Folarin Kehinde

A fresh graduate of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Miss Ezekiel Mary Ogechi was on Tuesday, crushed by a fast moving tanker in front of the institution.

Ogechi, who studied accounting in the Polytechnic, came to the school to carry out academic clearance, in preparation to go for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, but met her tragic end.

It was gathered that after carrying out the clearance, she exchanged pleasantries with her classmates, expressing joy that she would soon be mobilized for the NYSC.

The late student was said to have made distinction in accounting and was seen as a shining light in her department.

It was learnt that she already received a scholarship from an organization to do a post-graduate course.

“Unfortunately, she was hit by a tricycle while trying to cross to the other side of the road; before she could get up, she was then crushed by a fast moving truck,” a source disclosed.

On realizing that Oge, as she was fondly called, was lying dead under the truck, infuriated students of the Polytechnic mobilized for a protest.

“The management of the Abia State Polytechnic and the Students Union Government of the institution saved the day as the angry students were begged to calm down,” the source further stated.

No statement had been issued by the Polytechnic about the development as of the time of filing this report.

The chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Ekiti State, Paul Omotosho, is dead.

It was gathered that the APC chairman died in the early hours of Wednesday after battling an undisclosed ailment.

Recall that Omotosho was kidnapped in 2023 along Imesi-Ekiti in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State and released in July 2023.

It was gathered that the APC chairman had not been feeling well since he was freed by his abductors.

Confirming his death, the publicity secretary of the party, Segun Dipe, said, “It is true that he is dead but I can’t confirm to you the cause of the death.”

A protest by the members of the Truck Drivers Association in Etsako West Local Government of Edo State left many road users stranded on Tuesday.

The drivers were said to have barricaded the busy Benin-Auchi-Abuja road making it impossible for vehicles to proceed to their various destinations.

The protesting drivers barricaded the Jattu junction of the highway with their trucks over the alleged delay in commencing the reconstruction of the road by the federal government.

The blockage of the road resulted in a long queue of vehicles stretching from Auchi to the Agbede axis of the road.

The barricade impeded the movement of vehicles on the highway as motorists moving towards the South-South, South East and North were not able to access the road.

The protest, organised by a group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Edo State, was to draw the attention of the federal government to the deplorable condition of the roads.

Senators, on Tuesday, experienced a blackout as they waited for electricity to be restored to the National Assembly complex before the commencement of sitting.

A video revealing the red chamber in partial darkness circulated on social media, drawing reactions from netizens.

According to Channels TV, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, later commenced plenary after power was restored some minutes later.

Akpabio apologised for the outage and the heat in the Chamber, disclosing that about nine offices still experienced outage as work was ongoing to rectify the situation.

Commenting about the video on X, a user, #sweetheartadecx, wrote, “Breakfast na National cake. They should also feel what Nigerians are passing through.”

Another user, #KinginglyGeorge wrote, “#aedcelectricity if they haven’t paid their bills do not restore anything… they should go home.”

Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram have suffered massive glitch with many users unable to gain access to their accounts.

Leading Reporters is yet to ascertain if the issue is peculiar to only Nigerian users.

Meta or Facebook had not come out with a reason or statement behind the outage as of the time of filing this report.

Many users initially feared their accounts were hacked, with fruitless efforts to reset passwords.

This is not the first time a Meta-owned platform has faced issues.

Facebook suffered a global outage in 2022, making many unable to watch videos or send messages.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has blamed the current economic hardship being faced by Nigerians on the last administration led by Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor alleged that Buhari supervised the printing and sharing of about N30 trillion.

Mutfwang stated this during the swearing-in of 22 Special Advisers and heads of government agencies at the Government House in Jos on Monday.

Mutfwang said Buhari left the country’s economy in terrible shape for his successor, President Tinubu.

“We are at a very difficult juncture in the history of this country and I’m an advocate that after the election you forget politics and face governance,” Mutfwang said.

“And even though the Federal Government is being led by a party other than my own, I owe you the duty to tell Nigerians the truth that this government inherited a worse situation than 1999.

“This government inherited an economy where we simply printed money up to the tune of N30tn and shared.

“This government inherited an economy where the crude oil we’re yet to take out of the ground had been sold in advance.

“So, when you’re talking about the fall of the naira, it’s not rocket science. We sold our future under the last administration.

“No wonder you’re hearing of riots today, people intercepting food on the way. We are lucky on the plateau that perhaps we have more food than many other states.

“And I pray that the time will not come on the Plateau that we will see this kind of riot for food, but it means we must roll up our sleeves and get to work.

“And that is why, for us as a government, when we announced one of the positions that talked about food security, people were laughing but it is a serious issue.”

The governor announced plans by his administration to set up a special agro-processing zone in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area in partnership with the African Development Bank to the tune of $300 million.

He called on the new appointees to brace up for the challenge to enable his administration to reverse the ugly situation for the good of the people.

“And to tell you that some of the appointees, I don’t know them, but because we want to get things done, we’re looking for the right people,” he said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted visa restrictions on Nigerians wishing to visit Dubai after two years of diplomatic row.

In a statement on Tuesday, the UAE Embassy said a new verification process has been introduced for Nigerian visa applications.

The statement noted that the decision was based on shared commitment to strengthen diplomatic ties, enhance cultural exchanges, foster opportunities for social and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Details shortly…