A deadly tanker explosion on Monday morning claimed multiple lives in Kaduna, the state capital.

The incident, which occurred around 8:30 a.m. near Rochas Foundation School along the Kaduna–Kano Expressway bypass, involved two fuel-laden tankers and two passenger-loaded Golf cars. Eyewitnesses said the collision triggered five deafening blasts, engulfing the vehicles in flames and sending thick black smoke into the sky.

“All the occupants of the cars died instantly, except one driver who survived but suffered severe burns,” an eyewitness, Abubakar, recounted.

Emergency responders and security operatives have cordoned off the area, urging motorists to use alternative routes as rescue and recovery efforts continue.

Attempts to get an official statement from the Kaduna State Police Command were unsuccessful, but a police source confirmed that officers from the Zaria Area Command were at the scene.

A political earthquake hit Ekiti State on Sunday as Governor Biodun Oyebanji stunned the state’s political class by dissolving the State Executive Council with immediate effect, sending several Commissioners and Special Advisers packing.

The dramatic shake-up, announced by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro, orders the affected officials to hand over to their respective Permanent Secretaries or the most senior civil servants in their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

In a surprise twist, some heavyweight portfolios survived the purge. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, along with the Commissioners for Health and Human Services; Agriculture and Food Security; Education; Works; and Trade, Investment, Industry and Cooperatives remain firmly in their seats.

Special Advisers for Special Education and Social Inclusion, and Lands, Survey, and e-GIS also escaped the governor’s sweeping hammer.

Meanwhile, all Directors General in the council — including those in charge of the Office of Transformation and Service Delivery (OTSD), the SDGs and Project Monitoring, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) — will retain their positions.

Governor Oyebanji, in a terse message, thanked the outgoing cabinet members for their service and wished them well in their future endeavours. But insiders say the move signals a bold repositioning ahead of a new political phase in Ekiti.

The Federal Government has disbursed the second tranche of the outstanding N35,000 wage award arrears to federal workers.

This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday, August 9, 2025, by the spokesman of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Bawa Mokwa.

According to the OAGF, one month’s arrears out of the initial five-month backlog had earlier been paid. With the latest payment, three months of arrears remain outstanding.

The office dismissed claims that the government had abandoned the payments, stating that the arrears are being cleared in instalments of N35,000 per month until fully settled.