General
Ambode Builds 4 New Fire Stations, Saves N100b Properties
By Dipo Olowookere
Lagos State government on Thursday said about N99.7 billion worth of properties were saved from fire incidences recorded in the State in the last one year.
Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Oluseye Oladejo, said the government stepped up its emergency apparatus to respond to fire disasters and other emergency situations.
“I can give you some information about the value of the properties saved from fire disasters and that would give an estimate total of N99.72 billion during the period under review and the estimated properties lost totals N16.62 billion,” Mr Oladejo said.
Speaking further, the Commissioner said that in line with the state government’s resolve to prevent and manage fire outbreaks across the State, Governor Ambode approved the creation of four new fire stations in the state.
“As at now, Lagos State can now boast of 14 Fire Stations across the state and all are equipped to combat fire outbreak”, he added.
Mr Oladejo said government had scaled up activities in Monitoring and Surveillance in the State and also intensified safety advocacy campaign in order to inform, educate and enlighten the public on the prevention and management of fire outbreaks.
He said the Lagos Safety Commission is saddled with the responsibility of setting safety standard for business premises, event centres, churches and other public buildings.
“They don’t have any no-go-areas to ensure that we put safety measures in place in the course of construction and the rest of it. That is the preventive part of our business. For rescue, that is the business of other agencies like Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA),” he said.
Mr Oladejo, therefore, called on stakeholders to join hands with government in a bid to reduce emergency response time while also urging Lagosians to explore the limitless opportunities available on the platform of the State Command and Control Centre and continue to call the emergency toll free lines – 767 and 112 for distress calls.
“You can be assured of prompt response from these numbers on a 24-hour basis”, he said.
He said the government’s decision to replicate the Lagos Response Unit (LRU) in other locations in the State was to take the service closer to the people, noting that emergency rescue was a matter of response time and proximity of the service providers.
“So that informed the position of the government to establish one at Lekki and we are also establishing one at Ikorodu Road where we used to Bode Benson Hotel and we are also establishing one at Badagry. When you look at the spread, you would see that our intention is to take the service closer to the people. In the years ahead, we also hope to put up more structures to attend to the needs of Lagosians”, Oladejo said.
Responding to complaints as to why some members of the defunct Neighbourhood Watchers were not absorbed into the recently inaugurated Neighbourhood Safety Corps (NSC), the Commissioner explained that some were found wanting during the period of screening, adding that those who passed the screening have been employed into the Corps.
“What the Governor said was that they should be given priority and they should be examined and put through the normal screening which other applicants would also go through and they are accessed based on their mental, physical and psychological fitness to fit into the new scheme.
“You will agree with me that some of these people we are talking about are as old as 65 to 70 years and you just wonder what manner of security somebody like that would do and some were also found wanting in regards to their health status.
“Those taken on board so far constitute about 40 percent of those who were in the old neighbourhood watch, so definitely the Governor’s directive has been carried out in that regard,” he said.
He allayed fears that some politicians might have hijacked the recruitment process, noting that Governor Ambode had appointed a retired Deputy Inspector General, Israel Ajao to head the NSC so as to forestall such occurrence.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Osun State Government has announced plans to institute legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following an alleged freezing of the state’s bank account, describing the action as unlawful and capable of disrupting governance.
The Governor of the state, Mr Ademola Adeleke, through the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Oluwole Jimi-Bada, made this disclosure on Wednesday.
According to the statement, Governor Adeleke has directed him to challenge the anti-graft agency’s decision at the Federal High Court.
It was widely reported that the anti-graft agency issued a “Post No Debit” directive to the management of First Bank, where the state’s accounts are domiciled, effectively restricting transactions.
He argued that while the commission has the authority to investigate financial records, it cannot freeze a state government’s accounts without first obtaining a court order.
“I have the mandate of the governor to proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge this move. EFCC can investigate the accounts, but it can’t freeze the accounts without an order of court.
“This step will affect government running, but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” Mr Jimi-Bada said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Sola Ogungbile, alleged that police officers stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested some members of the bank’s staff.
Mr Ogungbile maintained that Governor Adeleke was not deploying state resources for his re-election campaign and urged the EFCC to consider the potential impact of its actions on public services and the welfare of residents.
Governor Adeleke had earlier raised concerns over an alleged plan by the EFCC to freeze all Osun State Government accounts, including those of senior government officials.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr Kolapo Alimi, the governor described the reported move as unlawful and politically motivated.
He alleged that the planned freezing of the accounts was intended to cripple government operations ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Governor Adeleke further insisted that there was no legal justification for freezing the state’s accounts, arguing that the EFCC lacks the authority to take such action against a state government without due legal process.
The EFCC had not issued an official response to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
