Pandemic
Official: Oyo ready to conduct WAEC, other external exams
The Oyo State Government has disclosed its readiness to present students in the state for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) as well as other external examinations as the world prepared for post-COVID-19 realities. The Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Nureni Adeniran, said this in Ibadan on Monday, while leading members of the board and management of SUBEB to Islamic Mission Schools 1 and II, Bode and UMC Demonstration Basic Schools I, II and III, Molete, Ibadan to warn owners of shanties and illegal structures around the schools’ environments. He said judging from the readiness of the state through the preparation of students in all terminal classes, students would now face any external examination, including WAEC and the Joint Admission Matriculati...
Adamawa governor urges prayers to end insurgency, kidnapping, coronavirus
Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa on Sunday appealed to religious leaders to intensify prayers to end insurgency, kidnapping and COVID-19 pandemic. Fintiri made the appeal at the inauguration of new executive officers of Zawiyyatu Dariqatit Tijjaniyat Foundation of Nigeria, Adamawa branch in Yola. The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Alhaji Bamanga Nuhu, said kidnapping, insurgency and the pandemic were among major challenges slowing the nation’s development. Fintiri expressed readiness to support religious bodies to ensure peaceful coexistence among faithful in the state. He congratulated the new executive officers and urged them to contribute their time and experience for the success of the Foundation. The governor advised members of the Foundation to embrace ...
NITDA warns Nigerians on fake news
Commonwealth of Nations In line with its efforts at enlightening Nigerians on the nefarious actions of cybercriminals exploiting the COVID-19 Pandemic to mislead and defraud unsuspecting victims, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has warned the general public on the recent fake news in circulation. A statement by the Head, Corporate Affairs & External Relations Corporate at NITDA, Mrs Hadiza Umar, said that the fake news tagged “Argentina Is Doing It”, being circulated over social media, particularly on WhatsApp, is aimed at causing panic and inducing terror in individuals. According to the statement, the message warns the recipient not to open a video file called ”Argentina Is Doing It” as it will hack their phone in 10 seconds. In order to lend credibili...
South Africa Super Rugby teams back in training on Monday
South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises will be allowed to start training next week, officials confirmed on Friday, a step closer to a return to the playing field after a frustrating four months. The game has been suspended in the country since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with South African Rugby having to sit idle as domestic competitions took flight in New Zealand and Australia. “This is an important first step back to playing, and we have taken it carefully to ensure full compliance and having thoroughly interrogated the regulations with government,” SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux said in a statement. “Contact training will not be permitted for the moment but the players will be allowed back onto the field with a rugby ball and back into the gym – while observing strict proto...
Melinda Gates tasks policymakers on protection of women, girls in fight against coronavirus
In a paper titled “The Pandemic’s Toll on Women and Girls,” Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates, has tasked global leaders and policymakers on the protection of women and girls in the fight against the coronavirus. Gates said that to recover fully from this pandemic, leaders must respond to the ways that it is affecting men and women differently. In the paper, she puts forward a set of specific, practical policy recommendations that governments should consider in their pandemic response—to improve health systems for women and girls, design more inclusive economic policies, gather better data, and prioritize women’s leadership. Writing in the paper, Gates described how previous disease outbreaks, including AIDS and Ebola, tend to exploit existing forces of ine...
NANNM: 200 nurses in Abuja contract coronavirus
Over 200 nurses in the various medical facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have contracted COVID-19, Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwifery has stated. Out of the affected nurses, some 12 others have recovered and have been out of isolation, Chairperson Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwifery, Federal Capital Territory chapter, Deborah Yusufu, told the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists who was at the Secretariat in Abuja to make donations of Personnel Protective Equipments (PPEs) to them. According to Yusufu, Nigerian nurses are at the frontline of battling the COVID-19 pandemic because of their duties which make them most exposed among medical personnel in the various healthcare facility across the world and in the case Nigeria. She explained that th...
Chris Okotie: Online church service unbiblical
Pastor of the Household of God Church International Ministries in the Oregun area of Lagos State, Reverend Chris Okotie, says online church service, which has become the order of the day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is unscriptural. He argued that Christians must physically gather together to be able to truly worship God. Okotie, in a sermon titled, ‘The COVID-19 Mystery’, maintained that the novel disease is a satanic conspiracy to challenge the power of God by keeping Christians out of the church. Okotie said, “We are dealing with one of the most sinister conspiracies in human history. What we call the online church is absolutely untrue, because for you to be in church, you have to be ecclesia, which is translated from the Greek word, ec, which is out, and the word caleo, called out. “Y...
NYSC member donates foot-controlled handwashing apparatus to rural areas
File Photo Recently, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Ilori Ayotola Deborah, was in the news after she donated 10 foot-operated soap and water dispenser to some rural communities and offices in Abuja. Deborah who is currently undergoing her Community Development Service (CDS) under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said she drew her inspiration to embark on the project from the fact that the rural communities were yet to believe the stories of COVID-19. She said during her outreach programs to educate the rural communities on the preventive measures against COVID-19 pandemic, she realised that the handwashing mode in the communities does not conform with the standard given by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). “It was out of the little effort I was able to...
Reckitt Benckiser donates N65m worth of hygiene products to Nigerian government
Reckitt Benckiser (RB), makers of Dettol and Jik, has donated hygiene products worth N65 million to Federal Ministry of Health to enable it respond to coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, improve access to health, hygiene and nutrition for Nigerians. Donated items included hygiene products such as antiseptic disinfectants, dettol soaps, Jik bleach, full Personal Protective Equipments (PPE), and 100 mobile hand wash units to be installed at locations as advised by the ministry of health. The donations which was presented by representatives of RB at the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, was received by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in company of other senior ministry officials. In his remarks, the Minister thanked RB for the donations, stating that “you have been in business for f...
Delta SSG discharged from isolation centre
The Delta State Government has announced that Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chiedu Ebie, has been discharged from the isolation centre in Asaba where he was being treated for COVID-19. According to Olisa Ifeajika, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebie, who had been at the isolation centre for 21 days, was discharged on Sunday after testing negative for the virus. He said that the SSG’s discharge brought the number of discharged cases of the virus so far in the state to 583. Ifeajika added that as at Sunday, Delta had recorded 1,359 confirmed cases of the pandemic, with 745 of them active, while 31 lives had been lost to the virus. He said that Ebie thanked Deltans and other Nigerians who prayed for him and had continued to pray for other patients of the virus, includin...
President Buhari hails UFC champion Kamaru Usman
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday congratulated Kamarudeen Usman on the successful defence of his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title, saying his victory has lifted the spirits of Nigerians despite the gloom COVID-19 pandemic has brought. Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina. The statement was titled “President Buhari congratulates Kamaru Usman for retaining UFC title”. Usman had earlier in the day retained the title with an emphatic win over Jorge Masvidal. With the victory, Buharu said Usman had reminded the world that good things and great people still come out of Nigeria. He added that the victory further proved that things will get better at the fullness o...
Union Bank to provide potable water to six geo-political zones in Nigeria
File Photo Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) said on Friday that it would provide potable water to the six geo-political zones in the country as part of its support and Corporate Social Responsibility to Nigerians. Mrs Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, Head, Strategic Corporate Communications and Marketing, UBN, made the disclosure at a Virtual Media briefing organised for Financial Correspondents in Lagos. According to her, citizenship is a key pillar of how we want to build up our brand and support Nigerians. “What we want to do for our employee volunteer year this year is with the token our employees will donate and the small donations which the bank will bring. “We want to give the gift of potable water to the six geo-political zones in the country. “We will be working with a non-governmental organi...
