On Wednesday, the Lagos State Government initiated the demolition of illegal buildings located in the Banana Island area of the state.

This action was taken as part of the government's efforts to address the issue of frequent building collapses in the state.

The exercise was carried out by officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit, and the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority.

The team was led by the General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, and the Task Force Chairman, CSP Shola Jejeloye, as well as other agency leaders.

According to a statement from the state Ministry of Information, the affected buildings violated the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Development Law (2019) and were identified and removed/demolished in line with the agency's statutory responsibilities.

The move was also in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's directive after he visited the site of a collapsed seven-storey building on Banana Island. The governor had noted that the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the Island's plan.

The building collapse, which occurred on April 12, resulted in the rescue of seven people from the rubble. However, one adult male victim was found in the rubble almost 48 hours after the incident. The state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development confirmed that no approval was given for the construction of the collapsed structure.

On April 22, while leading a delegation to assess the incident, Governor Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition of over 20 buildings without valid building approvals, particularly those that violated building regulations and plans of the state. The governor also expressed displeasure at the issuance of a permit to sand fill the Lagos Lagoon without regard for the area's topography and the approvals given to developers by the federal government with the collusion of some corrupt officials of the Lagos State government.

In a statewide broadcast on Thursday, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu criticized the rejection of old naira notes, describing it as a blatant disregard for the law.

The governor expressed concern over the high number of traders and business owners in the state who refused to accept old currency notes, warning that this would have severe repercussions for the local economy and trade transactions.

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that old currency notes must be accepted as legal tender for goods and services in the country.

“It is therefore of great concern to me today, that a large section of our people in the state, particularly traders in our markets, taxi and bus drivers, barbers, auto mechanics and artisans are rejecting the old naira notes thereby inflicting and sustaining a needless pain on their fellow citizens and customers.

“I, therefore, wish to inform you that the rejection of the old one thousand naira, five hundred naira and two-hundred-naira notes by us will do us no good. It will stifle our local trade and business transactions, weaken our economy and cause us great harm and avoidable troubles,” he said.

He appealed to commercial banks to increase the circulation of all currencies at their disposals and devise a more effective way to relieve congestion in the banks.

He urged residents of the state to embrace and accept the old notes alongside the new notes as stipulated by law.

“I hereby use this opportunity to appeal to you all, my good people of Ondo state, to embrace and accept the old notes alongside the new notes as stipulated by law. Let us not create a needless tension over the matter. Please collect, spend and exchange the old notes without let or hindrance,” he added.

There are fears that dozens of people, including women, have died in an explosion at a crude oil tapping site in the Rumuekpe community of Emuoha Local Government Area in Rivers State.

The incident reportedly took place around 2am on Friday when a bus carrying crude oil caught fire while attempting to reach an illegal refining point in the area.

Fyneface Dumnamene, an environmentalist and executive director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, confirmed the incident, stating that the organization received the news through its 'Crude Oil Spill Alert Response System.'

The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, also confirmed the incident to the media, adding that the Divisional Police Officer was en route to the scene.

More details soon...