There is reprieve for state governments following President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of suspension of deductions of loans and bailout funds from their monthly allocation. Coronavirus pandemic has virtually destroyed the world’s economy – draining Nigeria’s oil revenue to the bottom. Federation Account projected revenue has dropped by more than half, a situation that will make it impossible for states to meet up with their obligations, including payment of workers’ salaries from next month. Federal Government has slashed Budget 2020 as a result of the economic crunch. Many states have also downgraded their financial projections. It was learnt that the President…

Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Muhammad Nami, has been accused of unlawful retirement of nine directors of the agency to pave way for his allies. Our correspondent was told that Nami relied on an old civil service rule, which had been suspended to remove the directors. Reporters gathered that the government of late President Umaru Yar’Adua had instituted a civil service rule which made it compulsory for directors to retire after serving for eight years. However, President Muhammadu Buhari rescinded that directive. According to new regulations, civil servants are to leave service after attaining the retirement age of…

Lagos residents will soon heave a sigh of relieve as the state government is considering re-opening of the critical sectors of the state’s economy. The state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed this yesterday hinted that religious activities may be re-opened. He however, said the decision would not be taken hurriedly. He explained that in the coming days, his government would be rolling out Register-to-Open initiative as part of the plans that would enable it assess the level of readiness of the players in the identified sectors for supervised operations. Mr Sanwo-Olu spoke at a briefing after the State’s Security Council…

In a press conference May 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 66% of new hospitalizations in New York for Covid-19 were people who had been staying home. "This is a surprise: Overwhelmingly, the people were at home," Cuomo said. "We thought maybe they were taking public transportation, and we've taken special precautions on public transportation, but actually no, because these people were literally at home." The "shocking" data came from a survey of more than 100 New York hospitals and about 1,300 new patients, Cuomo said. It raises the question: "Of the people who are staying home, how rigorously are…