TRAFFIC congestion is one problem that has defied all the measures applied by successive administrations in Lagos. It was a problem that the Babatunde Fashola-led government also inherited and had at inception tackled by first addressing the prevailing transportation challenges in the state.

It came as a shock for residents of Abeokuta when a father who claimed to be fed up with the erring ways of his son publicly disowned him and invited who ever was interested to come and take him away. Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that the enraged and seemingly irrational father of the rejected child, Sodiq Wasiu, is an Abeokuta-based Tipper Lorry Driver known simply as Baba Sodiq.

Miss Nadel Hunpoyanwha, daughter of the slain Chief Timothy Hunpoyanwha, who was shot dead by one of the security officials attached to the demolition team in the on-going removal of shanties on the Iwaya/Makoko waterfront, Yaba Local Council Development Area, LCDA, yesterday, cried out for justice, saying the killer should be brought to book. She also appealed for help so she can continue her education. Ten-year-old Nadel is in primary five.

A housewife, Mrs. Modupe Falola, stunned Agege Grade A Customary Court when she said that her husband, Mr. Falilu Falola, denied her sex for five years. The mother of one claimed that trouble started when her husband returned from church one day and told her that she was suffering from a generational curse which she had to pray fervently about for deliverance.

Disagreement lingers over the heir to the throne of Aidonogie of South Ibie Kingdom in Etsako West Local Government of Edo State. Recently, Alhaji Kelvin Aliyu Zibiri Danesi claimed to be the Aidonogie, saying there is no controversy over the title. Prince Umoru Inusa Umoru, a chartered accountant and tax practitioner, in this interview, speaks on the genesis of the dispute surrounding the rightful heir to the Aidonogie of South- Ibie throne. Excerpts:

It is drama unlimited. And it is not about to stop. Everyday in one part of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, or the other, you are bound to see a car owner or driver locked in an altercation or fisticuffs with parking attendants engaged by the FCT authorities.

It is unlawful and punishable under Lagos state laws for anybody to cut down any tree without permission from the state Ministry of Environment.

LIFE has not been the same in Ula Okogbe community in Ahoada West local government area of Rivers State after the recent petrol fire disaster that consumed hundreds of lives at the East West road end of the community.

BUT for the timely intervention of Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who opened up about 199 drainage channels linked to streams and rivers within Ibadan metropolis, the state would, by now, be counting another heavy human and material loss after the heavy downpour that sacked many residents in the city from their homes.

As the demolition of Makoko in the Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, entered day three, yesterday, the state government demolished over 50 more structures on the waterfront, bringing the total to 250 destroyed so far.

TREE planting has always been encouraged as trees are known to enhance the natural beauty of the environment. That was the case with Igbogbo/Bayeku Road in the Ikorodu area of Lagos which enjoys a peaceful ambience because of the trees that line it from one end to the other, casting a beautifying shade over road users. History has it that the trees were planted over two decades ago. This explains why many, for a long time, delighted in taking a walk from Igbogbo to Bayeku while savouring the shade and cool breeze the trees provided.

Some traders in Nworie Lane Industrial Market, Owerri, as well as the management of United Bank for Africa Plc, Douglas Road branch, Owerri, will definitely not forget Monday, July 9, 2012, in a hurry. This is a day a mysterious fire razed part of the Industrial Market, some adjoining buildings and two floors of the bank!

AS Ramadan approaches, David Emeka Kalu, a poet and freelance journalist in this humourous piece, “Slow Down Food, Lemme Catch Up Witcha!”, writes about discovering Lagos’s street delicacies and authentic local cuisine.

IN Lagos State, Access 57 stands for the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas with the sole purpose of bringing government closer to the people.

THE extra security measures taken by the Federal Government in forestalling any possible attack on the Kirikiri Prison, may be taking its tolls on residents and traders of the area following the deployment of soldiers from the 81 Division Lagos, to guard the prison.