• PFIPC DG Adeyemi

The Budget Office of the Federation on Friday defended the agency’s role in the controversial budgetary allocation to the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), insisting that despite provisions made in the 2026 Appropriation Act, not a single kobo was released to the fake agency.

The Director-General,Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this during an appearance before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged unlawful establishment and funding of the council.

The DG maintained that the Budget Office neither created the council nor approved its establishment, recruitment or salaries.

He told the lawmakers that the office merely carried out its constitutional responsibility of assessing the fiscal implications of approvals issued by other government institutions.

The DG explained that while the council requested N3.8 billion as personnel cost, the Budget Office rejected the estimate and independently calculated a much lower figure of N802.98 million based on the approved establishment and applicable public service salary structure.

He stressed, however, that the personnel provision never translated into actual spending because the office withheld the mandatory financial clearance.

According to him, financial clearance is the final legal approval required before recruitment, payroll enrolment and salary payments can commence.

“There was therefore no financial clearance. There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrolment. There was no salary payment,” he said.

The committee chairman, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, defended the Budget Office’s actions, saying the evidence before lawmakers showed the office acted on approvals issued by the relevant government agencies.He said the investigation had already established that the documents relied upon by those agencies were later discovered to be forged.

“The question is whether the Budget Office allocated budget to this agency without the agency satisfying the requirements. The answer, based on the documents before us, is no. I repeat, no,” he said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos Sector Command, has advised motorists to avoid the Kara Bridge area on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway following multiple road traffic crashes that occurred in the early hours of Friday, disrupting traffic flow in both directions.

According to the FRSC, the first incident happened around 12:05 a.m. on the outbound carriageway towards Ibadan, involving five articulated trucks and one Toyota Sienna. Preliminary investigations point to speed violation and loss of control as the cause.

Seven adult males were involved in the crash. One person died, another sustained injuries, and five escaped unhurt. Recovery efforts have been complicated because the body of the deceased is trapped under one of the heavily loaded trucks, requiring heavy-duty equipment for evacuation.

While rescue teams were still at the scene, a second crash occurred at approximately 3:15 a.m. on the inbound carriageway towards Lagos. A Mazda commercial bus suffered brake failure, leaving its driver seriously injured. The driver was promptly rescued and transported to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre for treatment.

FRSC rescue teams, alongside LASEMA and other emergency responders, are working to clear the wreckage, recover the trapped victim, and restore normal traffic flow.

Lagos Sector Commander, Corps Commander Kehinde Ganiyu Hamzat, expressed sympathy to the families of the victims and called on motorists to exercise patience and cooperate with traffic personnel at the scene.

Motorists have been strongly advised to use alternative routes to avoid delays along the Kara-Ojodu Berger corridor until operations are concluded:

• Outbound traffic (Lagos to Ibadan): Divert via the Ikorodu-Sagamu route.
• Inbound traffic (towards Lagos): Use the Lekki-Epe Expressway or Ikorodu-Sagamu Expressway.

The FRSC further reminded drivers, especially those operating articulated vehicles and commercial buses, to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy — with particular attention to braking systems — before any journey. The Command also urged drivers to avoid unnecessary night travel, reduce speed in poor visibility, maintain safe distances, avoid dangerous overtaking, and rest when fatigued.

The FRSC remains committed to restoring normalcy as quickly as possible in collaboration with other emergency and traffic management agencies.

PRESS RELEASE

FRSC ADVISES MOTORISTS TO USE ALTERNATIVE ROUTES AS RESCUE OPERATIONS CONTINUE FOLLOWING MULTIPLE CRASHES ON KARA BRIDGE

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos Sector Command, wishes to inform the motoring public that its rescue teams are currently managing the aftermath of multiple road traffic crashes that occurred at Kara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the early hours of today, Friday, 24th July, 2026.

•Kara Bridge inward Mowe-Ibafo in the early hours of Friday, July 24

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Friday advised motorists travelling from Lagos towards Mowe, Ibafo and Ogun State to divert through Ogunnusi Road, River Valley, Agidingbi and Allen Avenue before reconnecting to their destinations through Maryland or Anthony.

LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare Oki, said that the alternative routes are to ease severe gridlock caused by multiple crashes involving articulated trucks on the Kara Bridge section of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.

Speaking to journalists at the accident scene, he said that the first crash occurred at about 12:05 a.m. when a trailer loaded with flour overturned on Kara Bridge while heading towards Mowe, blocking the carriageway and disrupting traffic.

He said that efforts by other motorists to avoid the obstruction triggered another collision involving about six vehicles, resulting in a complete traffic lockdown on the outbound section of the expressway.

Bakare Oki said the congestion stretched from Kara Bridge through Berger to the Secretariat axis, forcing the agency to immediately deploy personnel and recovery equipment to the scene.