BEGONAIJA

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) says it is currently “struggling” for bed spaces for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Lagos state which has the highest number of persons infected by coronavirus in Nigeria. There are 947 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lagos alone and 187 of these patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease. Speaking the briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19 on Thursday, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of NCDC, said efforts are being made to change strategy in order not to allow the inadequate bed spaces affect the fight against coronavirus. “Lagos is the only place where we are struggling with bed spaces for now. We will always tells Nigerians the truth. We are struggling with bed spaces in Lagos for now,” he said. As of Wednesday, Nigeria had recorded 1,728 cases of coronavirus.

The Federal Government has ordered civil servants from Grade level 14 and above to resume on Monday. In circular by Head of Service of the Federation Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, it said the Federal secretariat complexes have been decontaminated while efforts were ongoing to do same in other public offices. The circular reads: “Further to Mr President’s broadcast on a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown measures occasioned by COVID-19, officers on GL 14 and above and those in essential services are hereby directed to resume work with effect from Monday, 4th of May, 2020 in the first instance.“ Offices are to open three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – and close at 2:00pm on each day.” The circular further advised affected officers to limit the number of visitors they receive while hand- washing facilities should be located at every strategic location within their office premises.

FG’s 740, 000 jobs: I’ll quit Buhari’s govt if politicians hijack process ― Keyamo Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has threatened to resign from the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration if the approved recruitment of 774, 000 people is hijacked by politicians. The Minister, issued the threat on Wednesday while inaugurating the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Extended Special Public Works Across the 774 Local Government Areas of the Federation. Mr. Keyamo who explained that the committee was set up to devise a strategy for the implementation of the job creation, said the pilot scheme was approved to be implemented in five local government areas in eight states of Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Jigawa, Katsina and Kwara. The beneficiaries he said will be engaged in drainage digging and clearance, irrigation canals clearance, rural feeder road maintenance and maintenance of the great green wall nurseries as well as orchards. Others are traf

196 new cases of #COVID19 reported; 87-Lagos 24-Kano 18-Gombe 17-Kaduna 16-FCT 10-Katsina 8-Sokoto 7-Edo 6-Borno 1-Yobe 1-Ebonyi 1-Adamawa As at 11:55pm 29th April- 1728 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 307 Deaths: 51

A new data by the United Nations has revealed that with the ongoing lockdowns and major disruptions to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, there could be about seven million unintended pregnancies in the coming months. The data released on Tuesday by the UN Population Fund and partners estimated that the number of women unable to access family planning or facing unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence and other harmful practices, could “skyrocket” by millions. The data also revealed that 47 million women may lose access to contraceptives if the Coronavirus lockdown carried on for six months. The research was conducted by UNFPA in collaboration with Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University in the United States, and Victoria University in Australia. “This new data shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and girls globally,” said Dr Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director. “The pandemic is deepening inequalities and millions more women an

195 new cases of #COVID19 reported; 80-Lagos 38-Kano 15-Ogun 15-Bauchi 11-Borno 10-Gombe 9-Sokoto 5-Edo 5-Jigawa 2-Zamfara 1-Rivers 1-Enugu 1-Delta 1-FCT 1-Nasarawa As at 11:50pm 28th April- 1532 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 255 Deaths: 44

*COVID-19: Open Letter To Incident Commander Over Tinubu's CSO Death* _By Jumu'ah Abiodun_ Let me start by commending you (H.E. Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu), your deputy, Mr Femi Hamzat, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa and others My special greetings to those medical teams on the front line of this world COVID-19 pandemic home and abroad. "_Ooin you are all doing well"__ To curb the spread of novel coronavirus in the state you have serious work, like serious work ahead to do Mr Governor. Let me go straight to the point and set the record straight, I don't know if you are aware of ASP Lateef Raheem's death but am sure he should be well known to you and some of your associates. Raheem was the former CSO to the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to Bola Tinubu in a statement made available to journalists on Monday, he confirmed t

Prime Minister of France made clear to the country's National Assembly on Tuesday that all sporting activity in the country must be stopped - even behind closed doors - until September. The coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown in sport around March 12 all over the world and various countries are taking different approaches to a return. France has now joined the Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina in announcing the 2019-20 season is already over, as they will not even try to resume playing over the summer. “The 2019-20 season cannot continue,” announced Prime Minister Philippe this afternoon. “There can be no major sporting events, especially football, before September, even behind closed doors.” It remains to be seen how this affects clubs who are still in the Champions League, as for example Olympique Lyonnais are up against Juventus in the Round of 16. Lyon won the first leg 1-0 at home and had been due to travel to Turin when Daniele Rugani became the first Serie A player

N500b COVID-19 Fund: Senate Bars Journalists From Nat. Assembly (Happening Now) The Senate of the National Assembly has barred journalists from gaining access to the National Assembly as it resumed today to deliberate on the 500 Billion COVID intervention fund request from President Buhari.The Senate had in a statement issued by the clerk to the Senate Mr. Nelson Ayewoh announced the resumption of the Senate plenary today. The clerk said the lawmakers are to be in the hallowed chamber at 10.00 am, staff of the National Assembly as well as legislative aides were to work from home. According to Kenneth Udeh , Special Assistant (Media) to Sen. Orji Kalu, the Senate may have resolved to pass the N500 billion intervention fund requested by President Muhammadu Buhari to settle expenses relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the upper legislative resumed plenary today to address the issue. Members of the Senate press Corps who arrived the national assembly complex on the early h

COVID-19: Lagos Chief Judge Approves Hearing Of Cases Via Zoom, Skype Kazeem Alogba, chief judge of Lagos state, has approved the remote hearing of cases via Skype or Zoom. The new practice direction for the judiciary in the state, signed by the chief judge on April 27, also allows lawyers and litigants to file cases electronically, while fees to be paid may be communicated to lawyers through email, WhatsApp, or text message. The new guidelines will also allow “use of suitable technology, a just determination of court proceedings as well as an efficient use of available judicial and administrative resources”. Paragraph 11 of the practice directions states that service of court processes may be effected by email, WhatsApp or any other directive issued by the court. Paragraph 16 reads: “Remote hearings shall be by Zoom, Skype for business or any other video communication method approved by the Chief Judge.” According to Alogba, these new practice directions are to ensure “a timely

BREAKING! 2020 Budget: Senate Approves Buhari’s Request To Raise Fresh N850bn Loan President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to approve his request to secure a fresh loan of N850 billion to fund some projects in the 2020 budget. He made the request in a letter read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja. According to the letter, President Buhari seeks to raise the loan from the domestic capital market to ensure adequate funds to finance projects in the budget. After the letter was read, the lawmakers gave accelerated approval to the President’s request to raise the loan. They also asked the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriation to liaise with the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to get more details on the loan request.

In more measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate deportation of almajiris and other street beggars from the state with immediate effect. Governor Wike gave the order on Monday in a statewide broadcast on COVID-19. He said it became necessary to deport the almajiris because of the dimension COVID-19 is beginning to take in the country. The Governor also announced a 24-hour total lockdown in parts of Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt city Local Government Areas including; Elakahia, Stadium Road, Rumuomasi and Rumuobiakani, just as he warned residents of Oyigbo, Rumukwurusi and Rumuokoro to stay indoors. Governor Wike, therefore, said the Rivers State Taskforce will be inaugurated on Tuesday since the Police and other security agencies have failed to protect the borders. He said: “In view of the non or passive compliance with these measures, it has become compelling to also place the following parts of Port Harcourt and Ob

Summary of the speech Lockdown still in place in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun. Lock down to be relaxed by Monday 4th May. From 4th May, Selected businesses to open from 8am to 6pm Curfew applies from 8pm to 6am Restriction on social and religious gathering remain in place. No interstate movement until further notice. Kano on total lockdown for the next 2 weeks

The National leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his wife, Oluremi have tested negative for deadly COVID-19, while his aides, tested positive. The media aide to Tinubu, Mr Tunde Ramon, who announced this in a statement on Monday, added that the aide has been isolated in accordance with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, guidelines. Recall that one of Tinubu’ s aides, the Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, who died last Friday was later tested positive for COVID-19. The statement read in part, “Following the death of our well-respected and beloved Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, NCDC medics took the wise precaution of taking samples from his body for testing to actually determine the cause of death. “Today, (Monday) the test results are back. The samples tested positive for COVID-19. “As a precautionary measure taken soon after the death of Raheem, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu,

Two sisters arrested with a motorcyclist suspected of supplying food items and women to bandits in Zamfara State, have confessed that they charge each member of the group N6,000 for intercouse per night. According to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Zamfara State command, Shafi’u Abdullahi and the sisters; Binta Husaini and Balki, were arrested on their way to Anka Local Government Area, where Abdullahi was taking supplies to the bandits. Aliyu Garban, the corps’ commandant, while briefing journalists on Friday, said luck ran out on the suspect, when he was intercepted by officers of the command after a tip-off. The commandant stated that the motorcyclist was arrested along Bagega-Anka Road with the two sisters, who are from Niger. “During our Investigations, the suspect, Shafi’u Abdullahi, was discovered to be assisting a suspected notorious leader of the bandits called ‘Shaho’ by supplying social services to his hideouts. Binta and Balki are sisters and

A thunderstorm has killed two elementary school pupils and badly injured another two in Nsukka local government of Enugu state over the weekend. The four pupils between the ages 15 and 12 years hailed from Umunkashi community in Nsukka local government area, Enugu state were said to be plucking mangoes at Joint Primary school of the community when the storm strike and killed two instantly, injured the two pupils. The two deceased pupils were identified as Asogwa Nnadozie in elementary six and Wisdom Nnasom in elementary two, climbed the mango tree while the others waited at the foot of the tree collecting mangoes the two on top plucked. Investigations revealed that the sky threatened rainfall in the early hours on that fateful day of the incident while thunderstorm took a turn without the rainfall of any sort throughout the day of the incident. The two injured were rushed to Michael Obayi memorial hospital, Nsukka for medical attention and are recovering from the storm attack.

The Lagos State Government has warned private school owners against resuming academic activities for the 2019/2020 session third term via online teaching. The Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, on Sunday said all schools in Lagos State remained closed and had not yet been opened for the third term. According to her, resumption by private schools is a strategy for ensuring that students continue to learn while the school calendar continues as planned. She reiterated that the third term resumption remained postponed until directives to the contrary. She said the state continued to offer free teaching on various media, especially radio and television. She said: “The State is presently on lockdown imposed by the Federal Government over the COVID-19 pandemic. “Most schools are charging for this online service; often at a discount on existing tuition fees while some schools are charging full fees. “Parents are concerned about the cost of this programme, ranging from fees cha

A few months ago, the world was moving along nicely with different events humans have come to expect. But out of the blue, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a great spin on things with astounding effects. Virtually all areas of life are affected, and the job market is not left out. As a result, more job seekers are looking for great ways to improve their efforts. In line with that, here are 5 ways the pandemic will impact your job search, and what you can do about them. 1. Restricted Movement You can’t move around like you used to. In fact, most organizations are closed, and don’t require your presence. It’s a great problem a lot of people, including those seeking for employment have to deal with. The best way to deal with this is to increase networking. Sure, events, gatherings, and a lot more are put off. But there’s the Internet along with other tools to help you keep in touch. This way, you’re ready when things get back to normal. It’s a great way to prevent the restrictions on mov

A suspected COVID-19 patient on Sunday afternoon ran to a police station for help after several attempts to reach the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) failed. The woman, it was gathered, had tried to reach the COVID-19 toll-free lines since she started developing symptoms without success. Desperate for survival, she was said to have walked from her residence to Adekunle Police Station, Yaba in Lagos where she stood outside and announced that she was having COVID-19. According to a source, the woman acted responsibly and told everyone at the station to not come near here, explaining that coming to the station was the only option she had. It was not funny. The woman said she walked down from her home to the station and that she was very mindful of avoiding contact with other people. “As soon as she got to the station, she announced that she had COVID-19 and that people should stay away from her. She said she came to the station because she was frustrated from calling the N

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Sunday announced that the state public servants earning, at least, N67, 000 will have 25 per cent of their salaries ‘donated’ to the state’s purse until the end of the quarantine period. Kaduna is one of the Nigerian states that have confirmed cases of coronavirus. The state put in place a quarantine order to curtail the spread of the virus which has killed over 203, 000 persons worldwide. El-Rufai himself only recovered from the viral infection a few days ago. The state government did not say if the ‘donation’ was made voluntarily by affected civil servants. “Career public servants earning a net pay of N67,000 and above aftertax will also donate 25% of their pay monthly whilst the quarantine conditions are in place,” El-Rufai’s media adviser Muyiwa Adekeye said in a statement while announcing the extension of the lockdown in the state for another 30 days. “No public servant will have less N50,000 monthly to manage in this emergency period,”

Incest: Police in A'Ibom arrests father for raping daughter By Ani Michael A team of Nigeria Police, Eket division led by Eket Division Police Officer, Mr. Sunday Digha, on Friday April 24, 2020 arrested one Mr. Godwin Jeremiah, from Ikot Udota, Eket Akwa Ibom State for allegedly having carnal knowledge of his 13-year-old daughter. The suspect, according to Emem Jeremiah, a Junior Secondary School(JSS) 1 student, severally molested and had sexual relationship with her. The arrest of Mr. Jeremiah, a mason, was led by the Police DPO in charge of Eket, Mr. Sunday Digha with the support of the wife of the executive chairman of Eket local government area, Mrs Bright Archibong and International Federation of Women Lawyers(FIDA) a non-governmental and non-profit organization made up of women lawyers called to practise law in Nigeria. According to the victim, Miss Emem Goodwin Jeremiah, the father started the illicit act with her since last year and since then, the father slept with h

DSS officials invade, ransack Akerele’s residence, arrest aide No fewer than 25 operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) on Sunday evening invaded the private residence of former Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Chief Taiwo Akerele. The development is an indication that things might have fallen apart between the Governor and his erstwhile closest staff. Akerele resigned his position as Chief of Staff on Friday night and was replaced with Ethan Uzamere, Saturday night by Obaseki. The operatives were said to have arrived the residence located off 1st Ugbor Road, GRA, in Benin, at about 5 pm in an 18-seater bus and three operational vehicles of Operation Wabaizigan. It was gathered that a security detail to the Governor had earlier called the Personal Assistant to the former CoS, Jasper Olowojoba to come and remove Akerele’s personal belongings from his former office. Olowojoba, who was said to have replied that he would remove the items on Monday, was

The Lagos police command has announced the arrest of 620 persons, including 39 at a strip club, who violated the lockdown in the state. On March 30, President Muhammadu Buhari had restricted movements in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja to limit the spread of coronavirus. The president later extended the lockdown by two weeks. In a statement on Sunday, Bala Elkana, Lagos police public relations officer, said those who violated the lockdown order were arrested between April 21 and April 24, 2020. “On 21/4/2020 at about 2000hours, acting on information, operatives from Denton Police Station arrested 95 inter-state travellers at Bhojson area, Ebute Metta in seven commercial buses with registration numbers LG 91 BGT, Lagos to Benue; BDA 690 XA, Lagos to Abuja; BGA 86 EA, Lagos to Abuja; LSD 459 XA, Lagos to Benue; LRN 105 YR, Lagos to Ilorin; LSD 81 XX, Lagos to Ilorin and BWR 975 PN, Lagos to Abuja,” he said. “The buses were impounded; the drivers and passengers were charged to mobile court and

A Texas mayor has been forced to apologize after getting caught breaking her own stay-at-home order by getting a nail salon to open just for her. Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames was photographed last Tuesday wearing a face mask as she visited The Nail Bar, which should have been shuttered due to the mayor’s own lockdown order, according to 12NewsNow. It sparked a flood of complaints, leading to investigations by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and even Jefferson County District Attorney’s office. Ames offered a “heartfelt apology” for what she dismissed as a “lapse in judgment.” “I promise there was no malice intended,” she wrote in a statement. “I should never have entered the salon last Tuesday. I did not intend to take personal privilege while asking others to sacrifice and for that I am truly remorseful.” She admitted that “as an elected official I am held to a higher standard.” “I regret my action that day. I am honestly sorry and I pray that you will forgive me,” sh

The Akwa Ibom State epidemiologist, Aniekeme Uwah, has been sacked by the state government under controversial circumstances. An epidemiologist is a medical professional whose focus is mainly on the study and containment of disease outbreak, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, within a population. Mr Uwah, a former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, was leading the fight against the spread of the coronavirus in the state as the state epidemiologist until his sudden removal on Friday. He was among the African doctors honoured in 2019 by the African Union for their contributions to the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia. There are 11 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Akwa Ibom State as of April 25. The news of Mr Uwah’s removal first filtered into Facebook and Twitter on Friday afternoon before the state government, through the Commissioner for Health, Dominic Ukpong, later confirmed it a day after in a statement issued around 9 p

One of the four suspects arraigned for killing Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Pa Fasoranti, has tested positive for COVID-19. The four suspects were arraigned last Friday and remanded to a Correctional facility in Owo. Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who confirmed this in a tweet on Sunday morning, said the state has confirmed three new COVID-19 cases. He said, “We have confirmed three other cases in Ondo state. One of the cases involves one of the recently arraigned suspects in the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, Pa Fasoranti’s Daughter. The three new cases included a policeman who got tested in Lagos but came to Ondo for treatment. Akeredolu said the state Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, has been duly informed and that line tracing of police officers and others in the SARs facility where the policeman was kept has started and their specimens are being collected. "We have confirmed three other cases in Ondo state. One of the cases involves one of the recent

The house of representatives has scheduled its resumption for Tuesday amid the fight to contain coronavirus. Nigeria currently has 1,182 coronavirus cases out of which 222 persons have recovered and 35 have died. The lower legislative chamber had suspended plenary on March 24 when the country had 44 COVID-19 cases. But in a notice on Sunday, Patrick Giwa, clerk of the green chamber, asked members to take note of the resumption date. “This is to inform all Members of the House of Representatives that the House will now resume plenary session on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at 10.am,” he said. “Members are advised to take note of the new date of resumption, please. “The Covid-19 Guidelines approved by the Federal Government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and additional Guidelines developed by the House will be sent to Members’ pigeon holes for collection on resumption. “Staff and Members’ Aides are to work from home and will be notified when needed in the office for

91 new cases of #COVID19 reported; 43-Lagos 8-Sokoto 6-Taraba 5-Kaduna 5-Gombe 3-Ondo 3-FCT 3-Edo 3-Oyo 3-Rivers 3-Bauchi 2-Osun 1-Akwa Ibom 1-Bayelsa 1-Ebonyi 1-Kebbi As at 11:50pm 26th April- 1273 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 239 Deaths: 40

Arsenal's players will be allowed to return to their London Colney training ground next week, but will continue to train individually in accordance with government health guidelines Access for Mikel Arteta's players will be limited, carefully managed, and social distancing will be maintained at all times. Squad members will travel alone, do their individual workout, and return home afterwards. All buildings at the Colney centre will remain closed. Arsenal's players have been partaking in training sessions from home as a result of the disruption caused by coronavirus. Earlier this week, the club contacted its first-team players to remind them of their responsibilities during the lockdown, after David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe and Granit Xhaka all broke social distancing guidelines. Meanwhile, Arteta, the majority of the Gunners' first-team squad, and core coaching staff members have all agreed to 12.5 per cent pay cuts. Uncertainty remains over the Pr

The global death toll in the novel coronavirus pandemic soared past the grim 200,000 milestone on Sunday, as the World Health Organization warned against “immunity passports” for recovered patients, seen as a possible tool for countries preparing to re-open their economies. The WHO opposes such “passports” because recovery from the virus might not protect a person from reinfection. “There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from #COVID19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” the UN health body said in a statement. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world spent the second day of the Ramadan holy month out of mosques and avoiding large family meals to break the fast because of sequestration and social distancing policies. And Australians and New Zealanders marked Anzac Day without the normal parades and public ceremonies to commemorate fallen soldiers. Instead, under social distancing policies, people held dawn vigils in fr