COVER
Another Tanker Overturns, Explodes in Niger

From Dan Amasingha, Minna & Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu
What could have turned out to be another major tragedy was averted on Monday as residents of Agaie stayed away from a petrol-laden tanker that overturned.
The incident happened along the Lapai-Agaie road.
Agaie is the headquarters of Agaie Local Government Area in Niger State.The tanker, a third to overturn in two weeks in Niger State was said to be laden with 40,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
Daily Asset gathered that both the driver of the vehicle and his conductor were rushed to the Lapai hospital for treatment as a result of injuries they sustained.
Eyewitness disclosed that the tanker suffered a front tyre burst which made it impossible for the driver to control the vehicle and it burst into flames.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Abdullahi Baba Arah, speaking through the organisation’s Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Ibrahim Hussaini confirmed the incident saying, “The accident happened in the bush.
“Our men are on their way to the point where the accident happened. I will get back to you when they return.”
Niger State Police Command also confirmed the incident in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.
Abiodun said in the statement, “On 27/1/2025 at about 6.30pm, there was a lone fuel tanker accident with fire explosion along Agaie/Lapai road.
“The fuel tanker with Reg. No. DKA 03 A was driven by one Shamsudeen Dayabu of Matazun LGA of Katsina State on transit from Lagos to Kaduna and was loaded with about forty thousand liters of PMS.
“On reaching Kusogbogi area of Agaie, the tanker lost control due to a burst front tyre, and fell by the road into the drainage.
“As a result, the tanker caught fire and affected the driver on the leg and the motor boy was also affected,” Abiodun said.
According to him, the two were taken to a nearby hospital adding that “No life was lost in the incident as the road was temporarily closed.”
He said normalcy was later restored for road users.
In a related incident at Dikko in Gurara Local Government over a week ago not less than 100 people died and 60 others injured with more than 20 houses burnt.
Some of the injured in the explosion are still receiving treatment at the New Wuse and Suleja General hospitals while serious ones were transferred to both the National and Gwagwalada hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
NSEMA has now also confirmed that 14 houses were totally destroyed and 27 others partially in the explosion which took place at Sabon-Pegi in the Mashegu local government on Sunday morning.
The agency said six people were injured in the accident.
Following the incident in Enugu, the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has reiterated his call for the enforcement of anti-spill lock on fuel tankers across the country, saying that disasters arising from tanker-spill have become too frequent.
Mbah restated the call yesterday when he received in his office the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and her team who were in Enugu to flag-off the distribution of emergency intervention items to the victims of the Saturday tanker fire that caused the loss of several lives on the spot and also consumed several vehicles and goods at Ugwu Onyeama along the Enugu-Onitsha federal highway.
“As I stated when I visited the scene, we have disasters that we know that we obviously could not have envisaged or predicted; and when they happen, we trigger all the responses that we have set up.
“But this issue of tanker fire or explosion is becoming too recurrent and I did call on the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to ensure the enforcement of the anti-spill lock. This is because if we have anti-spill lock on those tankers carrying inflammable products like petrol and automotive gas oil, we will then be able to mitigate such disasters because even if the tanker falls, it will still not spill. But what happened in Enugu was a function of the spill of PMS (petrol) that got into other cars, and they got ignited.
“So, I will always want to use this opportunity again to reiterate my call on the law enforcement agencies to ensure strict enforcement of the anti-spill lock on all our petroleum product tankers. It is extremely important,” he stated.
Mrs. Umar, while commiserating with the government and people of Enugu State over the sad incident, commended Mbah for showing leadership in the midst of the disaster.
“I wish to commend you for the timely visit to the scene of the incident and various decisions made, including ensuring that maximum medical attention was given to the survivors.
“Today’s flag-off of relief assistance to the victims of tanker fire is therefore an outcome of the collaborative initiative, which NEMA has put in place to support the population at risk. It is the collective responsibility of all tiers of government to provide support to disaster victims; hence, NEMA is therefore complementing the efforts of the state government,” she said.
She announced a donation of relief materials consisting of 200 25kg-bags of Rice, 200 cartons of spaghetti, 20 cartons of five-litre vegetable oil, 20 cartons of seasoning and 20 cartons of tomatoes paste and medicaments and medical consumables to persons affected and impacted by the tanker fire explosion in Enugu State.
The DG also added her voice to the alarm over the increasing rate of tanker fire in various parts of the country.
“The increasing cases of tanker fire explosion across Nigeria are not only devastating, but also a clog on the wheel of progress and economic development of our communities. Such incidents have negatively impacted lives, property, the environment, and have a grave potential of slowing down our developmental strides,” the DG concluded.
COVER
Atiku Re-echoes Coalition Move Towards 2027, Confident of Success

By David Torough, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed plans for a major political coalition involving the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP) to confront what he described as the ‘incompetent and inefficient’ government of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku made the announcement, while addressing a delegation of stakeholders from the Kogi East Senatorial Zone, led by former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Simon Achuba, in Abuja. He said he was deeply concerned over the country’s worsening security crisis, blaming the Tinubu administration for its lack of political will to address the issue.Atiku recounted his experience as Vice President during the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency, highlighting how decisive leadership under his administration had temporarily quelled the threat.He stated, “How can leaders remain indifferent while their citizens are being killed? Such apathy is the height of irresponsibility for any political leader, anywhere.“I hold our current leadership accountable for the widespread insecurity plaguing our nation. There is a lack of political will.“Let me remind you of when Boko Haram first emerged in 2002, during our time in office. The president summoned me and asked, ‘Mr Vice President, what should we do about this?’ It began in Yobe. I advised him to call the service chiefs and set a clear deadline: if they couldn’t quell the insurgency, they should resign.“The president summoned the service chiefs, I was present, and issued firm orders. Within weeks, the insurgents in Yobe were subdued, and the threat did not resurface until after we left office.”Atiku also criticized the government’s under-policing strategy, suggesting that unemployed graduates be recruited into the police force to address the security manpower deficit.“We are under-policed. There are not enough police officers in this country, while many educated individuals remain unemployed. Why not recruit them into the police force?” he asked.He emphasized the need for a united front against the current administration, stating, “We are forming a coalition, all major political parties, including the APC, the PDP, and the Labour Party, are involved. This is the only way forward to confront such an incompetent and inefficient government. I assure you of my understanding and full support.”Simon Achuba, who led the delegation, echoed Atiku’s concerns, lamenting the rampant violence, kidnappings, and destruction of communities in the North.He accused the federal government of failing in its constitutional duty to ensure peace and security, urging northern leaders to step up and foster unity within the region.“Unfortunately, the government is doing little to alleviate this crisis, and it is their responsibility, sir. It is the government’s duty to ensure peace and order in our communities.“Yet, in a situation where the government fails to take adequate action, I believe, we believe, that northern leadership must step up,” Achuba said, calling for internal healing and brotherhood among northerners.COVER
National Census Long Overdue, Now Embarrassment, says Akpabio

By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has said that Nigeria was long overdue for a national census, adding that the exercise would assist the country in national planning.Akpabio made the remarks while playing host to members and management of the National Population Commission(NPC) who visited him in his office to update him on the preparation for the next Census for the country.
Akpabio told his guests: “I don’t want to call it a national disgrace but can I say it’s a national embarrassment that even Nigerians who go outside to represent us in different fora do not know the number of Nigerians. ”Sometimes you will go to some places and they will say 250 million Nigerians. At another place, they will say you people are over 270 million. Some African countries think we are over 300 million.”If you go to places where they are holding retreat now, they are now shrinking from 250 million to 220 million. I think it’s time to bring that confusion to an end.”Any country that fails to know its population has already started to fail in its planning. You cannot truly plan for the future if you don’t know the number of mouths you want to feed. You do not know the number of children that you want to put in schools. You can’t know the number of classroom blocks you will build.”We must plan. Any country that does not plan for its future has already accepted failure. We will be failing the future generation of Nigerians if we do not begin to plan for the future and start the planning of this Census. This Census is important so that we know how many people we are planning for.”Akpabio assured members of the NPC that the National Assembly would support the Commission to succeed.”It is very important that we support you. The National Assembly will support you to succeed. I have no doubt, with the calibre of men and women that I have seen here, that the task that Mr President has given to you, once the proclamation is done, you will rise to the occasion. And I know that the National Assembly, the Senate in particular, will stand by you all the way,” he said.Earlier, the NPC chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra who led the delegation said the visit was to keep the Senate President abreast of the stage of preparation and seek continued support of the National Assembly for the next Census.”We cannot conduct this Census without your support. So we will continue to count on your support and we want to make Nigerians proud by conducting a very thorough Census that will yield a lot of data that will assist in planning policy formulation and tracking our development,” Kwarra said.COVER
June 12: Pay Abiola Family N45bn Debt, Lamido Tells Tinubu

By David Torough, Abuja
Former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido has called on President Bola Tinubu to show courage by closing the chapter of June 12 once and for all.According to him, the payment of the N45 billion debt owed to the family of the late presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, would serve as a symbolic and moral closure to the June 12 struggle and Abiola’s unjust treatment following the annulment of the election, widely believed to have been won by the late business mogul.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs made the call while delivering his closing remarks at the launch of his autobiography, “Being True to Myself,” held yesterday in Abuja.“When (General) Murtala (Muhammed) died, Abiola came in with a claim that he was owed, I think, about N45bn for contracts executed by International Telephone and Telecommunication for the Ministry of Communications. The military high command at that time said no.“He went around the Emirs in the North to lobby, and the Emirs asked that they (the military) should please pay the money. They (the military) said they annulled the June 12 elections because if they made him President, he would take his money, and the country would become bankrupt. Those who were close to Abacha should know this because Abacha was then one of the big shots; they were all aware.”“Before I end my remarks, I want to appeal to President Tinubu to finally close the chapter of June 12. In his book, General Ibrahim Babangida acknowledged that Abiola won the election. When I visited him, he also confirmed that Abiola is owed N45 billion. He was doubly punished: first, denied the presidency; second, denied what is owed to him.”Lamido urged the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris Malagi, who represented President Tinubu at the event, to deliver the message to the President.“Please tell the President to pay the Abiola family the N45 billion. Once this is done, the June 12 chapter will be closed. It is very important,” he stated.