News

Kogi phone market, catches f!re property worth millions d*maged

Published

3 months ago

September 12, 2024

By Mario Deepromoter

Fire has gutted a market following a fire outbreak at a GSM village around Kpata market in Lokoja the Kogi State capital.

It was gathered that the fire outbreak started in the early hours of Thursday due to a power upsurge.

It was further learnt that shop owners could not salvage anything from the fire after it got out of control.

One of the traders in the market, Muhammed Yahaya who lost his goods to the fire narrated the incident saying, “Somebody called me around 5:30 am today that the market is on fire. On getting there, many shops have already been burnt down. So we tried to look at the actual cause of the fire outbreak. From all indications so far, we were told by the people that stay within that the power voltage they brought was high.

“The neighbouring houses there said it affected their fans, light and other things. Actually, this might be the cause of the fire outbreak in the market. Millions of naira worth of goods have been destroyed. Laptops, phones and accessories got burnt. The most unfortunate thing is that most of these people just received their goods this week. It has never happened before. It is still a big shock to every one of us who owns shop in the market”.

He appealed to the Kogi State Government to intervene by assisting those who lost their goods financially and rebuilding the GSM village.

“We know we have a Governor that has a listening ear. He is a father to us. As you can see, we are Youths who are resourceful. Most of us are graduates, and we are not waiting for the Government to provide jobs for us. We created the jobs on our own.

“The properties that we have been nurturing for over 15 years got burnt within an hour. We want the government to look into it by assisting us financially and rebuilding the market. In this market, we have about 200 Youths who are engaged in this kind of business. People were hungry before this happened” he added.

Also Speaking to newsmen, the Financial Secretary, Kogi Association of Phones and Accessories Dealers, (KAPAD) Moses Felix said the incident has affected him physically, mentally and emotionally.

According to him, I was crying this morning when my shop got burnt. I couldn’t do anything. I am into laptop repairs and sales. My goods that arrived this week got burnt completely, so am starting from scratch.

“I am a married Man with kids. Where do I go from here and how can I feed my family in the midst of this economic hardship? The Government should come to our aide. We provide jobs for people. I have like three boys that are working for me who are under my payroll. Definitely, they are going back home without job,” Felix lamented

As of the time of filing this report, fire service officials were making efforts to put out the fire.

News

Video: Tinubu Arrives Lagos, Meets Old ‘Friend’ Papa Ajasco

Published

29 seconds ago

December 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Lagos for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Tinubu arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at noon on Wednesday, December 18.

Tinubu had earlier today presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the 10th National Assembly in Abuja.

His arrival was disclosed in a post via the X handle of his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, on Wednesday, December 18.

The caption reads: “President Tinubu arrives in Lagos where he will spend the Christmas. He is received by H.E #jidesanwoolu and members of the Lagos Executive Cabinet.”

Upon arrival at the Lagos airport, Tinubu met his ‘longtime friend’, Abiodun Ayo Yinka (a.k.a Papa Ajasco).

Disclosing this, Olusegun wrote: “Beautiful moment between PBAT and his long-time friend, Mr Abiodun Ayo Yinka (a.k.a Papa Ajasco) at the Presidential Wing of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.”

watch video

https://twitter.com/TrendingEx/status/1869482391645106394?s=19

News

How FG paid N199billion as electricity subsidy for Nigerians in December

Published

7 minutes ago

December 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has stated that the government of Nigeria paid N199 billion as electricity subsidy for December 2024, up from N194.26 billion in November.

The disclosure was made in NERC’s December 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) report, published on its website.

According to the report, Band-A customers continued to pay N209/kWh, while tariffs for customers in Bands B to E remained frozen at December 2022 rates.

However, the Nigerian government is expected to pay N29.10 billion in subsidies for consumers under Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (DisCo) and N26.68 billion for those under Ikeja Electric.

The rise in subsidies is attributed to a higher exchange rate pegged at N1,687.45 per dollar, an inflation rate increase of 33.9%, and adjustments in available power generation capacity.

NERC also retained the benchmark gas-to-power price at $2.42/MMBTU, as determined by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Meanwhile, the Commission noted that tariffs would remain subject to monthly adjustments based on key indicators, including inflation, exchange rates, and gas-to-power prices.

News

Lagos Mosque Takes Down ‘Jesus Christ is Not God’ Banner After Backlash

Published

13 minutes ago

December 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Through this removal, the mosque’s administration has seemingly acquiesced to the widespread criticism and pressure from the public to remove the banner widely perceived as inflammatory and divisive.

The Lekki Central Mosque in Lagos State has removed a contentious banner that bore the inscription, “Jesus Christ is Not God”.

This action was substantiated by a widely circulating video on social media platform X, in which a member of the community, identified as Tunde Alabi, asserted that he had personally visited the mosque on Wednesday evening to verify the removal.

The initial placement of the banner in front of the mosque had previously sparked a firestorm of controversy, eliciting a multitude of comments from Nigerian netizens.

These online commentators had unequivocally condemned the management of the mosque, strenuously urging the pertinent authorities and stakeholders to intervene and address the situation.

In a video shared by an X user, Adeleke Opeyemi, the community source, Tunde Alabi, said the backlash pushed him to ask for the removal of the banner.

The video narrator said: “My name is Tunde Alabi. I am a member of the Lekki Muslim Community. I noticed a banner pasted in front of our mosque, causing some controversies. I sent a message to the mosque community and was told that it had been removed, so I came to confirm myself. As you can see, the one that was removed is supposed to be behind me.”

Alabi also apologised for the issues that the banner might have caused.

“I am not speaking on behalf of the mosque. I am speaking for myself. I am sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused. Today is the 18th of December,” he added.

The contentious banner garnered widespread public attention following a social media post by renowned Nigerian actress, Wumi Tuase.

She took to platform X to express her profound dismay and disappointment upon discovering the banner, emblazoned with the inscription “Jesus Christ is Not God”, prominently displayed in front of the Lekki Central Mosque.

She said, “I don’t like to get into religious conversations, but I found it very weird that Lekki Central Mosque has this in front of their gate.”

Tuase’s public expression of discontent resonated with many, prompting a national conversation about religious tolerance, respect and the role of places of worship in promoting unity and understanding.