Category: News

COVID-19: NDDC shuts down headquarters over director’s death

Emmanuel Masha

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has shut down its headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, following the sudden death of its Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA), Chief Ibanga Bassey Enang. The management, in an internal memo signed by one Silas Anyanwu on behalf of the management, directed all Directors, Head of Departments/ Units and the entire commission staff to vacate the complex with immediate effect and go into self-isolation for two weeks. Although the memo did not state the official reason for the shutdown, but according…

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NCAA issues post-COVID-19 rules for international flights

Wole Shadare

Crew to undergo compulsory test every 14 days Airlines to pay for test As the country prepares for the reopening of businesses, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued post COVID-19 protocols for Nigerian-based crew operating international flights. According to the new protocol, flight crew are now expected to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and observe Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) measures for the duration of the flight. Contrary to the recent practice, the protocol also states that the flight crew will not be quarantined upon arrival in Nigeria,…

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We’re recording more death from other ailments than COVID-19 – PTF

Lawrence Olaoye

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has raised the alarm that more people are dying from other ailments in the country because of the refusal of some doctors to attend to patients for fear of the virus. This came as the President of West African Health Organisation, Prof. Stanley Okolo, revealed that African young population was responsible for low fatality of COVID-19 in the continent. Chairman of PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, in his remarks at the daily briefing of the team…

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Buhari seeks NASS’ approval for $5.513bn loan

Philip Nyam

…urges speedy passage of revised budget, MTEF External debt to hit $40.09bn     President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, sent a request to the National Assembly for the approval of $5.513 billion loan from four multilateral financial institutions across the globe under the external borrowing plan of the government to finance the 2020 budget. The loan, according to him, “became necessary in view of the sharp decline in crude oil prices at the international market due to the COVID-19 pandemic from the $57 benchmark projected in the budget to $25 current…

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IGP posts new CPs to Edo, Ondo, 7 others

Emmanuel Onani

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the posting of Commissioners of Police to nine states and other commands, in an exercise that is seen as “routine”. Among the states affected are: Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Gombe, and Oyo. The disclosure was made in a statement, yesterday, by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba. The following are the new CPs and their accompanying commands: CP Babatunde Kokumo, Edo State (he had served as one time CP of Edo State); the new CP Ondo State is…

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Labour threatens strike over deductions, retrenchment

Regina Otokpa

…warns against budget cut, retention of security votes Govs, AGF meet on fiscal autonomy for legislature, judiciary Buhari has delivered on mandates, says Presidency     The organised labour in Nigeria, yesterday, threatened to embark on an industrial action over the on-going retrenchment of workers in some organisations and the deductions from the salaries of others by some employers under the guise of responding to the economic downturn occasioned by COVID-19. The Labour-Civil Society Situation Room, which gave the warning, condemned the unfriendly labour practices, saying it had resolved to…

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CBN cuts MPR to 12.5% to boost lending

Abdulwahab Isa

Emefiele: Nigeria may escape recession   To ensure a quick recovery of the economy from COVID-19 crisis, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has slashed its benchmark lending rate, Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 12.5 per cent from 13.5 per cent to enable banks lend to customers. CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced the decision yesterday in Abuja at a briefing of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the bank.  However, the committee retained all other policy parameters – asymmetric corridor of +200/-500 basis points around the MPR; CRR at 27.5…

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Nigeria Police undergoes reorganisation

Emmanuel Onani

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a major reorganisation of the Nigeria Police. This reorganisation includes full autonomy of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), creation of five additional Police Zonal Command Headquarters and the decentralization of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (FCIID). By this re-organisation, the FIB, which was previously a section under the FCIID, is now a full-fledged Department of the Force to be headed by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG). With this new arrangement, the Nigeria Police Force now has eight Departments and each is headed…

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High anxiety increases risk of depression

Appolonia Adeyemi

Researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) and their counterparts from Zimbabwe have found that people were most likely to suffer long-term depression if they have a high level of anxiety. Findings of the study showed that persistent depression was more likely in those who also experience symptoms of anxiety. The findings of the study published in ‘The Lancet’s E-Clinical Medicine Journal,’ showed that over three quarters of participants in the study suffered from anxiety alongside major depression. In the study, anxiety consisted of feelings of nervousness, worry, restlessness, and fear…

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Abiodun postpones projects’ inauguration

Kunle Olayeni
Dapo Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has put on hold inauguration of projects to mark his one year in office. Abiodun, in a statement he personally signed in Abeokuta yesterday, said he had opted for low-key celebration in view of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic in the country. May 29, which marks the governor’s first year in office, also coincides with his 60th birthday. The governor, however, said a low-key approach was adopted to mark the two events in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and the guidelines to combat the…

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