Lagosians groan as trucks continue to block Apapa-Oshodi expressway

Lagos residents are calling on the state and Federal Government to beef up measures in solving the problem of constant gridlock on the entire stretch of the Apapa Oshodi Expressway.

Motorists and commuters who ply Apapa-Oshodi Expressway are lamenting, blaming the gridlock on trucks which have taken over the entire six lanes of the highway; stretching beyond the Isolo area.

The gridlock increased in the last 48 hours when trucks parked on the main expressway, leaving commuters to struggle through the service lane. The situation has led to the breakdown of law and order as commercial bus drivers have resorted to facing oncoming traffic on other lanes.

"The vehicles formed long queues that extended from Mile 2 down to Toyota Bus Stop. I left my office, 6:45 pm and didn't get home until 2:00am," a resident of Festac Town, who plies the road daily said, yesterday.

Other residents have since taken to social media to express their disapproval as they are stuck in traffic for hours, while business owners say their businesses are affected by the gridlock and workers are left stranded in the traffic.

"Our businesses are at risk! Apapa-Oshodi Expressway has been blocked by trailers for days! Clear the trailers!" while Emmanuel Oluwasegu, with the Twitter handle: @evolslove said: "The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, from Mile 2 to Ilasa (maja) is on gridlock! Trailers and tankers everywhere…the risks on our roads are too much.

"Every route that connects Apapa are filled with trailers. Must people die before we do the right thing?"

Buhari has deceived Nigerians –Turaki

A former Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Kabiru Tanimu-Turaki, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of deceiving Nigerians and lacking the quality of a good leader.

Turaki, who spoke at a meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, stated that the Buhari-led administration had lied to Nigerians and failed to deliver on its campaign promises.

The former minister said the PDP had qualified candidates that could rescue Nigeria from hardship

He said, "In 2015, President Buhari made three campaign promises bordering on the economy, insecurity in the North-East and the fight against corruption. But he has totally failed in all these areas

The issue of Boko Haram was the only trouble Nigeria had in 2015, and we all saw that former President Goodluck Jonathan was able to push these insurgents out of Nigeria and that was why the Independent National Electoral Commission was able to conduct elections in all the 774 local government areas of this country.

"Our expectation was that Buhari would end killings because he said within three months into his administration, anything that concerned Boko Haram would end

"Nigeria under former President Jonathan had the fastest growing economy in Africa, but today, the reverse is the case as our economy has become a shadow of itself."

Turaki also stated that the APC-led government, while claiming to fight corruption, was only persecuting PDP members.

Free yourselves from ‘the other room’, OBJ tells women

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday in Ibadan charged Nigerian women to fight for their political and economic relevance instead of accepting to be confined to the other room.

Obasanjo spoke on the topic, 'My understanding of women aspiration in business and politics' at an event organised by Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Nigeria and The American Corner, Ibadan.

At the programme, which was held in support of women's participation in government, political processes and the work place, Obasanjo said it was a huge shame that no woman was among the 50 people that drew the Nigerian constitution. He said he encouraged women to join politics by ensuring that nine women were chosen to serve in his cabinet when he was the president.

He pointed out that Nigeria was ranked far below South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Mauritania among countries that encouraged women in politics.

He said, "No longer should our women allow themselves to be consigned only to the 'other room' and the kitchen. In 2017, according to the United Nations, gender inequality cost Africa $95bn. That is tremendous waste. We cannot continue heaping up waste and expect that we will not maintain our poor record of being the world's poverty headquarters. The starting point is girl child education. Child marriage must be made unlawful."

He said women should make definite efforts to fight for their place in politics and economy, as women and children are usually the direct and indirect victims of poor leadership. He said men would not relinquish their position willingly

Good news as INEC extends voters registration exercise to weekends, public holidays

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday, July 18, announced the inclusion of weekends and public holidays as word days of its personnel in ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

It, however, stated that the extension to those days would commence on Aug. 1 and end on August 17 when the exercise would be suspended until after the 2019 general elections.

This commission disclosed this in statement by its national commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, in Abuja.

The statement said that decision to extend the registration period was reached at commission's meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from all the states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which reviewed the nationwide exercise.

It added that the exercise would also be extended from 9 am to 5 pm daily, instead of the current daily duration of 9 am to 3 pm.

"Against the backdrop of the decision to suspend the exercise from August 17 until after the 2019 general elections, it was resolved that starting from August 1, the CVR exercise will take place between 9 am and 5 pm instead of 9 am - 3 pm as obtains presently.

"It was also resolved that there will also be registration on Saturdays and Sundays as well as public holidays (if any) within the period."

The commission assured Nigerians of its commitment to ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2019, and said that it had reviewed the conduct of Saturday's governorship election in Ekiti.

It also said that it had started preparations for the governorship election Osun scheduled for September 22.

I am guilty as charged, security guard posing as doctor confesses

A fake medical practitioner, Salisu Usman, yesterday, confessed at an Ikeja Magistrate's Court in Lagos that he had been treating patients, posing as a qualified medical doctor.

"I am guilty as charged," Usman, 28, told court.

Consequently, Magistrate B. O. Osunsanmi ordered his remand at the Kirikiri Prisons until July 20 for a review of facts and sentencing.

The defendant, who pleaded for mercy, was found to be a security guard. He resides at Oluwalogbon, Isefun community in Ayobo, near Lagos.

According to the prosecutor, ASP Ezekiel Ayorinde, Usman committed the offence on July 6 at Baden Junction in Ayobo

He said Usman was found with a bag containing medical and surgical equipment without being a qualified medical practitioner.

He said: "The defendant, who parades himself as a medical doctor treats, dispenses, supplies, administers and sells poisonous and dangerous drugs to patients.

"He was found with different types of tablets, syringes, needles, injections and other medical items. But when he was asked to present his certificate or identity card, he could not.

"He confessed that he was not a genuine doctor and was then taken to the police station."

Ayorinde said the offence contravened Section 251(e) (f) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Breaking: Senate declares 2 seats vacant, retains Dariye’s

The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, July 17, declared seats of deceased lawmakers vacant.

The senators - Mustapha Bukar of Katsina North senatorial district and Ali Wakili of Bauchi South senatorial district - died on April 4, 2018 and March 17, 2018, respectively.

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood, said the House of Representatives also declared the seat of late Umar Jibril of Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency vacant.

Speaking at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja, Mahmood added that the Obudu 1 state constituency of Cross River state had also been declared vacant.

He said the by-elections for the vacant seats will be conducted in the next 30 days.

Mahmood said: "In the last few days the commission has received an official declaration of vacancies from the National Assembly in respect of Bauchi south senatorial district, Katsina north senatorial district and the Lokoja federal constituency in Kogi state.

"A similar declaration was made by the Cross River state House of Assembly in respect of Obudu 1 state constituency. Consequently, the commission is set to conduct by-elections to fill the vacancies in the four constituencies which have a total of over two million registered voters spread across 3,355 polling units in 234 wards and 22 local government areas.

"Considering the requirement of the law that such an election should be conducted by the commission within 30 days following the declaration of vacancy, we are planning to conduct all the four elections on the same date in all the four states," he said.

Anambra Social Welfare Ministry begins removal of mentally challenged persons from the streets

The Commissioner For Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs, Lady Ndidi Mezue, has embarked on removal of mentally challenged people from the streets for onward transfer to rehabilitation centers across the state.

 

The relocation team succeeded in rounding up a number of mentally challenged  people from some major streets in Awka Capital Territory.

The few mentally challenged people picked up were relocated to Rehabilitation home at Nteje for treatment.

Bukola Saraki holds closed door meeting with PDP National Chairman, Secondus, Wike, others

Senate President Bukola Saraki and Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, today had a closed door meeting with leaders of the opposition party, PDP.

 

The meeting held at Saraki's country home in Ilorin, Kwara state. Other governors who attended the meeting included Abdufatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Nysome Wike of Rivers State, and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.

 

The meeting was held after the politicians attended a prayer session organised for the late mother of Abubakar Kawu Baraje.

A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, Senator Barnabas Gemade and other prominent political figures were also in attendance at the meeting.

The meeting comes amidst speculations that Saraki and Ortom were planning to defect from the ruling APC to the opposition party, PDP.