The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has assured airlines and passengers of a hitch-flight operation from 1st April 2021.
The assurance came following recent flight delays and cancellation as a result of the hazy weather conditions experienced over the north and central parts of the country in the last few days.
Giving reasons for the dust haze, the Central Forecast Office (CFO), of the Agency in a release stated: “The dust event is as a result of the passage of the mid latitude wave which helped in strengthening the surface pressure over the Sahara Desert region.”
“This activity resulted in the strengthening and intensification of the Saharan high-pressure cell, which progressively pushed down the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD), from a latitudinal position of 10.8 degrees north on Wednesday 24th to 7.8 degrees north on Tuesday 30th of March, 2021.
“The dust situation is expected to persist till Thursday 1st of April when the Saharan high-pressure belt is projected to weaken and horizontal visibilities should improve to between 1-3 kilometers over the extreme north.”
It continued: “Following this, the region is then expected to experience sunny and slightly hazy conditions over the northern cities, while cloudiness to the south and parts of the central region.
“The implication of this is that Nigerians should expect flight operations to run smoothly without fear of delay or cancellation from Thursday 1st April 2021 over the extreme north.”
Scarcity of pipe borne water is rocking the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan forcing patients and residents to groan.
The situation, which was said to have started since Saturday, according to unconfirmed sources, forced the rate of surgical operations to have dropped.
But the management of the facility said the situation was occasioned as a result of ongoing renovations of five blocks of the hospital.
However, as at the time of filing this report, many of the toilets had little water left in the big black containers stationed as back-up in the facility.
When contacted, UCH Public Relations Officer Mr Toye Akinrinlola explained that water was scarce because the ongoing renovation was a massive one with an overhaul of the entire water system, sewage system as well as breakage of pipes and toilets of the hospital which had been installed in the late 1950s.
He appealed for the continued patience of patients for the next three weeks when he said the renovation would have been concluded.
The Federal Government has held a meeting with members of the Nigerian Association of Residents Doctors to avert their planned strike.
The parley was expected to fix timelines for the implementation of the proposals and demands put forward by the doctors who had threatened to embark on indefinite strike from Thursday .
Speaking shortly before going into a closed-door session, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, said the Federal Government and the resident doctors were working closely with regards to the demands of the doctors.
“Addressing your problem is the right thing to do. Government should do the right thing; you don’t need any stick or prodding or push or threat of strike for us to do the right thing,” the minister said in his welcome address.
Ngige revealed that the federal government and other organs of government have been brainstorming on the threat by the doctors with the aim of solving the problem.
He said, “I have read your complaints and I have communicated them to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance and as a matter of fact, last week, we held a government side meeting on all the issues. That is why things are where we are now, because we have started solving those problems.
“We put up proposals with even timelines on how to deal with them. We will now look at those proposals with you, fix adequate timelines so that the people on the government side will be implementing and marking them as they execute them.
“I have held informal meetings with the finance people and from what they told me which they will present here today, they have started solving some of the problems, so, I am happy about that.’’
The minister observed that the two committees of the National Assembly had also engaged with the doctors, noting that he was intervening as a conciliator to ensure industrial harmony in the health sector.
Ngige stated, “The National Assembly two committees have also tried to get you and your employers on the same page. We are not your employers here, we are conciliators. You come here when things are broken down, dialogue has broken down and in this case dialogue has broken down because it’s a money issue, it is an economic issue, so we now have to intervene to maintain industrial peace in the health industry.”
“You know as well as I do that we are in a very bad period health-wise, the world over and Nigeria is not an exception. So, we have to think about the generality of Nigerians because right now, 80 per cent of Nigerians are our potential patients because of the COVID pandemic so we have to look at the issue that way and see how we can get the best out of this situation,” he added.
The President of NARD, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, expressed hope that the meeting would come up with solutions to all their demands, noting that it has been a trying time for the resident doctors.
He said, “It has been a trying time for Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors and the health sector generally and that is why we have tried to make ways in trying to improve and build upon in the health system and I hope in this meeting will be able to achieve plenty of things to help improve our health statistics, help improve the welfare of doctors and help our service delivered to patients on time. And I hope with the Honourable Minister of Labour and Minister of Health, we will be able to get lasting solutions to all our demands after the meeting.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it was not necessary for the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to transmit power to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo because he would be away for a few days.
Shehu said this while featuring on Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today.
The presidential aide said, “He (the President) will continue from wherever he is.
“The requirement of the law is that if the President is going to be absent in the country for 21 days and more, then that transmission is warranted.
“In this particular instance, it is not warranted.”
He added, “It is a medical trip and there is absolutely no urgency, no emergency; the President is not in any sick condition.
“It is a routine medical check-up; the President has undertaken this with a set of doctors that he has retained over many years.”
Shehu also said sponsors of terrorists and their accomplices, including bureau de change operators, would soon be named.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 16 to decide whether Mohammed Adamu can continue to operate in office as the Inspector-General of Police after his retirement from the force in February.
Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed arrived at the date to deliver his judgment in the suit seeking to remove Adamu as IGP.
That was after lawyers in the case adopted and argued their written addresses for and against the suit.
A legal practitioner, Maxwell Okpara, had dragged the federal government to court over the elongation of Adamu’s tenure in office despite attaining the compulsory retirement age on February 1, 2021.
During the resumed hearing , the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, told the Court that hearing notice, as well as other court processes, have been served on all respondents in the suit.
He urged the court to uphold his submissions and grant all the reliefs being sought by his client.
However, the lawyer representing Buhari, AGF, and the Police Council, E. V. Elodimuo, urged the Court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent.
Adamu’s lawyer, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), similarly urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.
After listening to submissions of all parties for and against the suit, the Judge adjourned till April 16 to deliver his judgment.
The Presidency says the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is not a medical tourist despite his medical trip to London .
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme monitored by newsmen .
The President left the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, for London afternoon and is expected back in the country by the second week in April after his medical check-up in Britain.
speaking on the programme, Shehu said, “I think there is a misconception of the President’s trip seen in the context of medical tourism. President Buhari is not a medical tourist.
“If someone has kept retainership with medical experts, you are talking about 30 years and plus to examine you and they give you a pass. Would you be changing your doctors every other year because there is a chance that the distance will be shortened? No. I think that the President is wise and quite correct in his decision that he retains some set of doctors who have insured good health for himself.”
The Federal Government has declared Friday 2nd and Monday 5th April, Public Holidays to mark this year’s Easter Celebration.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola made the declaration .
He urged Christians to emulate the attributes of forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, humility, love, peace and patience, which were demonstrated by Jesus Christ.
He called on them to use the occasion of this year’s Easter Celebration to pray for the Peace, Unity, and Progress of our country.
Aregbesola in a statement signed by the Director of Press in the Ministry, Mohammed Manga, assured that the government would leave no stone unturned in dealing decisively with the spate of kidnapping, armed banditry and other crimes and criminality being perpetrated by enemies of Nigeria.
“Security is everybody’s business, I therefore encourage all Nigerians and foreigners resident in Nigeria, to display high level of patriotism at this critical time in the history of our country, to support the efforts of all security agencies in ensuring peace and security of lives and property of the citizenry,” he said.
The National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd.), quoted the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as directing the nation’s service chiefs to identify masterminds of banditry and kidnapping as well as the sponsors with a view to taking them out.
The NSA told State House correspondents that Buhari handed down the directive at a meeting he had with the service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He quoted the President as saying that a situation where the armed forces are reactionary rather than being proactive will no longer be tolerated.
Buhari met the service chiefs ahead of his trip to London for routine medical check-up.
President to spend two weeks in United Kingdom for routine checkup.
Residents doctors fault FG, say it failed to implement agreement The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has insisted on its plan to begin a nationwide strike on Thursday, saying the Federal Government was not sincere in implementing agreements.
According to the statement, President Buhari is expected back in the country in the second week of April.
The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London, the United Kingdom, Tuesday March 30, 2021, for a routine medical check-up.
“The President meets with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he embarks on the journey.
“He is due back in the country during the second week of April, 2021.”
Oyo state governor Seyi Makinde has said God will redeem Nigeria from its current challenges of insecurity, ethnic and religious tension starting from Oyo State.
The governor, who dwelt on the uniqueness of figure seven, said that God will use the seventh election in the Fourth Republic coming up in 2023 to get Nigeria to perfection.
According to him, the fact that Oyo State currently produced the Seventh President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), as well as the Worldwide President of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is a sign that God loves Oyo State and would redeem the country starting from the state.
This is as the governor also challenged Nigerians to consistently pray for the country and its leaders, noting that there is the need to be clear-headed about the country’s challenges and how to solve the challenges.
Makinde added that the emergence of Bishop Oke as the seventh PFN President at the same period that the 7th Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, His Eminence, Rev. Dr. Supo Ayokunle, is also from Oyo State, showed that the redemption of Nigeria will begin from Oyo State.
LatestNewsUpdates 