The World Health Organisation, WHO, says it has begun expanding its scientific collaboration and monitoring of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. WHO, in a statement posted on its website, stated the agency had met with scientists globally to discuss critical knowledge gaps and research priorities for emerging variants of the virus. It stated that WHO convened a day-long virtual meeting of scientists from around the globe which brought together more than 1,750 experts from 124 countries to discuss emerging variants of the virus. The statement quoted Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, as saying: “Science and research…
Author: Editor
U.S. municipal-bond issuance in 2020 was the highest in a decade, reflecting the collapse of interest rates and the increased costs cities and state governments are facing from COVID-19 shutdowns. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Bonds for new projects reached $252 billion last year, according to Refinitiv, a global provider of financial market data and infrastructure. This has been a small increase from the previous year and the highest since 2010, when a federal incentive programme helped push the total above $270 billion. The new borrowing has driven the total amount of outstanding municipal debt above $3.9 trillion…
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has released the Framework for Regulatory Sandbox Operations, to ensure the safety and stability of the Nigerian Financial System, among other things. It is also to promote the use and adoption of electronic payments and foster innovation in the payments system. The CBN released the structure on its website on Wednesday and said one of the objectives was to increase the potential for innovative business models that advance financial inclusion. The bank explained that it came up with the structure to ensure new and more flexible ways of engaging with the banking industry. This,…
By Tina George, Minna The National Examinations Council, NECO, has revealed that 33,470 candidates that sat for the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination, SSCE, were involved in various forms of malpractices. The Registrar of the Council, Professor Godswill Obioma, who announced the results at the NECO headquarters in Minna on Wednesday, also said that 12 schools in six states have been derecognised for their involvement in examination malpractice, while 24 supervisors were blacklisted for various offences. According to him, the offences of the supervisors ranges from poor supervision, aiding and abetting and connivance with non-candidates to write answers on chalkboard.…
The Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, has said that anybody gallivanting to have been elected in the “illegitimate election” that purportedly held in Owerri in the name Ohanaeze Ndigbo is a huge joker. It said, since the platform that produced such election is not recognized by law, the process that took place on Sunday 10 January 2021 remains null and void. In a press statement by Barr Basil Onyeachonam Onuorah, President General, a copy of which was obtained by ASHENEWS on Wednesday, the Igbo apex body rose to notify the general public that anybody parading himself as…
The absence of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, again stalled the trial continuation of former Head of Service (HoS) of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, on allegations bordering on fraud. Although counsel to the parties in the matter, including the defendants, were in court, Justice Taiwo was not in court. The case could not also hold on October 20, 2020, because the judge, who sat during the annual vacation of the Federal High Court, proceeded on leave. The matter was, however, fixed for December 1. When the matter came up on December 1, 2020,…
Against media reports that his condolence visit to Senator Aliyu Wamakko was politically motivated, former Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, presidential candidate, Attahitu Bafarawa on Tuesday, debunked the report. Recall that Bafarawa penultimate week, paid condolence visited to Wamakko over the death of his nephew. Some media reports however postulated that he was planning to dump the PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC. However, Bafarwa unequivocally said that his condolence visit had no political undertone whatsoever, stressing that he remained loyal to his party. “My visit to former governor of Sokoto state, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko has nothing to do…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it is currently diversifying its portfolio beyond oil assets due to the impact of global energy transition. Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC made this known on Wednesday while speaking at the Gulf Intelligence “Global” UAE Energy Forum 2021. Kyari spoke at the virtual event on the topic: “Outlook for Africa/Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector in Post-COVID Era.” He said: “NNPC has recognised the impact of energy transition and is currently diversifying its portfolio beyond oil assets through domestic gas utilisation projects, support of research and innovation, solar investments, biofuels, infrastructure and energy policy support. “As we…
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus has said that the organisation’s team in China is working with producers of China’s COVID-19 vaccines for potential emergency use listings. “I’m pleased that a WHO team is in China currently working with producers of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. ”They are assessing compliance with international quality manufacturing practices ahead of potential emergency use listing by WHO,” Tedros said at a media briefing. He noted that WHO continues to ask vaccine manufacturers from around the world to move swiftly to provide necessary data. According to him, that will allow the…
The Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Garba Abubakar, has said the organisation raked in more than N19 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) last year. Abubakar made this known in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday. According to him, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected economic activities, the commission recorded increase in the registration of businesses and other corporate entities during the year. “The year 2020 was one of our best years in terms of revenue generation as we recorded a surge in registration above the previous year. “We had a revenue target of N18.2 billion, but…