A coalition has petitioned the Lagos State House of Assembly on the high cost of (COVID-19 tests in private laboratories in Lagos State. The call is contained in a statement issued by the Coalition Against High Cost of COVID-19 Test in Lagos (COHCTL), signed by its Co-Convener, Dotun Atilade on Friday in Ibadan. COHCTL is a network of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations with special interest in the survival and wellbeing of the citizens during COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 era. “The exorbitant cost has led to the low percentage of tested population so far,”. The group called for a timely…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country, a total of 2,036 deaths and 149,882 recoveries have been recorded as at March 25, across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The NCDC also announced on its official Twitter handle on Thursday that the deaths and recoveries include 97 new cases and five deaths, same day. It also said that it managed 1,015 community recoveries in FCT and 10 community recoveries in Akwa Ibom State in line with its guidelines. The agency said that the data from the FCT…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has urged Point Of Sale (POS) operators to always obtain customers’ identities and strictly comply with financial regulations in their transactions. Mr Bawa Usman, the EFCC Zonal Head in charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, made the call when the leaders of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents visited the commission on Thursday. Usman urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), commercial banks and other stakeholders in the financial industry to assist toward sanitising the POS business, in recognition of its acceptability by the citizens. He said more improvements were…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that recent developments in the Nigerian fertiliser value chain is moving the country to becoming a regional and global fertiliser powerhouse. Buhari said this, on Thursday, during a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) and the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), led by Mr Thomas Etuh. The meeting was to review the progress made so far in the country’s fertiliser sector. The president appreciated the investments that had been made by Nigerians in the fertiliser sector, saying that those investments had contributed to lifting rural unemployment. He expressed…
Comrade Chris Isiguzo, President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), on Thursday, reiterated the constitutional responsibility of the media to hold government accountable to its citizens, noting media remained the last of hope Nigerians. Isiguzo said this in Lafia at a dinner and award night organised by the Nasarawa State Council to mark the end of the NUJ press week in the state. According to him, the level of insecurity in the Nigeria had made the country highly vulnerable, noting that the three arms of government the executive, legislature and the judiciary had technically given up, leaving the media…
President Muhammadu Buhari, has commended the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), saying that the mechanism was impacting effectively on the continent. Buhari made this known during the 30th Summit of the Forum of Heads of State and Government of member States of the APRM. Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the mechanism seeks to attain the pan African vision of a prosperous, peaceful and integrated Africa that is respected globally for its good governance. “It has therefore, been providing a platform for AU member states that have acceded to the protocol to share…
Some stakeholders in security have urged the Federal government to use cybernetic technology from Israel, Pakistan and Singapore to effectively address the current issues of insecurity and criminality in the country. They gave the advice at the National Policy and Development Summit on Thursday in Abuja. The conference was organised by Mr Ibrahim Hassan, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Policy Development and Analysis. The theme of the conference is “Nigeria’s Security Challenges and the Way Forward”. In his opening remark, Hassan said the essence of the summit was to engage stakeholders and security agencies in a…
An election observation mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is in Benin for the 11 April presidential election. The 10 experts, who are members of the ECOWAS long-term Election Observation Mission to be deployed throughout the country, arrived on Tuesday and will spend 25 days. Members of the team, who are specialists on security, gender, electoral operations, constitutional law and communication, are responsible for covering the pre-electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases of the election. During their stay, they will meet stakeholders in the electoral process: members of the government, Constitutional Court, Autonomous National Electoral Commission, High…
Last Saturday, Governor Ortom of Benue State was attacked by a group he described as armed assassins and had to run 1.5 kilometres to save his life. I am glad he was able to outrun the assassins although I did wonder why his close protection squad allowed him run into the dangerous forests over such a long distance rather than keep him protected in his bullet proof vehicle while they dealt with the attackers. Shortly after the attack, a press release was allegedly issued by the Fulani Nationality Movement, ( FUNAM) claiming they carried out the attack on behalf of…
By Cecilia Ologunagba A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Queen Zara Foundation, is set to embark on ‘roll back hypertension’ campaign and provide free medical outreach to some residents in FCT to enhance their well-being. The founder, Joyce Roberts said in Abuja that the outreach would focus on hypertension screening, support and treatment for the residents. Roberts, also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NGO, said the foundation would host a free medical outreach on Saturday to create awareness on hypertension in Maitama Area of Abuja. “Why is the focus on hypertension? It is because hypertension is a silent killer and…