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Thursday, 07 May 2020 05:01

‘Which is more orderly, Market or Church?’: Oyedepo queries FG’s decision to open markets while Churches remain shut

Presiding bishop of Living Faith Worldwide, Mr David Oyedepo has kicked against the revised lockdown directives which prevent churches from operating. Federal government had placed a ban on religious and social gatherings as part of measures to stop the spread of the Covid-19 but markets have remained open. During a programme titled ‘Covenant Hour of Prayer‘ on Wednesday, Oyedepo questioned why markets could be opened for six hours daily while churches have remained closed. The cleric also said God spoke to him about the situation on Tuesday, adding that the “voice of darkness” has now targeted churches in the country…

Thursday, 07 May 2020 05:00

256 Nigerians evacuated from Dubai arrive Lagos

At least 256 Nigerians evacuated from United Arab Emirates arrived Lagos Wednesday night. They arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, via an Emirates Airline flight. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, confirmed their arrival in a tweet Wednesday night. “The flight conveying 256 Nigerians evacuated from Dubai has landed Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos,” he tweeted via his verified handle. The evacuated Nigerians were expected to arrive Nigeria earlier but had to make a detour after one of the passengers went into labour. Onyeama gave details of the development in a series of tweets earlier on Wednesday. He tweeted:…

Thursday, 07 May 2020 04:59

FG extends ban on local, international flights

Federal Government has extended the ban imposed on local and international flights by four weeks. Mr Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, said the federal government decided to extend the flight ban by four weeks after due consultation. “We have assessed the situation in the aviation industry and have come to the conclusion that given the facts available to us and based on the advice of experts, the ban on all flights will be extended for an additional four weeks,” Mustapha said at the briefing of the presidential task force on Covid-19 on Wednesday. Mustapha appealed to…

Thursday, 07 May 2020 04:39

The pandemic makes us feel as if we don’t have control - but we never really did

Stephanie Wittels Wachs Three days before my wedding, my brother called to tell me he was spending $4,000 a month on Oxycontin. He uttered a sentence that shifted everything forever: “I am a drug addict.” Ten months later, we found out my first child, then just 2 weeks old, had a permanent hearing loss in both ears, there was no cure and she’d have to wear hearing aids for the rest of her life. Twelve months after that, a detective called from Los Angeles to deliver the news that my brother had died of a heroin overdose. He was 30…

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:27

Buhari explains how FG will spend recovered $311m Abacha loot

PRESS RELEASE On Monday, May 4, 2020, some $311 million US Dollars - stolen from the citizens of Nigeria during the Abacha regime - were safely returned to our country from the United States. These funds have already been allocated, and will be used in full, for vital and decades-overdue infrastructure development: The second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressways - creating tens of thousands of Nigerian construction jobs and local skills, which can then be useful in future projects. Part of the funds will also be invested in the Mambilla Power Project which, when completed, will provide electricity…

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:26

FG mulls further slashing 2020 Budget oil benchmark to $20

Federal government says it is considering adjusting further the benchmark crude oil price in the 2020 budget down to $20 per barrel. In the initially approved appropriation assented into law by President Muhammadu Buhari last December, crude oil benchmark price was put at $57 per barrel. Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, which impacted the international crude oil market, resulting in the drastic slide in oil prices below $30 per barrel, the government cut the budget estimates by 30 per cent and reviewed the budget fundamentals. Apart from reducing the crude oil benchmark price to $30 per barrel, the…

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 05:23

Coronavirus patients break out of isolation, take over highway in Gombe

There was confusion Tuesday in Kwadon community of Gombe State, as Covid-19 patients at an isolation centre in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area forced their way out of the facility to protest alleged poor treatment by the state government and the Coronavirus taskforce. Nearly 20 patients took over the federal highway linking Gombe State with neigbouring Borno State. The patients said they were not properly cared for, and that their conditions had worsened and they preferred to get outside for self-medication and proper care. A witness at the protest said: “We in the community have been in serious shock knowing…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:19

83m Nigerians extremely poor, living on less than $1 daily - NBS

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that four out of every 10 Nigerians are poor. The executive summary of the 2019 Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria released on Monday by NBS showed that 40.1 percent of Nigeria’s total population was classified as poor. This translates to over 82.9 million Nigerians who are considered poor by national standards. The executive summary, which NBS said it would publish the full report at a later date, showed that on average 4 out of 10 individuals in Nigeria have real per capita expenditures below N137,430 (approximately 353 US dollars) per year. This translates…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:18

Lagos, Abuja roar back to life as lockdowns phased out

Nigeria began easing restrictions on Monday in its capital Abuja and in largest city Lagos, heralding the reopening of Africa’s biggest economy after more than four weeks of lockdowns imposed to contain the new coronavirus. The government has said a 24-hour, stay-at-home order in place since March 30 in Abuja and the states of Lagos and Ogun - with exceptions only for food shopping and health-related trips - will be lifted gradually over a six-week period. These densely populated regions will now come into line with the rest of the country in which slightly looser restrictions introduced last week by…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:17

FG threatens another lockdown if Coronavirus cases spike

Federal Government has vowed to lockdown parts of the country again should there be explosion of coronavirus cases. Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Mr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said although it expected some lapses in compliance to safety precautions, it was worried corporate organisations, especially banks on Monday flouted NCDC’s guideline for infection prevention and control. Speaking during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, the NCDC boss said: “Initial reports are not too pleasing across the country. “When we say take responsibility this time, yes we are addressing individuals but we really needed to…

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Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:16

Buhari pleads for debt cancellation from IMF, World Bank

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged international financial institutions to assist member states in cushioning the negative impact of the pandemic in the spirit of solidarity. Mr Buhari said the assistance includes extending concessional loans, technical support, lowering of tariff on medical equipment and consumables, sharing of expertise in case management, adopting open trade policies, as well as outright debt cancellation. Already, countries ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic have been seeking loans from international financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) among others. “Within the spirit of South-South cooperation, we must also assist one another, particularly the…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:15

FG confirms receipt of $311m Abacha loots from US

Federal government on Monday confirmed receipt of $311 million looted by a late dictator, Sani Abacha. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Mr Umar Gwandu, said approximately $311,797,866.11 of the Abacha loot was repatriated from the US and Jersey. According to Mr Malami, “The amount increased significantly from over $308 million as stated in a press release in February to over $311 million because of the interest that accrued from February 3, 2020, to 28th April, 2020, when the fund was transferred to…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:13

Court slams FG with N1m fine, condemns police disruption of #RevolutionNow protest

Federal High Court in Lagos has awarded N1 million against the federal government over police disruption of the August 5, 2019 #RevolutionNow protest. The court awarded the N1 million in favour of a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Olukoya Ogungbeje, who said he participated in the protest and was among those tear-gassed by security agents. The nationwide protest was convened by rights activist, Mr Omoyele Sowore, arrested by Department of State Services on August 3, 2019 and only released on December 24, 2019. The court, in a judgment by Mrs Maureen Onyetenu, declared the disruption of the peaceful protest by the Nigerian…

Tuesday, 05 May 2020 05:12

Palace of Emir of Buhari’s hometown sealed over Covid-19

Palace of the Emir of Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari's hometown, has been sealed after it recorded a case of Covid-19. Secretary to the state government, Mr Mustapha Inuwa, who confirmed the development, said the results of samples taken will determine when the palace will be reopened. “It is a normal protocol worldwide that anywhere positive cases are recorded, the places are sealed off and samples taken to address spread,” he added. Speaking on the matter, spokesman of the state police command, Mr Gambo Isa, said “For the police, Daura is under lockdown and so it shall be in every nook…

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