General
NEMA Trains Emergency Responders in Lagos
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has begun the recertification of emergency response officers in Lagos State to reduce casualty and loss of lives during emergencies.
This made this known by Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, the Acting Zonal Coordinator, South-West Zonal Office at a two-day Basic First Aid/Recertification Course organised for emergency responders in Lagos on Thursday.
The participants included officers of NEMA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASEMA Response Unit (LRU), Federal Fire Service and Police Disaster Management Unit.
Mr Farinloye said the training, which was being organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Red Cross Society, was to boost the capacity of emergency response officers in the state, especially with the upsurge in COVID-19.
According to him, collaboration among critical stakeholders is crucial to disaster risk reduction.
“The Director-General of NEMA, AVM Muhammadu Muhammed on the assumption of office observed that there were gaps within the capacity of the staffers of the agency and that of the stakeholders.
“This is what necessitated this training on first aid because if we are pro-efficient in first aid implementation, loss of lives during emergencies will be reduced drastically.
“COVID-19 cannot stop emergencies so, in the process of saving lives, emergency responders must adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols in administering first aid to victims.
“Under the new guidelines, ways of administering first aid to infants have not changed but there are changes in administering first aid to adults and children,” he said.
Mr Farinloye said the training would be done periodically to expose emergency responders to best practices on disaster and safety management.
He added that NEMA would also continue to boost the capacity of its Grassroots Emergency Volunteer Corps (GEVC) to prevent disasters or mitigate its impact in the state.
“Our goal is to work with all stakeholders including members of the public to prevent disasters or to respond in a very timely manner in order to save lives and property,” Mr Farinloye said.
Also speaking, CSP Elizabeth Opadola, Officer in Charge of Disaster Management Unit, Lagos State Police Command, commended NEMA for organising the training.
Mrs Opadola said apart from boosting the capacity of the officers, it had given them the opportunity to bond with other sister agencies, which would improve collaboration in responding to emergencies.
“Collaboration is very essential because at the scene of incidents we usually come together and work in synergy with the goal of protecting people’s lives and property and making sure that the environment is safe,” she said.
Mrs Opadola noted that the major challenge faced by emergency responders in Lagos State was accessibility to the scene of disasters and appealed to the Lagos State Government to create a special route for emergency agencies.
Similarly, Mrs Deborah Adebiyi, Deputy Superintendent of Fire, Federal Fire Service, said the training had exposed the officers to the importance of first aid in emergency management.
She said: “It has given us exposure on what we need to do to save lives under the barest minimum time.
“This training has also emphasised that emergency response requires synergy and that nobody can do it alone.
“So, I think we need more of this kind of training when we are able to come together and discuss emergencies so that when those real-life experiences come we will be able to approach it in a more tactical way.”
Mr Bisiriyu Kabiru, Zonal Coordinator, LASEMA, Lagos West Senatorial District, said the COVID-19 pandemic had made it imperative for emergency responders to embark on a new methodology of saving lives.
“We are working harmoniously with all emergency response agencies to see how we can continue to do our job of saving lives and property in a safer manner,” he said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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