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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the best stimulus package Nigerian government can give to its citizens at the moment is free electricity supply.

This came as the House, the Executive arm of government and the stakeholders in the power sector had agreed to set up a joint implementation committee on the proposed two-month free power supply to the poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

It will be recalled that the Speaker had in the previous weeks had series of meetings with stakeholders on how to cushion the effect of coronavirus pandemic lockdown through free power supply.

At the latest meeting on Wednesday were the Minister of Power, Mamman Sale; the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), James Momoh; Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Marilyn Amobi, as well as representatives of Distribution Companies.

Others were the Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Chief Whip, Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno; Deputy Leader, Rep. Peter Akpatason; Deputy Chief Whip, Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Minority Leader, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu, and the Chairman, House Committee on Power, Rep. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, among others.

In his opening remarks, Gbajabiamila said the essence of the meeting was to proffer means of alleviating the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on Nigerians during and after the crisis period through the supply of power.

He said, “We are here to find out how we go about it. I’m happy that in my previous engagements with the NNPC GMD, he was very interested.”

“Whatever the issues are within the power supply chain, they have to be dealt with and set aside, but how we deal with the issue at stake is why we are here today.

“This is not about technicalities or blaming any part of the power supply value chain; it is just about how we find a solution.

“The objective is very simple: we are asking people to stay at home for several days or weeks, so we need to make their stay at home comfortable. We need to help the poorest of the poorest at this time in Nigeria.

“How we go about it is why we are here today. So, the mandate is very simple with all the stakeholders here. I believe that the best stimulus that we can give our people right now is the supply of electricity to the very vulnerable households.

“Even if we agree that this proposal as an investment scheme according to the power sector stakeholders, I think we need to keep our eyes on the ball. What is that ball? Get to the end-user, who is the beneficiary of that investment scheme

“I wouldn’t want to look at it as the DisCos or GenCos or even the Transmission Company as the beneficiaries. For me, the ultimate beneficiary is the Nigerian people.

“If that is what the investment scheme takes, to supply power, it may not be 100 per cent, but let’s say 70 or 80 per cent, then we would have succeeded.

“So, we set up a group that will look into all the possibilities and implications and come up with a solution, so that the Nigerian poor can be taken care of during this period”.

The Speaker, however, expressed his disappointment over the non-existence of the Power Consumer Assistance Fund by NERC.

He said the Fund would have served the purpose it was meant for, at this point, if it were in existence.

After being informed that the fund had not been set up, the Speaker citing Section 83 of the Electricity Power Sector Act said the authorities had acted at variance to the extant laws.

“We have broken the law because the law mandated it; it is not optional. It is the Act that mandated its establishment.

“If that had been set up, way back, perhaps we would have had the fund with which to assist this proposal. This is the kind of time that this fund was anticipating.

“I think we should look into setting up this fund because we don’t know when next this kind of issue may come up”, he said.

In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Mamman, said the Executive arm is ready to contribute its part to the success of the proposal, saying, “We will give all the support as well as technical advice toward the realization of this objective. We are ready whenever our input is needed”.

On his part, the NNPC GMD, Kyari, who noted that the issue of gas supply to the GenCos is critical to power supply in the country, said the proposal is workable if the issue of who is to carry the burden of cost and margins in the supply value chain is settled and agreed on by all the parties.

Saying that note had to be taken of the actual beneficiaries of the two-month free supply palliative because not every Nigerian falls into the category of the poorest, Kyari pointed out that the existence of the industrial sector should be of concern at the end of the crisis period.

Kyari said though 100 per cent uninterrupted power supply is impossible because not enough is generated due to the COVID-19 crisis, he assured that gas supply would not be an issue, as 100 per cent supply is guaranteed once the debt issue is addressed.

The DisCos assured that they can deliver the mandate as soon as all the details were worked out and agreed on.

Ninety persons have tested negative for COVID – 19 in the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT Administration stated , that the individuals , who were tested for coronavirus in Mpape community, Abuja , during the community active case search , all returned negative for the disease .

Disclosing this to newsmen correspondent, the media aide to the FCT minister , Malam Sani Abubakar , said , “ As FCTA continues community active case search in various communities of Abuja , results of 90 clients from Mpape community testing , have all returned negative for coronavirus . ”

The FCT Administration had commenced the community testing in Mpape as part of measures to curb community transmission of COVID- 19 .

The Director, FCT Public Health Department , Dr Josephine Okechukwu , stated that the exercise involves sensitization and sample collection of eligible clients with a history of cough, fever , catarrh , chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

According to her , the case search would be extended to Gishiri , Utako and Mabushi on Wednesday and Thursday ( today ) .

Lagos discharges 16 coronavirus patients

Sixteen COVID- 19 patients undergoing treatments at the Lagos State isolation centres have been discharged .

Lagos State Commissioner for Health , Professor Akin Abayomi , made this known via his Twitter handle .

This , the commissioner said , has brought the total number of discharged patients in the state to 85 .

He tweeted , “ 18 new cases of # COVID19 Infection were confirmed in Lagos on 15 th of April, 2020 .

“ The cheering news , however , is that 16 fully recovered # COVID- 19 patients have been discharged following further screening that confirmed their status negative .

“ The total number of discharged # COVID19 patients in Lagos is now 85 . ”

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had on Wednesday evening announced that 18 new cases were recorded in Lagos .

The NCDC said , “ Thirty – four new cases of # COVID19 have been reported as follows : 18 in Lagos , 12 in Kano, two in Katsina , one in Delta , one in Niger.

“ As of 11 :20 pm on the 15 th of April, there are 407 confirmed cases of # COVID- 19 reported in Nigeria . 128 have been discharged with 12 deaths .

“ Number of states with confirmed cases of # COVID- 19 : 19 + FCT. Currently , Lagos has 232 cases, FCT- 58 , Osun – 20 , Kano- 16 , Edo- 15 , Oyo – 11 , Ogun – nine , Katsina – seven , Bauchi – six , Kaduna – six , Akwa Ibom – six , Kwara- four, Delta – four , Ondo – three, Enugu – two , Ekiti – two , Rivers -two , Niger- two , Benue – one , and Anambra – one . ”

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has warned Nigerians to prepare for the transmission of the coronavirus to more states .

The Director- General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu , who appeared on
Sunrise Daily , a live programme on
Channels Television , noted that , though there are bound to be more cases , the goal is to build a more efficient public health infrastructure.

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/16/just-in-interpol-exposes-e1-5m-face-masks-fraud-traced-to-nigeria/

Ihekweazu said , “ What we are trying to achieve, and it’ s very important for Nigerians to understand , is a landscape where we can continue our work in responding, while we restart parts of the economy .

“ We are responding to something , at the moment, across 22 states . But it will grow to almost every state in Nigeria . There is no reason it won ’ t . It is a respiratory virus .

“ So , what we are trying to achieve right now, in the short term , is not to stop transmission because we know that will be very difficult to do . No country in the world has achieved that . ”

The International Criminal Police Organisation has said it uncovered a € 1 . 5 m face masks scam involving Germany , Ireland and the Netherlands with a portion of the money wired to Nigeria .

According to a statement by Interpol Secretary General , Jürgen Stock , compromised emails were used in the “ highly sophisticated fraud ”.

The global shortage of face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic had made the German authorities to vigorously seek to procure the essential personal protective equipment .

It started in mid- March when German health authorities contracted two sales companies in Zurich and Hamburg to procure EUR 15 million worth of face masks.

They later got an email from one of the contacted companies, explaining that their request cannot be met , unfortunately.

But in the mail , the contacted company referred the German health authorities to a company in Spain selling face masks, posting the URL of the company ’ s site in the body of the mail .

But unknown to prospective buyers , the site was fake and their legitimate email addresses had been compromised .

The Interpol explained that the newly contacted Spanish company , through a chain of emails , initially claimed to have 10 million masks, only for the delivery to fall through .

“ As a consolation , they then referred the buyers to a ‘ trusted ’ dealer in Ireland . The Irish middleman promised to put them in touch with a different supplier , this time in the Netherlands .

“ Claiming to have a strong commercial relationship with the company , the man provided assurances that the alleged Dutch company would be able to supply the 10 million face masks.

“ An agreement for an initial delivery of 1 . 5 million masks was made , in exchange for an up – front payment of EUR 1 . 5 million .

“ The buyers initiated a bank transfer to Ireland and prepared for delivery .

“ Just before the delivery date , the buyers were informed that the funds had not been received and that an emergency transfer of EUR 880 , 000 straight to the Dutch supplier was required to secure the merchandise .

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/15/just-in-covid-19-people-with-over-n5-000-in-bank-wont-get-palliatives-%e2%80%95-fg/

“ When the buyers realized they had been duped , they immediately contacted their bank in Germany , which in turn contacted INTERPOL ’ s Financial Crimes unit , setting off a race to intercept the funds and follow the money trail .

“ The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service quickly tracked down the EUR 880 , 000 which had been transferred from the German company .

“ Nearly EUR 500, 000 of those funds had already been sent to the United Kingdom , all of which was destined for an account in Nigeria. ”

Stock said the operation has already led to the arrest of two suspects in the Netherlands and more arrests would be made .

Punch

The Governor of Cross River State , Prof . Ben Ayade, has distributed stimulus package to vulnerable persons and citizens in the 18 local government areas of the state .

Distributing the items at CROSPIL in Calabar , Ayade said he had already approved N 30 , 000 as monthly stipend for beneficiaries of the automatic employment given to 8 , 000 youths between the ages of 18 and 35 starting from Tuesday next week.

He said , “Distributing food is not the real palliatives, the real palliative is in giving people jobs. Palliative which is temporal is for poor and vulnerable people who cannot fend for themselves .

“ We are starting the real palliative on Tuesday . Whether you are a gardener or cleaner ; whatever you can do , we will give you a job but we can only pay you N30 , 000 . If you know you need it and want to earn that amount, please put down your names and phone numbers ; you will be contacted .

“ The food will be shared through our traditional rulers to all the 18 LGAs. We want it to get to the grass roots; this is not about political party , it is about governance . We will also give to churches and various religious organisations to distribute because they know the people well. ”

A 51 – year- old medical doctor has became the first health worker in Nigeria to die of COVID- 19 after he contracted the virus from a patient he had treated .

The doctor , who died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital , was rushed to the facility on Monday after attempting to manage a COVID- 19 patient in a private hospital in Lagos .

The Chairman , Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital , Prof Wasiu Adeyemo , said the doctor was not a staff of the hospital but was rushed to the facility after he showed symptoms of the disease .

“ The doctor is not a LUTH staff ; he was a private practitioner , though he trained in LUTH some 18 , 20 years ago . I remember I met him , I know him , he left LUTH around 2002 . One of his classmates called me that he has some issues in his private hospital , so I asked that he should be brought to LUTH . He was COVID- 19 positive, we started him on drugs but unfortunately, he died this morning ( Wednesday ) , ” Adeyemo said .

LUTH CMAC said he would not disclose the name of the doctor and his hospital as it was against the ethics of the medical profession .

Punch

THE Federal Government has said that people with over N5, 000 in their bank account will not benefit from the palliatives to cushion the effect of the lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government also said that it will be using the mobile networks, to know people that top up the credit units for their phones with maybe N100 or less.

Besides, the state governments will now be involved in the distribution of food items.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, stated this while briefing State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Minister also said that the Ministry will now focus on the urban poor as it carries out with President Buhari’s directive on the distribution of palliatives to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on Nigerians.

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/15/updated-n21bn-donation-is-for-the-poor-eu-tells-nigeria/

According to her, “You are aware that the President in his broadcast of Monday 13th April, directed that we expand the beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer by one million and in this regard, we are going to focus more now on the urban poor.

“These are people who depend on the informal sector to earn their livelihood; they are daily wage earners and these are the people that we are really going to focus more on as well as people living with disabilities.”

Giving details on how to identify the beneficiaries of the stimulus, she said that the Ministry has three options to be adopted in selecting the beneficiaries of the scheme.

She said, “Well, we have three options; one, we are going to use the national social register that we already have, two, we are also going to focus on the urban poor as I mentioned, by using their verified BVN accounts to get them, that is, people that have an account balance of N5, 000 and below.

“We are also using the mobile networks, to know people that top up the credit units for their phones with maybe N100 or less. Those are also people that we consider to be poor and vulnerable. So, these are the three options that we are exploring and I am sure that by the time we get this data we will be able to give this intervention.”

She, however, said only 25 per cent of the population would benefit for now, adding that the scope might be expanded later.

She said, “Let me also say that we have a standard. 25 per cent of the total population is what we will take out. It cannot go round everywhere but we are starting from somewhere.

“25 per cent of let’s say the population of Lagos State for example is what is going to benefit from this intervention that we are doing. Going forward, we might expand it but this is what is obtainable for now.”

The Minister said her ministry intends to hand over the distribution of food relief items to State governments, so as to address the challenges associated with distribution faced in the past.

She said: “On the issue of palliatives in terms of food relief, we have an emergency response plan in place. In the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, we have different functional groups.

“One of such groups, is that which deals with mass care, logistics and security, to be led by the National Emergency Management Agency under the Ministry and they have a structure; from National, States, down to Local Governments, where the various State Emergency Agencies and other security agencies are involved in this distribution.

“So far, we have already done the distribution together with the State authorities in these two states affected by the lockdown, together with the FCT but going forward, when we are going to give these food items, we are going to hand them over to the states because issues have come up, as at yesterday (Monday,).

“Our people were mobbed, some of them were attacked in the course of carrying out this assignment so the general conclusion is that we give this food relief directly to the State governments for them to distribute to the beneficiaries.”

Vanguard

Kaduna State Governor , Nasir El -Rufai , says he has not recovered from the coronavirus disease that has infected no fewer than 373 people in Nigeria .

The governor gave the update after chairing the Kaduna State Executive Council meeting .

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/15/just-in-i-will-donate-my-blood-for-research-on-covid-19-makinde/

While giving the update via his Twitter handle , El – Rufai warned against being misled about his coronavirus status .

He pledged to make his status public whenever he recovers from the virus .

He said , “ Earlier Wednesday 10 am – 2 pm , I took a few hours during isolation to chair a virtual meeting of the State Executive Council .

“ I haven ’ t been cleared of COVID- 19 yet and ( I ) will personally announce when confirmed negative . Ignore all fake news even if you like it. ”

Recalled that El- Rufai earlier announced that he tested positive for the virus on March 28 .

Unlike some top personalities that have recovered from the virus , El -Rufail says he remained positive after spending more than two weeks in isolation .

Some aggrieved casual workers of a Chinese company in the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone located at the Ado – Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State , have set ablaze one of the company ’ s vehicle and destroyed two other vehicles .

The dissatisfied workers reportedly protested against the company ’ s decision to lock them within the premises.

It was gathered that the decision to lock them up within the premises was part of measures to stop the spread of COVID- 19 and to obey the two – week lockdown extension of the government .

The protesters in a video circulated on social media were heard saying, “ No more, management . This management should have sorted this since yesterday , pay us at least two months’ salary ” .

Confirming the incident , the Police Public Relations Officer in the state , Abimbola Oyeyemi , said the incident had happened three days ago .

Oyeyemi said there was no unrest in the area , saying, it was just a protest without loss of life .

He said , “ It happened two to three days ago . The Chinese company locked its casual workers inside the company since the beginning of the lockdown .

“ The workers were now clamouring that they wanted to go home , demanding that the management pay them off . That was what actually sparked off the protest . ”

“ They set ablaze the company ’ s vehicle but not completely burnt . They also destroyed the windscreens of two vehicles .

“ The police have intervened in the matter and the management of the Chinese company has paid them off, the workers have all gone to their houses . ”

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has expressed his readiness to donate his blood as sample for research in the quest to find a cure to the COVID- 19 pandemic .

When necessary , he said , his blood could be taken for evaluation by experts on post- infection protection against the deadly infection.

Makinde, who is a survivor of COVID- 19 , indicated his intention on Wednesday via his official Twitter account .

He wrote , “ We have been advocating for local solutions to the COVID- 19 pandemic in Oyo State . So , as a COVID- 19 survivor , I volunteered to donate my blood to be studied by our experts researching on the ‘ Evaluation of Post Infection Protection Against SARS- COV- 2 ( COVID- 19 ) in Nigeria . ”

Earlier , Makinde had said , “ We are looking at local solutions . I know that a lot of people have been calling me all sorts of names on the social media but , from my experience , one thing that I know you have to do to conquer the virus is that you have to boost your immunity . We do have local solutions and , of course , we have to defer to experts ’ opinion as part of the home – grown solution to deal with COVID- 19 .

“ People may ask if we have been funding the research institutes very well. They may even ask if we are in a position to bring any kind of solution to the world . My answer is yes . Even chewing something like bitter – cola . When the Western World is having flu season , they have flu shots. But here , we have things like catarrh . When we are crossing over from dry season to rainy season , people almost always fall sick . Cold , cough , catarrh , we have ways of dealing with all of these locally .

“ So , except a solution comes from the Western or Eastern world , I won ’ t say that we cannot deal with it. I believe we have the capacity . We have the intellect to look at things that work locally and we will keep encouraging that . We have the capacity to also validate some of the results that we are going to be getting.

“ They did clinical trials for chloroquine and some other medications but these are things we take normally here . So , we are not ruling out local solution to this pandemic . ”