News

Ondo 2024: Fear as gunsh0ts rock Ondo, Edo border community

Published

3 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

There was gunshots by some unknown persons at Ofosun Village, an Ondo community at the boundary with Edo State.

The incident, it was learnt, caused panic, forcing people to stay indoors to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

A source in the village, identified simply as Dauda, who spoke to our correspondent on the phone said, “We don’t know who they are but they were firing gunshots into the air in some parts of the village since early morning. Ofosun is an Ondo village close to Benin in Edo State. No casualty, but people in the village are staying indoors.”

It was not immediately clear what could have led to the incident, but the Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Festus Akingbaso, while commending voters’ turnout, expressed concerns over the alleged infiltration of some villages under the Idanre Local Government Area by hoodlums.

Akingbaso, who spoke shortly after casting his vote at Imikan Ward 02, Unit 008, Idanre, commended INEC for the timely arrival of voting materials but alleged, “Information reaching me is that majority of the villages are filled with thugs allegedly brought in by the APC. At the moment, all the villages are occupied with thugs. Villages like Ofosun, Omifunfun and Allah are occupied.

“There is a place called Igbepo where suspected thugs are in their numbers in Idanre Local Government Area. An incident happened in Ofosun where suspected thugs broke into the house of a party member to prevent him from voting. We were informed that there are plans not to allow people in the villages to vote.

have reported the matter to the DPO and DSS. To my expectation, the security agencies have not been able to do anything.”

Reacting to the allegation, the Ondo APC spokesperson, Mr Steve Otaloro, absolved his party of involving in any crime and demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations.

He said, “I am in the situation room of APC right now. Let me say first some foremost, the person you mentioned is the deputy governorship candidate of Agboola Ajayi of the PDP. And if you recall PDP had a press conference two days ago alleging the kind of violence that happened in that place was by APC.

“All the places he mentioned, was he on the ground in all those places? He was supposed to be at his polling unit. Even if he was called, he should have done proper diligence to be on the ground. They told us there was nothing like that. Voting is going on orderly, if they have any issue with that, they just want to create an issue out of nothing.

“As I speak, no member of our political party is going out to vote as a member, everybody has become electorate. Whatever violence that is happening, they should investigate it properly, but I can assure you it is not from our members. How will you infiltrate all those local areas, these are routes and farm settlements? Why will our members infiltrate such places? That is not true.

“More often than not, maybe their plans were burst, and that was why he is coming up with this allegation. And since morning, this election has started peacefully, they should allow it to end peacefully. We as a political party, are committed to peace, and we have told our people to allow peace to reign in all their activities in the course of this election.”

When contacted, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmi Odunlami, said she was in transit.

She also said the incident had not been reported to her.

News

At last, Marketers Agree to Crash Petrol Prices as Dangote Sells Fuel at Reduced Cost after Deal

Published

15 minutes ago

November 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said about 30,000 of its members will start lifting petrol from the Dangote Refinery The association’s president, Abubakar Maigandi, said that the refinery agreed to sell the product at N940 and N960, respectively He said the development means that petrol prices will crash at the pumps in the coming weeks following the new deal

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says over 30,000 of its members are ready to buy petrol in bulk from the Dangote Refinery. The association revealed that the petrol price from the mega refinery was about N940 per litre via ships and N990 via trucks.

IPMAN president Abubakar Maigandi disclosed in a television interview on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, that the petrol pump prices at its outlets will drop following the deal with the refinery. The association reached a deal with the $20 billion refinery on Monday, November 11, 2024, to purchase petrol, diesel, and other petroleum products directly. The agreement comes after months of negotiations following the exit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) as the sole off-taker of the refinery.

Petrol prices to crash by over N50 Maigandi explained that the Lekki-based facility had been obliged to let marketers buy petrol, diesel, and Kerosene to supply to their depots and retail outlets. The IPMAN boss updated Nigerians on the pricing, saying the refinery gave marketers two rates based on preferences. He said marketers can load at the gantry at N990 per litre or vial vessel transport at N940. Punch reports that the new price is lower than the N960 and N990 per litre on ships and trucks offered by the refinery last week.

The IPMAN helmsman disclosed that the partnership aims to ensure a consistent and affordable supply of petrol and other products nationwide. He stated further that petrol prices may crash by N50 or more, depending on the location.

PETROAN set up a meeting with Dangote Refinery According to Maigandi, the direct purchase of petrol from the refinery will end payments to intermediaries such as the NNPC and depot owners, saying that the cost will reflect on petrol prices in the coming weeks. The IPMAN president said the new arrangement will also end fuel scarcity as products will be available nationwide in all seasons.

Additionally, the management of the Dangote Refinery is set to meet with Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) officials to discuss petrol lifting. The group’s publicity secretary, Joseph Obele, said the refinery, through its president, Billy Harry, mailed seeking a business meeting.

Obele said Harry has inaugurated a team of seven persons to represent the association at the meeting. NNPC to now sell only Dangote petrol Legit.ng earlier reported that NNPC had announced that it stopped importing refined petroleum products. Mele Kyari, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this while speaking at the Lagos’s Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists’ (NAPE) conference and said that the company now sources its fuel needs from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Kyari confirmed that NNPC has shifted away from importation and will source from local refiners, especially Dangote, according to BusinessDay reports.

Source: Legit

News

Police save abduct£d 14-month-old baby from nanny

Published

1 hour ago

November 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have successfully rescued a 14-month-old baby, Grace Osamagbe, who was abducted by her nanny, Rejoice Chukwu, in April.

Commissioner of Police Umoru Ozigi told newsmen on Saturday in Benin, that the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit arrested Chukwu, 24, and her boyfriend, Destiny Uchechukwu, 28, in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom

According to Ozigi, the suspects abducted the child in Benin and collected a ransom of N160,000.

I lost my hands, girlfriend, dad’s landed properties survived depression; but I’m alive’0:00 / 0:00

“In spite of receiving the ransom, the suspects allegedly sold the baby for N500,000 to Doris Chiwendu in Owerri, Imo State.

“Following intense interrogation, police tracked down Chiwendu and another suspect, Jane Amaigbo, in Ubomiri, Imo State, and rescued the baby on November 9.”

The police commissioner explained that the suspects would soon be charged in court.

News

Ondo: Hoodlums attack INEC officials in Ogbagi Akoko, destr0y electoral materials, others

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Naijablitznews

Some hoodlums have attacked and assaulted officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at Polling Unit 19, Ward 6 Ogbagi in the Akoko area of Ondo State in the ongoing governorship election in the state.

According to a video posted on social media, the Presiding Officer (PO) of the polling unit said that the attackers destroyed all the electoral materials at the polling unit, stole their phones and purses, and physically assaulted them.

The Presiding Officer, who said that the attack happened shortly after a PDP agent at the polling unit was arrested by the police for tearing votes, said that her Assistant Presiding Officer 1 (APO 1) she identified as Bello Samuel, had been missing since they were attacked.

Narrating what happened, the Presiding Officer said, “As the process of the election was going on, a party agent from PDP tore a vote without my consent. I don’t know his name because he had not indicated his name.

“I was trying to address him but he asked me to do my work. In order to resolve the matter, the Kabiyesi of the community (community leader) came but he (the PDP) agent was trying to tear another vote when the officers (police) at the polling unit called the DPO for his arrest.

“They (police) asked me what I wanted and I said he should be removed or the polling unit should be canceled. Then, he was arrested and the election continued.

“Unaware, we discovered a gang of people parking the election materials and they beat us up – I and my APOs. Even till now, I haven’t seen my APO 1, Bello Samuel by name.

“Our phones have been stolen with our purses, and all the electoral materials have been destroyed except the BVAS which I escaped with.”

She said that before the hoodlums attacked them, “I called SPO and the officers called the DPO. After that, I know nothing preserved by grace.”