APGA chieftain escapes road accideent, Lagos to arrest drivers, conductors over documentation & other important news you should know today

by Oge  Okonkwo

File photo
File photo

Lagos to arrest drivers, conductors over documentation

A warning has been issued by the Lagos State Government on Saturday, that  it would begin o impound commercial  vehicles and arrest drivers and conductors yet to register with it.

This was included in a statement signed by the Asst. Director (Press and Public Relations), Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Sina Thorpe.

The statement was issued on  Friday in Lagos state.

Vanguard reports:

The government had on Nov. 1, 2013, directed commercial vehicle owners, drivers and conductors to carry out data documentation.

It announced that the deadline for the documentation would be Dec. 31, 2013.

According to the statement, the registration is aimed at ensuring safety and security of Lagos residents in line with Regulation 41 of the Lagos Road Traffic Law, 2012.

“With effect from Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, we will commence full enforcement.

“The enforcement which ought to have commenced on Jan. 1, was postponed due to pleas from the leadership of the various transport workers’ unions,“ it said.

“The state government has been magnanimous to have suspended the enforcement for 30 days.

“Anyone found not to have complied with the directive would be appropriately sanctioned,’’ it said.

It said that delay in the documentation was hindering the take-off of the implementation of the other aspect of the policy – issuance of licence to registered commercial vehicle operators.

“The actual issuance of commercial vehicle operator’s licence, conductor’s and driver’s badges may commence before March, 2014.

“The accreditation processes still continue; we appeal to owners of commercial vehicles, drivers and conductors who are yet to register, to do so immediately, as government would enforce the law to the letter,’’ it said.

It urged passengers to cooperate with the government during the enforcement by not sympathising with the operators.

The drivers and conductors are to register in any of the five Lagos State Drivers’ Institutes in Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe

 

APGA chieftain escapes road crash 

`The former  Anambra factional Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Egwuoyibo Okoye, escaped death following a fatal road crash.

Reports say, Okoye was involved in the accident with his Personal Assistant, Nelson Amechi, which occurred at the Enugu-Anambra border along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

It was gathered that the vehicles involved in the head-on collision were a truck laden with scraps bearing  registration number XA 199 DMA, heading to Onitsha and a Peugeot 406 with registration number AN 21B-AN belonging to Okoye.

Leadership reports:

The chieftain was said to be in stable condition while the second occupant (Amechi) who drove the vehicle was receiving treatment for injury sustained in an undisclosed hospital.

The Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Blaise Ezeani, who confirmed the accident, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka that both vehicles were in the corps’ office.

Ezeani described the accident as serious, pointing out that it took God’s intervention for occupants to escape with just injuries.

He attributed the cause of the crash to over speeding and urged road users to stick to speed limits, especially on roads under construction.

He, however, pointed out that the owners of the truck were still at large.

“There was a crash involving a truck and a Peugeot car, they are in our premises and I can confirm to you that the car is seriously damaged as a result of the impact.

“Road users should shun over speeding and you know there is work going on, so it is a single lane road.

“Truck drivers should endeavour to rest after a distance because fatigue can cause some of these crashes, and because their vehicles are heavy they should be doing not more than 80k/h so that they can exercise more control over their vehicles,” Ezeala advised.

ECOWAS appoints Nigerian financial controller

A Nigerian, Muhammad Bello has been appointed as Financial Controller of the 15-member regional body with effect from Feb. 1 by the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS).

This appointment news was made in a  statement  signed by Khadi Saccoh, Commissioner of Administration and Finance, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Abuja.

The statement read that Bello’s success was in the interview for Statutory Appointees in Community Institutions and subsequent endorsement by the Council of Ministers at its Extraordinary Session held on Jan. 23.
Nigerian Eye reports:The statement said that Bello was among the new Commissioners appointed into the expanded ECOWAS Commission, bringing the membership of the Commission’s management to 15.

It said that this was in line with the decision of regional Heads of State and Government.

Mr Kadre Ouedraogo, President of the Commission, said the new addition to the management staff was expected to reinforce the human resource capacity for the success of the Commission.

Bello holds a Bsc, Msc and Phd in Accounting and Finance, all from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

He is also an alumnus of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.

A Fellow of the Institute of Cost Management, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria and a member of various Accounting bodies in Nigeria.

His last job before the recent appointment was Dean of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences at the Kaduna State University

16 LG Chairmen, Deputies, 193 Councillors, defect to APC
There was a new defection from PDP to the APC by Chairmen of the 16 Local Government Councils in Kwara on Friday.

The defection was announced  in the Secretariat of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Ilorin.

According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), it  recalls that the chairmen were elected on the platform of the PDP on Oct. 26, 2013

Vanguard reports:

NAN also reports that the chairmen defected with their deputies and 193 councillors.

The Chairman of ALGON in the state and Chairman of IIorin East Local Government Council, Mr Abdulateef Okandeji, told newsmen that they took the decision “after exhaustive consultations and deliberations by our leaders spearheaded by Sen. Bukola Saraki.

“It was unanimously decided that the best option for us would be to merge with the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC)”, Okandeji said.

“We, the members of ALGON in Kwara, hereby declare for the APC and call on all our supporters and well-wishers to join hands with our leaders to move the state and the country forward”, Okandeji said.

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