Television Nigerian

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ibrahim Hassan

Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Dr.Hakeem Baba Ahmed has belittled the N20,000 allegedly given as palliative to select Nigerians by the Federal Government.

He reminded the Buhari-led Federal Government that the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria was not a child’s play but a national emergency which required a change of tactics by the Federal and state governments.

Speaking in an interview on RFI, Hausa Service, Dr.Baba Ahmed said it was irrational on the part of government to confine people in their homes without preparing on their mode of survival ,before doing so.

READ ALSO: Nigeria under attack by two epidemics

Dr.Ahmed was President Buhari’s returning officer when Chief Orubebe publicly protested against the then INEC’s verdict that favored the APC presidential candidate.

According to him, “this curfew imposed on societies where people are extremely poor,need a second look.”

“We are calling on the government to revisit the matter…government has the money.. Nigeria has never witnessed such a disaster. How can you ask people to stay indoors, people that have no means of livelihood? This could be impossible. “.

“The government should assist the people… Government has the money,they should give enough to the people if not poverty will make the poor to flout the stay at home order.”

“The government should use public funds and the money it got from donations to assist the people,” he said.

Vanguard

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The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, on Saturday confirmed the death of a COVID-19 patient in the hospital.

Prof. Chris Bode, LUTH Chief Medical Director, made this known in a statement issued by Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of LUTH, on his behalf.

According to him, a man was brought unconscious to LUTH Emergency late in the evening of Wednesday, April 2 by his friend.

Also read: Lagos Emergency Food markets: Ikorodu residents flock out to get essentials for homes

“Although they denied any history of recent travel, his presentation strongly suggested Covid-19.

“He was handled professionally by the Infectious Diseases Consultant and his team without unduly exposing LUTH staff to danger. He died a few hours later.

“Further investigations later revealed he had earlier performed a test at Yaba soon after he travelled back to Nigeria from Holland and the test was positive.

“He was a known diabetic hypertensive patient. He also had a kidney transplant for chronic kidney disease and was on immunosuppressant drugs.

“The corpse has since been handed over to the appropriate Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Health for safe burial according to international best practices.

“Our Department of Community Medicine has moved swiftly to trace, follow-up and assist gallant staff who managed the patient,” Bode said.

He said that LUTH management implored all members of staff to continue observing strict standard protocols while handling all patients as medical personnel are especially at increased risk from such undisclosed exposure.

“All efforts are being made to ensure the availability of all required items to continue the effective management of such cases that come to LUTH.

“Efforts are also in top gear to complete the isolation facility in LUTH for management of any possible spillover from the Yaba Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) if the surge in patients’ load continues,” Bode said.

Vanguard

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Illustrative, Medical staff

South Africa will conduct mass community testing for coronavirus as cases continued to rise, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

An uptick in local transmissions prompted the need to prepare for mass community testing, the minister said while updating the nation on the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Until Friday, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in South Africa has risen to 1,505, an increase of 43 from Thursday’s figure, Mkhize said.

Also read: COVID-19: Save Nigerians from the Spanish, Italian, Chinese experiences, VOR tells Buhari

Two more patients have died, both in KwaZulu-Natal Province, bringing the death toll to seven, he said.

The two victims were an 80-year-old man who died on April 1 and an 81-year-old woman who died on April 2, according to Mkhize.

With more local transmissions, South Africa is going to roll out mass community testing, Mkhize said in Khayelitsha, an impoverished township in Cape Town, where several positive cases have been reported.

“We have identified areas of priority,” he said without elaboration, adding that “we are ready to give additional support and reinforcement to the areas that need assistance.”

Mkhize said densely populated areas such as townships have reported COVID-19 cases, giving the pandemic a “new dynamic.”

The government wants to hit these areas first when it comes to taking measures to curb the spread, said Mkhize.

On Wednesday, the minister launched 60 mobile sampling and testing units in a bid to scale up the capacity of testing citizens across the country.

These units are part of the massive testing project announced late last month by President Cyril Ramaphosa, where workers will go out to different areas to test people for COVID-19.

South Africa, which reported its first case on March 5, has the largest number of COVID-19 infections on the African continent.

Vanguard

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The Seriki Hausawa of Lagos, Alhaji Aliyu Garuba and Seriki Idi-Araba, Alhaji Hassan Auyo, have condemned the attack on the state special taskforce by worshippers, saying, it was “unnecessary.”

The operatives of the Lagos State Environment Protection Agency (LASEPA) were allegedly attacked on Tuesday evening by some Muslim worshippers at the Agege Central Mosque while enforcing the Federal Government’s movement restriction in the state.

Subsequently, the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, ordered the closure of the Mosque, whose worshippers are mainly of northern extraction.

The taskforce is mandated to monitor and enforce compliance of the government’s directive public gatherings exceeding 25 people.

The worshippers at the Mosque called “Mosalasi Alhaja,” located at Balogun Street, however, flouted the order during the Evening Prayer (Isha) and worshipped in hundreds.

Attempts by officials of the Lagos State COVID-19 Taskforce, who arrived at the scene to enforce compliance following a tip-off, were met with stiff resistance from the Islamic faithful who chased them away.

Reacting to the development, the leaders of the Hausawa Community expressed disappointment at the attitude of the Islamic faithful during chat with journalists at the commencement of a three- day fumigation exercise sponsored by the leaders in collaboration with four Community Development Associations in Idi-Araba, Mushin Local Government Area of the state.

Garuba said: “The act is absolutely unnecessary by the worshippers. We have impressed it and enlightened them (Muslim brothers) on the need to adhere to the state government’s directive on 25 persons per congregation at a single gathering.

“To that effect, I called a meeting last week with the 49 Hausawa leaders across the state, including Agege communities to sensitise them on the social gathering and distancing, especially, in Mosques.

“At the end of the meeting, we all agreed to comply with the directive of the state government. It’s unfortunate that the incident happened in Agege but I can assure the government that such will not happen again in the state.”

On the fumigation exercise in Idi-Araba, Garuba said it was part of community efforts to prevent any possible outbreak of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.

He added: “We, Idi-Araba communities have not received any form of assistance and welfare package as promised by both Federal, State and local governments.

“I use this opportunity to appeal to governments to come to our aid because Idi-Araba is densely populated and any outbreak of COVID-19 in the area could spell doom for the state and the country.

“There are 60 streets, 1,200 houses and 315,000 residents with1000 Christians and 4000 Muslims in Idi-Araba communities, hence, the government should give priority to densely populated communities like ours.”

GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Saturday, announced the appointment of a seven-man committee of eminent professionals of the state to, amongst others, raise and manage resources in cash, or in kind from individuals; group of individuals; private and public organizations; local and foreign donor agencies to be used to complement the efforts of the state government to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The Governor, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Donald Ojogo, announced the Chairman of Greenwich Trust Limited, Mr. Kayode Falowo as chairman; while the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of DeltaTek and DeltaAfriks Engineering and Oil and Gas Limited, Engr. Akinwumi Odumakinde will serve as Deputy Chairman.

To ensure that tenets of transparency and accountability are upheld and funds raised are judiciously utilized, the Governor also announced the appointment of a renowned accounting powerhouse, Ernst and Young and SIAO Partners as Fund Advisors and Auditors respectively.

The two firms, according to the statement, are to render their services for the state free of charge.

The statement reads: “Following the constitution of the palliative committee put in place by his administration to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has constituted a committee for Ondo State CoronaVirus Response Fund to mobilize resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

“The committee’s mandate, amongst others, is to help mobilize funds, in cash or in kind, and manage the efficient and transparent utilisation. The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as follows:

“Recommend and advise the government on funding strategies; manage funds mobilized; direct funding campaign; identify and contact effective funding channels/sources and carry out any other activities for the success of the above-mentioned.

“The Response Fund Committee will work closely with the State Inter-ministerial Committee and they are expected to begin work immediately till the pandemic is wiped out of our state and the nation of Nigeria in general. The Committee will equally provide weekly reports and submit a concrete report at the end of its activities.”

Other members of the committee are Adesegun Fatusi, a Professor of Community Medicine and Public Health and current Vice chancellor of the state owned University of Medical Sciences, Ondo (UNIMED); Ms Cecilia Akintomide, OON, a non-executive Director in the Board of FBN Holdings and former Vice-President and Secretary-General of the African Development Bank (AfDB); Seasoned Lawyer and CEO of JOF Nigeria Ltd Mr. Segun Fagboyegun while a Technical Consultant at WorleyParsons Nigeria Limited and Executive Director, Nigeria FlyLabs, South West Hubs, Mr. Babajide Akeredolu, will serve as Secretary.

FORMER Deputy National Chairman and Member, Board of Trustees of the Peoples  Democratic Party, PDP,  Chief Olabode George has made  a donation worth N160 million as a  direct aid to the needy in Lagos State to cushion the harsh effect of the restriction order by the Federal Government to halt the spread of the Corona Virus.

The aid, which includes cash donation, cows, bags of rice, groundnut oils, bottled water and beans were distributed to the needy irrespective of their political party affiliations.

George also donated  N10 Million to the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State to assist the party in providing relief to its members during this lockdown.

George, who commended the Federal and various state governments for their efforts in combating the dreaded COVID-19,  said as a an ElderStatesman, he believes that Government cannot do it alone, saying  that was why he provided relief materials to the needy in Lagos State.

He said his direct aid to the needy has nothing to do with politics and should not be given any political colouration.

George, however, promised to reach out to the needy in the South West just as he called on Nigerians to cooperate with the Federal Government in its efforts to combat the spread of Corona Virus.

Muslim faithful

…As Muslim youths pelt taskforce members with stones in Yola

By By Umar Yusuf, Perez Brisibe and Bashir Bello

Muslim faithful in some parts of the country yesterday ignored the directive by the various state governments on social distancing in order to curtail the spread of COVID- 19  as they thronged the mosques enmass to observe the juma’at prayers. This happened in Kano, Yola and Ughelli in Delta state.

In Kano, although the Kano state government had not issued any order banning the people from attending the congregational prayer in Mosques or Churches, Governor Umar Ganduje had often preached social distancing and even demonstrated it in one of the State Executive Council meetings where they shifted their sitting from the usual Council Chamber to Africa House which was more spacious to observe the social distancing.

A visit to some juma’at mosques in Kano showed that the faithful ignored the social distancing directive. Some of the mosques visited included the Central Mosque in Emir of Kano’s palace, Kofar Nassarawa mosque, and Kofar Gadon Kaya mosque.

A worshipper, Al-Amin Albarra who spoke with Saturday Vanguard said they observed the prayer according to the Islamic teachings and the teachings of the Holy Messenger of Allah and were not observing any social distancing which was not recognized by the teachings.

A reliable source in one of the enforcement agencies told Vanguard that a critical meeting was held with religious leaders over banning of congregational prayers but at the end of the meeting it was resolved that enforcement agencies would be deployed to control the crowd in such places but this has not been effective.

In Ughelli, despite the lockdown order by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, hundreds of Muslim worshippers yesterday defied the order as they gathered at the Okorodafe Mosque for the Juma’at service.

The main Mosque along Isoko Road, also held Jumat service contrary to the social distancing order but the crowd was minimal compared to the Okorodafe Mosque.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa had ordered a 14-day lockdown order from Wednesday as a measure to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus in the state”.

Observing the flouting of the lockdown order at Ughelli, a team of policemen who stationed their hilux van at the Okorodafe roundabout to ensure that the lockdown was implemented, watched helplessly as the crowd from the mosque dispersed at the end of the prayer.

Giving reasons why they failed to accost the worshippers for flouting the social distancing order, one of the policemen said they decided to allow them (worshippers) since the prayer was very short as against the normal timing.

The policeman who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Apart from the fact that the service was shorter than usual, we didn’t want to cause any tension, hence we allowed them to be and ensured that they dispersed immediately.”

Similarly, in Yola, Adamawa state capital, there was commotion and breakdown of law and order  Friday afternoon when some Muslim faithful attempted to defy the lockdown order to observe the Jumat prayers.

READ ALSO: Pray against COVID-19, Chief Imam of Lagos, Baba Adinni urge Muslims

Though some were said to have sustained injuries, but the situation was quickly put under control by the combined taskforce. The clash occurred at about 2:00pm on Friday, when the operatives arrived the Damilu Juma’at mosque to enforce the lockdown order, according to a worshipper. The Damilu mosque, opposite the Air force base, allegedly called for Juma’at prayer in defiance of the lockdown order, imposed by the the government.

Violence erupted when a combined team of law enforcement operatives, stormed the mosque and directed the imam and some top officials of the mosque to suspend the prayers.

Irate youths at the prayer ground were said to have violently attacked the operatives, pelting them with stones and metals.

An eye witness said that many worshippers and security men alike, sustained injuries in the violent clash.

The police have however denied the claim, saying there was neither violence nor arrest at the mosque.

Spokesperson for the Adamawa police command, Suleiman Nguroje, said no injury was inflicted on any worshipper.

H said, “we were patrolling round the city to monitor compliance with the lockdown order, when we got a distress call that something was happening around Damilu Jumma’at mosque. On getting there, we learnt the imam had earlier told the congregation to disperse because there wouldn’t be Jumma’at prayer today (yesterday). But some youths started shouting ‘Allahu akbar’, causing panic and scare.

“However, our men were timely, so we were able to contain the situation before it degenerated into violence. Therefore, I can confirm to you that no one was injured nor arrested as claimed”, he said.

Vanguard

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The Commissioner of Police in Enugu state, Mr Ahmad Abdurrahman, has enjoined residents of the state to be vigilant to notice any suspicious person(s) and object(s) lurking within their neighbourhood.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement in Enugu on Saturday that the commissioner’s warning had become necessary in this stay-at-home period necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic.

It said that the Command’s hotlines/emergency numbers: 08032003702, 08075390882 and 080866712020 were always available for complaints, enquiries or suggestions.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: South Africa police evict migrants in Cape Town

`”`Residents can also reach the Command’s electronic mail, which is contact042ppro@gmail.com,’’ the statement said.

It said that the commissioner urged law-abiding citizens of the state to report criminals and acts of criminality to the nearest police or police personnel to nip crime in the bud.

“”The commissioner reaffirms the Command’s commitment to make life unbearable for unrepentant criminal elements in the state, especially in these trying times of the COVID-19 scourge.

“”To this end, the commissioner charges all officers in the Command to remain resolute and redouble their efforts in ensuring that the state remains peaceful and crime-free even in the face of the ravaging virus,’’ it added.

Vanguard

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Many communities in Kwara South Senatorial District have been thrown into prolonged power outage for five days running.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this followed a faulty 132kv transmitter line.

A NAN correspondent in Omu-Aran who monitored the development on Saturday, reports that the issue had generated tension in the area and also compounded the effects of the sit-at-home directive over COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the affected communities such as Omu-Aran, Offa, Erin-Ile, Ijagbo, Ajase-Ipo, Oke-onigbin, Oro, Iloffa, Odo-Owa, Osi and some parts of Kogi, Osun and Ondo were known to enjoy relative regular power supply before the recent total outage.

Some of the residents, in their separate remarks, expressed disappointment over the sudden power outage, lamenting that such happened without prior notice from the electricity management.

Mr Peter Olubukola, an auto spare parts dealer, expressed disappointment over the breakdown in communication between electricity consumers and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over the power outage.

“First of all, the power outage coming at this time of COVID-19 pandemic is like adding salt to injury.

“The most annoying aspect is the confusion it has generated because of the lack of communication and understanding on what actually led to the outage.

“Some people were even insinuating sabotage on the part of the company until recently, we learnt through the social media that it was a technical fault.

“I think the company needs to evolve a better way of handling such situation positively in the future,” Olubukola said.

READ ALSO: Leakage: Emergency responders battle to avert pipeline explosion in Mosan, Lagos

Mrs Ashiat Adebayo, a cold room operator in Offa, in her remarks, said the outage had affected her business negatively as she could not afford the cost of running on electricity generator over the prolonged power outage.

“My cold room business have been negatively affected by the prolonged power outage since it started on Tuesday.

“Even for the fact that we are allowed to operate to serve the people following the sit-at-home directive over the Coronavirus outbreak.

“We only hope and pray that the electricity company puts in their best to ensure that power is restored as soon as possible because people are tired of the situation,” she said.

Mr James Abiodun, a Community Leader in Osi, appealed to the people in the affected areas to cooperate with the electricity management in finding solution to the recent power outage.

“I’m appealing to our people, especially the youth, to please exercise restraint and allow the IBEDC management find solution to the power problem so that electricity can be restored as soon as possible.

“We should not because of this take law into our hands. We all know that we have a critical situation on our hands before the sudden power outage which we must not allow to escalate.

“Let’s be law abiding and patriotic citizens,” Abiodun added.

Mr Kola Alege, IBEDC Business Manager, Omu-Aran Business Hub, said the company was working assiduously to ensure the restoration of electricity in the affected communities.

Alege expressed the company’s gratitude to the affected consumers for their patience and understanding.

“Our men are working round the clock. It’s a kind of technical problem but hopefully very soon electricity will be restored,” he said.

A team of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and IBEDC is working earnestly to restore electricity back to the affected communities. (NAN)

VANGUARD

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The Osun State Government has disclosed that only a returnee among the isolated coronavirus victim in Ejigbo is missing against the six earlier reported by the media.

It stated the headcount of the returnees in the isolation centre revealed that only one cannot be accounted for by the officials in charge of the centre.

A statement signed by the State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode said the state government did not issue any statement to declare any six persons missing from the isolation centre.

She added that government is investigating the matter with a view to recovering the missing patient and traced all other persons the person might have had contact with.

The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to a story purporting that six persons were missing from our Isolation centre in Ejigbo.

One of the writers quoted a non-existent statement from the government to lend some measure of credibility to the story.

Nothing can be further from the truth. As a government, we have not issued any statement to confirm or deny such story. Besides, a quick check showed that the name and number of the first person on the list of the purported missing patients are indeed currently in our facility in Ejigbo.

Recall that about a week ago, we received 127 returnees from Ivory Coast and we have kept them since then to avoid community transfer of the virus.

This morning we embarked on a headcount and found out that only one person could not be accounted for by officials stationed at the Isolation centre out of the 127 persons.

The State Government is currently investigating the matter and will ensure that the missing person is brought back to the Isolation centre and we will also ensure we trace all his contacts.

We want to reiterate that any official(s) found culpable will also be dealt with accordingly.

We implore members of the public to discountenance the alarm being raised. We will continue to do everything to protect the lives of our citizens in this fight against Coronavirus”.