By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Google is celebrating the 20 years of the existence of one of its flagship applications, Google Maps, in February 2025.

Since its inception, Google Maps has been an essential tool for more than 2 billion monthly users, providing both comprehensive information and a vibrant community for sharing knowledge.

The application has fundamentally changed how we explore and navigate the world, shaping users’ understanding of the globe. Its rich and up-to-date information empowers users to confidently navigate, wherever their journey takes them.

“Google Maps has evolved from a basic mapping tool to a dynamic platform that helps people explore, navigate, and discover new experiences,” the Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Google West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said.

The evolution of the tool has brought a wealth of features to enhance every journey. Need a little inspiration? Ask Maps, powered by Gemini, for curated ideas on where to go. Travelling? The “Directory” tab helps you explore what’s available in airports. Want to get your bearings quickly? Augmented reality allows you to understand an area at a glance. Even everyday tasks, like finding the cheapest petrol station nearby, are made easier with Google Maps.

In Nigeria, Google Maps has been instrumental in helping people discover new places and navigate with confidence.

To mark this 20th anniversary, Google is unveiling the top reviewed places in Nigeria, showcasing the locations that have captured the hearts of Nigerian users.

These lists offer fascinating insights into popular choices for restaurants, cafes, visitor attractions, parks, and museums across the country.

“The top reviewed locations in Nigeria highlight the places that have captured the interest and attention of our users,” Kola-Ogunlade added.

See below the top ten list of most searched places in Nigeria:

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has sealed 19 illegal Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and category D cooking gas outlets in Delta State.

According to the NMDPRA Coordinator in Delta, Mr Victor Ohwodiasa, the illegal gas outlets were sealed within the past two weeks in Orerokpe, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Warri and its environs.

The category D class of LPG operators were the ones within localities that refill gas from licenced gas plants for customers to pick up from them.

Mr Ohwodiasa, said the illegal gas outlets were shut over offences ranging from lack of prerequisite approvals to operate such facilities and unsafe locations.

“During the operations, about 28 illegal outlets were spotted by the authority. We tried to see if it is possible to have them regularised as they were wrongly sited.

“The outlet that was sealed in Ogwashi-Ukwu was a five metric tonnes refilling plant constructed on a roadside closed to a high tension cable.

“The authority looked at the environment, it was wrongly sited, on a right of way and has no approval. It was sealed and a relocation order issued immediately,” he said.

Mr Owhodiasa disclosed that other offenders were the ones doing what he called, “decanting,” meaning bottle-to-bottle transfer, which he said the NMDPRA does not allow that.

“What they are expected to do is “bottle swap”, bring your empty cylinder and go with a filled one,” he said.

The coordinator said the essence of the exercise was not to frustrate the small-scale gas business owners but to ensure they operate in a safe and secure environment.

Mr Ohwodiasa appealed to landlords not to allocate portions of their land to the LPG category D operators who want to do illegal business in their premises or properties.

According to him, the essence was to prevent possible fire outbreaks that could destroy lives and properties of the operators and the neighbours.

He said the NMDPRA was committed to ensuring lives and properties were adequately protected.

“Imaging someone storing cooking gas close to where welding operation is taking place or where a woman is frying beans cake or roasting corn. Once there is leakage, the resultant effect will be catastrophic.

“If the operator of the illegal outlet does not appreciate his life, we must ensure he does not kill himself and others by illegally operating such facility,” he said.

The NMDPRA Coordinator said the regulatory authority would continue to sustain the exercise in the state and assured that anybody found wanting would face the full wrath of the law.

He also said any offender who refuses to relocate his facility would be handed over to the relevant security agencies for prosecution.

The coordinator appealed to the public to report anyone transferring cooking gas from one cylinder to another to the NMDPRA for prompt action.

Mr Ohwodiasa assured that the regulatory body would continue to sensitise the operators, adding that the authority had annual stakeholders’ engagement with the gas plant owners and the category D operators.

He also said that the regulatory authority organise jingles on radios and televisions stations to educate people on the best ways to handle cooking gas because of its volatility.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Senate is not happy with the heads of some agencies of the federal government over their refusal to respond to expenditure queries raised by the Office of Auditor-General for the Federation (OAGF).

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Mr Aliyu Wadada, warned that if the affected chief executives do not change for the better, the upper chamber of the National Assembly may recommend their removal from office.

Mr Wadada said some critical revenue-generating agencies failed to allow the panel to conduct necessary oversight functions and vowed to report and recommend their sacking to President Bola Tinubu.

Some of the agencies accused include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, among others.

The Senate Committee chairman said the auditor-general’s report, which had been submitted to the committee, raised significant queries on the expenditure of some of the agencies.

The lawmaker said that the Senate would report heads of such agencies to the president after providing them with another opportunity to answer to the queries.

“All efforts to get Nigeria Customs Service to the table to know how this happened proved abortive.

“It is important for Nigerians to know what happened under ways and means, why Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) debited borrower and credited borrower.

“Central Bank of Nigeria debited consolidated revenue funds account and credited treasury single account which amounted to over N30 trillion.

“Consolidated revenue funds account is a government account, and the TSA is also a government account.

“And in charging the interest, instead of the interest to be charged to the treasury account, they went ahead again to charge the treasury account.

“They also went ahead to the treasury account and charged the consolidated revenue funds account, which now has amounted to over N6 trillion.

“There were correspondences among the committee, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Debt Management Office (DMO) because of the faulty document, which they were not ready to answer and have been evasive about,” he said.

The federal lawmaker said that the report of the auditor-general for the federation, which queried the agencies, covered 2019 to date.

He also alleged that Nigeria Satellite Communications Limited had been invited for about nine times but failed to appear, adding that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also fell into the category.