Monday
Central bank reschedules MPC meeting over holidays
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rescheduled it’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting from Monday and Tuesday May 25 and 26 to Thursday, May 28. The CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Okorafor explained that the rescheduling of the meeting was due to the declaration of May 25 and May 26 as public holidays by the Federal Government to commemorate the Eid-el Fitr. He said for the avoidance of doubt, CBN had put necessary machinery in place for the meeting to now hold for only one day on account of the ongoing COVID-19 national lockdown. He added that this step taken was also to align this meeting with the extant rules of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and advisories from other rel...
Lagos discharges 15 more coronavirus patients
Lagos State has recorded 15 more coronavirus recoveries. This brings the total recoveries in the state to 623. The state Health Commissioner disclosed this via Twitter on Monday night. “177 new COVID-19 Infection confirmed in Lagos. Total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lagos is now 2566. “15 fully recovered COVID-19 patients; 9 females and 6 males, all Nigerians were discharged. This brings the total number of #COVID19 discharged patients in Lagos to 623,” he said. Newsmen reports that there are 1889 active infections and 36 associated deaths reported in the state. Get more stories like this on Twitter
Katsina releases N77 million scholarship allowance for indigenous medical students
The Katsina State Government says it has released N77 million as first tranche of the scholarship package for indigenous medical students of the state. The General Manager, Katsina State Hospital Services Management Board, Dr Abduljalil Abdullahi, announced this via a statement on Monday in Katsina. He made the disclosure through the Public Relations Officer, Muhammed Kabir Ahmed, in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Katsina. A total of 421 indigenes of the state currently studying medicine within and outside the country would benefit from the scholarship package, according to the statement signed by Kabir Ahmed, the Public Relations Officer of the board. Abdullahi urged the students to reciprocate the government gesture by concentrating on their studies and work hard to a...
US coronavirus death toll exceeds 90,000 as Donald Trump urges reopening
The coronavirus death toll in the United States surpassed 90,000 on Monday as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 1.5 million across the country, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. The grim milestones came as President Donald Trump tweeted to “REOPEN OUR COUNTRY!” and the White House attempted to shift blame, including onto its own scientists, for the high number of deaths. On Sunday, members of Trump administration disagreed on whether the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) let the country down with testing efforts. “Early on in this crisis, the CDC, which really had the most trusted brand around the world in this space, really let the country down with the testing,” Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, told NBC’s Meet the Press programme....
Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel agree €500 billion coronavirus recovery plan for Europe
France and Germany proposed Monday a 500-billion-euro ($542-billion) fund to finance the recovery of the European Union’s economy from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus crisis. Putting aside past differences and seeking to prove that the Franco-German core of Europe remains intact, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the unprecedented package after talks by video conference. European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde told major European newspapers that “the Franco-German proposals are ambitious, targeted and welcome.” With the European economy facing its biggest challenge since World War II, Macron also acknowledged that the EU had fallen short in its initial response to the virus and needed to coordinate more closely on health. Financed by “borrowin...
Chelsea star arrested on suspicion of rape
Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of rape following an alleged incident at his west London apartment. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that both they and the London Ambulance Service were called in the early hours of Sunday, May 17 to a report of an unwell woman. The statement added: “When emergency services attended, a woman reported that she was raped. She was taken to hospital.“A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of rape. He was released from custody and bailed to return on a date in mid-June. Enquiries continue.” Sunday’s alleged incident comes just weeks after Hudson-Odoi battled the coronavirus, which he was diagnosed with on March 12 . The teenager was the first Premier League player to be diagnosed with the illness, coming short...
Federal government to maintain eased lockdown for another two weeks
The Federal Government has announced an extension of the current partial lockdown of the country, saying the time is not ripe for it to relax its containment protocols against the Covid-19 Pandemic. Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on Covid-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, announced this Monday in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Taskforce. He said; “the reality is that in spite of the modest progress made, Nigeria is not yet ready for full opening of the economy and tough decisions have to be taken for the good of the greater majority. Any relaxation will only portend grave danger for our populace. “Advisedly, the current phase of eased restriction will be maintained for another two weeks during which stricter enforcement and pe...
CCECC: 15 Chinese medical experts are in our care
Mr Michael Yigao, Managing Director, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Nigeria Ltd, says the 15 Chinese medical experts that arrived in the country on April 8 are in the company’s care. Yigao made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja while reacting to questions raised by the media and opposition parties on May 14, as to the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team. This followed comment by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, that the experts, who reportedly came into Nigeria to support the fight against COVID-19, were not his guests but those of CCECC. Ehanire, while responding to questions at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing May 14, said “the medical personnel are not guests of the Federal Government but that of the construction company”. Yigao...
Adams Oshiomhole swears in Waziri Bulama as APC acting national secretary
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, swore in Waziri Bulama as acting National Secretary of the party. This is coming a few months after a crisis within the party’s ranks almost cost Oshiomhole his position. The Deputy National Secretary, Victor Giadom, had laid claim to the position after an Abuja High Court earlier granted an interim injunction restraining Oshiomhole from parading himself as national chairman. A truce was reached following the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The brief ceremony which took place at the APC National Secretariat, in Abuja was attended by some of the party’s leaders. Get more stories like this on Twitter
Hungary lifts movement restrictions on capital from Monday
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Saturday that movement restrictions on Budapest residents would be lifted next week. Orban said the Hungarian capital region has made sufficient progress in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Among other things, Budapest residents will be able to leave their homes again from Monday onwards without having to provide a good reason. Shops of all kinds will also be allowed to stay open longer, and restaurants with outdoor seating will be free to receive guests once again. The rest of Hungary has enjoyed the same freedoms for almost two weeks. However, social distance rules and compulsory face masks continue to apply throughout the country. The number of infections in Hungary, and especially in Budapest, has fallen sharply. By Saturday, 3,473 peopl...
Club Brugge finally crowned Belgian league champions
Emmanuel Dennis’ Club Brugge have been finally crowned Belgian champions, with Gent joining them in the Champions League, while Charleroi, Antwerp and Standard Liege go into the Europa League. Waasland-Beveren are relegated to the second tier, while Beerschot VA and OH Leuven will play for promotion to the top flight in a playoff. If the playoff is not fulfilled before the start of 20-21 then KVC Westerlo will replace Waasland-Beveren as they already have a valid licence to play in the Pro League. Meanwhile in Germany, Werder Bremen, have announced just one day before the Bundesliga resumes that one of their players were quarantined. As per a club tweet, it comes as the result of ‘somebody in their personal circle’ testing positive for coronavirus. However, unlike the now-scrapped Italian ...
Adamawa discharges eight coronavirus patients
The Adamawa State Government has discharged eight patients from its coronavirus treatment centre in Yola. The eight bring to 13 the number of patients who have so far been certified free of the virus in the state after five were first discharged on Monday. The state Commissioner of Health, Prof Abdullahi Isa, confirmed the latest development Friday, saying, “It is true that we have discharged eight more patients from the isolation centre after they all tested negative twice for the virus. “This is in line with the protocol of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). We had earlier discharged five on Monday and eight today.” Adamawa State had 16 active cases until the fresh discharge of eight, bringing the active cases down to eight, out a total of 21 confirmed cases since the index ...
