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Hundreds of thousands protest in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. People surround a police vehicle as they protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar February 12, 2021 in this still grab obtained by Reuters from a video on February 13, 2021. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media reported, while the military deployed soldiers to power plants only to be confronted by angry crowds. A civil disobedience movement to protest against the Feb. 1 coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi started with doctors. It now affects a swa...
Senate asked to probe public hearing on medical council bill
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), the umbrella body of health workers in the country, has demanded that Senate probe the recent public hearing of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) Bill as it accused Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, of disenfranchising its members. JOHESU Chairman, Comrade Joy Bio Josiah flayed what he called “vindictive and discriminatory” attitude of Dr. Oloriegbe against other medical professional bodies as he gave his constituency, MDC and NMA more time to canvass their views on the contentious bill. “We challenge Oloriegbe and the NMA to produce video and audio evidence contrary to this. The point here is Oloriegbe does not understand the philosophy and basics of running Public Hearings because he pointedly domina...
Nigerian senate investigates syringe manufacture, importation
The Senate has directed its committees on Health, Trade and Investment and Customs to investigate the manufacture, importation and policy guidelines for syringe and needles in the country. Consequently, the committee is to invite the Federal Ministry of Health, Trade and Investment, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and manufacturers of syringe and needles as the committee carries out the investigation. These resolutions were sequel to a motion sponsored by Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe (APC-Kwara) and cosponsored by Sen. Sadiq Suleiman (APC-Kwara) during plenary on Thursday. The upper chamber also directed the ministry of health to provide explanation on the policy for the procurement and utilisation of syringe and needles by federally-owned, state and private hospitals and agencies of the ministry....
Kano arrests, fines 200 for violating coronavirus protocols
About 200 people have been arrested, fined or incarcerated for violating safety protocols as the joint team of security agencies, mobile courts and COVID-19 marshals continue to sensitize and enforce safety protocols in the state. This was announced in Monday by the Kano state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, while addressing newsmen. “Of the total figure of the violators, 102 were fined N5,000 each, while 25 others have been remanded in prison by the 21 Mobile Courts set up to deal with non-compliance to safety protocols which had been identified as a huge challenge to curbing the spread of the virus. “The enforcement measure became necessary to preserve public safety and ensure full compliance with the Coronavirus prevention protocols, particularly the use of a face ma...
Lagos panel okays Lekki toll gate reopening
The Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State government to investigate the October 2020 Lekki shooting incident has approved the reopening of the Lekki Tollgate. The nine-man panel returned the control of the tollgate to the Lekki Concession Company, the operators, on Saturday. The company, through its counsel, had been praying the panel to allow it to take over the plaza for repair and insurance claims since December 2020. But the panel said the toll plaza could not be handed over as a forensic expert has been paid by the Lagos state government to examine the toll gate with respect of the October 20 shooting incident. The prayer of the LCC was answered on Thursday when the panel gave the company access to reopen the toll gate. The report of the forensic examination, which was m...
Rivers governor seeks end to external influence on NDDC
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has regretted the continuous interference of external forces who are not from the oil-rich region on the activities of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, noting that the act frustrates programmes of the commission. Wike, however, condemned the posture of some ethnic groups in the region that behave as if the commission belongs to them, clarifying that NDDC was set up to cater for needs of the states of the region. The governor disclosed this in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, after the visit of the Interim Management Committee of NDDC to Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday. The governor said people are abusing the entire region because the commission has wasted trillions of Dollars without lifting the mass...
Anti-coup protests ring out in Myanmar’s main city
The din of banging pots and honking car horns reverberated through Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon late on Tuesday in the first widespread protest against the military coup that overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The party of the detained Nobel Peace laureate called for her release by the junta that seized power on Monday and is keeping her at an undisclosed location. It also demanded recognition of her victory in a November election. A senior official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said he had learned she was in good health a day after her arrest in a military takeover that derailed Myanmar’s tentative progress towards full democracy. The U.N. Security Council was due to meet later on Tuesday amid calls for a strong global response to the military’s latest seizure o...
Nigeria expects 41 million coronavirus vaccine doses from African Union
Nigeria expects to receive 41 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the African Union, the head of the country’s primary healthcare agency said on Monday, while the health minister said vaccines from Russia and India were being considered. Authorities in Africa’s most populous country, which has 200 million people, plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year and another 30% in 2022. The African Union initially secured 270 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from manufacturers for member states. Last week it was announced that the bloc would receive another 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Faisal Shuaib, who heads the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said Nigeria’s previous request for 10 million doses through the AU had been increased four-fold. “We have applied...
Myanmar military to hold new elections after one-year state of emergency
The Myanmar military said on Monday that it will rerun the multi-party general elections after a one-year state of emergency declared earlier in the day. The Union Election Commission will be reformed and the electoral process in the parliamentary elections held in November 2020 will be reviewed in accordance with the laws, the military said in a televised statement. “After the state of emergency period, free and fair multi-party general elections will be rerun and the state power will be handed over to an elected party which meets the democratic standards,’’ it said. The statement came after the President’s Office declared a state of emergency which will last for one year in the country. The declaration of emergency, signed by First Vice President U Myint Swe, who is serving as the acting...
Nigeria records 1,883 new coronavirus infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 1,883 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total number of infected people in the country to 130,557. The NCDC disclosed this on its official website late Saturday. Newsmen report that the country has so far tested 1,270,523 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded in Nigeria on Feb. 27, 2020. The health agency also confirmed one coronavirus-related death in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,578 in Nigeria. NCDC noted that the 1,883 new COVID-19 infections occurred in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It stated that Lagos State registered the highest number with 1,040 infections, taking the total number of infected people in the state to 48,919. The NCDC ...
NOA advises Nigerians to disregard conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccine
File Photo The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has advised Nigerians to disregard conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines and the various rumours being attributed to them. Director-General of NOA, Garba Abari, gave the advice in a statement, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday. Abari, while responding to insinuations of the possible use of the vaccines as population control and DNA altering measure, debunked the idea. He said that no vaccine would be allowed into Nigeria or administered to Nigerians without the approval of appropriate authorities. “Whatever vaccine coming into the country must be thoroughly tested and approved by relevant Nigerian authorities,’’ he said. He said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as the agency responsib...
PGF chief: Femi Fani-Kayode’s botched defection an attempt to manipulate APC leadership
Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum PGF, Salihu Moh. Lukman has said the recent attempt to accept Chief Femi Fani-Kayode into the fold of the All Progressives Congress APC was a clear attempt by some partisans to manipulate the leadership of the ruling party into doing the wrong thing. There were reports earlier in the week that Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP was set to join the APC following a meeting with the Chairman of the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC, Gov. Mai Mala Buni, and Kogi state Governor, Yahaya Bello who chairs the Mobilization Committee of the party. In a statement titled, “APC and the Question of Values”, Lukman praised the insistence by many APC members and leaders that Mr. Fani-Kayode ...