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Six-hour traffic jam as tanker smashes three cars in Lagos

•Motorists held for six hours in traffic
A fully-loaded diesel tanker tumbled yesterday at Mobil junction close to Anthony bus-Stop along the busy Ikorodu road, spilling its contents.
The accident that occurred few minutes past six in the morning affected three other vehicles.
The driver of the tanker with number plate FKJ 915XD was taken away immediately the accident occurred.
Though, no live lost but officers from Bariga Police Station were seen arresting some people scooping the spilled oil when efforts to drive them away by other security agents failed.
Men of the Lagos Fire Service and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials were quick to report at the scene to contain the situation.
The Nation learnt that the tanker driver was heading towards Ojota before it fell in front of Mutual Trust building.

“The driver was over speeding; nobody can say whether the break failed,” said an eyewitness.
“The road towards Ojota along the Ikorodu is usually free in the morning because many commuters are heading the other way but the driver was over speeding, hence the accident. The head of the vehicle fell in-ward Fadeyi while its body blocked the other way,” he said.
According to him, traffic activities along Anthony were paralised while there was little flow of traffic along the Fadeyi route.
“It took the timely intervention of the LASTMA guys to free the traffic but they did not succeed until 12:30pm, meaning that for over six hours, motorists battled through the traffic to get to their various destinations,” another eyewitness said.
LASTMA Public Relations Officer Bola Ajao appealed to motorists to avoid over speeding, saying that nothing good can be achieved by over speeding.
“Why do we have to killed ourselves all in a bid to out-run other road users or rushing to our destinations. Motorists should avoid hasting while on the road, concentration matters in all we do especially when driving. Thank God no life was lost but the time lost to traffic by other road users cannot be retrieved likewise the damaged vehicles will require a lot of resources to get them back in shape,” she said.
She confirmed that three other cars were involved in the accidents but the owners managed to drive them away.
Meanwhile, another container also fell in front of Hajj Camp near Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.
It caused a huge traffic along the Oshodi-Airport road.

Contractor sues FG over Jonathan’s N9.2bn stoves

The contractor handling the N9.2billion worth of clean cook stoves and wonder bags awarded by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan has dragged the Federal Government to court.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Fatima Mede, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday shortly after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari of the ministry’s activities inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mede said the contractor approached the court to order the government not to terminate the contract following the emergence of the present administration.

While awaiting Buhari’s cabinet

Since his inauguration on May 29, Nigerians have anxiously been waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari to unfold his cabinet that is expected to drive the change mantra of the All Progressives Congress. While some believe that the President is too slow in taking this critical decision, not a few feel that such a crucial assignment should not be done in a hurry in view of the perceived bad shape of things in the country.

Aside from this, what has also been dominating public discourse is whether or not a chunk of the cabinet members would be composed of either politicians or technocrats. Nigerians want to equally know whether the new government, in trying to cut cost, would be able to get the right persons on board without violating the law, which provides that each state of the federation should have at least a minister in the Executive Council of the Federation, as stated in Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Amaechi: fuel subsidy under Jonathan rose from N300b to N1.9tr

•‘Wike afraid Buhari’ll make me a FEC member’

Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has said subsidy payment under former President Goodluck Jonathan rose from N300 billion to N1 trillion without justification.

He said his successor, Nyesom Wike, is jittery that President Muhammadu Buhari would make him a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The ex-governor spoke at a reception organised in his honour in Abuja on Sunday night.

Amaechi noted that since Wike and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state were jittery that his appointment would be the main determinant of the state politics, they have moved to tarnish his image in the eyes of President Buhari, who detests corruption.

He said besides disagreeing with  Jonathan on his management of the economy, “I never insulted him.”

Amaechi explained that he incurred the wrath of Jonathan when he decided to contest for the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The former governor added that Jonathan got angrier with him when he rejected the fraudulent N1.9trillion Petroleum Support Fund (oil subsidy) claim.

Amaechi recalled: “One day I was in a meeting with Mr. President (Jonathan) and the argument was the $1.9trillion for oil subsidy. I told him as the chairman, Governors Forum I will not support it. I said your Excellency, we are already in court on the issue of oil subsidy. Since that day the ex-President abused the hell out of my life.”

According to him, people misconstrued his strict adherence to principles for stubbornness because he disagreed with the former President on the management of the treasury.

He went down memory lane: “I can tell you how my trouble with the former President started. As chairman of Governors’ Forum, the oil subsidy was N300billion under President Obasanjo. Under President Yar’Adua subsidy was N300billion. Six months of president Jonathan oil subsidy rose from N300 to N1.9trillion. Is it that we now doubled our population or bought more machines, began to manufacture things? As chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, I was in a position to get my own share of the N1.9trillion. I chose the path of honesty and truthfulness. You cannot catch me doing such a thing.”

He said some of his colleagues in the forum, including the former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu and the former Jigawa Satate Governor, Sule Lamido were also against Jonathan’s style of leadership but they failed to pullout of the PDP with him and other governors.

Amaechi attributed the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the integrity and popularity of President Buhari, noting that his instincts never ceased to tell him that his party would be victorious.

Being the director general of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation, he hailed his team for their tenacious struggle and success throughout the campaign.

Recalling how a crowd followed their campaign train, especially in the North, he said “it got to a point I became afraid because of the over two million people (crowd) around us in Kano.”

He reassured the electorate that in order not to be voted our of office as the PDP in 2019, “we will not disappoint voters in Jesus name.”

On Wike, he said “may God not give me the kind of ambition of Nyesom Wike; he can sell anybody.”

He said: “Let me tell you what is currently going on in Rivers State. The governor and PDP are afraid of me getting an appointment to the national executive council because that will determine what the politics of Rivers State will be.

“And they know that the current President abhors corruption and the only way they can stop me from getting the appointment is to paint me with corruption. And the people that know me in Rivers State know that I don’t like money. But I am not angry with them. My anger is that in Rivers they know I don’t like money. And I expect them to defend me that I don’t like money.”

The same Wike, according to Amaechi, who used to advise him that merely executing project without wasting money on people would not earn him a second term in office, has sponsored newspapers’ adverts to undermine his reputation.

Amaechi added: “Governor Nyesom Wike has again sponsored one advert in a bid to undermine me. Only God knows that if there is one thing I don’t like, I don’t like money. Anybody close to me knows that I don’t like money. Even Nyesom Wike told me you will not win second term if you don’t use money. So all this wasted projects will not deliver us. And I said let us do it once and for all.”

Those present at the reception were: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Aisha-Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu represented by Mr Dele Alake, Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai, House Leader  Femi Gbajiabiamila, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipreye Silva, among others.

Photos: Cristiano Ronaldo dresses up as a homeless man & pranks Madrid with his football skills

The homeless man walking with that dog is the world's best and one of the richest footballers - Cristiano Ronaldo - but as he walked on the streets of Madrid over the weekend, nobody paid him any attention - because nobody knew it was him. He was disguised in fake beard, hair and fat suit.

Before Buhari probes Jonathan

While we support the intention of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, we are of the opinion that the officials who served in the past administrations of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida up till that of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua should be given the opportunity to return the “excess luggage” that belongs to the state (if any) in their own interest and for reasons of clear conscience towards God and humanity. It is in their own interest because such money that was ill-gotten at the expense of the state or as a result of betrayal of trust on such public officials may result in misfortunes.

To be seen to be fair and just, public officials (both politicians and bureaucrats) who are comfortable multi-millionaires and billionaires by Forbes’ ratings should be encouraged to come forward and donate or better still return to the nation’s coffers whatever they cannot defend through their legitimate earnings, investments or intellectual properties. The public officials who were not known in the business circles before they got appointed or elected into offices should be made to account for the reported millions of dollars in their foreign accounts.

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The same should apply to some self-appointed whistle-blowers in this present administration and in the immediate past administration. The self-appointed roles of these whistle-blowers may be a ploy to divert government’s attention from their own alleged shady deals which could not be hidden from the preying eyes of the international community and social media. No doubt, these whistle-blowers are doing a good job by raising public awareness to where some looted money is hidden. But the fact remains that they too may be having some skeletons in their cupboards when scrutinised.

We are on the same page with President Buhari’s administration for its stance to probe the immediate past administration because of the alleged monumental fraud or reckless looting of the nation’s treasury.

However, in order to free itself of allegations of any form of carrying out a witch-hunt as the opposition is already insinuating, the Federal Government should also beam its searchlight on both current and past public officials and create a window of opportunity for those of them who have some restitution to make by voluntarily returning some “excess luggage” which they are illegally keeping to themselves which can attract misfortunes to them either now or in the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, the Federal Government should busy itself with plugging the loopholes in our economy and also ensure that the managers of our economy and treasuries at various strategic points of revenue generation are men and women of proven integrity and good record who do not develop itching fingers. Otherwise, it may be a case of drums of water being poured into baskets. So, government should seal up all these leaking holes and get good managers before the commencement of its loot- recovery drive.