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NOA DG blames Niger tanker tragedy on negligence, moral decay
According to Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the recent tanker disaster in Niger State resulted from carelessness and deteriorating societal standards.
During a Thursday appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, the agency chief called the tragedy “frustrating” and preventable.
“It’s very frustrating, but we saw it coming. After the Dikko explosion (earlier this year) in Niger State, the President gave us a marching order to conduct a nationwide sensitisation,” Issa-Onilu said.
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The agency had reached out to various groups including traditional rulers, faith-based leaders, law enforcement, and young people. However, Issa-Onilu attributed the continued disasters to inadequate community governance.
“Our findings show that sensitisation alone won’t solve this problem. People are aware of the danger but ignore it.
“It’s the failure of leadership at the community level. This particular incident involved the entire community,” he said.
The NOA director mentioned discussions with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) regarding enhanced safety protocols.
Downstream petroleum regulators are currently formulating updated rules to address such emergencies, he added.
Issa-Onilu strongly criticized the practice of collecting fuel from overturned tankers, labeling it both illegal and ethically wrong.
“Why do you go near a spillage when you know the risk involved?” he asked, noting that “It happened in Dikko recently; it shouldn’t happen again.”
The behavior demonstrates society’s moral decline, he argued, emphasizing that leaked petroleum remains the property of its owner, making its appropriation tantamount to stealing.
“Our values have eroded over the decades. Parents should ask their children why they want to take what belongs to another person.
“Even that fuel belongs to someone’s investment. The act of taking it is theft and prosecutable,” Issa-Onilu said.
He stressed that community intervention during such incidents should aim to preserve the owner’s property rather than exploit the situation.
“It’s beyond a fallen tanker. It’s a whole-of-society issue tied to value orientation,” he added.
The Niger State tragedy in Essa community, Katcha Local Government Area, claimed 42 lives with more than 60 injured.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, witnessed the disaster when the tanker capsized on the deteriorated Bida–Badeggi–Agaie Road and ignited as locals attempted to collect its contents.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that casualties included nine men, 24 women, and nine children.
Various agencies including police, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC, and community volunteers arrived at the location.
Search efforts proceeded as some residents remained missing.
Local authorities pointed to the highway’s poor condition as a contributing factor.
They called on federal and state authorities to immediately repair the road to avert similar disasters.
Following Governor Umaru Bago’s instructions, a team headed by Special Adviser on Special Duties Murtala Bagana inspected the site and medical facilities.
Bagana announced the governor’s authorization of complimentary comprehensive treatment for all those affected.
The most critically wounded were transferred to National Hospital, Gwagwalada, and Federal Medical Centre, Bida, he confirmed.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris, in another statement, conveyed the Federal Government’s sympathies to Niger State residents following the disaster.
Despite continuous advisories, certain individuals persist in recovering fuel from crash sites, endangering themselves, he observed.
NEMA received instructions to assist with rescue operations and victim support, the minister stated.
Peter Obi, who ran for president under the Labour Party, voiced his sorrow regarding the event.
He said it was painful that “poverty continues to drive our people into situations where they must dangerously risk their lives to survive. No one has to die simply trying to live,” Obi stated.
Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo has suggested implementing legislation requiring government personnel to utilize Nigerian carriers for overseas travel where available.
The proposal was presented on Sunday at a ceremonial departure event for Air Peace’s first direct service between Abuja and London Heathrow Airport.
READ ALSO: Mind your business! Jonathan tells Keyamo, Odinkalu
Benjamin Kalu, who serves as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Air Peace’s Chairman Allen Onyema attended the ceremony at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The minister revealed plans for legislation called the Fly Nigerian Act, expressing confidence that it would receive parliamentary approval through Kalu’s support.
Under the proposed framework, government employees traveling internationally would be obligated to book with Nigerian carriers operating their intended routes.
The requirement would only be waived when no domestic airline services the destination, Keyamo clarified.
The minister referenced similar policies implemented globally, citing American and Indian aviation preference laws as examples, and stressed Nigeria’s need to support its national carriers similarly.
He outlined the practical application: before any government representative—whether legislators, ministers, or agency directors—books international travel, they must first verify whether a Nigerian airline operates that route and prioritize it accordingly.
Keyamo confirmed the ministry’s dedication to advancing this legislation through the approval process.
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the South-East in the National Assembly have issued a warning that they may withdraw from the party’s upcoming national convention if the National Woman Leader position is reassigned from their region.
The PDP convention is scheduled to hold on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
However, growing discord has emerged within the party as the South-East caucus in the House of Representatives maintains that the woman leader role must continue to belong to their zone.
READ ALSO: Northern PDP leaders endorse Kabiru Turaki for party chairmanship
Rep. Ikenga-Imo Ugochinyere, spokesperson of the South-East PDP caucus in the House, announced this position in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
He indicated that the legislators will release an official disclaimer regarding the Ibadan convention should they verify that the role has been reassigned to another region.
According to Ugochinyere, the lawmakers are ready to defend the political rights of the region, stressing that any move to strip the South-East of the woman leader position would amount to a deliberate insult.
He said, “We don’t want to see PDP suffer more setbacks; still, we will stick to our position at the Ibadan convention if, in the next few weeks, what we are hearing is confirmed.”
The representative cautioned that no elected official from the South-East would continue their PDP membership should this arrangement proceed. He noted there remains adequate time for party leadership to address this grievance before candidate screening commences.
Ugochinyere clarified that the previous zoning formula, which designated Enugu State to provide the woman leader, became void after Governor Peter Mbah’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He noted that this defection also impacted Mbah’s selection for the woman leader role, who has similarly moved to the APC.
The PDP Spokesman accused certain elements within the party of plotting to shift the position to the South-South, warning that such a move would provoke anger across the South-East.
“However, confirmed information is filtering in that some people are trying to move that woman leader position out of the South-East to the South-South,” he said.
The South-East caucus reached out to PDP leaders across the South, including Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, requesting their support in ensuring the role stays within their zone.
Ugochinyere described any attempt to take the position away as “an insult” to the South-East and a move that could further divide the party.
Furthermore, he warned that a boycott by South-East lawmakers could intensify the existing turmoil within the PDP and discourage members from attending the Ibadan convention.
Fear swept through the Orile-Iganmu neighborhood of Lagos on Sunday following a gas explosion that tore through part of the Orisunmibare Market, off Baale Street, consuming numerous shops in intense flames.
While the incident claimed no lives, the blaze that ignited approximately 2:13 p.m. destroyed merchandise valued at millions of naira and caused traders and local residents to flee for their lives.
Authorities traced the source of the explosion to a gas retail establishment that reportedly stored numerous cylinders of different capacities.
READ ALSO: Deadly petrol tanker explosion rocks Abeokuta–Sagamu expressway
An eyewitness, identified simply as Ejem, who narrowly escaped, recounted: “I was inside when it happened. Around us here, there are three filling stations — one is the MRS filling station opposite my street; another is a gas company behind my street; and then there’s a man who has a very big shop where he sells gas.
They said one of the boys at the shop was pressing his phone when the explosion occurred.
The fire spread quickly because part of the nearby market also had shops where people used camp gas for cooking.”
Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, verified the event, noting that personnel arrived swiftly and successfully managed the emergency.
“No lives were lost, except for one person who sustained a minor hand injury,” she said.
In a related development, firefighting teams addressed a separate emergency involving a 33,000-litre petrol tanker along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, close to the Berger Car Depot.
The tanker, bearing registration number AAB-942YC, discharged its cargo following a collision with a Mercedes-Benz Jeep (plate number LSR 606HX) and seven additional stationary vehicles on display for purchase.
According to Adeseye, “Prompt intervention by the Ajegunle and Ijegun-Egba Fire Crews prevented the spill from escalating into another disaster. The remaining fuel has been safely transferred to another tanker, while recovery of damaged vehicles is ongoing.”
Additionally, the Fire Service conducted a rescue operation for an individual trapped within an underground drainage system along Ikorodu Road, near Idiroko Bus Stop, inward Maryland, Anthony Village, on Saturday afternoon.
Adeseye reported that the emergency call came in at 12:24 p.m., prompting immediate dispatch of the Ilupeju Fire Station to the location.
“Upon arrival, responders discovered that a male adult, about 55 years old, had accidentally fallen into a manhole. Our rescue personnel immediately initiated a confined-space rescue operation using specialized equipment, and after sustained effort, the victim was recovered alive and handed over to the Police from Anthony Division for further action,” she stated.
The operation, which continued until 3:41 p.m., concluded successfully with the area properly secured.
Adeseye emphasized the agency’s dedication to safeguarding lives and property throughout Lagos, highlighting that despite handling multiple emergencies over 48 hours, “all incidents were efficiently contained without any loss of life.”
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