The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 1,883 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total number of infected people in the country to 130,557. The centre stated on its website late Saturday that one COVID-19-related death was recorded in the last 24 hours. The country has so far tested 1,270,523 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded in Nigeria on Feb. 27, 2020. NCDC noted that the 1,883 new COVID-19 infections occurred in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It stated that Lagos State registered the highest number with 1,040 infections, taking the…
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The Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman has said that strong government institutions would help in managing the country’s volatile politics. He said this in a statement titled: “Nigeria’s volatile politics and the All Progressives Congress (APC) report on True Federalism” on Saturday in Abuja. Lukman added that the recommended governance reform initiatives contained in the report presents a big window of opportunity for the country and the party’s leaders in particular. This, he said, was especially so because it presents an opportunity to develop the capacity to manage the country’s volatile politics which was laden with ethnic…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in Daura, Katsina State, called on leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to encourage more participation and ownership of the party at the grassroots. Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman in a statement, said the president made call when he hosted Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, some governors and party members of the APC at his country-home after his registration at Sarkin Yara Ward, Daura. He said they could achieve this by adopting bottom-up processes of registration and revalidation at ward, local government, state and federal levels, including the FCT. According to him, a continuous…
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians of full implementation of the 2021 budget, with all transparency and openness in meeting the targets, while appreciating the National Assembly for the effective and detailed attention before the passage. Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, said the president gave the assurance in Daura, Katsina State, after participating in the registration and revalidation exercise of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He said the budget aptly captured some of the visions of the administration, and all efforts would be poured in to…
The Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos State (PANLAG), Badagry chapter, has appealed to the Federal Government to ban exportation of maize in order to have sufficient feeds for chicken. Dr Olusegun Adedayo, Chairman of PANLAG, made the appeal on Saturday at the association’s End of the Year Party/ Stakeholders’ Meeting in Badagry. Adedayo said that local poultry farmers were suffering from the impact of maize exportation, in spite of the fact that the local production could not meet the farmers’ demands. “Government should encourage more production of maize and soya beans locally, because this is what constitutes most of the…
Maryam Abacha American University Niger (MAAUN), Maradi, in collaboration with AAG-Foundation, has donated 60-seater Mercedes-Benz luxury buses to two Nigerian and one Nigerien universities, a statement issued by the institution on Saturday in Kano, has said. The statement by Mr Ali Kakaki, MAAUN spokesman, disclosed that the donation was part of the institution’s education sub-Sector Support Initiative in the West African (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) sub-Region. According to him, the gesture was to ease mobility for students and ensure compliance with COVID-19 social distancing protocol, as well as a contribution to an effective learning environment for the students. He identified the beneficiary institutions as,…
Nigerian government has N20,000 each to 3,500 women in Ogun, under the federal government’s special cash grant project for rural women, a statement from the Humanitarian Affairs ministry has said. The statement, issued on Saturday, in Abuja, by Mrs Rhoda Iliya, the Deputy Director, Information, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, explained that the humanitarian affairs minister, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, at the ceremony in Abeokuta, reiterated the federal government’s commitment to alleviating poverty in the country. Farouq, who was represented by Alhaji Bashir Alkali, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, said the grant was introduced in 2020,…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged governments to prioritise inoculation of health workers and older persons, and to share excess doses with other nations as COVID-19 vaccines are currently in scarce supply. Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, made the appeal in a speech posted on the WHO website. Ghebreyesus, who spoke at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, said more vaccines are being developed, approved and produced, saying “there will be enough for everyone. “But for now, vaccines are a limited resource. We must use them as effectively and as fairly as we can. If we do that, lives will…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa says overcoming leprosy involves more than early diagnosis and prompt treatment. Sasakawa stated this in his message to mark the World Leprosy Day posted on the WHO website. The World Leprosy Day is observed internationally every year on the last Sunday of each January to increase the public awareness of Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease. Sasakawa said overcoming leprosy also required changing mindsets so that the disease would no longer be a source of shame or prejudice. “We must remove all barriers in the way of those seeking medical…
Coronation Insurance Plc (formerly Wapic Insurance Plc) has recorded a 254 per cent increase in profit after tax for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, as it recorded N759.27 million against N214.33 million in 2019. According to the firm’s filing with the Nigeria Stock Exchange, its gross written premium increased to N16.178 billion from N15.20 billion in 2019. The multi-line insurance company also said it recorded a gross written premium of N13.26 billion for its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2020 which ended Sept. 30. It said that it represented a growth rate of five per cent…