A former Senator representing Kaduna Central District in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has reacted to the temporary leave off work by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

In a statement issued by the Presidency on Saturday, Ngelale said he had submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Friday informing him of his plan to proceed on indefinite leave.

Ngelale added that he has temporarily stepped down as the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen.

According to Ngelale, he stepped down from his role to deal with medical matters presently affecting his immediate family.

Reacting to the development in a post via his official X handle, Sani stated that Ngelale can now rest well, switch off his phone and even regain his weight.

He wrote, “Ajuri can now rest well, sleep well, eat well, switch off his phone and even add some weight.”

On August 1, 2023, Ngelale was appointed as the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

According to a statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the appointment took effect on July 31, 2023, and will terminate at the end of this administration unless otherwise decided by the President.

On May 19, 2024, Tinubu appointed Ngelale as the first Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen and Secretary of the Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions.

Four vehicles and several houses were burnt as petrol-loaded trucks caught fire along the Ibadan-Ife road on Saturday.

The incident occurred at the Ajia Circular Road end in Egbeda Local Government Area, causing a traffic gridlock leading to motorists and commuters being stranded for several hours.

Four vehicles were affected, including a petrol-loaded truck, an 18-passenger bus, a mid-sized truck, and a Micra taxi.

According to the General Manager of the State Fire Services, Mr Yemi Akinyinka, the fire which started at approximately 5:45 pm damaged property and displacing several families.

He also said preliminary findings suggest that it may have been triggered by residents attempting to siphon fuel from the leaking truck.

He said, “On September 7, 2024, at approximately 5:45 PM, a devastating fire broke out inside a petroleum truck. The fire ravaged the truck’s pump, displacing several families and causing significant property damage.”

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was caused by some residents trying to use the fuel leak for their benefit. Some people suffered minor injuries.”

As of the time of filing this report, it could not be officially confirmed whether lives were lost in the incident.

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𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐟𝐞-𝐈𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲

Four vehicles and several houses were burnt as petrol-loaded trucks caught fire along the Ibadan-Ife road on Saturday.

The… pic.twitter.com/y1Cv8AoOtD

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) September 7, 2024

Many residents of Nsukka in Enugu State have resorted to trekking long distances following the hike in petrol pump price.

Public motor parks and petrol stations monitored showed that a litre of petrol now goes for between N1, 100 and N1, 200 resulting in hike of transportation fares in Nsukka.

A filling station manager who spoke on condition of anonymity attributed the increase to hike of pump price to N855 per litre by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited on September 3.

He said, though the station was yet to get new supply, they had to adjust to the new price to enable him to buy products when they exhaust the stock they have.

A resident and civil servant, Victor Ezema, who trekked from Nsukka Old Park to Obeachara Junction Nsukka, a distance of about three kilometres said before the hike, commercial motorcyclists were collecting N300, but now raised the fare to N500.

“I have trekked in order not to be stranded since I am still travelling beyond Nsukka to attend to my office work,’’ he said.

Mr Ezema appealed to the government to urgently address the problem of petroleum products supply, especially by fixing the refineries to check the constant hike in pump price which inflicts hardship on Nigerians.

Another resident, Joy Nnadi, said that she trekked from Odenigbo road to Nsukka Main Market because of fare hike and appealed to the government to look into the sufferings of Nigerians due to the recent hike in pump price.

She said, “We used to pay N200 from Odenigbo to the market, but now the tricycle operators were charging N400 and this has certainly affected the market list I prepared this morning. To make sure I buy the items, I resorted to trekking from Odenigbo area to the market in spite of my health challenge. As we speak, all parts of my body are paining me because I do have rheumatism.’’

She expressed worry that as a crude oil producing nation the government had yet to come up with viable solutions to petroleum refining in the country.

The new increase in patrol price had affected prices of goods and services in Nsukka town and environs as a bag of sachet water that was sold at N350 now sells at N500.

Also, barbers have increased adult hair cut from N500 to N700, while children’s hair cut rose from N300 to N500.

Mr Sunday Ugwo, a barber at Lejja Park area of Nsukka, said he increased his price list because of the increase in petrol pump price.

“Before, adult hair cut was N500, children N300 and shaving N200 but now, adult hair is N700, children N500, while shaving is N400,’’ she said.

(NAN)