News
Many Rendered Homeless As Petrol Tanker Explodes in Lagos Filling Station
There was pandemonium at Idi-Oro, in the Mushin area of Lagos State, on Wednesday, when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) exploded at a Mobil Filling Station in the community.
The fire was said to have spread to an adjoining three-storey building, burning down the property.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the fire started around 1pm when the tanker, laden with 33,000 litres of petrol, was discharging its content at the filling station on Agege Motor Road.
The fire also destroyed property worth millions of naira and rendered many occupants of the building homeless.
Our correspondent observed as some residents tried in vain to salvage their property while firefighters battled the inferno.
A tenant, Sowemimo Oluwaseyi, blamed the filling station for the incident.
He said, “I was at work when my brother called me that fire from Mobil gutted our house. The filling station does a lot of things that we don’t like. We complained to the former DPO at the Alakara Police Station and he said things would be done properly, but this new DPO does not care.
“This particular tanker that caused this fire today (Wednesday) has been there since yesterday. What was it doing there? It ought to have discharged its content and leave the premises. We have been complaining about this act for more than five years, but nobody did anything.
“We were unable to salvage anything. The clothes on me now are what I have left; even my mum, who is a caterer, her property is in the building and we could not salvage anything. All her plates, coolers, burners, everything is gone. Where do we start from?
“I recently bought some appliances because I was planning to move out of this place. But now, everything is gone. Even all my credentials are gone.”
Among the emergency responders at the scene were the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, National Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, University of Lagos Fire Service, Disaster Management Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The filling station was cordoned off by the Lagos State Safety Commission.
The management of the Mobil Filling Station, in a statement on Wednesday, said it was investigating the cause of the incident, adding that measures would be put in place to forestall a recurrence.
The statement read, “11 Plc management (operator of Mobil Service Station) would like to bring to the attention of the general public that there was a fire incident at one of our retail service stations (filling station) at Idi-Oro, Mushin, this afternoon during the product discharge operation.
“Thankfully, with the help of the Lagos State Fire Service, our in-house fire team and other operators’ fire logistics, the fire has been properly contained. We are now entering the phase of investigating the cause of the incident as well as taking stock to ascertain the level of damage and to put corrective processes in place to forestall any future recurrence.”
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, in a statement, said the agency got a call to the incident around 1.17pm.
She explained that the agency mobilised other responders in combating the inferno.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that it was a 33,000 tanker that was fully laden with Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, that was on fire.
“Although the cause of the disaster had yet to be ascertained, officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service remain on top of the situation and would provide necessary updates as situation demands,” she added.
The Head of Public Education, Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Shakiru, stated that the Ilupeju, Alausa and Isolo fire stations responded to the emergency.
He said, “Nobody died in the incident; the driver sustained some injuries. He had third-degree burns treated by LASAMBUS at the scene of the incident.”
The Director-General of LASEMA, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed that there was no casualty.
The Punch
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It would not be out of place to state that every human has experienced one challenge or another in his lifetime, and somehow still experiencing some form of challenges, no matter how mild or insignificant. No one can claim he is without experience.
Against this backdrop therefore, I ask, what’s your experience like?
Different life experiences are encountered in our everyday living including business, marriage, academic, spiritual, family personal or professional. Sometimes, our experiences shape us and leave us with lasting memories.
One of the things I have learnt about life is never to complain; complaining doesn’t change anything, rather it aggravates everything. If I may ask, why worry when you can’t change the situation? According to the Serenity Prayer, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
As humans, it’s normal to give up when the odds are against one, pushing becomes a herculean task when the odds are against one, motivation becomes an illusion, and inspiration becomes imagination.
One of the great ways to succeed in life is to live each day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, and accepting hardships as one of the “pathways” to succeed despite all the odds. This is one of the important teachings of the Serenity Prayer.
Let’s analyze the Serenity Prayer. We were instructed to accept the things we cannot change, have the courage to change the things we can change, and then seek discernment to know when we need to accept our faith and when we need to move on despite the odds staring at us.
An example of what we cannot change is death; we just must live through it with the right attitude. An example of what we can change is our lifestyle, and to know the difference, we need to listen to our inner heart.
As we explore life vicissitudes, we are supposed to know when to act, when we are supposed to relax, and when the universe, God, or life is teaching us or telling us something.
Understanding the concept of against all odds is not for the faint-hearted because it is hard to trust something or surrender to someone when one doesn’t feel secure. Imagine a case scenario when one is trying to contest for an election, and the institutions and gatekeepers are against one’s candidacy, and still the person perseveres. Taking a case study of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States of America, very few people believed he would win the election because he’s a Black man. Against all odds, he won the election and re-election twice against two formidable, wealthy White politicians.
The significance of this victory is that president Obama has faith and believes in himself despite the numerous nay voices he was hearing from within and outside.
We have all experienced this situation in one way or another, but we refused to give up. I remembered when I had my first election, I wasn’t given a chance to win, but to my detractors’ greatest concern, I won with an impressive result.
Another scenario, played out while I was in New York Law School, I was pursuing a program I had little or no interest in. I personally didn’t believe I would graduate from the school, but as fate may have it, I was able to get a scholarship when my results were considered an uncommon academic success.
The moral of these scenarios is that, in the journey of life, we must have faith in our vision and we must believe in our capacity to succeed against all odds. When you do, people will see and feel it and potentially come through for you, all things being equal.
Furthermore, in the journey to life, life throws different arrows and shades at us. The best we can do is to accept it and be open. Sometimes, what we fail to understand is that our blessings and opportunities come in places we don’t expect. Sometimes, unexpected doors and opportunities come to us in places we least expect.
So, when the odds come up, please don’t give up, just gear up to the challenge and understand the inherent lessons life wants you to learn because at the end of the day, though times never last, tough people do.
In conclusion, never allow the odds of life to define you; rather, use it as a stepping stone to build a castle. That was exactly what I did when I was told I couldn’t succeed in the USA and when I was told I was a horrible writer. Against all odds, by the special grace of God, I was able to exceed expectations by publishing three books and appeared several times on television.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Four months after defecting from the Labour Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the member representing Oredo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Engineer Esosa Iyawe, has resigned from the party,
The lawmaker said, “It is imperative to state that this decision is a result of the irreconcilable difference between me and my Governor, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Governor of Edo State.”
Iyawe, who joined the APC on December 20, 2025, announced his resignation in a letter dated May 6, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman in Ward 1, Oredo federal constituency, Edo state.
In the letter, the federal lawmaker also withdrew his interest in contesting the 2027 House of Representatives election under the APC platform.
“I hereby withdraw my expression of interest to contest for the position of House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections and to resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC), effective immediately,” the letter read in part.
Iyawe appreciated the party for the opportunity to serve and for the experiences gained during his membership, but stated that personal and political considerations informed his decision to leave.
He further disclosed plans to pitch his tent with another political platform, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), noting that the move aligned with his political convictions and aspirations.
Spokesman for the APC in Edo state, Barrister Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, said the lawmaker’s claim of dumping the party was “far from correct,” insisting that the party remained united and well-organised under the leadership of Monday Okpebholo.
He added that the growing number of politicians defecting to the APC was evidence of the party’s strong structure and popularity in the state.
