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PTF: Nigeria has over 100 molecular laboratories
Nigeria can now boast of over 100 molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in the country, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), Boss Mustapha, has said. This is just as the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, flayed the non challant attitude of people in his home state, Kwara, to the pandemic. The SGF who spoke Tuesday at the commissioning of State House Clinic Special Care Centre (COVID-19 Isolation Centre) stated that the number of molecular laboratories grew from two last year to more than 100 as at today and are spread across the 36 states of the federation. His words: ‘‘From just two molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in Nigeria, we now have over 100 molecular laboratories, public and private, across the 36 States of the Feder...
Edo governor, PDP leaders fighting over sharing formula for positions – APC
Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Edo State, Col. David Imuse (Rtd) said Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government is unexplainably slow because of hidden conflict. Imuse alleged that at a time when the number of persons who test positive for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) is on the increase, Obaseki and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are busy fighting themselves. Imuse’s position was contained in a statement by the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the party, Victor Ofure Osehobo. He added that the alleged infighting is a confirmation that Obaseki has no plans for the state. According to the statement, the infighting over positions and booties of victory has already thrown the state into confusion, as the wheel of governance has since stoo...
Coronavirus takes toll on federal roads’ construction in Lagos
The ravaging effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was, perhaps, the biggest challenge faced by stakeholders in the road sub sector of the construction industry in 2020. As the virus gained ground, several contractors soon abandoned work and shut their operations, consequently, many hitherto gainfully employed Nigerians were thrown into the labour market. Even when the government later introduced partial lockdown measures, the number of workers on site was scaled down by many contractors in line with COVID-19 protocols, which slowed down progress of work. Virtually all road projects in Lagos State suffered the effect of the pandemic, with every project having its own peculiar challenge. The reconstruction of 46km Agbara-Seme section of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway project awarded to CGC Nigeria...
Anambra records 89 new coronavirus cases
Anambra State has recorded 89 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in its second wave, bringing the total confirmed cases in the state to 169 as of January 13, C-Don Adinuba, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, has said. Mr Adinuba, in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Awka, urged the citizens of the state to shield themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic following the second wave in Nigeria. He said the need to repeat the precautionary call was as a result of a considerable increase across the state, with 453 confirmed cases and 334 persons discharged. According to him, it is a worrisome situation with the state having recorded a total of 14,267 tests done. He appealed to the public to comply with all precautionary measures in order to sustain the health safety m...
Rights group urges lifting Ugandan social media ban
Amnesty International is calling for Ugandan officials to lift bans on social media imposed ahead of Thursday’s election. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced on Tuesday that the government had shut down social media. On Jan. 9, Facebook deleted dozens of pro-Ugandan government accounts, saying they were “fake.” Museveni characterized Facebook’s action as arrogant. “It is alarming that the Ugandan authorities have suspended social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and restricted people’s right to freedom of expression and access to information,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, in a press release. Amnesty International said the move was intended to silence journalists, election o...
Femi Falana raises alarm over planned commercialisation of coronavirus vaccines
Naijaloaded The Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond, a coalition of labour and civil society groups being led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged Nigerians to resist any attempt by health workers to commercialise Covid vaccines expected in the country anytime soon. ASCAB Deputy Chairman, Sina Odugbemi, stated this on Tuesday while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme monitored by newsmen. Odugbemi said, “When it (vaccine) comes in, people may want to trade with it and there may be preference for the high and mighty. We should anticipate these things and put in place machinery to ensure that we scale the hurdle because the Nigerian factor will come into play when the vaccines come in. “There will be special preference. In fact, health offi...
Ekiti imposes curfew, bans public gathering of more than twenty
In a bid time curtail the spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in Ekiti, the state Government on Sunday imposed a curfew from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am. The Government also banned all gatherings of more than twenty people in the state until further notice. The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Hon Akinbowale Omole, who announced these new guidelines in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, said the restrictions take effect Monday at 6 am January 11, 2021. Omole cited the alarming rate at which the deadly pandemic is spreading in Nigeria and elsewhere as the reason for these drastic steps. He said there is a need for the government to be proactive and take decisive steps to secure the citizens from falling prey to the second wave of the pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives all over the ...
#EndSARS: It’ll take long to rebuild destroyed property – Governor Sanwo-Olu
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said, yesterday, that it would take the state time to rebuild the properties destroyed during the EndSARS protests. This came on a day the Lagos State government disclosed that the 2021 budget of N1.164 trillion would be funded from a revenue estimate of N971.028 billion in the fiscal year, with a target on the expansion of tax nets. Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this while briefing State House correspondents, after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the meeting dwelt more on the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, security situation and the impact of the #EndSARS protests in the state. On rebuilding Lagos after the EndSARS protests, he said: “It is also some of the things I dis...
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
Kano government reaffirms commitment to minimum wage, says deductions temporary
Kano state government has reaffirmed its commitment to the continuous implementation of the N30,600.00 minimum wage for civil servants. It however said, that deduction in November/December workers’ salary was a temporary measure informed by the drop in federal allocation and dwindling internally generated revenue occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba who stated this in a statement, Thursday, indicated that the deduction was necessary to keep the government going in the face of the prevailing economic recession facing the country. “The state government took the measure instead of contemplating on paying half salary or in batches as obtained in other states or layoffs. “Similar temporary measure was taken, including cut in the allow...
BUK: ASUU worries over coronavirus spread as university announces resumption date
File Photo Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday worried over a potential spread of COVID-19 pandemic in schools as the country battles the second wave of disease. ASUU’s concern was announced after the Senate of Bayero university, Kano approved January 18 for resumption and commencement of lectures for the 2020/2021 academic session. Director Public Affairs, BUK, Mal. Ahmad Shehu told newsmen that the decision was reached at the end of the meeting presided over by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Abbas. Ahmad noted that contrary to information making round on the social media, the university did not cancelled the 2019/2020 session but rather adjusted the previous session to be concluded in April, 2021. According to him, the postgraduate program will also ...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...