After a luminous epoch, characterised by a meritorious service, Reuben Mouka, a veteran ICT journalist and public relations professional, has retired as Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC).

Muoka joined the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, from the Vanguard Newspaper where he was the HI-TECH Editor, some 18 years ago.

He was promoted to the position of the Commission’s Director of Public Affairs (DPA) on Monday, June 20, 2022.

He succeeded Dr Ikechulkwu Adinde, who redeployed in the special duty unit of the Commission.

Muoka had worked in that unut as a principal officer for several years under Engineer Ernest Ndukwe and the late Dr. Eugene Juwah.

He was sent to the special duties and economic policy and analysis departments at some point during the first term of Professor Umar Danbatta as EVC.

He was head of media and public relations from 2009 until 2015, when Danbatta resumed as EVC.

At Vanguard, Muoka worked with Okoh Aihe, who recently retired from the NCC, to run the paper’s Hi-Tech pages and reported ICT for several years.

He left Vanguard to work at MTS First Mobile, a pioneer company in mobile communication in Nigeria, as Corporate Affairs Manager.

Muoka has first and second degrees in Mass Communication.

He was once chairman of the League of Communications Correspondents, a beat association created in 1988 to help ICT journalists become professional ICT reporters.

On Friday, China raised tariffs on goods imported from the United States to 125 percent, responding directly to President Donald Trump’s move to increase levies on Chinese products to 145 percent.

This escalation has intensified the ongoing trade conflict, which poses a serious risk to global supply chains.

The tariff hike followed continued pressure from the U.S. government on China, which remains the second-largest economy in the world and a major supplier of goods to the U.S. While similar duties on many other nations have been suspended, China was specifically targeted for additional increases.

“The US imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international and economic trade rules, basic economic laws and common sense and is completely unilateral bullying and coercion,” China’s Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. had previously announced that the total tariffs placed on Chinese imports under the Trump administration have now reached 145 percent.

An explosion caused confusion and fear on Friday evening in the Ikeja Under Bridge area of Lagos State after a loud blast came from a building.

The incident happened around 6:30 p.m., drawing attention from people in the neighbourhood who quickly rushed out in fear.

The blast was linked to a solar inverter that suddenly went off inside the building, causing a loud noise that shook nearby surroundings.

Many people in the area ran for safety, and traffic became heavy as vehicles slowed down due to the commotion.

“The explosion was caused by an inverter that blew up. The Lagos Fire and Rescue Service is already on the scene. There’s heavy traffic in the area, and people were seen running in panic,” an eyewitness told Vanguard.

Emergency responders from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service quickly arrived at the scene to tackle the situation.

Firefighters worked to bring the fire under control and continued their efforts late into the evening.

As of 8:30 p.m., the fire was still being battled.

Authorities at the scene assured residents that efforts were ongoing to fully manage the situation and there was no need to panic.

“There is no cause for alarm. The situation is under control,” Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye said.