24092020 - BLACK WEDNESDAY: 30 killed in Kogi petrol tanker explosion

8 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
Judges appointment: You acted
unconstitutionally, Court
tells Buhari
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
ABUJA—THE
Abuja
Division of the Federal
High Court yesterday held that
President Muhammadu Buhari
contravened section 256(2) of the
1999 Constitution, as amended,
by sending names of newly
appointed Judges of the High
Court of the Federal Capital
Territory to the Senate for
screening and confirmation.
The Court in a judgement
delivered by Justice Inyang
Ekwo, stressed that President
Buhari was not empowered by the
constitution to forward to the
Senate list of 11 lawyers
recommended to him by the
National Judicial Council, NJC,
for elevation to the FCT High
Court bench.
The judgement followed a suit
marked FHC/ABJ/CS/733/2020,
which was brought before the
court by an Abuja-based legal
practitioner, Oladimeji Ekengba.
Ekengba had among other
things, contended that it was
wrong for President Buhari to
pick 11 out of 33 names the NJC
recommended for appointment as
FCT High Court Judges.
He prayed the court for an
order of perpetual injunction to
Dangote Cement pays over
N1trn dividends in seven years
By Peter Egwuatu
DANGOTE
Cement
has grown the wealth of
its shareholders, paying over N 1
trillion as dividends in the past
seven years.
According to the cement
company’s Group Chief
Financial Officer, Mr. Guillaume
Moyen, Dangote Cement is
focused on growing the Nigerian
economy. A breakdown of the
seven-year dividend history
gleaned from the company’s
financial statements indicated
that N51.1 billion was paid in 2013,
N119.3 billion in 2014, N102.2
billion in 2015, N136.3 billion in
2016, N144.8 billion in 2017,
N178.9 billion in 2018 and N272.6
billion in 2019.
Moyen, who disclosed this
during the virtual Facts Behind
the figures and Facts Behind
Sustainability Report by the
company to capital market
stakeholders at the Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE), said
Dangote Cement has a sustained
focus on helping the Nigerian
economy and doing what it can
to benefit the economy.
He said :“Arguably our biggest
achievement to date is taking
Nigeria from being a big importer
of cement to being self-sufficient,
and now an exporter. We are
developing road infrastructure
and durable concrete roads,
which are a major economic
catalyst and hugely beneficial for
the country’s transport sector.
''We began our operations in
Nigeria and have been
expanding into other countries
over the years. Since 2011, we
have been enjoying robust
volume growth; to be more
specific, we have been growing
at a compound annual growth
rate of 13.4%.''
The company has an
outstanding financial profile and
has achieved excellent financial
performance during this period.
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
restrain the Senate from
screening and confirming the
candidates in the list that was
forwarded to it by the President,
as doing so would amount to gross
violation of the Constitution.
The plaintiff specifically asked
the court to abort the screening
of Abubakar Musa, Edward Okpe,
B. Abubakar, M. Francis, Jude
Nwabueze, Josephine Enobi,
Christopher Opeyemi,
Mohammed Idris, Hassan
Maryam Aliyu, Fashola Akeem
Adebowale and Hamas Muazu.
Cited as dfendants in the
matter were President Buhari,
the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of
Justice, the Senate, the Senate
President, Clerk of Senate, the
Chief Justice of Nigeria and the
NJC.
Meanwhile, the CJN, Justice
Tanko Muhammad had since
sworn in the 11 new Judges after
the Senate declined to act on the
President’s list on the premise
that it was not constitutional
vested with such authority.
Consequently, in his
judgement, though Justice Ekwo
declared President Buhari’s
action as unconstitutional, he
however refused to void the
swearing-in of the 11 judges.
“It does not affect the
swearing of the appointees”,
the court held.
If we look at the last 7 years, you
will see that our EBITDA has
increased by a CAGR of 9%. We
have paid over N1 trillion in
dividends to shareholders in the
last seven years. As Africa’s
largest cement manufacturer, we
will continue to prioritize giving
value to investors and other
stakeholders,” he added.
In his presentation, Group
Chief Executive Officer, Dangote
Cement, Michel Puchercos, said
amidst the COVID-19
challenges, the company placed
an emphasis on the health and
safety of team members,
customers, suppliers, and
communities at large as a core
value.
“We have implemented several
rigorous protocols in all our
operations across the continent
to support public health policies
and ensure the highest level of
protection of our stakeholders. In
addition, we are closely
monitoring all markets according
to the guidance provided by the
authorities in each country to
prevent and mitigate adverse
effects of the pandemic,” he said.
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—PRESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari said
yesterday his administration has
commenced the distribution of
palliatives worth N10.9 billion to
households and Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises, MSME.
Buhari, who disclosed this in a
speech delivered via a videomessage,
on the first day of the
75th session of the UN General
Assembly Debate, said the
disbursement of the sum was part
of efforts to reduce the suffering
of Nigerians imposed by the
COVID-19.
“In order to mitigate its impact
BLACK WEDNESDAY: 30 killed
in Kogi petrol tanker explosion
•Family of 5, school children, Poly students roast to death
•Buhari mourns •Cars burnt, properties razed •Gov Bello expresses sadness
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru Boluwaji
Obahopo
LOKOJA—ABOUt 30
persons, including school
children, died yesterday in a
petrol tanker explosion that also
razed several cars and other
properties around Felele area of
Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
Among the casualties were five
students of Kogi State
Polytechnic, three primary school
children who were being taken
to school by their father and a
woman with her two kids.
Although eyewitness accounts
put the casualty figure at 30, the
Federal Road Road Safety
Commission, FRSC, said 23
persons died in the explosion.
Several persons who also
sustained injuries in the
explosion are receiving
treatment in different hospitals
in the city.
Meanwhile, President
Muhammadu Buhari yesterday
said the death of 23 people
confirmed by the FRSC
represented another disturbing
and saddening incident in the
litany of tragedies that have
befallen our country.”
Reacting to the explosion,
President Buhari said “I am
seriously worried about the
frequency of these unfortunate
on Nigerians, our administration
has commenced the
disbursement of the sum of N10.9
billion to households and Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises
as palliatives,” he said.
Restating Nigeria’s
commitment to work with other
member states to promote the
well-being of citizens, Buhari said:
“I should also state that Nigeria
is committed to working with
other member states in the spirit
of global cooperation and
solidarity to promote human
health and general well-being.
“Nigeria will continue to
partner with WHO and some
countries to ensure accelerated
development and manufacturing,
and large scale tragedies in the
country which cause needless
deaths.”
The President in a statement
issued by his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity,
Mallam Garba Shehu said,
“these frequent incidents that
result in loss of lives and property
are a national scandal caused by
our indifference to safety
standards.”
He said: “Many accidents are
preventable if proper proactive
and precautionary measures are
put in place or properly observed
as routine policies.”
Vanguard gathered that the
tanker fully loaded with premium
motor spirit, PMS, which belongs
to the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
suffered brake failure around
8:30am and rammed into five cars,
two motorbikes and three
tricycles, popularly known as
Keke NAPEP, killing all the
occupants.
Also killed in the inferno was a
businessman, identified as Pastor
Samson, his wife and three
children, who until his death was
a member of Baptist Church,
Felele.
Samson, a dealer in sewing
machines was said to be on
his way to drop his children
off at school when the
explosion occurred.
as well as uninhibited supply of
safe and effective coronavirus
vaccines to all.’’
He noted that government has
established a N500 billion fiscal
stimulus package and sustained
delivery of humanitarian and
social interventions to poor and
vulnerable households, adding
that the Central Bank has
launched a N3.5 trillion-stimulus
package to boost manufacturing
and facilitate import substitution.
The President described the
theme of the General Assembly
as most appropriate and timely,
noting that it captured the
common desire for a renewed and
revitalised organisation in need
of multilateral approaches to the
An eyewitness said: “I was
about crossing the road when I
noticed the tanker driver
signalling to motorists to steer
clear, but before I could say Jack
Robinson, the tanker was on its
side falling on all vehicles beside
it. Immediately the tanker fell, fire
started and incinerated all
vehicles along its way.’’
Men of the FRSC who arrived
the scene around 10am came
with an ambulance from rescue/
rehabilitation team to evacuate
the corpses burnt beyond
recognition, while locals made
frantic efforts to identify them.
Piqued by the sad
development, some students of
the state polytechnic, Lokoja,
whose colleagues were involved
in the accident, almost mobbed
the FRSC rescuing team.
However, the sector
commander of FRSC, Idris Fika
Ali, said 23 persons were killed in
the explosion, while one child
escaped with injuries.
President Buhari regretted
that “ours is a country where we
move on whenever tragedies
occur instead of taking
preventive safety measures to
forestall future calamities.”
He called on the county’s
transport authorities, traffic and
road management agencies as
well as law enforcement officials
to sit up and enforce safety
challenges facing the world.
‘’As we reflect on the future
we want and the United Nations
we need, we must realise that
the people of the world not only
look up to us: they count on us.
“The future we want must
guarantee human rights,
human dignity, and prosperity.
The principles of ‘Leaving no one
behind and Doing no harm’ must
be expressed through
accountability, strategic growth
initiatives and elimination of
threats of all kinds,’’ he said.
He noted that in the quest to
provide a future of hope and
prosperity for all Nigerians, his
administration had embarked on
measures to ensure national
T R A G E D Y :
Deputy Governor
of Kogi State,
Chief Edward
Onoja (middle)
and some security
chiefs at the scene
of the petrol tanker
fire explosion.
standards with more seriousness,
adding that “refusal to do the right
thing can cause potential tragic
problems that harm innocent
people.”
According to him, “Nigeria is
not having a shortage of laws and
regulations, but our problem is
lack of zeal to enforce those laws
and regulations for the sake of
public safety.”
He condoled with Kogi State
government and the families of
the victims of the tragedy.
Reacting yesterday, Kogi State
governor, Yahaya Bello,
expressed shock and sadness
over the fatal tanker explosion.
A statement by the Chief Press
Secretary to the Governor,
Onogwu Mohammed, read:
“Governor Bello is very sad to
learn of the tragic loss of lives,
many vehicles, property and other
valuables in the petrol tanker fire,
while expressing his deepest
condolences to the family of those
affected by the ugly occurrence.
“This unfortunate accident is a
sad development and I share the
feeling of those who lost their
loved ones in this incident.”
The governor also urged the
students of the state polytechnic
to remain calm and peaceful,
stating that he equally shared
in their grieving moment over
the death of some of their
colleagues in the disaster.
COVID-19: We’ve commenced distribution of palliatives worth N10.9bn — BUHARI
resilience. ‘’We intend to achieve
this through the implementation
of the Economic Sustainability
Plan and the Medium Term
National Development for the
period 2020-2025 and 2026-2030.
‘’We expect that these
ambitious initiatives will deliver
sustainable economic growth and
development to Nigeria,’’ he said.
On confronting the COVID-19
pandemic, Buhari said: ‘’In the
aftermath of the outbreak in
Nigeria, we prioritised vulnerable
groups, including women,
children, older persons and the
unemployed, in our efforts to
provide medical and social
assistance to cushion the socioeconomic
effects of the disease.''