Agency
Manchester United winger tests positive for coronavirus ahead of FA Cup clash with Watford
Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri has tested positive for Covid-19, ruling him out of making his senior debut against Watford on Saturday. The 19-year-old, who signed in the summer transfer window, has not been displaying symptoms but returned a positive test, his agency confirmed. He must now follow the Government guidelines and isolate for 10 days. “I think we’ve done well to follow the protocols as we have, we’ve had the odd case and Facundo Pellistri got a positive, so he reported that on his Twitter, we don’t normally comment on who they are but Facundo is well and hopefully he’ll be back with us soon,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been with the reserves and under-23s and he wasn’t really in our group over Christmas. Apart from th...
National park trains 1,200 officers on combat readiness
Dr. Ibrahim Goni, the Conservator-General of the National Park Service, says the agency has trained 1,200 officers on basic combat readiness paramilitary by the Nigeria Army. Goni, who disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the training was to help the officers and men to meet the current and future conservation requirements. “Training and re-training of officers is key to achieving success in the implementation of the service mandate. “Therefore, manpower development as a human capital function is responsible for developing the skills, knowledge and competence of the service,” he said. Goni said that the agency would focus more on manpower development to help the officers and men achieve the mandate of the service. He said that in spite of its limited resources...
Nigeria fines UK, South African airlines for breach of coronavirus protocol
The Nigerian government has rolled out punitive measures against foreign airline operators flying into Nigeria, particularly those from the United Kingdom and South Africa whose passengers allegedly violated the reviewed travel protocols announced by Nigeria’s regulatory body for aviation NCAA. The agency, in a circular issued on December 26 by its director-general Musa Nuhu, disclosed that airlines from the affected countries shall be fined $3,500 for each passenger that flouts the guidelines, which were reviewed to prevent an outbreak of the new variant of the coronavirus recently reported in the UK and South Africa. The circular stated that repeated non-compliance by any carrier would result in the suspension of the airline’s permit to fly into Nigeria, as defaulting passengers are boun...
UK says new coronavirus strain ‘out of control’
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”. Hancock warned that the strict measures could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out. “We acted very quickly and decisively,” Hancock told Sky News, justifying the “stay at home” order and closure of non-essential shops affecting around a third of England’s population. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that millions must cancel Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly. Hancock told Sky News that the situation was “deadly seri...
Official: Amotekun corps never killed anybody in Ibadan
The Commandant of Oyo State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, Col Olayinka Olayanju (retd), has dismissed the media report that operatives of the agency opened gunfire on some residents of Ibadan, killed two and injured many. He confirmed that there was a crisis around Born Photo and Isale Osi area, where the men of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) faction of late Dr Frederick Fasehun, was trying to deal with some hoodlums. According to him, the operatives of Amotekun Corps were invited and its operatives went to the scene. The personnel of the agency that went to the scene, he said were returning from an operation, where a Lebanese man was rescued from his abductors on December 15. The incident reportedly occurred at Asaka area of Ibadan. But two persons and many other people, a...
NIMC insists on deadline for linking of NIN to mobile numbers
File Photo Despite criticisms from many Nigerians of the two-week ultimatum for the registration and linking of National Identity Number (NIN) to mobile numbers, the federal government has insisted on the deadline. The director-general of the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar, in an interview with newsmen on Friday said there was no extension for the announced deadline. “Right now, the way it is, there is no extension. We should not be complaining, rather we should see how it can be done,” he said. “It is until after 10 to 12 days then we will see how far it has gone before we beg the government for anything.” When the agency issued a two-week ultimatum for the enrolment, Nigerians took to social media platforms to kick against such a deadline. “In the whole o...
DPR shuts down seven filling stations in Rivers
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has closed seven Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retail outlets in Rivers for operating without valid licences. Bassey Nkanga, Zonal Operations Controller of the agency, made the disclosure during a meeting with Petroleum Products Marketers Association and Petrol Tankers Drivers Union (PTD) on Friday in Port Harcourt. Mr. Nkanga said the enforcement of safety requirements/sanction against violators became necessary to support effective regulation in the downstream sector. “We are in a very peculiar season, the harmattan season when fire incidents usually occur at filling stations. This challenge had, in most cases, occurred as a result of avoidable mistakes, hence, the need to step up safety consciousness amongst stakeholders in ...
FDA: Independent committee recommends authorization of coronavirus vaccine
An independent committee of experts recommended Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 16. Now, the FDA will decide whether to follow that recommendation. The agency could announce a decision within days. If they do authorize the vaccine, health care workers could begin receiving the shots almost immediately. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met all day to review data on the vaccine, discuss plans for distribution, and outline plans for continued research. FDA scientists published a report about the vaccine on Tuesday, which analyzed data from the pharmaceutical companies and found that the vaccine was safe and 95 percent at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. Data fro...
UNICEF embarks on coronavirus sensitisation tour of Abia
The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to the Abia state government, parents and school authorities in the state to ensure that their children and wards adhere strictly to all COVID-19 protocols in order to avoid the ugly experience of getting another round of Covid-19. According to the world body, the effect of COVID-19 second phase in Europe and Asia has been devastating, pointing out that though Africa has been lucky to have recorded fewer casualties, government, parents and teachers cannot continue to depend on luck to survive the pandemic. The Desk Officer of UNCEF, Mr Okezie Nkpa who made the appeal when UNICEF, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and some media personnel staged a sensitization tour of some schools in Abia South, Abia Central and Abia Nort...
FRSC goes tough on motorists using phones on wheels
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Lagos Sector Command has warned motorists using phones on wheels or be arrested . The agency gave the warning on Sunday , saying that it has observed with dismay the rampant use of phone by motorists while driving on the road. In a statement by the Route Commander Olabisi Sonusi Sector Public Education Officer, he stated that the Sector Commander of FRSC, Corps Commander Olusegun Ogungbemide, said the corps had noticed a rising disregard of traffic and safety regulations which forbid the use of phone behind wheels. According to him, traffic laws are for the safety of all road users and efforts should be made by all motorists to only do those things that can make them stay alive. Ogungbemide said: “We have noticed rising rate of infractions in phon...
Ayo Fayose: President Buhari must account for $1 billion taken from excess crude account
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has queried President Muhammadu Buhari to account for the $1 billion withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to battle insecurity in the country. However, newsmen found that the call may be superfluous as government rendered an account on 22 July. Oblivious of this, Fayose, in series of tweets appeared to suggest that the money had been wasted, because of the rising killings and kidnappings being witnessed on daily basis. “Nigerians should recall that I took a stand openly against withdrawal of the $1bn,” he said. According to Fayose, 30 months after the $1bn was released, Nigerians, including soldiers and FG officials were complaining of no arms and ammunition to combat insecurity in the country. “When in December 2017, FG took $1bn fro...
Interpol raises the alarm over fake coronavirus vaccines
The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has alerted Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and 190 other countries of threat from organised criminal groups during the upcoming COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, including fake vaccines and the theft of supplies. The alert came as the UK yesterday became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. The need for a vaccine has become more urgent globally and nationally with Nigeria recording over 67,000 COVID-19 infections and over 1,000 associated fatalities, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far identified 49 “candidate vaccines” at the stage of clinical trials in humans. Hopes are high ...
