The Federal Ministry of Transportation has dismissed reports claiming that a high-speed bullet train linking Lagos and Abuja is set to cut travel time between both cities to just two to three hours.

In a statement issued by the ministry’s management, it was clarified that the news report, published by a major news media (not Vanguard) on February 18, 2025, was false and misleading.

The report alleged that Nigeria’s transport sector was undergoing a revolution with the imminent launch of the bullet train, citing the Director of Operations at Geofocus Consortium, Engineer Yinka Idris, as its source.

The ministry confirmed that Geofocus Consortium had submitted an unsolicited proposal for the Lagos-Abuja bullet train project in 2016 under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model with 100% private sector financing.

However, it was only in 2024 that the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project was forwarded to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for due diligence.

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has dismissed claims that he was handpicked by political godfathers to be remotely controlled as the state’s number one citizen.

Okpebholo debunked the claims during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme when questioned about his political lineage.

According to him, it was Almighty God who used certain individuals to support his governorship ambition and help him assume office.

“Can you even point out one godfather who was pushing me?” he asked.

“God was using people to help me, to support me, to get to where I am today,” he added.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, has said the fire outbreak that started on a dry crude storage barge at Cawthorne Channel 1 in Rivers State has been successfully extinguished.

The spokesperson for NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Recall that the BESTAF 5 barge caught fire around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, causing panic in the area.

However, NNPC confirmed that the incident did not affect operations at the flow station in the vicinity.

According to the state-owned oil firm, no lives were lost during the incident.

“Thanks to the swift response of our emergency teams and industry partners, the fire was successfully contained. The incident did not impact flow station operations,” Soneye said.

The NNPC spokesperson also assured the public of the company’s commitment to safety, environmental protection, and operational integrity.

“Most importantly, there were no casualties, and all personnel are safe. NNPC Ltd. prioritizes safety and remains fully committed to environmental protection and operational integrity,” Soneye stated.

Reports indicate that government authorities have commenced investigations to determine the cause of the incident.