Headlines

Former US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he is safe after a second assassination attempt on his life on Sunday.

The incident occurred less than two months after he was hit by a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July .

According to Trump’s campaign team, gunshots were heard near the former president’s vicinity at Palm Beach Golf Club, Florida.

Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, released a statement saying, “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity.

No additional details are available at this time”.

Trump also issued a statement saying he is well and safe, and vowed never to surrender, which appears to be a message directed at his detractors ahead of the US presidential election in November.

Trump is contesting the election against incumbent US Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic party.

In July, a 20-year-old, Matthew Crooks, from Pennsylvania, shot a bullet during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, which the former president narrowly escaped.

Trump’s ear was grazed by the bullet during the incident, which tragically led to the death of one rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, and injuries to two others.

Fortunately, Secret Service agents subdued the shooter after he opened fire at the former president.

The suspect of the shooting has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, who has been arrested by officials and the attack is under investigation.

Routh reportedly dropped his weapon and fled in an SUV and was later taken into custody in a neighbouring county, authorities told AP, His motive is unclear.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has revealed that it purchased petrol at N898 per litre from the Dangote Refinery, contradicting earlier claims of a lower price.

In a statement issued to Daily Trust on Sunday, the Chief Spokesperson of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, clarified that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, was significantly higher than previously reported figures.

“We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at ₦760 per litre is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was ₦898 per litre,” Soneye stated.

The NNPCL had mobilized approximately 300 trucks to the Dangote Refinery’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity in Lagos. Loading operations commenced on Sunday, with over 70 trucks having been loaded by the time of the report.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had announced that NNPCL would be the sole off-taker of refined petrol from Dangote Refinery.

At the Technical Sub-Committee meeting on the sale of crude oil to local refineries in Naira, on Friday, the Finance Minister who was represented by Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), had said diesel from the Dangote Refinery would be sold in Naira to any interested off-taker, while PMS would only be sold to NNPCL, which will then sell to various marketers.

He announced the completion of all agreements and modalities for the implementation of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval on the sale of crude to local refineries in Naira and corresponding purchase of petroleum products in Naira.

Since then, the implementation committee chaired by the Hon. Minister of Finance and the technical committee have worked intensely with NNPCL and Dangote Refinery to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of the FEC approval.

“I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote Refinery will commence on Sunday 15th September. From 1st October, NNPC will commence the supply of about 385kbpd of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery to be paid for in Naira.

“In return, the Dangote Refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market to be paid for in Naira. Diesel will be sold in Naira by the Dangote Refinery to any interested offtaker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC, NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now,” he said.

He added that all associated regulatory costs (NPA, NIMASA, etc.) will also be paid for in Naira.

A tragic motor accident occurred on Thursday along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, resulting in the loss of at least 21 lives. The accident happened at the border of Kaduna and Niger States, involving a truck and a passenger commercial bus.

The bus was traveling from Abuja to Kano, while the other vehicle was heading to Katsina State. According to a source from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kaduna State, the accident occurred near a traffic diversion in Niger State.

The diversion was caused by the ongoing reconstruction of the Kaduna-Abuja highway, which has been delayed. As a result, all vehicles were forced to drive on a single lane, leading to the accident.

The driver of the truck fled the scene immediately after the accident, causing heavy traffic to build up on the busy highway for several hours. The FRSC official confirmed that three surviving passengers were rushed to the Umaru Musa Memorial Hospital in Sabon-Wuse town for medical attention.

The remains of the victims were deposited at the hospital’s mortuary. The accident is a tragic reminder of the dangers of road travel in Nigeria, particularly on highways undergoing reconstruction.