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The Federal Government has said it did not beg Madagascar to supply its Covid-19 syrup to Nigeria, explaining that the East African country donated the elixir to Nigeria and it accepted it in the spirit of African brotherhood.

This was as it announced that it has put in place measures to rethink its National Response to the Covid-19, saying emerging developments indicate that there is a need for a change in tactics.

These were disclosed in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on Covid-19.

Government added that while it would continue to look inwards to see how it can defeat the pandemic, it would however also look outwards as Covid-19 is not a Nigerian outbreak but a global disease.

It asked state governments and security operatives to also allow farmers access to their farms as the planting season begins, saying food security is critical to national security.

Also, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, told journalists to refrain from asking him about the whereabouts of a 15-member Chinese Medical Team whose entry into Nigeria on April 9 had generated a wave of backlash from Nigerians.

Elixir from Madagascar
Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha dismissed speculations that Nigeria might have asked Madagascar for a supply of its Covid-19 organic instead of promoting local researchers for a cure.

He said; “The issue of Madagascar. Let me explain that Nigeria did not ask Madagascar for any solution. That has to be very clear because I have seen some narratives out there giving credence to a line of story that, for me, I think is only distractive. Nigeria did not ask.

“The Madagascan government decided to airlift quantities meant for African countries and so that of West Africa was airlifted to Guinea-Bissau.

“So, all the members of ECOWAS have their commodities off-loaded in Guinea-Bissau and that was the one I referred to, that we were making arrangements to evacuate but the impression out there was as if we abandoned homegrown solutions and we were looking for Madagascan solution.

“We did not ask for it, but it was taken in the spirit of brotherly love, or African brotherly love to Guinea-Bissau and we have asked our Ambassador there to establish the location, the quantity etc.

“He has done that. We have to make an arrangement for its freighting out of Guinea-Bissau. There are no flights, so there are so many things we have to consider.

“If we are air-freighting through air cargo, that has its process. So, please can you help us explain to Nigerians that Nigeria did not ask for it. It was brought for West African countries, similarly for other parts of Africa.

“The consignment meant for West Africa was taken to Guinea-Bissau and every ECOWAS country was asked to go to Guinea-Bissau and pick. It is not our priority for now. It is not a focus.

“There are other things that we are dealing with to make sure that we contain the spread in our nation. We will do that, but that does not in any way downplay what we have asked our researchers and our scientists to do.

“In the last one or more weeks, I have consistently made this appeal and those in the medical community know the protocol to follow. I get letters on a daily basis with claims of inventions.

“This afternoon, I received one with even the consignment and so I was wondering whether I was going to bring it here to try it on some of you. That is not the protocol.

“The protocol is to submit these things to the appropriate organization that has the responsibility, that its role was established by government through an Act of Parliament for it to go through the processes of validation.

“It is not the responsibility of the Taskforce to validate these things. So, my appeal to our scientists and our researchers is: do not bother sending them to the Taskforce.

“Send them to the institutions that have been set up by government to do their job and we know the institutions. NAFDAC is there. It is a body acknowledged and recognized all over the world not only for homegrown cure but anything you want to bring into this country and that is why all such things carry NAFDAC numbers.

“If you send it to the Chairman of the Taskforce, will he give you a NAFDAC number? How? The Taskforce is a body that has been put in place to provide a National Response to the pandemic.

“We will not take over the responsibilities of the agencies of government that have existed in the last couple of decades, and who have the primary responsibility of doing what they ought to do,” he declared.

The coronavirus may never go away and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they have HIV , the World Health Organization has warned , as the global death toll from the disease nears 300, 000 .

There were also gloomy forecasts from the US Federal Reserve, which said prolonged shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in America .

Washington ratcheted up tensions over the pandemic by accusing China of trying to steal research into a vaccine , while US President Donald Trump upped the rhetoric with a colourful phrase that could anger Beijing .

“ We just made a great Trade Deal , the ink was barely dry , and the World was hit by the Plague from China . 100 Trade Deals wouldn ’ t make up the difference — and all those innocent lives lost !” Trump tweeted.

The United States logged more than 1 , 800 deaths on Wednesday , bringing the nation’ s total to 84 , 059 .

The president has increasingly looked to pin the blame on China , where the virus first emerged late last year.

Two US security agencies piled further pressure on Beijing by saying Chinese hackers were attempting to steal intellectual property related to treatments .

“ China ’ s efforts to target these sectors pose a significant threat to our nation’ s response to COVID- 19 , ” the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ( CISA ) said .

Neither agency offered evidence to support the allegation .

A vaccine could allow countries and economies to fully re – open from lockdowns and potentially earn millions of dollars for its creators .

But the WHO said the virus may never be wiped out entirely .

“ This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away, ” said Michael Ryan , the global health body ’ s emergencies director in Geneva.

Punch

The Nigerian Governors Forum has asked the National Assembly to step down the Infectious Disease Bill to allow for wider consultations with stakeholders.

It also set up a three- member committee made up of governors Aminu Masari (Katsina ) , Aminu Tambuwal ( Sokoto ) and Simon Lalong ( Plateau ) to meet with the leadership of the National Assembly over the issue.

This was contained in a communique signed by the Chairman of the forum , Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State , after the 8 th COVID- 19 teleconference meeting of the NGF .

It read in part, “ Following an update from the Governor of Sokoto State and Vice Chairman of the NGF, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill , 2020 introduced by the House of Representatives , Governors raised concern with the lack of consultation with State governments who are at the forefront of the epidemic .

“ The Forum resolved that the Bill should be stepped down until an appropriate consultative process is held , including a public hearing to gather public opinion and concerns.

“ In the light of this , the Forum established a Committee comprising the Governors of Katsina , Sokoto , and Plateau to lead a consultative meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 . The NGF Secretariat was also mandated to comprehensively review the Bill and its implication on States . ”

The governors , who also expressed concerns over the rising cases of COVID- 19 cases across the nation, resolved to among other things , work in collaboration with the Dangote Foundation to set up and train a volunteer health workforce and increase the tempo of setting up isolation centres .

They also resolved to make available additional warehouses to store palliatives donated by the private sector and ensure that such donations get to the most vulnerable people in each state .

The governors also agreed to take additional measures to strengthen their public financial management systems, including a revision of their 2020 budgets and the amendment of State procurement guidelines to support e – procurement and the participation of small and medium -sized enterprises .

Prof . Ibrahim Gambari , the new Chief of Staff to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ) has promised to serve the nation to the best of his ability through his principal.

He spoke at a brief interview after he assumed duties at the Presidential Villa , Abuja .

Gambari said what Buhari needed most from him was his loyalty , competence , and support in the task of governance .

“ I will serve the nation, Mr President . He needs my loyalty , competence , and support. I will serve to the best of my ability ” , he stated while thanking the President for the honour offered him to serve as CoS .

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha , had announced Gambari ’ s appointment shortly before the start of the virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council .

The new CoS replaced the late Abba Kyari, who died in April of COVID- 19 complications .

The FEC meeting, which was chaired by Buhari , observed a minute silence in honour of Kyari.

The Lagos State Government has subjected its proposed lockdown to a vote on social media .

According to the state government , the decision was informed by the disregard for social distancing and other guidelines issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and health experts .

In a tweet , the state government wrote , “ Considering the level of compliance with government ’ s directives on limiting the spread of COVID- 19 in Lagos State , should the state government impose another lockdown or not ?”

The government asked residents to vote yes , no or neutral.
As of 12 pm on Wednesday , over 53 , 000 votes had been cast.

About 51 . 4 per cent of respondents asked the state government to issue a fresh lockdown order while 37 . 2 votes against it. The remaining 11 . 5 per cent of the responders were indifferent .

The state government had recently threatened to issue a fresh lockdown after videos emerged of how residents were not adhering to the health guidelines.

Bank customers were seen gathered at entrances , struggling to make their way into premises in contravention of the social distancing advice .

It was the same at several bus stops where stranded passengers gathered in their numbers .

Lagos State accounts for over 50 per cent of infections nationwide with nearly 2 , 000 persons testing positive as of Wednesday .

Some Twitter users , however , faulted the strategy of the state government , insisting that health issues should not be subjected to a vote .

Awesu Samuel tweeted, “Why should the government place a voting strategy to decide lockdown ? Anyway the answer is simple. Because the government can ’ t afford what it takes to lockdown its economy . It can ’ t provide for its citizens precisely . ”

Another Twitter user said using social media was not the best approach because most of the poor and vulnerable residents are not on social media .

Punch

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to allow independent candidacy in Nigerian elections .

The Chief Whip , Mr Mohammed Monguno , had sponsored the ‘ Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 . ’

If the Senate and two – third ( 24 ) of the 36 state Houses of Assembly approve the proposal , it will make it legal for independent candidates to vie for any elective office in the country without using any political party platform .

Leading the debate on the bill , Monguno said a country’ s constitution should not be static and should be a document that took care of needs that might arise from time to time .

This , he said , inspired the bill .

He said independent candidacy would deepen Nigerian democracy and create a level playing field for all Nigerians who wanted to contribute their quota to national and local development.

The Chief Whip cited the example of a few people who hijacked political parties and hindered those that had contrary views from expressing themselves politically on the platform of the party .

In his contribution , Mr Sergius Ogun said as Nigeria practises a presidential system , it would be democratically expedient to allow well – meaning Nigerians to have an independent platform to contribute their patriotic quota .

Also , Mr Aminu Suleiman said the proposal would expand the political and personal rights of people to function , devoid of imposition and interference of political godfathers .

He said it would also ensure emergence of the popular choice made by the people without imposition by party structures.

Suleiman also expressed the hope that the bill would enjoy speedy passage and assent of the president .

However , Mr James Faleke doubted the capacity of Nigeria ’ s political system to accommodate everyone who wished to contest as it would be too enormous for the Independent National Electoral Commission to handle .

He added that independent candidacy would result in more electoral litigation .

Professor Ibrahim Gambari has been appointed as the Chief of Staff to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ).

Gambari ’ s appointment was announced by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Boss Mustapha , at the Federal Executive Council virtual meeting .

Gambari was screened on arrival for COVID- 19 , including having his temperature checked and using a hand sanitiser before he was ushered into the main building .

Gambari , an indigene of Kwara State , replaced Abba Kyari who died on April 17 from coronavirus – related complications .

“ President @ MBuhari has appointed Professor Ibrahim Gambari , as his Chief of Staff , Boss Mustapha , Secretary to the Government of the Federation , announced the appointment today at the virtual Federal Executive Council ( FEC ) Meeting , ” Bashir Ahmad , Personal Assistant on New Media to Buhari , tweeted.

Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari has been appointed as the new chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

He will be presented during the virtual meeting of the federal executive council (FEC) on Wednesday.

He is currently the founder/chairman of Savannah Center External link in Abuja, a think-tank for research, training and public policy debate on the nexus between diplomacy (conflict resolution), democracy and development in Africa.

Prof. Gambari, a Nigerian scholar, diplomat and an indigene of Kwara State was appointed to replace the late Abba Kyari on Tuesday, May 12.

Mallam Abba Kyari was the Chief of Staff to President Buhari before his demise which was announced on April 17 shortly after testing positive to CoronaVirus.

Vanguard

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has published the list of 2019 fully admitted candidates in all the tertiary institutions in the country.

The Board’s Director of Public Relations, Dr. Fabian Benjamin in a statement, said the list is on display on the board’s website: http://www.jamb.gov.ng.

According to him, “for ease of checking, candidates can search for their names by providing their JAMB registration numbers on the search tool located on the displayed list to ascertain their admission.

“The displayed list can be accessed by a visit to
http://www.jamb.gov.ng, to check the matriculation list.”

He said candidates that have been offered provisional admission, but are yet to accept it are to immediately accept these admissions at no cost by using the CAPS Mobile App downloaded from Google Playstore.

“Candidates do not need to visit any CBT centre or cyber cafe, as doing so would be a violation of the presidential directive on work from home/stay-at-home order.

“Candidates should note that failure to accept such offers of admission on the CAPS platform would result in the forfeiture of such admissions.

In the event of any challenge, candidates are to lodge their complaints using the online ticketing platform at support.jamb.gov.ng under ‘2019 admission list issue’.

Benjamin said acceptance of admissions on any website other than CAPS is not valid as any admission not processed and accepted through CAPS is not known to the board.

“Alternatively, candidates who are not sure of their admission status can check for such from their phones by sending “STATUS 2019″ to 55019.

Only candidates who had accepted their offers of admission on CAPS and whose names appear on the provisional matriculation list are recognised as bonafide students of the various institutions in Nigeria.”

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, has been appointed the new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. With his appointment, he replaces Mallam Abba Kyari, who died last month of COVID-19.

The new Chief of Staff will resume work at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.

Gambari, as foreign minister, played a key role in quelling the diplomatic uproar generated by the failed attempt to kidnap Mallam Umaru Dikko from UK by the Buhari military government.

A scholar and seasoned diplomat, Gambari served as minister of External Affairs between 1984 and 1985. He was appointed by former United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon and the chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur in 2010.

He also served as Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the UN Secretary General. Prior to that, he served as Under-Secretary Generay of the United Nation for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).

The new chief of Staff, an Ilorin prince, was born on November 24, 1944.