Category: General News

Lagos State residents under the aegis of the League of Concerned Lagosians (LCL), have endorsed Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, as its candidate for the 2027 Lagos gubernatorial election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The action is seen as a snub to the son of President Bola Tinubu, who was widely expected to run for the governorship position.

According to Oladipo Wahab, the statement’s author, Dr. Alausa is positioned to continue President Tinubu’s visionary legacy, which has transformed Lagos State.

The group highlighted Dr. Alausa’s impressive background as a Chicago-based medical doctor and his current role as Minister of Education, arguing that his expertise is crucial for realizing Tinubu’s vision for Lagos.

The group said Dr. Alausa the Kidney Care Centre (KCC) in 2004, which has grown to include 17 locations in Illinois and several others across the U.S. He also established the Dialysis Care Centre in Homer, Illinois, in 2014 and has collaborated with numerous medical facilities to address kidney-related diseases.

As Minister of Education, Dr. Alausa has already made reforms, including the abolition of the controversial 18-year age requirement for university admission and a commitment to revamp degree programs to better meet labour market demands.

By Flowerbudnews
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Zubaida Umar, has visited injured victims of Jan. 25 Enugu Tanker Explosion in hospitals within Enugu metropolis.

Umar led top management staff of the Agency from Abuja on the visit to the hospitals.

At National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu, the director-general interracted with the victims, while asking of their general well-being and welfare.

“I pray God that he give you all quick recovery and healing; while I am sure you will soon rejoin your families,” she said.

According to her, I bring you the best wishes and recovery prayer of President Bola Tinubu, NEMA, and millions of Nigeria, who feel saddened about the unfortunate tanker explosion incident.

Earlier, Umar said that the Agency had provided food and non-food items as relief in order to cushion the effect of the incident on the families of the victims,.

She added that items had been handed over to Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for distribution.

The director-general said that the relief food items included 200 bags of rice, cartons of seasoning, 20 cartons of tomatoes paste (25kg) bags, 200 carton of spaghetti, and 20 cartons of vegetable oil (5ltr x 4) among others.

She noted that non-food items are volumes of medicaments and medical consumables meant for all persons affected by the incident following the assessment done by NEMA officials on ground.

Umar appreciated the state government, Enugu State Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, Police, NSCDC, Red Cross, doctors and other health workers as-well-as other first responders that provided vital rescue and help to the victims.

“Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the collective responsibilities of all tiers of
government (i.e. Federal, State and Local governments) to provide support to disaster victims.

“Hence, NEMA is therefore complementing the efforts of the state government by providing relief assistance to the affected persons,” she said.

The director-general noted that the increase cases of tanker fire explosion across the country are not only devastating but also a clog to the wheel of socio-economic progress and development of communities in the country.

She said that emergency challenge emanating from tanker fire explosion called for concerted
efforts on Disaster Risk Management and enhanced collaboration between all emergency reponders at different levels and mandates.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has officially expelled former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, from the party over allegations of anti-party activities.

Aregbesola, who governed Osun State for eight years, had formed a faction within the APC known as The Osun Progressives (TOP), now rebranded as the Omoluabi Caucus.

The group was accused of contributing to the party’s loss in the 2022 governorship election.

On Sunday, the Omoluabi Caucus, in a meeting presided over by Aregbesola, announced its decision to leave the APC, citing the party’s declining popularity in the state.

According to a letter obtained by The Nation from the APC leadership, titled “Allegations of Anti-Party Activities – Conveyance of State Exco Decision to You”, formally communicated Aregbesola’s expulsion, finding him guilty of working against the party’s interests.

“Having carefully considered the findings and recommendations of the Committee, SEC has resolved to accept the recommendation of your immediate expulsion from the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Flowerbudnews

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for intercepting an arms shipment bound for Zamfara State.

The DSS on Tuesday displayed the seized weapons and ammunition to the Governor at the Government House in Gusau.

A statement by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, disclosed that the weapons comprised a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), two machine guns, nine AK47 rifles, two pistols, 19 magazines and more than 1000 live rounds of ammunition.

The statement also noted that the suspected gunrunner was followed by the DSS personnel from Niger Republic and was arrested on the Zurmi/Kauran Namoda highway in Zamfara State.

While examining the weapons, Governor Lawal highlighted the fruitful collaboration between the troops and the Zamfara State government in combating banditry.

“I must praise the troops, the military, the DSS and the police, for successfully executing such a significant arrest,” he said. “I want to emphasize that these successes, along with others in addressing banditry in the state, are a result of the collaboration and support provided by the Zamfara State government to all security forces.

“We will continue to support the troops in whatever way we can to encourage them to keep up the good work.

“It is interesting to know that most of these criminals are indigenes of Zamfara. They’re not foreigners and the arrested individual is not the only one. We have had more over the last few weeks, but this is the only one we are presenting to the public. Such arrests have occurred daily.

“Banditry is declining in Zamfara. We have seen that. I urge the people of Zamfara to give all the necessary support to the troops,” the Governor said.

Lagos:  The Murtala Muhammed Area Command (MMA) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday revealed that the command achieved a milestone of N180.7 billion in revenue generation in 2024.

Comptroller Micheal Awe, Customs Area Controller, MMA, released the scorecard while briefing newsmen in Lagos.
He said the report showcased a comprehensive overview of the command’s performance.

(Comptroller Michael Awe, Customs Area Controller, Muritala Muhammad Area Custom Command)

He added that it also presented its commitment to enforcing the laws and regulations of the service.

Awe said the command facilitated trade and upheld the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

He said that the command surpassed the N179. 73 billion naira revenue target for 2024 by over one billion naira.

He revealed that the command in its relentless pursuit of safeguarding the nation and protecting its citizens against illicit trade, made significant seizures.

Awe listed the items seized to include 21 packages of 225mg tramadol hydrochloride, 50 round 9mm live ammunition, 54 of military hardware and 46 packages of dried sea cucumbers.

“Others are three packages of dried donkey male genitals, 55 pieces of jojel tomahawk semi-automatic rifle, 50 packages of dried Canadian cannabis.
“Also seized are 225 pieces of drones,

250 pieces of turtles, 1 package of pangolin skin, 1package of porcupine, thorns and mineral stones.

“These seized items have a cumulative Duty-Paid Value (DPV) of N10.51 billion and are a testament to the command’s keen commitment to enforcing customs laws and regulations,” he said.

The comptroller stated that the command maintained an open-door policy, engaging with stakeholders, sister agencies, and the media to resolve issues of common interest.

Awe stated that moving forward, the command would continue to innovate, strategise and block loopholes to meet revenue targets.

He restated his commitment in facilitating trade and enforcing Customs’ laws and regulations, while upholding the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.