Chairman
RTEAN commends Lagos governor on road reconstruction, virus response
File Photo The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Lagos State Chapter, on Friday commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on how his administration had been reconstructing roads and combating COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Alhaji Mohammed Musa, RTEAN State Chairman, gave the commendation in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, while speaking on Sanwo-Olu-led administration ‘s performance in his first year in office. Musa said: “We cannot forget that most roads were impassable when Sanwo-Olu assumed office as a result of the continuous rainfall which compounded hardships faced by motorists. “We can all see how the governor has put machinery in place to ensure continuous road repairs while construction work is ongoing in others. We must thank the governor for th...
Official: ICPC investigating cases of coronavirus fraud
File Photo The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it is investigating alleged cases of corruption in the management of COVID-19 funds and palliatives. The commission’s Director of Operations, Mr Akeem Lawal, disclosed this during a virtual meeting of stakeholders on the topic, “COVID-19 Funds Management and Monitoring”, on Thursday. In a presentation titled, “ICPC Monitoring Obligation and Strategy Re: COVID-19 Emergency”, Lawal said the cases include alleged fraud by some participating public institution in the release and distribution of grains from strategic food reserve. Others, according to him, include alleged infractions in the procurement of COVID-19 palliatives and logistics and community enlightenment activities. The ICPC official, who...
Nigeria releases new guidelines for international flights operations
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority , NCAA, Thursday, released new guidelines for international flights operations during the current Covid-19 pandemic for Nigerian based crew. Under the new rules, Nigerian crew operating international flights must now wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and observe Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) measures for the duration of the flight. This is just as the flight crew will now undergo mandatory testing for Covid-19 every 14 days at cost to the Air Operator upon return to Nigeria , instead of the current quarantine in an isolated place they are currently subjected to. Also, any of the crew members who test positive for Covid-19 will be taken to a treatment centre for further management. The new release with reference NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/120 , dated...
PTF decries continued refusal by hospitals to treat patients for fear of coronavirus
The Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 (PTF) has decried the continued refusal by medical institutions including federal tertiary institutions to receive and treat patients for fear COVID-19. PTF lamented that this development has resulted in several unfortunate and avoidable fatalities. Meanwhile, the PTF will conclude its assessment on the impact of the measures put in place and further recommendations would be submitted to the President for a decision within the next seventy hours. Chairman of PTF and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who disclosed this at the daily Press Briefing in Abuja, noted that Nigeria is having more deaths from non-attendance to other diseases than even COVID 19 adding that the reason for the greater emphasis on COVID 19 is ...
UN encourages Africa to invest on digital transformation
The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has encouraged African countries to make right investments toward developing a digitally transformed economy. Mr Jean-Paul Adam, Director, Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources at UNECA, made the call on Tuesday during a webinar monitored in Abuja. The webinar was organised by Africa Information and Communication Technology Alliance (AfICTA) in collaboration with UNECA with the theme “Unlocking Africa’s Digital Potential Amid COVID-19”. Adam said that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic had caused a disruption in activities, hence the need for a paradigm shift. “Africa needs to address issues that have limited their digital growth. There are issues of gender imbalance, speed of bandwidth, poor internet access. “When we get some of the...
Confusion in APC as CROSIEC fixes May 30 for council polls
The intractable crisis rocking the Cross River All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be gathering momentum as the two factions have issued conflicting statements on the pending May 30th local government election. While a faction led by Sir John Ochala had dissociated the party from the pending local election, describing it as a “charade”, the other faction led by Mr John Etim said it is fully prepared to take part in the council poll. Since 2014, the Cross River State APC has been engaged in a leadership tussle, leading to the factionalisation of the party, even as the national leadership has made spirited efforts to settle the supremacy battle. In spite of this, the chairman of Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Dr Mike Ushie, has fixed Saturday, May 30th f...
Marketers call for appropriate legislation on fuel subsidy removal
AHA Taxis Marketers are calling for appropriate legislation that will enforce the new fuel subsidy removal policy of the Federal Government. Speaking during a webinar on the downstream sector at the weekend, the Managing Director of 11 Plc, and Chairman of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Adetunji Oyebanji, stated that there are some misconceptions that government has given permission to marketers to import premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol. “There was never a time government stopped marketers from importing. It was the economics of it that made marketers stopped because it didn’t make sense to import products at a price that is higher than the government fixed price for the product at the pump. Gradually, all the players involved in importation stopped,...
Abike Dabiri-Erewa: Communications minister used armed men to evict NIDCOM staff
The Chairman, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has disclosed that over 40 office equipment, workstations and files belonging to NIDCOM staff were still locked up at the Nigeria Communications Commission building, four months after the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, allegedly ordered the eviction of the diaspora commission. She stated that Pantami used armed security men, including policemen to eject NIDCOM from the offices it was given in the NCC building located at Mbora District, on the Airport Road, Jabi, Abuja. Speaking on an NTA Network programme, The Diaspora, aired on Friday, Dabiri-Erewa noted that she had complained officially about the ill-treatment by the minister. Findings indicate that the eviction of the NIDCOM occurre...
Minister lauds Kaduna, Imo, Katsina, Plateau governors for complying with right of way resolution
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has commended Governors El-Rufai, Uzodimma, Masari and Lalong for implementing Right of Way Resolution. The Minister in a statement signed by his Technical Assistant (Information Technology), Dr Femi Adeluyi, on Friday expressed delight with the strides that have been made by the Governors which he said aligned with the resolution of the State Governors under the auspices of the Governors’ Forum. Recall that the Governors’ Forum had on the 22nd of January 2020 agreed to address the lingering issue of Right of Way (RoW) charges in a bid to deepen broadband penetration in the country and promote a Digital Economy for a Digital Nigeria. At that meeting, the Executive Governors had resolved to adopt the 2013 reso...
INEC approves new policy framework for Edo, Ondo states
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday approved a new policy framework known as Policy on Conducting Elections in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic. The commission, in a statement issued by Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, in Abuja said the policy document would be released on May 25. Okoye said that the provisions would be applied to the conduct of governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States scheduled for Sept. 19 and Oct. 10, respectively, as well as other by-elections to be conducted soon in seven states. “The general purpose of the Policy is to enable officials and staff of the Commission to understand and respond adequately to the challenges of conducting elections in the context of the COVI...
NCDC lauds Kwara over testing centre
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has commended efforts of the Kwara State Government in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state. The NCDC Team Leader, Dr Okoli Innocent, made the commendation when he led other members of the agency to inspect laboratories in preparation for establishing of Molecular Testing Centre in the state to test for the virus. Okoli explained that the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, was appreciative of the present administration’s strides in the health sector. The team leader pledged NCDC’s support to the state in the fight against COVID-19. He added that NCDC was not surprised that the state was ranked fourth in preparation for health emergency in the country, given the availability of modern medical equipment. Kwa...
Oyo governor appoints retired general as Amotekun chairman
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has appointed retired general Ajibola Kunle Togun as the Chairman of the Oyo State Security Network, code-named Amotekun. A statement signed by Moses Alao, Special Assistant to Makinde on Print Media, also indicated that a retired colonel, Olayanju Olayinka, was appointed as the commandant of the security outfit. According to the statement, the two retired military officers will oversee the state security network which was put in place to check insecurity in the state. Newsmen recall that Makinde on March 10, signed the State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) Bill, 2020 into law. The governor remarked that the initiative was purely to complement the existing security agencies in tackling security challenges and not a replacement for the existing ones. Ve...
