Category: Top Stories

Twitter blocks Trump tweet for glorifying violence

Correspondents

  Twitter has censored a tweet made by Donald Trump because the social media company said it ‘glorified violence’. The tweet was referring to the riots currently taking place in the US following the death of unarmed and handcuffed black man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, reports metro.co.uk. President Donald Trump has threatened to send in the military ‘and get the job done right’ as unrest shows no signs of easing: ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ Trump tweeted: ‘…These THUGS are dishonouring the…

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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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COVID-19: IMF disburses $22bn to 60 countries

Tony Chukwunyem

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has so far disbursed $22 billion in emergency financing to nearly 60 countries to enable them tackle the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, disclosed this yesterday at the United Nations event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19. The IMF boss, who described the scourge as, “an exceptional crisis, more complex, more uncertain and more severe than anything we have seen in living memory,” said the Fund was also tripling its capacity for concessional lending and providing…

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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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