News
Tanker drivers’ strike won’t affect our operations, says Major marketers
By Francesca Hangeior
Members of the Major Energies Marketers of Nigeria said it would be illegal to negotiate and fix the cost of lifting fuel with members of the National Association of Transport Owners.
Reports had it that the tanker drivers on Monday parked their trucks, refusing to lift fuel over high cost of operations.
The NARTO President, Yusuf Othman, had in a letter to truck drivers who are members of other unions and associations, said NARTO had made several efforts to secure negotiations for appropriate and commensurate freight rates for its operations from all authorities concerned in the industry, especially the major marketers, without any positive result.
However, the major marketers said the decision of NARTO to stop transporting fuel may not have much effect on its members, some of whom now have separate transporters.
The Executive Secretary of the MEMAN, Clement Isong, said the association does not have the power to negotiate the cost of transporting fuel, adding that the law does not permit that.
Isong stated that members of MEMAN have negotiated the cost of lifting products with transporters of choice, saying that is what the law allowed.
Reacting to the claim that NARTO had tried to negotiate with MEMAN, he replied: “That is not exactly true, the law does not permit us, NARTO and MEMAN, to negotiate transport rates.
“All my members negotiated with all their transporters and arrived at different rates based on their strength and capacity. That is what the Petroleum Industry Act wants; it wants us to compete. So, in a world in which my transporters have found a way of transporting at a lower cost, for example by using CNG as their fuel, I have an advantage over the other marketer, because my transporter is cheaper, that’s what the law envisages. It envisages competition to bring down prices.
“If what I demand from my transporter are brand new trucks of certain category, then I should expect I will not pay the same thing with a marketer who doesn’t demand brand new trucks from his transporters. It just depends on your business model. We are all competing in the market.”
Isong added, “We are not expected to sit down with NARTO to negotiate and agree prices. If we do that, we’ve broken the law. My members have negotiated with their transporters and have agreed with their transporters.
“In fact, some of my members even own their own trucks. They don’t need to negotiate. They run their own transport. that’s what competition does”.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would delay ruling on President Trump’s controversial claim that the Constitution does not guarantee birthright citizenship. The justices will hear arguments in the case on May 15, with a final decision expected by late June or early July.
The Court made no mention of addressing other concerns raised by the Trump administration, particularly its frustration with single district court judges issuing nationwide rulings in such cases.
Since Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office to end birthright citizenship, every court that has reviewed it has blocked the order. Despite repeated legal defeats, Trump has remained adamant that the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to all born on U.S. soil is invalid—an idea long dismissed by mainstream legal scholars. The Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship 127 years ago, and that ruling still stands.
A coalition of states has challenged Trump’s order, arguing there’s no legal ambiguity about the 14th Amendment. In their brief to the Court, they wrote: “For over a century, it has been the settled view of this court, Congress, the Executive Branch, and legal scholars that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to babies born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ status.”
The amendment itself reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Trump, however, insists this does not apply universally.
Federal judges in three states have blocked Trump’s executive order, and appeals courts have upheld those decisions. Notably, Judge John Coughenour—appointed by President Reagan—was the first to rule the order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Even Trump’s legal team seemed to recognize the legal challenges. Rather than pushing for a total reversal of lower court decisions, they asked the Supreme Court to narrow the rulings, hoping to at least begin implementing parts of the new policy.
The Ondo State Police Command has said that the convoy of the President’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was not involved in an auto crash that led to the death of a seven-year-old girl in Akure, the state capital on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
The spokesperson for the Command, Olusola Ayanlade, in a statement, said the president’s wife was on a visit to the state on Thursday to distribute empowerment kits and equipment.
“Eyewitness accounts and preliminary investigations conducted by the Ondo State Police Command have confirmed that the incident was caused by a hit-and-run driver operating an unregistered white Lexus vehicle — not by any vehicle belonging to or associated with the First Lady’s convoy,” the police said.
The statement further said, “A witness who observed the hit-and-run pursued the fleeing vehicle on a motorcycle immediately after the incident, which occurred around the Oba Ile area of Akure. These accounts have been corroborated by several individuals at the scene as well as by the parents of the deceased.
“The Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, was personally present and met with the grieving family to ensure a full and transparent investigation. At no point was the First Lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy.
“The command commiserated with the bereaved family and urged the general public to cooperate with us as we bring the perpetrator of the hit-and-run to justice.
Former DELSU VC, Sowore, Deji, other activists hit hard at Agbor Nursing School provost as query to student nurse goes abuzz on social media
“Also, we urge anyone with any useful information to please come forward or report to the nearest police station or security post nearest to them while we hunt for the killer
Credit: Channels Television
Several persons have lost their lives in another terrible accident that occurred on Karu Bridge, inward Karu Site, Abuja on Friday.
According to Daily Post report, the accident was caused by a truck laden with cement which failed its brakes while descending the Kugbo hill.
It was gathered that the truck, after crushing about several vehicles and their occupants, attempted to escape but was intercepted around Karu Roundabout by commercial motorcyclists.
The accident came barely a month after a similar fatal accident occurred on the same Karu Bridge in March, when a Dangote trailer powered by CNG lost its brakes, crashed into several vehicles and claimed multiple lives.
More details to follow
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