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JUST IN: JAMB releases 2019 provisional admission list

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board , has published the 2019 provisional matriculation list of admitted candidates on the official website of the board .
The board disclosed this in its weekly bulletin made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja .

The board also advised candidates who were yet to accept their offers of admission on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS ) to do so or risk forfeiting the admission .

According to the board , the list of fully – admitted candidates in all the tertiary institutions in the country is hereby published on the JAMB Website .

“ For ease of checking , candidates can visit : www. jamb. org . gov . , proceed to menu titled ‘ STUDENTS + ’ , select the submenu ‘ CHECK MATRICULATION LIST 2019 ’ option and search for their names by entering their 10 – digit JAMB Registration Number .

“ There is a large number of candidates who have been offered Provisional Admission but are yet to accept the admission .

“ A list containing their names is also on display on the board ’ s website and such candidates are to immediately accept such offers by using the CAPS Mobile App downloaded from the Google Play Store .

“ With the App successfully installed and accessed on their devices , candidates do not need to visit any CBT centre or cybercafe as doing so would be a violation of the work-from – home/ stay – at home order in place in most parts of the country. ”

JAMB , however , said that candidates should note that failure to accept such offers of admission on the CAPS platform would result in the forfeiture of such admissions .

“ Candidates are also to note that acceptance of admission on any website other than CAPS is not a valid acceptance as any admission not processed and accepted through CAPS is not known to JAMB .

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

“ However , in the event of any challenges , candidates are to lodge their complaints immediately by using the online ticketing platform at support. jamb. gov . ng under 2019 Admission List Issue .

“ Candidates are to note that only those who had accepted their offers of admissions on CAPS and whose names appear on the Provisional Matriculation List are recognised as bonafide students of the various institutions.

“ By implication , if a candidate ’ s name is not on this published list which will be sent to all tertiary institutions, NYSC and other stakeholders, his / her application for mobilisation in the NYSC scheme, employment , among others, would be declined, ” the board said .

NAN

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JUST IN: Lagos to enforce wearing of face masks

The Lagos State Governor , Babajide Sanwo- Olu , has said that wearing of face masks would be made compulsory for residents in the state from next week.
The governor said this would help to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state .
He said this during a televised media briefing on COVID- 19 updates in Lagos monitored by news correspondent .

He said , “ From next week, we are going to be making face masks compulsory in Lagos state. We have commissioned more than one million face masks to be distributed in the state . ”

Meanwhile , the Lagos State Commissioner for Health , Prof . Akin Abayomi , had on Sunday said the wearing of face masks protects people around an infected person .

“ There is some theoretical evidence that the wearing of masks may indeed reduce the amount of droplets in the environment from the person that is infected with COVID- 19 and that is the reason why we are beginning to define the strategy of face masks for the general community, ” he said .

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[JUST IN] COVID-19: FG extends airport closure by two weeks

The Federal Government has extended the closure of airports in the country by two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic .

Minister of Aviation , Hadi Sirika , disclosed this .

Subsequently , the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , had extended the closure to all local airports in the country while announcing 14 – day lockdown in Abuja ; Lagos and Ogun States on March 29 .

Buhari , on April 13 , had extended the lockdown in the three cities by two weeks .

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja are two major entry points into Nigeria .

Despite the closure of these airports and all others in the country to commercial flight operations, the government had said emergency and essential flights could be operated from any of the airports within the period .

But announcing on Monday via Twitter , the aviation minister said the airports would no longer open for commercial operations on April 23 due to the extended lockdown in the three cities.

He said , “ As a result of the extension on lockdown by Mr President , it is no longer possible for us to open our airspace and airports for normal operations by the 23 rd April 2020 .

“ They will remain closed for a further two weeks . This is subject to review as appropriate. ”

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as of Sunday night , there were over 600 confirmed cases of the lethal virus in the country.

Over 20 COVID- 19 – related deaths have been recorded including the Chief of Staff to the President , Abba Kyari , who died on Friday after testing positive for the virus upon return from overseas .

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RAMADAN: Wait for crescent, MUSWEN tells Muslims

The Muslim Ummah of South – West Nigeria has urged all Muslims in the geopolitical zone not to engage in speculation as to when this year ’ s Ramadan fast will begin .

Rather , MUSWEN asked the faithful to wait for an announcement from the Sultan of Sokoto , Dr Muhammad Sa ’ ad Abubakar , “ who , by his venerable position as the President – General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs , is the only undisputable leader with the statutory authority to make an official announcement on when to start or end Ramadan fast in Nigeria . ”

A statement said MUSWEN ’ s Executive Secretary, Prof . Muslih Yahya , gave the advice concerning the commencement of this year ’ s Ramadan fast .

The statement said , “ While enjoining the Muslim Ummah in the zone to be grateful to Allah for sparing their lives despite the global lockdown situation imposed on them by an expediency of the moment . Professor Yahya said the Ummah had transcended an era of unnecessary tangle over moon sighting at the commencement or completion of Ramadan fast in Nigeria . ”

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JUST IN: No approved vaccine yet in Nigeria for COVID-19- WHO

The World Health Organisation has insisted that there was no approved vaccine in Nigeria or any part of Africa for COVID- 19 saying researches are still ongoing on the deadly viral disease .

WHO Immunisation Team Lead , Dr Fiona Braka , spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria on the efforts of the world body on the reported vaccines for the deadly virus .

Braka said COVID – 19 , being a new disease , has no ready vaccines , adding that public safety was the key consideration of WHO campaign for now .

“ COVID- 19 is a new disease , and as such , there are no ready vaccines available to be deployed for the control of the pandemic .

“ However , a lot of research and scientific works are ongoing to develop vaccines , but these usually take time to ensure that it is safe for use in the wider population and also effective for control of the pandemic .

“ Public safety is a key consideration in this process , ” the WHO team lead said .

Braka said that the claims of vaccines developed for the COVID- 19 were untrue and not to the knowledge of the WHO .

“ WHO is not aware of vaccine for COVID- 19 in Nigeria.

“ There is a large scientific study ( clinical trial ) involving many countries to review the effectiveness of some drugs for the treatment of COVID- 19 going on at the moment .

“ The result of this clinical trial will help understand the efficacy of these drugs and may inform the review of the case management guidelines , ” she said .

On the assessment of Nigeria ’ s performance in curbing the spread of COVID- 19 , Braka said that the world health body partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC) had been helpful .

“ Nigerian Government through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and supported by WHO had developed a preparedness plan for COVID- 19 and was implementing this plan when the first case was reported.

“ A network of five COVID testing laboratories was set up before the confirmation of the first case and has since been expanded to six additional laboratories over the past two weeks , making a total of 11 laboratories currently .

“ From the onset of the outbreak , WHO has developed clinical guidance with input from clinicians around the globe, including in Nigeria .

“ These resources include the updated Clinical Management Guidance for COVID- 19 , the Clinical Care training materials , and the Global COVID- 19 Clinical Data Platform , the data tool which makes it possible for WHO to collect core clinical data from hospitalised patients to inform understanding of COVID – 19 .

“ The guidance is continually reviewed, as more evidence becomes available. The government has scaled up isolation facilities capacity at the state level to ensure readiness to receive COVID patients, ” she said .

Braka said that there would be more close observation , while the guidelines of operations of all the agencies assisting in the curbing of COVID- 19 would be updated .

“ The guidance of the clinical data platform will be continually reviewed , as more evidence becomes available.

“ The government has scaled up isolation facilities capacity at the state level to ensure readiness to receive COVID patients and all these helped with the containment of the first cluster of cases.

“ With the return of more Nigerians from countries where the outbreak was reported , more cases have been reported and these have been more challenging to contain.

“ The government at national and state levels have provided leadership for the response and more needs to be done at the state level as the cases continue to increase , ” she said .

Braka , however , listed the key areas of interventions for curbing COVID- 19 to include non – pharmaceutical , such as social distancing , surveillance , contact tracing , among others.

“ The key areas of interventions required now are non – pharmaceutical interventions like social distancing , handwashing and respiratory hygiene .

“ Others, in addition to rigorous surveillance , are case identification , laboratory diagnosis, contact tracing and isolation and care for all confirmed cases.

“ Physical distancing is one of the recommended strategies for preventing human to human transmission .

“ The lockdown does facilitate physical distancing and is a welcome intervention .

“ However , physical distancing alone will not stop the spread , but needs to be combined with other recommended strategies : testing , isolation of patients, contact tracing and quarantine , ” she said .

NAN

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EXCLUSIVE: What roles does a Chief of Staff play?

By Obadiah Mailafia

Sometime last year , I had the honour of being received by Abba Kyari, the larger – than- life Chief of Staff to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ). His office was neat and well- organised ; the furnishing in the classic Nordic minimalist style . Sitting next to me on the sofa , he softly asked if I needed coffee or any other drink . I graciously declined .

Kyari the private man was the opposite of the ruthless Machiavellian character that has been portrayed by the media . I found him to be quite taciturn ; speaking in quiet , elliptic monosyllables . But his eyes had the gaze of a millenarian mystic. With the gravitas of a Roman proconsul , his courtliness would have impressed the mandarins of imperial China . I have met some world statesmen in my life -time , from Henry Kissinger to Tony Blair , Benjamin Netanyahu and a gaggle of African strongmen . Abba Kyari had the presence of the consummate man of power .

Kyari succumbed to COVID- 19 on Friday, April 17 , and was buried the following day at Gudu Cemetery in Abuja , in accordance with Muslim rites .

After his return from an official trip to Germany on March 14 , he had announced to the world on March 19 that he had tested positive for COVID- 19 . Before his trip to Germany , a leaked memo from the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno , accused him of usurping the powers of the President and interfering in security and military affairs outside his sphere of competency . It caused great embarrassment to the administration . Rumours transpired that he had actually been fired .

The office of the Chief of Staff is largely an American invention . In 1939 , President Franklin Roosevelt named one of his trusted advisers as Chief of Staff . It has endured as a tradition of American government ever since. It’ s a relatively new thing in Nigerian government . In 1999 , President Olusegun Obasanjo broke with tradition by appointing his Chief of Staff , Major General Abdullahi Mohammed , a retired military intelligence officer . Mohammed was the quintessential insider who operated with a high level of discretion .

Obasanjo ’ s successor , Umaru Yar ’ Adua , abolished that office , instead , operating through a network of his own Katsina kinsmen . When Umaru succumbed to illness in May 2010 , he was succeeded by Goodluck Jonathan who decided to name a new Chief of Staff in the person of Mike Ogiadomhe. The latter resigned to contest an election and was replaced by Jones Arogbofa .

When Buhari won the election in 2015 , he made Abba Kyari , a Shuwa Arab from Maiduguri , his new Chief of Staff . He kept him when he won a second term in 2019 . A sociologist , lawyer , banker and journalist , the Cambridge and Harvard educated Kyari had the necessary training and background to serve as trusted adviser and jurisconsult to the President .

The Chief of Staff is an appointee of the President . His role is to manage the office of the high executive while coordinating his programmes and the core agencies needed to run the administration . He also serves as the principal channel of communication between the President and his core officials, including the Federal Executive Council . He also ensures that the engagements of the President , including the presidential fleet , operate in a flawless manner .

I have been a Chief of Staff myself , but in a different context . During 2010 – 2015 , I was Chef de Cabinet of the 79 – member intergovernmental organisation , the African , Caribbean and Pacific Group based in Brussels . My principal was Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former President of the ECOWAS Commission and currently UN Secretary – General ’ s Special Representatives for West Africa and the Sahel ( UNOWAS ) . It was for me a great experience.
Being Chief of Staff is certainly not a job for the fainthearted . You have to be a technocrat who understands technical economics and the minutiae of international trade and high finance. But you must also be a hands – on administrator with a nose for power and diplomacy. It is a 24 -hour job in which you must be alert always . It requires patience , high ability , energy , discretion and tact . But you must also be tough . You must be ready to swim with the sharks and graze with the bulls .
Abba Kyari was the most powerful Chief of Staff our country has ever known . Given the illness and prolonged absences of his principal, he quietly accumulated considerable power to himself . Some have called him the de facto Prime Minister . They would not be far wrong . He undoubtedly stepped on many toes in the course of the performance of his duties , not least of all the ferocious First Lady who fought an open battle with the men she described as “ the cabal ” .

It is for posterity to judge whether Abba Kyari was an effective Chief of Staff or not – and whether he truly served his principal faithfully or merely for his own self -aggrandisement . One thing that cannot be taken away from him is the fact that he was uncompromisingly loyal to President Buhari . Like Rasputin , he never wasted an opportunity to amass ever greater and greater power and the accoutrements that went with it. One of the cardinal laws of power as indeed of physics is that nature abhors a vacuum . Abba identified many vacuums in our system of power and he quietly covered the empty spaces like a colossus .

If he had had a more enlightened mind, he would have used such enormous power to uplift our country from its current morass . His friends and associates maintain that he had “ socialist” leanings , whatever that means. From all we know , his political philosophy was anchored on the maxims of power .

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/19/just-in-covid-19-fg-plans-timetable-exams-for-radio-tv-school-classes/

I did not know him well enough and certainly do not have enough data to determine whether , like Caesar ’ s wife , he was beyond reproach. What I know for sure is that the downward spiral in our development prospects and the descent of our country into a lawless , violent and nihilistic society under his very watch does not speak well for him .

His inordinate obsession with power and his overweening ambition meant that the wheel and machinery of government was totally centralised under him . Nothing of importance could be done without reference to him . He had, in effect , become an octopus. The administration became paralysed as a consequence. Whenever he was absent or indisposed , almost everything grounded to a halt . Ministers spoke about him in whispers. He became a shadow that was bitterly loathed and feared in equal measure . Even the most powerful ministers trembled at the mention of his name . He had obviously made the existential choice to be feared rather than loved .
But the venomous vituperation on social media is unnecessary . Abba Kyari has been compared to the Roman Emperor Caligula and the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu, first minister under Louis XIII of France . Some of his critics point to the fact that it is a year almost to the day since himself and Aliyu Umar SAN orchestrated the ouster of Chief Justice William Onnoghen from the Supreme Court .
Onnoghen lamented that God was his only hope and refuge . Both Kyari and Umar died , incidentally, on April 17 , 2020 , almost a year to the day .

No man is wholly a saint or wholly a villain. A professor from Maiduguri recently revealed that , for more than a decade, Abba Kyari had channelled his hard – earned savings for the care of 1 , 000 indigent citizens of Borno State , on condition of the strictest anonymity .

The priests used to exclaim , “ Sic transit gloria mundi ” (thus passes away the glory of the world) during the medieval coronation of the popes . Vanity of vanities , says the Preacher . What we must learn is that all power is transient . It is only the good we do for others – acts of lovingkindness and righteousness in service to God and humanity – that will live forever .

Punch

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What roles does a Chief of Staff play?

By Obadiah Mailafia

Sometime last year , I had the honour of being received by Abba Kyari, the larger – than- life Chief of Staff to the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ). His office was neat and well- organised ; the furnishing in the classic Nordic minimalist style . Sitting next to me on the sofa , he softly asked if I needed coffee or any other drink . I graciously declined .

Kyari the private man was the opposite of the ruthless Machiavellian character that has been portrayed by the media . I found him to be quite taciturn ; speaking in quiet , elliptic monosyllables . But his eyes had the gaze of a millenarian mystic. With the gravitas of a Roman proconsul , his courtliness would have impressed the mandarins of imperial China . I have met some world statesmen in my life -time , from Henry Kissinger to Tony Blair , Benjamin Netanyahu and a gaggle of African strongmen . Abba Kyari had the presence of the consummate man of power .

Kyari succumbed to COVID- 19 on Friday, April 17 , and was buried the following day at Gudu Cemetery in Abuja , in accordance with Muslim rites .

After his return from an official trip to Germany on March 14 , he had announced to the world on March 19 that he had tested positive for COVID- 19 . Before his trip to Germany , a leaked memo from the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno , accused him of usurping the powers of the President and interfering in security and military affairs outside his sphere of competency . It caused great embarrassment to the administration . Rumours transpired that he had actually been fired .

The office of the Chief of Staff is largely an American invention . In 1939 , President Franklin Roosevelt named one of his trusted advisers as Chief of Staff . It has endured as a tradition of American government ever since. It’ s a relatively new thing in Nigerian government . In 1999 , President Olusegun Obasanjo broke with tradition by appointing his Chief of Staff , Major General Abdullahi Mohammed , a retired military intelligence officer . Mohammed was the quintessential insider who operated with a high level of discretion .

Obasanjo ’ s successor , Umaru Yar ’ Adua , abolished that office , instead , operating through a network of his own Katsina kinsmen . When Umaru succumbed to illness in May 2010 , he was succeeded by Goodluck Jonathan who decided to name a new Chief of Staff in the person of Mike Ogiadomhe. The latter resigned to contest an election and was replaced by Jones Arogbofa .

When Buhari won the election in 2015 , he made Abba Kyari , a Shuwa Arab from Maiduguri , his new Chief of Staff . He kept him when he won a second term in 2019 . A sociologist , lawyer , banker and journalist , the Cambridge and Harvard educated Kyari had the necessary training and background to serve as trusted adviser and jurisconsult to the President .

The Chief of Staff is an appointee of the President . His role is to manage the office of the high executive while coordinating his programmes and the core agencies needed to run the administration . He also serves as the principal channel of communication between the President and his core officials, including the Federal Executive Council . He also ensures that the engagements of the President , including the presidential fleet , operate in a flawless manner .

I have been a Chief of Staff myself , but in a different context . During 2010 – 2015 , I was Chef de Cabinet of the 79 – member intergovernmental organisation , the African , Caribbean and Pacific Group based in Brussels . My principal was Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former President of the ECOWAS Commission and currently UN Secretary – General ’ s Special Representatives for West Africa and the Sahel ( UNOWAS ) . It was for me a great experience.
Being Chief of Staff is certainly not a job for the fainthearted . You have to be a technocrat who understands technical economics and the minutiae of international trade and high finance. But you must also be a hands – on administrator with a nose for power and diplomacy. It is a 24 -hour job in which you must be alert always . It requires patience , high ability , energy , discretion and tact . But you must also be tough . You must be ready to swim with the sharks and graze with the bulls .
Abba Kyari was the most powerful Chief of Staff our country has ever known . Given the illness and prolonged absences of his principal, he quietly accumulated considerable power to himself . Some have called him the de facto Prime Minister . They would not be far wrong . He undoubtedly stepped on many toes in the course of the performance of his duties , not least of all the ferocious First Lady who fought an open battle with the men she described as “ the cabal ” .

It is for posterity to judge whether Abba Kyari was an effective Chief of Staff or not – and whether he truly served his principal faithfully or merely for his own self -aggrandisement . One thing that cannot be taken away from him is the fact that he was uncompromisingly loyal to President Buhari . Like Rasputin , he never wasted an opportunity to amass ever greater and greater power and the accoutrements that went with it. One of the cardinal laws of power as indeed of physics is that nature abhors a vacuum . Abba identified many vacuums in our system of power and he quietly covered the empty spaces like a colossus .

If he had had a more enlightened mind, he would have used such enormous power to uplift our country from its current morass . His friends and associates maintain that he had “ socialist” leanings , whatever that means. From all we know , his political philosophy was anchored on the maxims of power .

More news👉 https://latestnewsupdates.news.blog/2020/04/19/just-in-covid-19-fg-plans-timetable-exams-for-radio-tv-school-classes/

I did not know him well enough and certainly do not have enough data to determine whether , like Caesar ’ s wife , he was beyond reproach. What I know for sure is that the downward spiral in our development prospects and the descent of our country into a lawless , violent and nihilistic society under his very watch does not speak well for him .

His inordinate obsession with power and his overweening ambition meant that the wheel and machinery of government was totally centralised under him . Nothing of importance could be done without reference to him . He had, in effect , become an octopus. The administration became paralysed as a consequence. Whenever he was absent or indisposed , almost everything grounded to a halt . Ministers spoke about him in whispers. He became a shadow that was bitterly loathed and feared in equal measure . Even the most powerful ministers trembled at the mention of his name . He had obviously made the existential choice to be feared rather than loved .
But the venomous vituperation on social media is unnecessary . Abba Kyari has been compared to the Roman Emperor Caligula and the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu, first minister under Louis XIII of France . Some of his critics point to the fact that it is a year almost to the day since himself and Aliyu Umar SAN orchestrated the ouster of Chief Justice William Onnoghen from the Supreme Court .
Onnoghen lamented that God was his only hope and refuge . Both Kyari and Umar died , incidentally, on April 17 , 2020 , almost a year to the day .

No man is wholly a saint or wholly a villain. A professor from Maiduguri recently revealed that , for more than a decade, Abba Kyari had channelled his hard – earned savings for the care of 1 , 000 indigent citizens of Borno State , on condition of the strictest anonymity .

The priests used to exclaim , “ Sic transit gloria mundi ” (thus passes away the glory of the world) during the medieval coronation of the popes . Vanity of vanities , says the Preacher . What we must learn is that all power is transient . It is only the good we do for others – acts of lovingkindness and righteousness in service to God and humanity – that will live forever .

Punch

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JUST IN: Oyo slashes Assembly’s allocation by 30%

Indication has emerged that the Oyo State lawmakers have agreed to a 30 per cent reduction in their monthly allocations effective April over coronavirus – induced economic challenges .

It was gathered that the agreement was reached during Governor Seyi Makinde’ s meeting with the state ’ s lawmakers at the government house recently .

The Chairman , Oyo House Committee on Information and Media , Kazeem Olayanju , on Saturday said , “ Our income has been slashed by 30 per cent as our support towards COVID- 19 . The governor brought the idea and we agreed to the 30 per cent deduction . ”

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa , said , “ The state is not looking at cutting its budget in the immediate , but to harness its Internally Generated Revenue to shore up its revenue base . We expect a rise in IGR activities that will bring in more money .

Meanwhile , the Oyo State Government disclosed on Sunday that it has discharged two more COVID- 19 patients after testing negative twice .

The Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, said this on his official Twitter Handle on Sunday .

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JUST IN: Nigeria, others need $114bn to fight COVID-19, says IMF

Nigeria and other African countries need an estimated $ 114 bn to fund the campaign against the outbreak of the coronavirus disease on the continent .

This was disclosed in a statement posted on the website of the International Monetary Fund .

The statement was issued after a meeting of African leaders , bilateral partners and multilateral institutions, which was jointly convened by the World Bank and the IMF.
The World Bank and the IMF, in the statement , said they had mobilised partners in the fight against COVID- 19 in Africa .

According to the statement , together , official creditors have mobilised up to $ 57 bn for Africa in 2020 alone – including upwards of $ 18 bn from the IMF and the World Bank each .

The fund is meant to provide the front- line health services , support the poor and vulnerable , and keep economies afloat in the face of the worst global economic downturn since the 1930 s .

It was also disclosed that private creditor support to the continent in 2020 could amount to an estimated $ 13 bn.

“ This is an important start , but the continent needs an estimated $ 114 bn in 2020 in its fight against COVID- 19 , leaving a financing gap of around $ 44 bn, ” the statement added.

The meeting convened by the World Bank and IMF to spur faster action on COVID- 19 response in Africa was attended by African Union Chairman and President of South Africa , Cyril Ramaphosa, and the United Nations Secretary General , Antonio Guterres .

Director General of the World Health Organisation , Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus , African Union Commission Chairperson , Moussa Mahamat , and officials of individual countries also attended the meeting , where plans were outlined for effective use of resources to curb the spread of the disease .

The statement noted that bilateral partners , at the meeting , reemphasised their commitment to a debt standstill beginning May 1 .

The World Bank and the IMF had called on creditors to suspend debt repayments in order to provide much -needed support to the poorest countries .

Ramaphosa, at the meeting , said African countries required greater support to surmount the challenges posed by the COVID- 19 pandemic .

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[JUST IN] Covid-19: Ekiti may extend lockdown, says Fayemi

Governor Kayode Fayemi has said lockdown order in the state may be extended beyond April 27 in order to allow for effective tracing of persons who had direct contact with the new case .

The governor also said security would be beefed up at the state’ s boundaries with other neighboring states to check the rate of people sneaking into Ekiti during the lockdown .

A statement quoted the governor as saying that Ekiti has 29 suspected cases, two confirmed cases , and 49 contact tracing persons of interest .

He said , “ Due to this new case , government may have to consider further extension of the lockdown at least until all possible direct and indirect contacts of this woman have been traced and placed in self -isolation as a minimum period of incubation is 14 days for every new infection.

“ As widely acknowledged , COVID- 19 is spread from person to person . The three cases so far recorded in Ekiti State were from people who contacted it elsewhere but incubated and manifested while they were within our state. This underscores the need for every one of us to respect and accept the lockdown order and principles of social distancing .

“ We are fully aware that such measures will cause some hardship and inconvenience to many citizens . But this is a matter of life and death ; if we look at the dreadful daily toll of deaths in some countries and even the increasing rate of the virus in Nigeria . ”

Punch