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The Poultry Association of Nigeria has warned that the country may face starvation in 2021 due to the lockdown across the nation caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic .

The President of the association, Mr Ezekiel Ibrahim Mam, made this known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria .

He said , “ This year 2020 , we are at least better off because we have enough food on ground but in 2021 we are going to face clear starvation, not just hunger because of lockdown and restriction of movement of people since farmers cannot move to their farms .

“ Already, the rainy season has set in so , if the maize producers, soybeans farmers could not go to their farms that is a threat to the poultry industry .

“ This is because 70 per cent of the raw materials for the poultry industry , especially poultry production is soya and maize . We have two issues , which are the lockdown , security , and activities of bandits . ”

The president of PAN, however , urged the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility to secure farmers by mobilising them to go to their farms and produce food for the country.

Ibrahim noted that lifting the restriction on the movement of farmers and mobilising them would forestall the foreseen starvation of the country in 2021 .

“ We need to wake up , the government needs to wake up to its duties because we are generally experiencing terrible and tough times , ” he added .

NAN

The Chief Whip of the Senate , Orji Uzor Kalu , has said his five months in jail afforded him the opportunity of learning “ invaluable lessons ” about Nigeria and the citizenry.

Kalu , who is representing Abia North Senatorial District at the red chamber , stated this while reacting to a Supreme Court judgment delivered in his favour .

The apex court , in a unanimous decision by a seven – member panel led by Justice Amina Augie, held that the Federal High Court in Lagos acted without jurisdiction when it convicted Kalu , his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and a former Director of Finance in Abia State , Jones Udeogu, in December last year .

It further held that trial Justice Mohammed Liman was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court as of the time he sat and delivered the judgment that convicted the defendants for allegedly stealing about N7 . 1 bn from the Abia State treasury when he was governor.

Kalu said , “ The past five months have been quite a profound period for me . As challenging as that period has been , it has provided me an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about our country, our peoples , our justice system , and the true meaning of love . I mean love for family , love for our country, and love for humanity . ”

He , however , expressed delight that the Supreme court judgment affirmed his right to a fair hearing and equal protection of the law .

He said , “ I would like to let it be known that the events of the past five months gave me an added perspective on matters of justice and injustice in Nigeria .

“ I have come to know that the course of justice will not be complete if it stopped at my case .

“ It must continue until it touches the lives of millions of Nigerians who face injustice anywhere in this world.

“ I shall be dedicating my time henceforth to ensuring there will be justice for all Nigerians whether they are in Sokoto or Akwa Ibom or in Lagos or Maiduguri or in Jos or Enugu , or wherever they may be .

“ Justice for one man or for a few people will no longer be enough in this country.

The Federal Government has evacuated some Nigerians who were stranded in the United Kingdom as a result of the coronavirus .

Reports gathered says that some of the Nigerians arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos .

Chairman , Nigerians in Diaspora Commission , Abike Dabiri – Erewa, confirmed their arrival .

She said , “The first evacuation from the Uk has landed in Lagos . The passengers will be proceeding to Abuja where they will be on 14 – day compulsory isolation . ”

The Supreme Court has nullified the trial of a former governor of Abia State , Orji Kalu , and others, who were in December convicted and sentenced for a N 7 . 1 bn fraud.

Justice Mohammed Idris, who had been elevated to the Court of Appeal bench , had returned to the Federal High Court in Lagos to complete the case which started in 2007 .

The judge had sentenced the ex -governor to 12 years imprisonment for the fraud he allegedly perpetrated during his tenure as Abia State governor.

But in a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes – Vivour , the apex court nullified the entire trial , on the grounds that the constitution does not permit a judge elevated to a higher court to return to a lower court to conclude a part – heard case .

Justice Ejembi Eko , who delivered the lead judgment also declared as unconstitutional the provision of section 396 ( 7 ) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act , 2015 , on which the then President of the Court of Appeal , Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa ( retd ) , relied on to authorise Justice Idris to return to the Court of Appeal to conclude the trial .

The panel unanimously directed the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to assign the case to another judge of the court for the trial to commence afresh .

Kalu , who was in December 2019 judgment , sentenced to 12 years ’ imprisonment , was convicted alongside his firm , Slok Nigeria Limited , and Jones Udeogu, who served under him as the Director of Finance and Account at the Abia State Government House in Umuahia .

Punch

Up to 190 , 000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail , the World Health Organisation warned .

The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83 , 000 and 190 , 000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period .

The research is based on prediction modelling and covers 47 countries with a total population of one billion , the WHO said in a statement .

Experts have consistently warned that Africa is particularly vulnerable to an outbreak , due to weak health infrastructure, high rates of poverty, numerous roiling conflicts and a proven susceptibility to previous epidemics.

But the virus has been slow to spread across the continent , which has yet not recorded the soaring number of infections or deaths seen in Europe , the United States and elsewhere .

“ The model predicts the observed slower rate of transmission , lower age of people with severe disease and lower mortality rates compared to what is seen in the most affected countries in the rest of the world , ” the statement said .

“ The lower rate of transmission , however , suggests a more prolonged outbreak over a few years . ”

WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said that “while COVID – 19 likely won’ t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world , it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots ” .

“ COVID- 19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region , ” he added . “ We need to test , trace, isolate and treat . ”

Smaller countries as well as Algeria , South Africa and Cameroon were at particularly high risk unless effective containment measures were in force , the WHO said .

Africa has so far recorded 53 , 334 cases and 2 , 065 fatalities – out of a global death toll of nearly 267 , 000 -according to an AFP tally .

Several countries have put confinement measures or lockdowns in place, but others have not and some are considering lifting restrictions.

Nigeria lifted the lockdown in Africa ’ s most populous city Lagos earlier this week, while South Africa started to ease its measures last week.

AFP

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health , Dr Saka Haruna , has said the state is under pressure to declare that it has COVID- 19 cases where there is none .

The commissioner made the claims in a statement .

He , however , said the state would not succumb to the pressure .

The statement followed a report , which claimed that four persons suspected to be COVID- 19 patients had died at the Federal Medical Centre , Lokoja in the last one week.

He said that as the state commissioner for health , a member of the Governing Board of the FMC Lokoja , and also the incident manager for COVID- 19 in the state, he had yet to be informed of any claimed cases.

“ There is also a representative of the FMC Lokoja in the state’ s squadron against COVID- 19 / Lassa fever and never for once was any such case raised in our meetings .

The commissioner alleged that the aim of those putting pressure on the state was to politicise the situation as they are not happy that the current administration has been scored high by local and international observers on health care .

He added , “ First and foremost, it is imperative that the public realise that there is no state government that can deliberately put her people in harm ’ s way for whatever political reason and the current administration has been scored high by local and international observers on health . We have and will continue to put the health of our people as first priority .

“ We have been in an annual fight against Lassa fever as the state is located in the Lassa fever belt, recording several cases with regrettable losses . We were first to establish a Biosafety Laboratory for Lassa fever in Nigeria and this year alone we have confirmed 30 cases of Lassa fever that was duly announced . To accuse the state of a cover- up of COVID- 19 cases is mischievous and at best politically inclined . ”

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health , Dr Saka Haruna , has said the state is under pressure to declare that it has COVID- 19 cases where there is none .

The commissioner made the claims in a statement .

He , however , said the state would not succumb to the pressure .

The statement followed a report , which claimed that four persons suspected to be COVID- 19 patients had died at the Federal Medical Centre , Lokoja in the last one week.

He said that as the state commissioner for health , a member of the Governing Board of the FMC Lokoja , and also the incident manager for COVID- 19 in the state, he had yet to be informed of any claimed cases.

“ There is also a representative of the FMC Lokoja in the state’ s squadron against COVID- 19 / Lassa fever and never for once was any such case raised in our meetings .

The commissioner alleged that the aim of those putting pressure on the state was to politicise the situation as they are not happy that the current administration has been scored high by local and international observers on health care .

He added , “ First and foremost, it is imperative that the public realise that there is no state government that can deliberately put her people in harm ’ s way for whatever political reason and the current administration has been scored high by local and international observers on health . We have and will continue to put the health of our people as first priority .

“ We have been in an annual fight against Lassa fever as the state is located in the Lassa fever belt, recording several cases with regrettable losses . We were first to establish a Biosafety Laboratory for Lassa fever in Nigeria and this year alone we have confirmed 30 cases of Lassa fever that was duly announced . To accuse the state of a cover- up of COVID- 19 cases is mischievous and at best politically inclined . ”

The Federal Government has said Nigerians abroad repatriated into the country amid the pandemic prefer to arrive in Lagos State .

It also said the returnees prefer to be quarantined in Lagos but for capacity constraints .

Minister of Foreign Affairs , Geoffrey Onyeama , who made this disclosure during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 in Abuja , said the first batch of 265 returnees that arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Wednesday night have been quarantined in two hotels .

He added that they would be there for 14 days during which they would be tested for coronavirus and those who test negative would be allowed to rejoin the society while those who test positive would be moved to isolation and treatment facilities .

He said , “ We would like to thank the Governor of Lagos State . His personal support and investment in this whole process have made this a very successful first step . He has given us a template to which we can now build and hopefully deliver better , going forward .

“ We are hoping to have another flight tomorrow ( Friday) coming from the UK. This flight will be going to Abuja but they will be landing in Lagos first , that ’ s the plan and they will be ferried to Abuja .

“ The reasons are these: We ’ ve been very mindful of the cost to the passengers coming home . We’ ve tried as much as possible to minimise the burden on them, appreciating that a lot of them had stayed out more than they needed to or wanted to and are probably out of pocket.

“ We ’ ve tried to have a bargain with the various hotels to get a good rate as possible . Abuja offers us better economy in terms of hotel rates and we have more hotels here ( in Abuja ) and our strength is more here .

“ But we appreciate that a number of the passengers will prefer to go to Lagos but we just don ’ t have the facilities available to us in Lagos . We will just ask them to bear with us for two weeks . ”

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have called for a separate account for donated funds for COVID- 19 .

The Assembly also said the appointment of the Amotekun Corps Commander by the state governor must be scrutinised by the lawmakers .

A statement said both issues were discussed at the Committee of the Whole during the presentation of the observations on the Coronavirus Pandemic Emergency Law 2020 and the Neighbourhood Watch Law 2020 , sent from the Office of the Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice.

Member representing Badagry Constituency II , Setonji David , while concurring with the recommendations of the House on the issues , said lawmakers must uphold the constitution and hold the executive accountable .

Also , member representing Ikeja Constituency II , Adedamola Kasunmu , said funds donated in the cause of the coronavirus pandemic must be properly accounted for .

Member representing Mushin Constituency II , Olayiwola Abdul -Sobur , maintained that the donations and grants accrued to the state government should be domiciled in the Consolidated Revenue Funds and the executive must be reminded that no money should be withdrawn from any public funds without the authorisation of the House.

“ There should be transparency and trustworthiness on the part of the executive and they should be mindful of the funds which are donations and grants that are not budgeted for , ” he said .

The Clerk of the House, Mr . Azeez Sanni , on Monday , announced the receipt of letters from the Office of the Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice , Mr Onigbajo , who wrote on behalf of the governor and urged the House to effect amendments in certain sections of the two laws .

Speaker , Mudashiru Obasa , had committed the observations raised in the letters to the Committee on Health , chaired by Abdul – Hakeem Sokunle , and Committee on Information , Strategy & Security , headed by Tunde Braimoh .

Punch

The German Missions in Nigeria , has announced the donation of Personal Protective Equipment to officers of the Nigeria Police Force .

In a statement posted on Facebook , the Missions said the gesture was to support the men of the Force who are amongst frontline workers in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the statement , the donation was received by the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department in Abuja .

It added that German Deputy Ambassador , Helmut Kulitz , handed over the equipment including hand sanitiser , disposable coveralls , sanitizing spray , N95 face masks, handheld digital infra – red temperature readers and disposable latex hand gloves to Deputy Commissioner, Umar Sanda .

“ The Nigeria Police Force is one of the key institutions in the fight against the virus . The NPF is at the forefront of ensuring that various measures taken by the government are respected and enforced , in line with Nigerian law and international human rights standards , and therefore needs additional protective equipment .

“ This is only a modest donation but we hope it will facilitate the NPF s work, and it is also a gesture of solidarity with the policemen and women who are at the frontline , and with the Nigerian people as a whole , ” said Ambassador Kulitz .

The Missions explained that the donation is part of a joint three- year programme that aims at strengthening the NPF, with a focus on capacity building in the area of forensics, processes , and procedures for criminal investigation , human rights , as well as strengthening cooperation mechanisms.