Category: Uncategorized

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige , has disclosed that the Federal Government has released N 4 . 5 bn to 31 federal teaching hospitals and medical centres nationwide .

He said the sum covered hazard and inducement allowances of striking doctors for April and May .

Ngige disclosed this to State House correspondents shortly after he , the Minister of Health , Dr Osagie Ehanire ; and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo , briefed the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , on the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors.

He said , “ Just this morning , before we went to see Mr President , the Ministry of Finance reported that as at this morning , 3 am , they have paid the allowances for hazard and inducement to 31 teaching and Federal Medical Centres and specialist hospitals of the Federal Government service and they have expended close to N 4 . 5 billion on the payment because we are paying them the arrears of April and May.

“ The payment for June will also be done immediately these ones are sorted out.

“ Again , it is important to report to you that in consonance with what he is saying, we have arranged a meeting for them to speak to the Nigerian Governors ’ Forum because you don ’ t mix apples and oranges .

“ The issue of health is on the concurrent list , so the Federal Government will do its own and the state governments will be expected to do their own. Some of their grievances border on what they feel the state governments have not done . ”

Punch/Vanguard

Sequel to the gradual easing of the COVID- 19 lockdown nationwide by the Federal Government, the Comptroller -General of Nigeria Immigration Service , Muhammad Babandede , has directed commands to commence the migrant e – registration exercise from July 1 , 2020 .

He also directed them to adhere to the COVID- 19 guidelines stipulated by the National Centre for Disease Control .

Over 30 , 000 migrants have so far registered with the NIS since the exercise commenced .

According to a statement in Abuja  , by the NIS spokesman , DCI Sunday James , the commands must clean the registration centres before migrants are granted access, check the temperature of migrants while providing sanitizer and soap for washing hands .

The migrants were expected to wear face masks and observe physical distancing .

The statement read , “ The Comptroller -General of Nigeria Immigration Service expects maximum compliance from both the operatives at the frontline and the migrants as a safety and precautionary measure to curb the spread of the COVID- 19 and safeguard lives. ”

Punch

The Federal Government says the June 21 date for the restart of domestic flights in the country is not feasible .

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika , made this known at a Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19 briefing in Abuja .

Reports had earlier reported that the PTF said aviation authorities will determine the resumption of flight operations .

PTF coordinator , Sani Aliyu , had on June 1 requested the aviation industry to develop protocols for the resumption of domestic flights anytime from June 21 .

But Sirika, who was represented by the Director- General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority , Capt Musa Nuhu , at the briefing on Thursday , said , “June 21 st is not a feasible date to resume domestic operations .

“ The civil aviation authority, despite pressures coming from all quarters ,
will not approve the start any day until we are sure and we confirm that we are ready to start in a safe , secure, organised and efficient manner . To do otherwise is disastrous for all of us .

“ If we open the industry when we are not ready , and we are guilty of spreading coronavirus, God forbid we have any incident , I believe the government will come hard on us and it is going to be counterproductive and disastrous for the industry .

“ We are not too far , we are close but there is a need for timing to ensure that we are ready, positively , absolutely ready to start work. ”

Punch

The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , has finally admitted that although the nation’ s service chiefs are trying to tackle the security challenges being experienced across the country, their best is not good enough .

He has therefore told them that he will no longer accept what he described as excuses .

The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd . ) , disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of a meeting Buhari had with the security chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja .

Monguno quoted Buhari as telling the service chiefs he appointed since 2015 that he expected them to henceforth live up to expectations.

With the rising cases of insecurity across the country, individuals and groups have been calling on the President to change the service chiefs , some of whom he has on different occasions extended their tenure.

Protests have been holding in some parts of the North , including the President ’ s homes state, Katsina , over the shoddy manner the government and security agents have been handling cases of banditry and insurgency .

Punch

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thundery and cloudy weather conditions across the country from Wednesday to Friday.

NiMet weather outlook released in Abuja said there had been a little respite generally in rainfall activities across the country.

It said that such relief in rainfall had led to more accumulation of atmospheric moisture and increased insolation for thunderstorms occurrence during the forecast.

“For Wednesday, cloudy conditions are probable over the north, except southern Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Katsina, Dutse, Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna where there are chances of thunderstorms in the morning.

“ Later in the day, widespread thunderstorms are anticipated. Central cities are expected to be cloudy with exception of parts of Abuja, Jos, Lokoja, Nasarawa, and Mambilla Plateau which will likely experience thunderstorms in the morning hours.

“There are better prospects of thunderstorms during the day. Thunderstorms are likely over southern cities like Obudu, Akure, Benin, Osun, Ikom, Abakaliki, Umuahia and rains over the coastal belt in the morning hours, “it said.

The agency forecast indicated that thunderstorms were likely to be over the inland later in the day with rains probable over the coastal cities.

NiMet predicted cloudy conditions over the north on Thursday, with prospects of isolated thunderstorms over Sokoto, Kebbi, Gombe, Taraba, Bauchi, Southern Borno, and Adamawa in the morning hours.

It envisaged thunderstorms likely to be over southern Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe, Sokoto, Kebbi Maiduguri, and Yobe as the day progresses.

“Over the central states, increased cloudiness is anticipated, however, thunderstorms are likely over parts of Niger, Kwara, and Abuja in the morning.

“Cloudy condition is expected later in the day with prospects of thunderstorms over Jos, Abuja, Nasarawa, Makurdi, and Lokoja. Thunderstorms are expected over inland cities, while morning rains are anticipated over Calabar, Eket, and Port Harcourt.

“There are chances of thunderstorms over the inland cities with high prospect of rains over most parts of the coastal belt in the afternoon and evening periods, “ it said.

According to the agency, cloudy conditions with spells of sunshine are probable over the north in the morning hours of Friday with chances of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening hours.

NiMet predicted cloudy conditions over the central states with few thunderstorms over Abuja, Jos, and Makurdi in the morning hours but thunderstorms over the entire region later in the day.

It forecast increased cloudiness over the southern region with thunderstorms over Lagos and Ijebu Ode in the morning.

It further forecast a few thunderstorms over the inland and over most parts of the coastal cities in the afternoon and evening periods.

Vanguard

The Minister of Power , Sale Mamman , has insisted that the new increment on electricity tariff would take off in July.

He stated this at the Investigative Public Hearing on Power Sector Recovery Plan and the impact of COVID- 19 pandemic organised by the Senate Committee on Power .

Mamman said COVID- 19 pandemic had affected the laid, out plan for the repositioning of the electricity market towards financial sustainability under the Power Sector Recovery Programme.

According to him , the regulator , following the completion of public consultation on tariff review, has initially planned to conduct a tariff review in April 2020 .

However , he said due to the COVID- 19 outbreak and customer apathy , the proposed tariff review was delayed by three months.

He said , “ The impact of this means the subsidy being incurred in maintaining the current tariff level had to be maintained till July 2020 when the proposed tariff review will be implemented.

“ The challenge we are currently facing in the development and expansion of our transmission line is budget and release of Federal Government’ s commitment in the estimated sum of N32 bn primarily for right of way acquisition and environmental impact mitigation.

“The fund should be provided for in the 2020 , 2021 , and 2022 Appropriation of the Ministry of Power . ”

Mamman also said the COVID- 19 pandemic had had a great economic impact not just on the health sector but on the overall economy .

He said , “ Indeed , the prevalence of the pandemic has already reduced productivity due to the strategy adopted globally to contain it .

“This by default affects the purchasing power of consumers and the demand for electricity in general .

“The current situation in the Nigerian power sector is that a lot of capital investment is being made , most of which is dependent on donor funding, loans and budgetary allocations .

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has restricted operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, on the usage of the social media with a ban on police personnel from using pictures of themselves while dressed in police uniforms on their FaceBook, Twitter handles, WhatsApp or Instagram pages.

The Police chief also banned police personnel from making, sharing or commenting on any post that ridicules, maligns or disrespects any race, gender, ethnicity, tribe, religion or nationality as well as making controversial discussions bordering on politics and religion.

The IGP in a statement dated June 9th, 2020 warned that he is giving all police personnel in the country a grace of 30 days from June 10th for all operatives in the force to comply with the new Social Media Policy, SMP of the NPF by removing their pictures, videos in police uniforms, logos and insignias from their personal social media handles.

The statement which was personally signed by the IGP was also addressed to all Deputy Inspector General of Police, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Commissioners of Police and head of all respective police units in the country .

According to the statement, the policy is in appreciation of the need to safeguard the cooperate image of the force and uphold ethical standards to regulate the activities of all officers and men of the force in relation to the engagement of social media platforms.

Some sections of the policy according to the statement, states that all police personnel except the IGP, Zonal Command AIGs, State Command CPs, the force PPRO, Zonal and State Command PPROs, PPROs of police units and the officer in charge of the Complaint Response Unit, CRU, are prohibited from identifying themselves as police officers on their social media accounts.

The statement reads in part: “No police personnel shall use the social media or online platform to mobilize members of the force/police against the leadership, or policies of the force.

“Uploading of one’s official photographs on personal WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all other social media handles, as display pictures or status is prohibited. Usage of social media platforms such as LinkedIn, WhatsApp groups, etc for professional and educational purposes is permitted to build necessary capacity and network for the force personnel.”

The statement further warned that any violation of the policy by any police personnel would attract appropriate disciplinary action.

Vanguard

The Federal Government has warned state governments that were planning to reopen schools to drop the plan .

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Mr Boss Mustapha , gave the warning during the PTF press briefing in Abuja .

Mustapha said it was not yet safe to reopen schools , television viewing centres , stadiums and other places where large gatherings could take place.

Last week, Kano State reopened football viewing centres . There were reports that Cross River State , which had yet to record any COVID- 19 case , was planning to reopen schools .

Mustapha appealed to state governments to embark on wider community testing and enforce rules on social distancing .

He stated , “​ We have received reports that some states are contemplating the reopening of schools , television viewing centres , sports stadiums and other places where large gatherings could take place. The PTF re -emphasises that it is not yet safe to do so and that utmost caution should be exercised . The PTF guidelines should still be complied with while considering decision of this nature .​ ”

Mustapha added that the PTF, through its monitoring , had observed that Nigerians were not observing social distancing , wearing of masks in public places , sanitation and hygiene in markets , motor parks and places of worship

He said , “ We wish to re- emphasise that all relaxed measures are still subject to review and advisories issued are for personal and public safety purposes. The breach of the ban on inter – state travels is also a point of concern . ”

The SGF attributed the increase in the number of COVID – 19 to the increasing number of tests being conducted across the country .

He said the battle against COVID- 19 had reached the level of individual and collective responsibility .

“ The fact that restrictions have been lifted is not a license for carelessness . We may have returned to a new normal but not normal of the past . My appeal as I conclude is that where we are now is about individual and collective responsibility that will determine where we are heading to , ” he added.

He said COVID- 19 cases in the country would continue to rise in the country. The SGF , however , said the rate would depend on Nigerians ’ adherence to protocols.

On his part, the Minister of Health , Dr Osagie Ehanire , expressed concern that COVID- 19 patients who were not seeking treatment on time were dying of the virus .

The Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force said it has relaxed the curfew imposed on the state following the advent of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
It said the curfew would run from 10 pm to 4 am.

Taiwo Adisa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, said other decisions reached include the resumption of classes for Primary Six, JSS3 and SS3 students from June 29.

All category of workers will resume at the state secretariat from June 22.

Mosques and churches are to operate at 25 per cent capacity; and the decision to limit public gathering to not more than 25 persons.

The statement reads: “The schools are to observe the COVID-19 protocols, ensure that stations for washing of hands are provided in all schools, while all students are to compulsorily wear face masks.

“Schools are to provide hand wash points with the support of their Parents/Teachers Associations (PTA).

“Mosques and churches are to reopen and operate at not more than 25 per cent capacity. The situation will be reviewed within the first two weeks. All worshippers are to compulsorily wear face masks.”

TheNation/Tribune

The Federal Government has said many neighbouring countries asked Nigeria for food during the lockdown occasioned by coronavirus pandemic .

Minister of Works and Housing , Babatunde Fashola , made this known during an Instagram Live Chat with City People Magazine .

The minister , who spoke on the COVID- 19 Economic Sustainability Plan recently submitted by Vice -President Yemi Osinbajo to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ), said the plan contains diverse measures to fortify the Nigerian economy against any shock brought by the pandemic .

Fashola said , “ We are looking at constructing roads with more stones , more cement , more iron rods so that more people will be employed . For example , it will take 14 people to build a kilometre of road . So , if you are doing more kilometres , it will demand more labour and materials , so , these are some of the bolts and nuts of that plan.

“ Agriculture is another critical part of the Economic Sustainability Plan. We want to increase the cultivatable lands in the country. We are currently cultivating just about one – third and I stand to be corrected on that figure – the minister of agriculture knows the numbers than I do . But in his presentation, as I recollect it, we are not cultivating enough lands . We want to double cultivation , increase food output, not just for local use but for export .

“ I must say to Nigerians that because of the success of the agriculture programme which is still evolving , during this COVID exercise , many countries were writing to us from near and far , asking us to please supply them food . This is not in the public space but President Buhari ’ s priority was , tell them to wait, we must feed our people first before we send out food , we don ’ t know when this is going to end.

“ So , we want to see more value – added in the sector in terms of processing and cultivation . We are losing an unsatisfactory quantity of our agro produce to many factors – transport , cooling , heating and so on . These are some of the components that the Ministry of Agriculture will share in the next few months about how to ensure that we preserve many more of what we produce and lose less . ”

The former governor of Lagos State also noted that the National Housing Project which started in 2016 is still ongoing . He stressed that the Ministry of Housing understudied the type of houses Nigerians liked to live in because “cultural differences impact on the way people live ” .

He said , “ We learnt from the previous National Housing Scheme during the Shagari era that not everybody liked the way the Shagari houses were built . Whilst it was a laudable initiative by that administration , it did not really respond fully to all the aspirations of Nigerians in terms of the type of houses they want to live in .

“ In all the 34 states which gave us lands , we have completed the houses . We have now started a second phase in many of those houses close to where the first phase was . ”

Beyond building houses , the Senior Advocate said his ministry was providing “ Site and Service Scheme ” for people who don ’ t want the government to build houses for them but want the government ’ s protection and amenities like potable water , steady power , amongst others.

“ All over the world , the truism is that not everybody will be able to own a home but they deserve some kind of shelter . Some people have to rent . So , the Federal Government provides Home Renovation Loan which helps some people subsidise their rent , renovate their houses and so forth .

Punch