

    Olatunji Jokotola said the competition was new to him because of his knowledge of the normal football rules which were not fully practiced during the matches.

    “At first, I did not understand what the competition is all about, but as we played on, I got to know that there are some expectations from us outside the normal football activities.

    “These are what they want us to understand more than just playing the ball, I think it is good enough,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Electricity: Lagos community kicks over mass disconnection

    Some electricity consumers in Baruwa community in Ipaja, Lagos, on Thursday faulted the disconnection of their power supply from the transformer by officials of Ikeja Electric.
    Our reporter in separate interviews in Lagos that disconnecting the entire community from the grid, due to few consumers owing the company, was illegal.
    Mr Kazeem Ibrahim, a resident of Olofintuyi Street, told our reporterthat on April 20, two of the three cables that supply power to their houses were dropped from the transformer.
    “We reported this at the nearby office of Ikeja Electric in order to fix the problem because we were in darkness.
    “But surprisingly, when they came four days later, instead of repairing the faulty transformer, they removed the entire cables that supply the area and shut us down.
    “The company’s workers claimed that some consumers were owing the electricity firm, and if they refuse to pay their due, they will not restore the power supply.
    “It is injustice; I pay my electricity bills regularly. This is not the way to do it.
    “The company knows who pays and who does not pay his bill; they should go after them and not put the entire community in darkness”he said.

    Read Also: Workers hail Akeredolu on reforms in Ondo Electricity Board

    Mr Joseph Philip, another resident of Baruwa, said the seven-day outage had started taking its toll on the community, noting that economic activities in the entire area had been grounded.
    “We are law abiding citizens of Nigeria, but Ikeja Electric is not treating us well.
    “In 2017, our transformer at two-storey area developed fault for nine months.
    “We were in darkness throughout those months, yet Ikeja Electric was bringing electricity bills without power supply.
    “I have written them that I’m not paying for the energy, because there was no reason for the bills they were bringing without supply,” he said.
    The Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr Felix Ofulue, said they would look into the matter and resolve all issues relating to power  supply in the community.

    Ofulue urged the residents not to vandalise the company’s equipment in their area due to the outage.

     

  • NCP chieftain urges youths to be active in electoral process

    A chieftain of the National Conscience Party ( NCP ), Mr John Ntang, on Thursday urged the youth be active  in the electoral process with a view to electing leaders of their choice.

    Ntang gave the advice in an interview with the newsmen in Lagos.

    He said that the youths represent the active population in the country, with a big role to play in strengthening democracy.

    Ntang said that many youths had consistently shunned the process because of lack of faith in it and their frustrations with the system.

    He said the way to change the narrative was not to stand aloof, but to actively participate in the process to realise the change they desired.

    Read Also: Fawehinmi, a champion of participatory democracy — NCP

    “The youths are a very important component of our population, and so, they are very central to the growth of democracy

    .”Yes, they have frustrations with the system, yes they are disenchanted, but nothing will change if they stand aloof.

    “The only way to realise their dreams is for them is to actively participate in the process to elect leaders of their choice,” he said.

    Ntang urged the youth to register for voting and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards for participation in elections.

    He asked the youth to aspire for political offices to have representation in government.

    NAN

  • Simple solutions to an annoying Lagos traffic

    It is no news that Lagos is constantly bedeviled with chronic gridlocks ( traffic ) in our major roads. This sorry traffic situation may further be aggravated if solutions are not urgently proffered, especially with our ever increasing population.

    Many states in Nigeria are also faced and fazed with the myriad traffic problems which seems to constantly flout various remedial measure adopted by different governments over the years – Lagos is no exception.

    Areas like Mushin, Iyana-Ipaja and other urban areas where motorcycles ply frequently, constantly encounter gridlocks as result of drivers (especially motorcyclists) taking one-way, thereby causing serious “go slow”.

    Transiting from one location to another is usually a heck of an experience, especially when passengers and drivers alike have to literally spend the whole day in traffic for what should have ordinarily been a journey of minutes or even a few hours.

    Noise and air pollutions make the already bad and pitiable journey more inconvenient.

    Well, we can all cry blue murder about the annoying situation of vehicular movements in our dear state, however, the writer have been benevolent to give a few suggestions that could prove very invaluable to solving the perennial road congestion problems.

    1. Drivers should be encouraged and if possible forced to become more literate in traffic and road regulations.
    2. Bad and unsafe roads should not be left too long before they fixed and not just patched with inferior materials.
    3. Government should strengthen its agencies more to tackle and enforce some of its laws pertaining traffic laws.
    4. States and federal agencies of government need to collaborate more with respect to traffic regulations.
    5. Cars and vehicles that are no longer road worthy should be either fixed or totally removed from our roads.

    Illegal parking of vehicles (especially trucks and trailers) on our major road should be discouraged and perpetrators punished.

  • Lagos trains on health, safety in Chemical industry

    The Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) has trained key players in the chemical industry on health and safety.

    The LSSC held the one-day training in Lagos on Monday, in collaboration with its safety consultant Didomi Company Ltd.

    The theme was ‘A focus on health and safety in the chemical industry: an education and sensitisation workshop on health and safety in the me mega city.’

    Permanent Secretary,  Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Relations,  Dr Jemilade Longe, said the workshop is an advocacy programme for handlers of chemicals, to educate them on how to handle chemicals safely.

    Longe,  represented by his Director of Admininistartion,  Human Resources,  Basirat Akinsanya, said with the workshop,  all those handling chemicals will be more safety cautious. She said this would enable the state achieve its vision and mission.

    “When individuals are safety councious,  organisations will be safe, the community will be safe and their will be less cases of emergency.”

    She urged participants to take the workshop seriously, noting that life was all about safety and continuous training is essential.

    The Commision’s Director-General, Hakeem Dickson, was represented by Director of Safety, Training and Education,  Adebiyi Adeyinka.

    Dickson said: “The Comision was established to ensure the safety of Lagosians and ensure that all sectors in the state’s economy are carried out in such a way that workers are safe. We are responsible to ensure that everybody in the state is safe irrespective of where they come from.

    “The workshop is about handling chemicals safely and all stakeholders are here to be sensitised on how best to carry out their jobs so that the dangers arising from the handling of chemicals can be reduced.

    “One of our functions at the commission is to conduct safety risk assessment of their storage facility, to know if the chemicals are safely stored.”

    He said the workshop would ensure safe chemical handling in the state, noting that it would prevent spillage of chemicals that could ignite fire.

    Didomi Company Limited,   Chief Executive Officer, Adekola Joseph, said the workshop seeks to sensitise key players in the chemical industry, including the manufacturers,  importers,  dealers and users on the use of chemicals.