Ondo Electoral Commission Clears 10 Parties For LG Poll

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August 24, 2023

INEC Logo

By Ayodele Oni

Although postponed till next year, preparations continue as the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) announced that 10 political parties have expressed their interest to participate in the Local Government election.

The election, earlier scheduled to hold in December, has been postponed till February 2024.

The Commissioner in charge of Communication, Publicity and ICT, Mr Tunde Adeleye, disclosed this in a statement in Akure.

The Statement noted that a deadline was given for political parties to submit their list of candidates for participation in the Local Government Elections.

Out of all the political parties, 10 have complied with the directive by submitting their candidates’ list to ODIEC.

In addition, the commissioner stated that ODIEC has fulfilled its statutory obligations by publishing the list and personal information of candidates vying for the positions of Councillors.

This information has been pasted in all 18 LGAs at the local government offices of ODIEC, while personal information of contestants vying for positions of Chairman and Vice Chairman have been pasted at ODIEC’s headquarters in Oba Ile.

Adeleye reiterated that ODIEC was committed to conducting free, fair, credible and transparent Local Government elections in Ondo State, while adhering to provisions contained within electoral laws.

“As such, voters were urged to expect a smooth and efficient election process when they head to the polls next year.”

Rat Race Begins For Ondo Guber As Akeredolu’s SSG, Odu, Says Turn Of Woman To Rule Ondo

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Ayodele Oni

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

With 27 years experience in governance, the Secretary to Ondo State Government, Mrs Oladunni Odu has said that she stands best to succeed Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in 2024.

Odu, who has been part of governance in the state, both military and civilian, pointed out that time is ripe for a female governor in Ondo state.

She was Commissioner for Education, Ondo State between 1995 and 1999, Commissioner for Women Affairs (January 1999 to May 1999), chairman, Universal Basic Education Commission, (SUBEB) September 2003 – February, 2009.

The government scribe, who spoke to media correspondent in Akure on Thursday, said women’s leadership qualities would bring about desired change and rapid development because of the family-centric blood that flows in them.

Odu, a trained lawyer, while stressing her unalloyed support to the incumbent Governor, said she remains the best person to build on the “Redeemed Agenda” legacies of Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), having been in and out of governance in the last 27 years.

The first female SSG in the state, who noted that no woman has been elected as governor in the state since the return to democracy in 1999, expressed the confidence that she is the best fit for the governorship position after Akeredolu’s departure under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Let us test a woman. The trailblazing character of Ondo State will start from all of us to convince people, why they should look towards that direction.

“And you are not just talking about anyhow woman, but someone whom you have tried and tested. Somebody who has been around here, somebody who knows her onion, somebody who understands the system.

“Because I am bold to say that of all the people who have come out to be aspirants, non of them is as exposed to governance as myself. I have been around this place, in and out of governance in the last 27 years. So, I know what governance is.

“The men have done very well, I am not disputing that but all I am saying is that we should try women.”

The APC chieftain decried the situation, stressing that several women across generations are doing well and succeeding in their chosen careers.

“A mother, a wife, a sister who has the compassion of motherhood in her. A woman who can’t hear the cry of her baby and turn a deaf ear.

“Somebody who knows her onion, somebody who will lift the state higher, somebody who is accessible, somebody who will be your own person, somebody who will listen to your plights and somebody who will actually work for the good of Ondo state.

“I am so confident that having the first female governor will not be a difficult thing. It depends on the people and their mindsets, the way we talk to people.

“If you as Journalists who have gone far and wide and see what happens in other climes, you keep telling people that it’s high time we make a woman the governor of the state.”

While noting that the gender constitutes an important unit of electoral and political demography, the SSG hailed President Bola Tinubu for aligning with the inclusiveness goal and the 35% affirmation agenda with the appointment of women in his cabinet.

Odu, a former chieftain of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on whose ticket she earned some of her appointments, added that any society that promotes the dignity of women and gives them the opportunity to thrive will experience rapid development.

Ondo: Akure Monarch Orders Closure Of Markets To Celebrate Annual Festival, Lawyer Kicks

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Ayodele Oni

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

Friday has been declared no commercial activities day in Ondo state capital, Akure, as the traditional ruler, observes one of his traditional festivals.

The festival, being celebrated annually by the monarch, caused rift last year following attempt to close down some markets which did not fall within the territory of Akure.

The state government had to intervene and directed traditional rulers to limit their activities within their jurisdiction.

Reactions have been trailing this year’s celebration as people want to know whether the Deji of Akure, Oba Ogunlade sought permission of the state government before ordering markets closure.

A statement on Thursday from the monarch read “The Palace of the Deji & Paramount Ruler of Akure Kingdom wishes to notify the residents of Akure and its environ that all Markets and Shops in Akure will be shut on Friday 25th August, 2023

“The closure became necessary as part of the requirement in observing the age long tradition of the annual Aheregbe Festival. It is important to emphasize that there shall be no trading or opening of shops under any guise during the festival.

“Residents, market women and shop owners are kindly enjoined to comply with this directive. However, only pharmacy shops and patent medicine stores are exempted from the closure of their shops during the festival

“Moreover, the festival will not in any way restrict both human and vehicular movement.”

The statement was signed by Adeyeye Michael, Chief Press Secretary to the Deji of Akure.

In a reaction, an Akure based lawyer, Emmanuel Emodamor noted that the common man, particularly market men and women in Nigeria, are already economically suffocated and gasping for breath.

“They are just struggling to survive on their daily incomes.

For anyone to order the closure of markets and shops in these challenging times, in the name of a festival, which may not add any value to the people, is inhumane and a gross violation of the right to livelihood of our people.

“Most importantly, the ‘directive’ to close all markets and Shops is prima facie, an affront to the well-publicized existing order, directive or resolution of the State Executive Council.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I am a Prince, and I have enormous respect for positive traditions and customs, but not those repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience, or those aggravating the economic calamity of our people.

“I am therefore sure that the people of Ondo State, particularly the residents

of Akure, would need to know whether Your Excellency actually granted

approval to His Royal Majesty, the Deji Of Akure to close markets in Akure and its environs, and/or why such approval (if any) is not limited to the

Obas’ market in line with the extant 24th August, 2022 decision of the State Executive Council.

“If no approval was granted to the highly revered Kabiyesi to ‘order’ the closure of “all markets in Akure and its environs” as contained in the press statement issued by the Palace, then I am calling on Your Excellency to immediately assert the integrity, authority and sovereignty of the State

Government by enforcing the 24th August, 2022 State Executive Council

Resolution on closure of markets during festivals in Ondo State.”

Gas Car Rigmarole, Questions Tinubu Can’t Ignore

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The Source

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August 24, 2023

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By Azu Ishiekwene

It was not meant to be this way. But like a good number of things Nigerian, the story is hardly complete without a twist in the tale. And so it has been for at least three years now with the story of the gas car that was supposed to lessen, if not end, Nigerians’ petrol misery.

Sometime in 2020, state oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (now NNPC Limited), launched what it advertised as the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP). The major objective of the programme, according to NNPC Group CEO, Mele Kyari, was to harvest gas for car fuel. This was in addition to expanding its use for domestic cooking.

At the official launch of the programme on December 1, 2020, Kyari said given how important the project was for the government’s pursuit of cleaner, safer and cheaper energy, NNPC would provide the conversion free of charge to car owners and transporters.

“You bring your car to a location,” he said, “and then we fit in the things you need to call the gas and also to receive the gas into your car. All the one million cars that we promised will be done through a structure that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will put in place to ensure that any Nigerian who has to convert his car will get it done for free.”

Kyari said at the time that outside Abuja, the retrofitting and service centres would be available in 12 other states, adding that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would bear the burden “until the private sector can come in.”

To demonstrate how serious the government was about the programme, NNPC promised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) 100 gas-powered buses, out of which I think 50 or so were delivered.

As surely as big money never fails to follow big talk in conspiracies that often end in heart-breaking scandals, the Central Bank offered N250 billion to “support” the NNPC’s gas car value chain. This “support” fund was announced at least four months before the programme was officially launched.

A statement by the Bank in August 2020 said each beneficiary would get a maximum of N10 billion at between five and nine percent with a one-year/18-month moratorium for 10 years disbursable in the case of small and medium scale enterprises, through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.

All of this was nearly three years ago. As you read this piece, no one is sure how many of the estimated 12million registered cars in Nigeria are gas-powered or how many of the estimated 6.7million of registered commercial vehicles out of the 12m are on gas. The best guess is on the website of NIPCO, a private limited oil and gas company, with a strong Indian presence.

NIPCO claims that it has converted 5600 cars to gas, but the data does not say whether this is the total number of cars converted in the last 19 years since NIPCO started LPG delivery. Or just what type of gas conversions took place – whether LPG-type (liquified petroleum gas, more commonly available); or CNG-type (compressed natural gas, with very few plants available in Nigeria). We also don’t know how many of the 13 service and retrofitting stations which Kyari announced three years ago are ready.

Was the CBN’s N250 billion gas value chain support fund disbursed? If so, how much and what is left of it? Who were the beneficiaries and what have they done with the money? I tried in vain to get the answers. Perhaps the bank or the Ministry of Petroleum Resources can help.

Two years after the NGEP was announced, Businessday published a story entitled, “FG’s autogas policy falls short,” in which the newspaper reported that, “A combination of infrastructure, high cost of gas, lack of proper planning and prevailing harsh economic realities have affected the implementation of the autogas policy.”

It’s ontop of this mess that Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced last week the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) “to revolutionise the transportation landscape in the country, targeting over 11,500 new CNG-enabled vehicles and 55,000 CNG conversion kits for existing PMS-dependent vehicles.”

Ngelale sounded like a repurposed version of CBN’s August 2020 memo, with the warmed-over promises of NNPC. But I’ll come to that.

Again, just as it happened when Kyari promised that one million cars will run on gas and that, for a start, over one dozen service stations across the country will be available to provide support, NNPC has promised that in the short run the new gas project would be supported by NIPCO. Kyari did not say how NIPCO’s infrastructure would meet the demand.

Information on NIPCO’s website as of today claims that Nipcogas – a JV project in which NNPC’s subsidiary Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) owns majority shares – has 15 CNG stations in Benin and is contemplating expansion both in Benin, Edo State; and in Ibafon, Ogun State. But insiders told me that there are only 12 stations in the country as of now, out of which Nipcogas owns 11. How the current infrastructure will convert 11,500 petrol cars to LPG and CNG, much less provide 55,000 conversion kits remains to be seen.

The demons are, however, in plain sight. The same demons that haunted Kyari’s grandiose plan to convert one million cars to autogas, and also turned the CBN’s N250 billion to pork barrel, will return to haunt the “PCNGI revolutionary initiative” enthusiastically announced by Ngelale.

It’s not hard to see why. The things Businessday cited as impediments to the execution of NGEP after its launch have not changed – not the system or the people behind it. If anything, thanks to corruption, they have metastasized, with concerns that at least N90 billion of the N250 billion set aside by the CBN to “support” the gas value chain may have been diverted.

It is also surprising that the government will prioritise CNG over LPG when the latter is not only more readily available, but is also relatively cheaper to convert and maintain. Can we even talk about conversion without data of car owners’ attitude and readiness?

And then there’s the supply problem. A viable gas car service without steady gas supply is a pipedream. Africaoilgasreport.com reported on August 18 that in spite of huge oil and gas assets owned 100 percent by NNPC, which could significantly improve its oil and gas production and evacuation potential, the company prefers to play “the politics of financial engineering.” NNPC has become the successor of the Central Bank in the business of everything.

Also, while the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) said it was still producing in spite of declaring a force majeure in October last year as a result of flooding in the Niger Delta, the company has not vacated the force majeure, raising serious concerns about viable supply.

And why, in any case, does CNG have to become a “presidential initiative?” Are we going to have a presidential initiative on LPG, a presidential initiative on LNG and perhaps a presidential initiative on presidential initiative? The system is broken not because of an absence of a presidential initiative, but because NNPC, its subsidiary NGC, and the refineries that should lead the gas pathway have failed.

If in nearly 50 years of NNPC only about 10.5 percent or roughly four million Nigerian households use cooking gas, how can the government prioritise car gas over households through a presidential initiative salvation army, a purely ad hoc arrangement?

Which serious investors will put down their money in an arrangement that completely ignores the history of past failures and present concerns about mind boggling corruption? And how, by the way, can key institutions such as the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) be left out in any sustainable plan for autogas?

Tinubu has enough problems on his plate. Hugging a special purpose initiative to nowhere will not do him much good. If the government is really keen on gas cars, then he must return to where the rain started beating us.

Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

CBN: What’s JP Morgan’s Interest In Nigeria’s Forex Reserve?

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James Orji

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August 24, 2023

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By Bayo Bernard, Business Editor

The last may not have been heard in the controversy surrounding Nigeria’s foreign reserves. A country’s forex reserve is the total value of its total savings held in foreign currencies.

The magazine reported earlier the claim by JP Morgan, a US-based financial service firm that Nigeria’s net forex is now less than $4 billion.

“We estimate that CBN’s net FX reserves were around $3.7 billion at the end of last year, from US$14.0 billion at end-2021,” the firm said in a report which analysts said unsettled key stakeholders in the nation’s financial sector, including the CBN.

The firm raised the alarm about how the Forex reserves fell to barely $4 billion from $14 billion within two years.

According to key analysts close to the nation’s apex bank, the report rattled the CBN at a time when efforts were being made to address the shortfall in the forex market and depreciation of the naira.

This is even more so after JP Morgan predicted in the report that the market could become more volatile, leading to further depreciation of the naira, except CBN took bold steps to source forex from different areas.

“That report came at the wrong time. For us, it whittles down our effort to stabilize the forex market. It has the potential to create panic, even though normalcy is gradually returning after the $ 3 billion emergency loan oil swap deal with Afriexim Bank,” a source in CBN said on Thursday.

Reacting to the controversy Hassan Mahmud, CBN Director, Monetary Policy Department, CBN, said on an AIT programme that JP Morgan is trying to destabilise the nation Forex market because “they must have their intentions to do that, whether to rouse market sentiments, whether to mislead the public.”

He said the CBN has enough in forex reserve to boost investors’ confidence, adding that fluctuations in forex reserve is not peculiar to Nigeria.

According to him, “That’s not the first time we are seeing people, institutions reeling out numbers; they must have their intentions to do that, whether to rouse market sentiments, whether to mislead the public,” Mahmud said.

“But the central bank has tried as much as possible to be transparent. What I will say about those numbers is that it is just funny in the sense that number one, reserves like any account balance, is a flow; there are changes that go within it at any particular time.

“Two, even if you have outstanding liabilities, you don’t mark the outstanding liabilities to market on a day and say this is your net balance.

“I can have $20 million in my account and I am owing someone maybe $13 million that is supposed to be paid in 2027; you can’t come in 2023 and say if I remove that $13 million, your money is $7 million or you are having $7 million.

“Now, I am not having $7 million, I am having $20 million. Because before I took a facility of $13 million, I know in the next three years, I will get $17 million so I can pay you back.

“But for you to come and tell me that no, your balance is $7 million and you can’t pay back in three years; it’s just putting it out of context.

“I don’t know how they did their calculations and I don’t have any information about that, but we also saw those numbers that came out.

““We have the numbers there. The central bank’s reserves are on our bank net. Yes, the figure you see today may not be exactly to the last decimal point but you have that picture that you are seeing there.

“We have $33bn, there is IMF facility there, the SDR is also there, we have the JP Morgan numbers that you mentioned, we have forwarded, they are all there,” he said.

Following the $3 billion loan agreement between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, and Afriexim Bank last week, keen watchers of the forex market insist that the volatility has reduced, particularly after the naira regained strength to less than N800 to the dollar from almost N950 it was traded in the previous weeks.

However, they insist that the respite provided by the loan could only last for a short time before currency speculators begin to take over the market again once the market begins to experience a shortfall in liquidity.

The CBN’s recently warned currency traders that they are likely to lose their investment as the market stabilizes.

“sooner rather than later, the speculators should be careful because we believe the things we are doing, when they come to fruition may result in significant losses to them,” Acting CBN Governor Folashodun Shonubi said after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa.

Online FG N5 Billion Grant Is Scam – Ekiti Govt Alerts Public

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Ayodele Oni

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

States have advised members of the public to disown a N5 billion Federal Government palliative funds, now circulating in the social media.

The publication from various states have been on the social media advising unsuspecting members of the public to apply for the Federal Government N5 billion grant meant to cushion hardship occasioned by subsidy withdrawal on petrol.

Ekiti State Government clarified on Thursday that it is not aware of such grant either from the State or Federal Government.

Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatubosun in a statement said “it has come to the notice of the Government of Ekiti State that some fraudsters masquerading as agents of the State have placed advertisements in some online platforms asking unsuspecting members of the public to apply for the N5 billion Federal Government palliative funds.

“The Ekiti State Government hereby unequivocally disowns all online and any other form of advertisements requesting for applications to benefit from the palliative funds.

“The good people of the State are therefore advised to ignore all unauthorized advertisements purportedly placed on behalf of the State Government.

“The Government has its official channels of communicating its decisions to the Public. Members of the public are also urged to contact the Office of the State Commissioner for information for clarifications and enquiries.”

Day Light Robbery In Edo: Dare Devil Robbers Attack Military Patrol Van, Kill Soldier, Others Escape With Bullets Wounds

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Ayodele Oni

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

It was like a movie in Benin City when fully armed dare-devil robbers in a day light operation, attacked an army patrol van. They killed a soldier, and carted away sacks of bag believed to be loaded with cash.

Three soldiers were said to be in the military vehicle heading towards Ikpoba-hill axis when the fearless assailants ambushed them at the traffic light along Akpakpava road by First Junction in Benin metropolis.

Shops around the vicinity, which is a major commercial nerve centre of the city were hurriedly locked as people took cover to escape being hit by stray bullet.

It was gathered that the hoodlums drove an unmarked ash-color Toyota Camry car against the traffic and faced the army vehicle as two of the four occupants alighted and opened fire on the soldiers.

Amid the rain of bullets, the three soldiers were said to have abandoned their patrol vehicle and the loaded Ghana-must-go bag and ran to different directions.

It was further gathered that one of the fleeing soldiers was however unlucky. He fell down and died about 84 meters away from the scene of attack, after he was fatally wounded by the assailants’ bullets.

The attackers later grabbed the bag from the military patrol van, dropped it in their operational Toyota Camry car and sped off.

The incident, is a major day light operation, years after the notorious armed robber, Lawrence Anini and his gang members were arrested and executed in Benin.

Spokesman for Edo State Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed the incident.

He said a soldier was killed when hoodlums attacked a military patrol vehicle at the first Junction, Akpakpava Road, Benin City, some minutes past 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

“Edo State Police Command can confirm that a military personnel was killed today (Wednesday) in Benin City.

“A good Nigerian reported the incident at the police station covering that neighbourhood.

“The hoodlums carted away a Ghana-Must-Go bag believed to have been loaded with cash kept inside the army van.

“Since they were in their patrol vehicle, they should be armed. The assailants acted on information. The investigation will unravel all that.”

“Make Public Audited Accounts Of Political Parties”, Lawyer Charges INEC, Threatens Legal Action

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Ayodele Oni

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

An Akure-based legal practitioner, Femi Emodamori, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to make public audited accounts of political parties which participated in this year’s general elections in accordance with law.

In a letter to the electoral umpire, Emodamori pointed out that six months after the elections were concluded, INEC has breached sections of the constitution by its failure to compel political parties to make public their audited accounts.

He stated that INEC has not been alive to its all-important constitutional responsibility of publishing and/or directing the publications of audited accounts of funds and accounts of political parties

“The provisions of the law expressly place responsibility on INEC to examine, audit and publish the annual funds and accounts of political parties for public information.

89 (3), 89 (6) and 89 (8) of the Electoral Act, 2022 specifically mandate every political party to submit a separate audited election expenses to INEC together with an affidavit of its correctness, to be sworn by the Party’s Auditors and Chairman, within six months after the election.

“INEC will make same available for public inspection. The constitutional responsibilities of INEC in this regard are perhaps just as important as conducting elections.

“It is therefore difficult to understand why INEC seems to be timid or lethargic in opening the account books of political parties in Nigeria and/or causing them to open same to the public as stipulated by law.

“I am aware that only one Omoyele Sowore, the presidential aspirant of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the last presidential election, published the incomes and expenses relating to his presidential ambition, although not strictly in accordance with the laws cited above.

“The poser that begs for an answer is, ‘where are the 2023 election related accounts of other political parties, including those mouthing transparency and accountability?’

“We must begin to seriously interrogate party financing, patronage and god-fatherism in Nigeria, if we are truly serious about fighting corruption and deepening political inclusivity, particularly amongst the youths.

“I am not and have never been a politician. But the task of our nation building is too serious to be left for politicians alone. On this premise, I hereby demand that:

“INEC should publish the 2022 audited accounts of all the political parties in Nigeria and/or cause the parties to also publish same within 14 days upon receipt of this letter;

“INEC should kindly make available to me, either in hard or soft copies, the Certified True Copies of the audited 2023 election expenses of all the political parties in Nigeria, in line with Section 89 (3) & (8) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

“Take Notice that if the Commission fails to comply with the above demands, I would, without further notice, invoke the law through the Court to compel the Commission to do that which it seems to be lethargic in doing.”

Umahi Knocks Contractor, Laments Poor Quality Of Work On Abuja-Lokoja Road

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Akinwale Kasali

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August 24, 2023

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By Akinwale Kasali

Newly sworn-in Minister of Works, David Umahi, has expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of work done on the Abuja-Lokoja Road.

The former Ebonyi State Governor, during a meeting with contractors in Abuja on Wednesday, decried the quality of work done at the sites he inspected, including the Abuja-Lokoja Road and Lokoja-Benin Road.

He has, also, threatened to withdraw the job certificate of contractors that left any site in any part of the country.

Umahi said, “I have inspected about eight projects on the Abuja-Lokoja roads and was disappointed with what I saw. How can you collect money to do something and you didn’t do it right? Do you people fear God at all? We must do work for the people instead of ours.

“This last time there was a flood overflow here, they stayed over one week. You know, from my assessment, suppose there is a medical emergency, food supply, petroleum supply, and I think it was causing a food shortage in Abuja.

“So, we should have been able to design this and then use a ramp to raise it in the first place. Believing that tomorrow we will do it. And so, the contractor will not work on this section of the road apart from the bridge that way.

Again, Umahi reiterated the mandate of the President to deliver on the road infrastructure in Nigeria. Therefore, he said, no sacred cow will be pursuing the project to make Nigerian roads motorable.

He stressed further that all contractors should embrace concrete pavement for the construction of Nigerian roads as he argued that the technology offers the roads durability.

Many Trapped As High Rise Storey Building Collapses In Abuja, Two Confirmed Dead

By

Akinwale Kasali

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August 24, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni & Akinwale Kasali

With residents of Abuja, nation’s capital city still gripped by threats of demolition of illegal structures by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesome Wike, a twin -storey building collapsed early Thursday.

The incident happened at Lagos Street, Garki village area of Garki. Many residents are still trapped in the rubble’s.

Early reports claimed that rescue operation was ongoing and that 37 persons had so far been evacuated to Hospital.

It quoted a social media post by one Ikharo Attah, aide to former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello.

Atah, who also posted a video of the tragic incident, said two persons had been confirmed dead.

Another resident, Sunny Njoku, confirmed the incident, but said he did not have details.

“It’s true. I just passed the place now, and I saw many people at the scene. I couldn’t wait because I am rushing to the hospital,” he simply said.