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Afenifere leader, Fasoranti, mourns Clark
The National Leader of the Pan-Yoruba Socio-political groups, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, has expressed shock over the demise of the Leader of the Pan-Niger Development Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.
A statement by Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, quoted Fasoranti as saying that lovers of democracy and particularly advocates of restructuring will sorely miss the former Commissioner for Information.
Fasoranti said that “Since the need to ensure that Nigeria serves the best interests of the vast majority became more pertinent, my brother, Chief Edwin Clark, was a very strong advocate.
“His voice was loud in the agitations for a restructured Nigeria. He always displayed the same strong passions on national issues especially those that affected the South-South”.
Fasoranti said that it grieved his heart that he had to mourn another compatriot just a few days after the death of the erstwhile acting leader of Afenifere and a comrade-in-arm, Chief Ayodele Adebanjo.
“Of course, we know that death is inevitable for all mortals, but it can be heart-rending and painful to be losing one’s comrades in succession.
” On behalf of Afenifere and fellow compatriots, I condole the immediate and extended families of our late patriot, Chief Edwin Clark, the people of Delta State and the people of the South South generally on his demise”.
“Until his death at age 97, Clark was the Leader of the South and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) formed by the ethnic nationalities from the Middle Belt, South-South, South East and South West of Nigeria.
“Afenifere, representing the South West, was a foundation member of the organization. Indeed, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a prominent leader of Afenifere was the deputy Chairman of SMBLF before his death last week Friday.
The Afenifere leader enjoined those that Clark left behind, including members of the SMBF and PANDEF, not to grieve much but to take solace in the fact that the late Chairman of the body made remarkable contributions to the organization as well as to the South South region and Nigeria.
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.
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