The government in Kogi has declared two days of mourning in honour of 23 people killed in a petrol tanker explosion on Wednesday at Felele, along Lokoja-Abuja expressway.
A statement issued on Thursday by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the governor and the government of Kogi State are saddened by the unfortunate incident that claimed many lives in the early hours of Wednesday.
“As a result of the importance placed on the lives of our people, Government has declared a two-day state mourning to honor the departed souls.
“In this time of grief, we urge the people to be deep in sober reflection and stand together for one another to pull out of the agonizing loss.
“Government wishes to reiterate her call on road users to act responsibly in order to avert unfortunate situations that simple care and caution could have averted. Full investigations will also be carried out to determine the causes of the painful incident.
“The Kogi State Government wishes to assure families that lost loved ones and those whose houses were affected of support at this trying moment.
“We also call on relevant Federal Government agencies to provide relief materials to support what the state government shall be providing.
“Our hearts are with the affected families. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Fanwo said in the statement.
A spokesman for the Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation, John Mayaki, on Thursday said reports that his principal asked Governor Godwin Obaseki to return to APC are false.
In a statement forwarded to Channels Television via email, Mayaki suggested such reporting was a continuation of the media’s lack of news verification before publication.
Some news media (not Channels Television) had earlier reported that Ize-Iyamu, in a television broadcast on Wednesday, had made the appeal on Wednesday. However, Mayaki insisted Ize-Iyamu is yet to address the press since the election results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday.
He said the video being referenced was broadcast three months ago. “We warned several times that the media should beware of fabrications from Obaseki and the PDP camp, but they did not listen,” Mayaki said.
“That is why they have reported that the election was free and fair, and that is why they have said our candidate appealed to Obaseki to come back to APC.
“The video in reference is from three months ago, not after the election but doctored by Governor Obaseki media handlers to seek undue legitimacy.” Mayaki also wondered if the media was being sponsored by Governor Obaseki and the PDP, as it seemed implausible that they (the media) actually believed the story.
“Pastor Ize-Iyamu was reported in the stories as speaking from Abuja, but it was the Benin reporters that covered the story. Were the reporters transported to Abuja? Do these media agencies actually believe the stories they carry? Obaseki and the PDP has a way of leaking false news to the media and the media has to be sensitive and professional in receiving these news,” he said.
He also warned that there is a fake Twitter account purporting to belong to Pastor Ize-Iyamu, which has been disseminating false information. He warned the media to avoid it like a plague and verify all their information before passing them on.
“I only wish the media had been more professional during the elections; they were not and what is done is done,” he said.
“They don’t know how violent and anti-democratic it was in several parts of Edo State, including Egor in Benin City, and so they reported that the elections were free and fair. At least, going forward, let them verify all news before passing it on. It is the basic ethic of the profession.”
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), on Wednesday, threatened to jail owners of faulty vehicles and generators that cause air pollution for failure to fix the mechanical problems.
The Director-General of NESREA, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, who stated this in Abuja via the first virtual induction workshop for newly accredited Environmental Consultants, said the owners would also be barred from using the vehicle and generator, or given an option of fine or a combination of jail and fine depending on the gravity of the offense.
He said the agency would monitor emissions from mobile (vehicles) and stationery (generators) sources and ensure that the owners complied with the stipulated environmental guidelines.
While noting that plans were underway to launch the National Vehicular Emission Control Programme (NVECP) and the National Generator Emission Control Programme (NGECP), to address air pollution, he said the agency will not hesitate to deregister and withdraw the license of consultants involved in poor inspection of environmental facilitates across the States.
“Let me use this forum to inform you that environmental consultancy is not an all-comers affair, neither is it a ‘quick-cash carry go’ business.
“Your role is to provide independent, credible and objective verification of information on facilities, with respect to their activities and impact on the environment in line with extant regulations,” he said.
He urged the inductees to be aware of the trend in the environment sector and assist in enforcing the compliance of environmental laws as well as promote good environmental governance in Nigeria.
The DG pointed out that NESREA was ready to partner with them in fulfilling one of its roles as environmental adviser, adding that they should encourage their clients to adopt environmental best practices.
He, however, noted that sensitisation is key to voluntary compliance of environmental laws, promising to facilitate a cleaner and healthier environment for Nigerians in collaboration with stakeholders.
The Federal Government will on Thursday meet again with the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress on the threat by the organised labour to proceed on an indefinite strike and protest over the hike in electricity tariffs and fuel pump price.
The FG is expected to unfold its palliative plans during the parley which would hold at the Banquet hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, disclosed the meeting date in an email on Wednesday.
It read, “The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige will be hosting a meeting with the Organised Labour. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2020, and the venue is the Banquet hall, Presidential Villa, by 3pm.”
The FG and the unions had met penultimate Tuesday but the dialogue ended in a deadlock following the failure of the government to reverse the price increase or offer palliatives to cushion the effects on the workers.
The NLC and TUC subsequently declared strike and protest scheduled to commence from Tuesday.
Both unions said they would collaborate to execute the industrial action for maximum effect.
Rising from a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Executive Council of the NLC comprising the chairpersons of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory endorsed the decision earlier taken by the Central Working Committee of the Congress on the strike last Wednesday.
The CWC had handed down a two-week ultimatum to the FG to reverse the price hike or face industrial action.
The TUC had also mobilized its affiliate members to participate in the proposed civil disobedience.
A Diaspora coalition, Yoruba One Voice, YOV, on Wednesday, said its proposed sensitisation rally slated for October 1 remains sacrosanct, assuring participants of a peaceful rally.
The YOV presently in 176 countries across all the six continents, is the umbrella group of over 300 groups of Yoruba descendants in the world.
The group explained that the self-determination rally tagged:”Oodua Republic” sensitization campaign was designed to draw the attention of the global world to situation and happenings in Nigeria,stressing that the rally would be conducted in line with the global template for the fulfilment of its desire as well the liberation of the Yoruba people in Nigeria.
In a statement by YOV’s Director of Communications, Mr Zacheaus Somorin stated that all arrangements have been concluded to ensure a peaceful rally.
Somorin said: “The rally is to sensitize the world on the need to liberate Yoruba race from the shackles of bondage. We have made our position known to our people in Nigeria. The reason for seeking self-determination as the best means and alternative is to save the nation from impending implosion.
“Nigeria has failed. The country is falling by the day.Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said it recently, Prof.Wole Soyinka also said it, even the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has raised the alarm severally that the country is drifting.
“Similarly, the revered former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, John Onaiyekan, now Archbishop Emeritus, didn’t mince words recently in an interview where he said Nigeria can break up even before 2023 if we continue to be irresponsible and reckless.
“In Nigeria today, life is of no value.
There is raging insecurity, electoral rigging, corruption, nepotism and cruel misgovernance. Nigerians at home are mostly affected. There is a need for us to rise against political enslavement by a section of the country.”
The YOV spokesman also stated that “It is all about our image, it is all about our identity as a member of a nation. This ‘forced marriage’ has not been working.’
“Nigeria will be 60 by October and the truth is that there is nothing to show for it. Nothing except senseless killings, kidnapping, corruption, election rigging occasioned by bad leadership. So, we need to change the narratives. We need to fight against this lawlessness and huge misappropriation of national fortune.”
Somorin, however, urged Yoruba sons and daughters in Nigeria to brace up to the reality of the situation on ground,stressing that the coming event will surely change the narratives of the country.
“The feedback we are getting from the Diaspora indicates that Yoruba in Nigeria is ready for the rally and the campaign for the actualisation of Oodua Republic. The spirit of Yoruba race is high and we are monitoring unfolding events and I am sure we shall achieve the best for our race”, he affirmed.
Health › Kogi Gov't Declares 2-day Mourning For 23 Killed In Felele Tanker Explosion by LosC(op): 2:23pm On Sep 24, 2020*. Modified: 3:08pm On Sep 24, 2020
