Headlines
Senate Rejects Bill to Phase Out Petrol Vehicles by 2035
The Senate on Wednesday rejected the Bill for an Act to phase out petrol vehicles by 2035 and introduce electric cars.
This followed observations by lawmakers on the impossibility of mandating Nigerians to stop the use of petrol vehicles.
Following the rejection, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce Bruce, withdrew it.
He, however, raised a Point of Order, saying that posterity would judge him right for the need to embrace electric vehicles, adding that in no distant time, combustible vehicles would be phased out.
According to him, the earlier Nigeria buys into the change, the better.
“I can never quarrel with my leaders and friends, but I want them to close their eyes and know they are in the 21st century.
“I own an electric car that I have been using for the past five years. It is cheaper to maintain and durable. So, the fears put forward by my colleagues are highly debatable.
“I will withdraw the bill, but I want my colleagues to know they do not belong in the 21st century,” he said.
Presenting the bill before its rejection, Bruce said one of the major advantages of using electric vehicles was that it would help to solve the problem of ozone layer depletion.
He also said the use of electric vehicles would be health friendly, among other things.
Contributing, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, congratulated Murray-Bruce for the bill. He, however, said there was no need for a law to be passed for Nigerians to switch from use of petrol vehicles to electric vehicles.
He said, going down history, people moved from the use of animals as sole means of transportation to the use of bicycles, motor bikes, cars and other advanced means of transportation.
According to him, the provisions of the 1999 Constitution which provide for freedom of movement sufficed.
“I congratulate Ben Murray Bruce for his uncommon common sense and brilliant ideas in the lead debate, but what is not common is the need to introduce a law to mandate the use of electric cars.
“If we go down in history donkeys were used as means of transportation and there is no law that caused people to begin to use cars.
“This is ancillary to section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires freedom of movement. So, he should consider taking back the bill.”
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, emphasised the need to move to other items on the day’s Order Paper since Murray-Bruce had withdrawn the bill.
He also said the Point of Order raised by Murray-Bruce before withdrawing the bill was noted.
NAN
FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.
Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.
There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.
“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
AFP
Iran, on Wednesday, shut the Strait of Hormuz following fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire with the United States could collapse less than a day after it was reached.
The closure comes amid renewed hostilities that have cast doubt over efforts to halt more than a month of fighting. While both Iran and the United States had earlier declared victory after brokering the truce, fresh missile and drone attacks were reported across Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside intensified Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit residential and commercial areas without prior warning, leaving at least multiple people dead and many others injured in what has been described as one of the deadliest days of the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the closure, with IRNA reporting that the move was taken “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.” The development has heightened concerns over the stability of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States.
Authorities in Iran also imposed strict controls on maritime movement in the strategic waterway. Ships near the strait were instructed to seek permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, before passage. A radio message cited by The Wall Street Journal warned that any vessel attempting to cross without approval “will be destroyed.”
Earlier in the day, Iran had indicated a willingness to reopen the strait during the proposed two-week ceasefire, noting this would be done with “coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” U.S. officials, meanwhile, said American forces could assist in managing ship traffic, although details remain unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump also told ABC News he was open to a “joint venture” arrangement with Iran that would involve charging tolls for vessels passing through the strait.
However, reports of ceasefire breaches soon emerged. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a role in negotiating the agreement, said on X that violations had already been recorded, further deepening uncertainty over whether the truce will hold.
The Presidency has come up with reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s absent at the commissioning of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s projects in Lagos, on Wednesday.
Tinubu was noticeably absent at the scheduled project commissioning in Lagos, sparking public curiosity.
However, Sunday Dare, his Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation, has clarified the reason behind the last-minute development.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dare revealed that the President had to prioritise urgent national security matters over the event.
According to him, although Tinubu is currently in Lagos, he has been deeply engaged in high-level State duties, particularly ongoing security briefings tied to recent developments across the country.
“The president has been busy taking constant briefs and has to prioritise when it comes to state matters, especially security,” Dare stated.
He referenced rising security concerns, including recent unrest linked to incidents in Jos, noting that the President has been closely monitoring the situation and working directly with intelligence agencies.
Dare emphasised that Tinubu remains fully engaged behind the scenes, actively coordinating with security operatives and receiving continuous updates to address emerging threats.
The absence, he stressed, should not be seen as neglect of official duties but rather a reflection of the President’s focus on safeguarding national stability at a critical time.
Tinubu skipped the Lagos commissioning not out of disregard, but to handle pressing security issues demanding immediate presidential attention.
