So far, the Oyo State government has spent N2,779,000,000 in the fight against COVID-19 in the state.
State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinola Ojo, disclosed while speaking with journalists at governor’s office, Ibadan.
The breakdown of the expenses shows that N900.5 million was spent to purchase COVID-19 palliatives and seedlings; N370.6 million to upgrade the Infectious Diseases Centre, Olodo; N453.7million on securing borders, security trucks and personnel; N118million in supporting the University College Hospital, Ibadan, to test for COVID-19.
Also shown in the breakdown is N614.7million spent so far testing, kits, consumables; while N321.2million has been expended on buying ambulances.
Ojo further disclosed that N156million has been set aside for volunteers to each receive hazard allowance of N15,000 from June, backdated to March.
He gave the estimate of contributions from well-meaning individuals and institutions, in cash and gift items, as amounting to N1.2billion.
Out of the N1.2billion, he sai N378.1 million was cash donation, intact in the state COVID-19 endowment account.
Asked about the donation from the Federal Government, Ojo said the state had assurance from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of getting N100million.
He added that the state also got a donation from CACOVID to the tune of N250million.
The House of Representatives has faulted the Minister of Foreign Affairs , Geoffrey Onyeama, on the claim that Ghana has apologised to Nigeria on the demolition of buildings of the Nigerian Embassy in the country.
The House, while dismissing the call for diplomatic negotiations by the minister , asked that Nigeria should reciprocate the demolition , which the parliament described as an attack on the country.
Onyeama had appeared before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Abuja , where he was being grilled over demolition of the buildings.
Earlier in his presentation, the minister told the lawmakers that there was an invasion and building in the embassy premises was demolished by non – state actors .
He also said the time it took for the Ghanaian authorities to respond to distress calls made by officials at the embassy “ is extremely troubling and troubling. ”
Onyeama further said the traditional ruler in the area claimed that the property belonged to him , saying that there is no justification for the leader to take laws into his hands .
He also informed the House that the President of Ghana had directed that decisive and severe measure be taken to settle the matter .
Onyema said the legal status of the property will be looked into before further actions will be taken.
He added that Nigeria had sought the security of the embassy , its members of staff , and all Nigerians in Ghana .
The minister also said the Government of Ghana is very remorseful and had apologised profusely for the invasion .
Responding to Onyeama , Gbajabiamila dismissed the apology the minister said had been tendered to Nigeria by Ghana .
He stated that Nigeria must reciprocate the attack on its sovereignty by Ghana .
The speaker said , “ We all have the responsibility to make sure that we uphold , very simply , the honour and glory of the country we serve. Honourable minister , let me commend you for your efforts so far ; what you ’ ve done and what you ’ ve been doing.
“ I think we should look at this thing from the premise that the Nigerian state was attacked . It was not a building that was demolished, no ; the Nigerian state was attacked . I think if we look at it from that premise , we will begin to understand or underscore the importance or gravity of what we are dealing with .
“ In terms of immunity and inviolability , in terms of diplomacy, it also extends to property . We are not just talking about the states . It is trite that the embassy of any country is actually the state – a sovereign location in that , particularly foreign country. That is why if there is any problem in Nigeria today , all the Americans will run to the American Embassies to seek shelter because you cannot even move near there.
“ So , from that point of view , we need to address this in that context that Nigeria was attacked . I ’ m not interested in the land dispute , it is not an ordinary land dispute . It is not ! It has now metamorphosed into dispute between two countries , not by landowners . ”
Gbajabiamila said if it were the United States ’ embassy that was demolished in Ghana , “ do we think the US would be talking about apology or ‘ we will look into it’?”
He also said the US and the United Kingdom would not have taken it lightly with Nigeria if their embassies were tampered with in Nigeria .
The Federal Government has submitted proposed guidelines for the reopening of schools across the country to the National Assembly .
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba made the presentation during a meeting with the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria , he intimated the lawmakers of the ministry ’ s plans for students to resume across the country .
The FG had in March shut schools across the Federation as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease .
At the presentation today , the minister said , “ In the document provided, we have suggested how we can move our education sector forward during this pandemic .
“ We don ’ t want to make it known at this time so that some people will not take our proposed guidelines for school reopening .
“ Even if the Senate has not called us , we would have come to you to discuss with you because we have already discussed with the House of Representatives .
“ The documents were presented to you so that you can criticise and make inputs as major stakeholders. ”
Vice- Chairperson of the Committee, Akon Eyakenyi, who presided over the meeting , expressed fears that the academic calendar could be distorted in public schools where no visible arrangement was being made to teach pupils and students at home , unlike their private school counterparts.
Eyakenyi said , “ Even when the students in the cities have access to education programmes on radio and television , what of those in the villages ? What do we do so that we don ’ t shut them out ?
“ If the government can give guidelines for the reopening of churches and mosques, stakeholders in the education sector could also hold a meeting with the government to agree on guidelines for school reopening .
“ All we need to do is to come up with measures that would ensure the safety of students and teachers .
“ We can design a plan that would ensure that not all the students resume at the same time . We could probably start with the exit classes.
“ We could have the number of students that would go to school for both morning and afternoon sessions .
“ We have to be innovative in our approach to save our educational sector in this country because nobody knows how long the virus will be with us . ”
Doctors under the auspices of the Residents Doctors Association of Nigeria , Ondo State Chapter , have announced the commencement of an indefinite strike effective Wednesday , June 24 .
The health workers lamented that despite their exposure to COVID- 19 , their welfare has been neglected by the state government .
For the same reason , doctors under the aegis of the National Association of Government General Medical & Dental Practitioners, Ondo State also announced that it will join the industrial action starting from Wednesday .
They also frowned at the inadequate provision of personal protective equipment , which has resulted to some of their colleagues contracting COVID- 19 .
Speaking with journalists , state Secretary of the NAGGMDP , Dr Tunde Olasakinju , said five days after the ultimatum given the government to accede to its demands, the government had not responded or communicated them .
Olasakinju said , ” The government has deliberately failed to conclude negotiations on the erstwhile suspended Minimum Wage and Consequential Adjustments already enjoyed by the Non – Medical Staff Since January 2020 .
“ To our dismay and utter disappointment , as high as two and a half per cent of our members’ meagre consolidated basic salaries was deducted in the month of May 2020 .
“ The Special COVID- 19 Hazard and Risk Allowance pronounced and approved for our members to commence from May 2020 , which was to serve as a morale booster to our members working assiduously to fight against the spread of the deadly virus , was not paid.
“ After extensive deliberations , Congress unanimously resolved that our members will commence the total withdrawal of services effective Wednesday , June 24 , 2020 . ”
Inspector – General of Police Mohammed Adamu said the Police can ’ t be everywhere , at the same time.
Adamu stated this in Gombe during the state inauguration of the Community Policing Advisory Committee , which will be co – chaired by the Emir of Gombe , Sheu Abubakar , and the state Police Commissioner, Maikudi Sheu.
The IGP , who was represented by the Assistant Inspector – General of Police , in charge of Zone 3 , Haliru Gwandu , said there was no better time than now for community policing to commence .
He said , “ I consider this timely and very crucial . The Nigeria Police Force has continued to emphasise that while the police cannot be everywhere , our communities are found everywhere . Consequently , safety and security will be better guaranteed when and where members of the communities are actively involved in crime prevention and community safety .
“ Since the formal introduction of community policing approach in 2004 , NPF has made community policing the cardinal focus of efficient service delivery . ”
He added that the emerging crime trend warranted the community policing strategy which , according to him , is citizen- centered .
Armed Police personnel sealed the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress on the orders of the Inspector General of Police , Mohammed Adamu .
The PUNCH gathered that the IGP had scheduled a meeting with some of the feuding members of the party for 1 pm .
The Appellate Court sitting in Abuja last week upheld the suspension of the APC National Chairman , Adams Oshiomhole .
Chief Giadom is laying claims to the position of the APC National Chairman in an acting capacity . Butt some of his colleagues in the National Working Committee said the former governor of Oyo State , Senator Abiola Ajimobi , who is indisposed , is the Acting National Chairman .
Saudi Arabia has announced it will hold a “very limited ” hajj this year , with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to perform the annual ritual as it moves to curb the biggest coronavirus outbreak in the Gulf .
The decision marks the first time in Saudi Arabia’ s modern history that Muslims outside the kingdom have been barred from performing the hajj , which last year drew 2 . 5 million pilgrims .
The move to scale back the five- day event , scheduled for the end of July, is fraught with political and economic peril and comes after several Muslim nations pulled out of the ritual that forms one of the main pillars of Islam .
The kingdom’ s hajj ministry said the ritual will be open to various nationalities already in Saudi Arabia , but it did not specify a number.
“ It was decided to hold the pilgrimage this year with very limited numbers … with different nationalities in the kingdom, ” the official Saudi Press Agency said citing the ministry .
“ This decision is taken to ensure the hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective… and in accordance with the teachings of Islam . ”
The hajj – a must for able- bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime – could be a major source of contagion , as it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites .
The decision comes as Saudi Arabia grapples to contain a major spike in infections , which have now risen to more than 161 , 000 cases — the highest in the Gulf — and over 1 , 300 deaths .
But despite the surge, Saudi Arabia on Sunday moved to end a coronavirus curfew across the kingdom and lift restrictions on businesses , including cinemas and other entertainment venues .
The announcement to hold a limited hajj will likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims around the world who often invest their life savings and endure long waiting lists to make the trip .
But it will probably appease domestic pilgrims , who feared the ritual would entirely be cancelled for the first time in recent history.
“ Saudi Arabia has chosen the safest option that allows it to save face within the Muslim world while making sure they are not seen as compromising on public health , ” Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London , told AFP.
US President Donald Trump will prolong a ban on US employment permits to year – end and broaden it to include H – 1 B visas used widely in the tech industry , the White House said.
A senior administration official told journalists the move would free up 525 , 000 jobs , making a dent in the high unemployment rate caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
“ President Trump is focused on getting Americans back to work as quickly as possible , ” the official said , on condition of anonymity .
Trump had endlessly touted a strong economy , but now finds himself desperate for a political boost ahead of the November election.
His executive order , signed, will extend and widen the 60 – day freeze Trump placed on new work permits for non – US citizens two months ago .
The administration official said the new order would extend to the end of 2020 and include H – 1 B visas provided to 85 , 000 workers each year with special skills , many of them joining the US technology industry .
It will also cover most J visas , common for academics and researchers , and L visas used by companies to shift workers based overseas to their US offices.
The official said the order was necessary to respond to soaring unemployment that resulted from the COVID- 19 shutdown .
The official also stressed the H – 1 B visa freeze was temporary while the program is restructured , shifting from an annual lottery that feeds coders and other specialists to Silicon Valley to a system the gives priority to those foreign workers with the most value.
Trump “is going to prioritize those workers who are offered the highest wages , ” as an indicator that they can add more value to the US economy , the official said .
“ It will eliminate competition with Americans … in these industries at the entry level , and will do more to get the best and the brightest . ”
The move also freezes most H – 2 B visas – used each year for about 66 , 000 short- term , low – skilled jobs in landscaping , food and hospitality industries – and H – 4 visas , which allow spouses of other visa holders to work.
Exemptions will apply to seafood processing plants and to au pairs, foreigners offering families household help like childcare .
In addition , the official said the government is issuing new regulations that will make it much harder for tens of thousands of asylum seekers waiting for their court hearings to work legally in the meanwhile .
With often a two – year wait for a case to be reviewed , the administration sees many people apply for asylum mainly to be able to acquire work permits.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham , normally a firm Trump supporter , criticised the decision and tweeted, “ Those who believe legal immigration , particularly work visas , are harmful to the American worker do not understand the American economy . ”
He added that he feared the president ’ s decision “will create a drag on our economic recovery” .
Layoffs caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the US passed 45 . 7 million last week, and although many jobs will come back as the country reopens, there are worries that some have been irrevocably lost by the heavy financial impact on businesses and local governments.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned earlier this month that unemployment could still be 9 . 3 percent nationwide at the end of the year , an improvement from the current 13 . 3 percent but still devastatingly high .
The Federal Government said it would carry out a simulation trial of domestic flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Saturday as it prepares to reopen the country’ s airspace to commercial flights .
It also assured Nigerians that airfares would not be outrageously high as speculated by many , based on plans to begin the social distancing rule onboard flights .
This came as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority declared that it would submit the aviation restart plan to the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 on Wednesday .
Speaking at briefing of the PTF in Abuja, the Minister of Aviation , Hadi Sirika, doused concerns about a possible hike in airfares when commercial flights resume .
“ Well , that ( airfare hike ) may not necessarily be the case , because as I speak to you , day in day out, we ’ ve been meeting with stakeholders in the industry to find out how best to open the industry , ” he said .
He added, “ So we are doing everything to ensure that tickets’ prices are not skyrocketed . They may be different but they will not be something that passengers cannot afford . ”
On the preparedness to open the airports for Flights , he said , “ Flight trials will be demonstrated on Saturday in Lagos airport ahead of the resumption of operations. ”
In a similar development , the Director – General , NCAA , Capt . Musa Nuhu , said during a stakeholders’ forum that the aviation sector restart plan would be submitted to the PTF on COVID- 19 on Wednesday , June 24 .
“ We are yet to get there but we are pretty close . The plan is that by Wednesday , we will submit our report to the PTF. I reiterate , we are pretty close , ” he stated .
Nuhu noted that the authority did not need to have all the airlines , airports or the ground handlers ready before it restarts the system .
The NCAA boss also stated that the non – operation of commercial flights had dragged down the authority’ s revenue by 90 to 95 per cent.
He said , “ We are almost ready. Like I said earlier , not all the airlines and airports have to be necessarily ready before the restart. If anything goes wrong , the NCAA will be held responsible.
“ Sometime this week, the proposed restart date will be made known . If the airports get it right , the airlines job will be made easier . The airlines that have disinfected their aircraft should show proof to NCAA. ”
The Chairman , NCAA COVID- 19 Committee , Godwin Balang , said the authority had to develop aviation restart guidelines on uncharted grounds , adding that it issued regulations in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation Standard and Recommended Practices .
Balang said , “ Restart and recovery guidelines are based on 10 key principles which are to protect people in harmonised but flexible measures ; and work as one aviation team and show solidarity . ”
Others, according to him , include to ensure essential connectivity ; manage safety , security and health related risks ; and make aviation public health measures work with aviation safety and security systems; etc.
The Federal Road Safety Corps has said the owners and drivers of the four articulated vehicles involved in a multiple crash along Lagos – Ibadan Expressway on Sunday will investigate and prosecuted .
The FRSC Corps Marshals , Dr Boboye Oyeyemi , disclosed this in a statement signed by the Corps Public Education Officer , Mr Bisi Kazeem .
Three tankers and one trailer were engulfed in an explosion on Kara bridge along the Lagos – Ibadan expressway on Sunday .
The Corps Marshal directed the Safety Engineering Unit of the Corps to commence a thorough investigation into the crash .
While emphatically stating that “ the situation is utterly unacceptable and must be brought to an end, the Corps Marshal “ immediately directed the Safety Engineering Unit of the Corps to commence a thorough investigation into the crash and the Corps Legal Adviser to activate immediate prosecution of both the vehicle owners and the drivers to serve as a deterrent to others” .
Oyeyemi , who decried the attendant loss of lives and damages to properties resulting from such avoidable crashes, expressed concern over the ugly incident .
He noted that irrespective of the series of engagements with the various Unions of tankers and trailers , as well as major stakeholders in the road transport sector , the country still experienced such ugly trends on the roads .
This , he said , was due to undue violation of maximum safety standards by both drivers and owners of these vehicles .
According to him , the corps has put in place more efforts to eradicate incidents of crashes on the road apart from several engagements with the transport unions and stakeholders.
“ I single – handedly delivered series of lectures on basic road safety ideals and the imperatives of maintaining maximum safety standards at all times .
“ I want to emphatically state that the situation is utterly unacceptable and must be brought to an end, ” he said .
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