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US Secretary Of State Visits Nigeria, To Meet Buhari Over COVID-19 Pandemic, Insecurity

13Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Covid-19, News, Nigeria, Security

US Secretary Of State Visits Nigeria, To Meet Buhari Over COVID-19 Pandemic, Insecurity

The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will visit Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal between November 15 and 20, 2021. A statement by the US Embassy in Abuja on Friday noted that Blinken would, during the visit, advance US-Africa collaboration on shared global priorities, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic and building back to a more inclusive global economy, combating climate crisis, revitalising democracies and advancing peace and security. Read Also: We Trekked For Hours, Ate Like Slaves – UNIABUJA Kidnap Victims It stated that Blinken would begin his trip in Nairobi, where he would meet with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Raychelle Omamo. The statement added, “Secretary Blinken will then travel to Abuja, ...

Vaccination Not Compulsory For Civil Servants – FG

15Oct

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

Covid-19, News, Nigeria

Vaccination Not Compulsory For Civil Servants – FG

Federal Government has explained that taking the COVID-19 vaccine is a choice and not a compulsory exercise, even though it is expected that every Nigerian should get vaccinated against the dreaded COVID-19 virus. The explanation came against the backdrop of criticisms that followed media reports that effective December 1, 2021, federal civil servants would be expected to present their vaccine cards or risk not being allowed into their workplaces. Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, at a press conference, yesterday, in Abuja, however, clarified that federal civil servants were not under obligation to take the vaccine, but that they must show negative COVID-19 PCR test. “The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC), on W...

COVID: FG Removes South Africa, Brazil, Turkey From Travel Restriction List

14Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Covid-19, News, Nigeria

COVID: FG Removes South Africa, Brazil, Turkey From Travel Restriction List

The federal government says it has taken South Africa, Brazil and Turkey off the list of countries from which travellers are restricted from entering Nigeria. Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential steering committee (PSC) on COVID-19, disclosed this on Wednesday at a media briefing in Abuja. The federal government had, in June, added South Africa to the list of countries from which travellers are restricted from entering Nigeria — over the high infection rates recorded in the affected countries. Speaking at the briefing, Mustapha also said a revised protocol for international travel will be released within the next 24 hours. Read Also: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Drops After Six Months – New Study “Over several months, four countries were placed on high level...

FG Stopped Residency Payment After Strike Suspension – NARD

12Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Labour, News, Nigeria

FG Stopped Residency Payment After Strike Suspension – NARD

A fresh crisis may be brewing between the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors and the Federal Government as the association accused the government of already deviating from the understanding reached before it suspended its strike last week. This was as the association also accused the government of causing confusion among its members and suspending the payment of the Medical Residency Training Funds The National President of NARD, Dr Dare Ishaya, disclosed this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja on Monday. But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said there was no truth in the claim Reports last week said that the association, after interventions by the Nigerian Medical Association, suspended its industrial action with the aim of holding a meeting of th...

No Plans To Return Overseas For Another Surgery – Tinubu

9Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria

No Plans To Return Overseas For Another Surgery – Tinubu

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, says he underwent surgery on his right knee as well as rigorous post-surgery physiotherapy on the said knee during his medical trip abroad. Tinubu according to a statement on Friday, claimed that he had no other surgical procedures “and contemplates none in the future.” The APC chieftain returned to Nigeria on Friday after spending months overseas for medical care. In the released by his media office on Friday, Tinubu said he was back and “fully committed to doing his modest part of advancing the cause of progressive democratic good governance throughout our beloved nation”. “His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, returned to the country, landing in Lagos Friday evening, Octob...

FG Allocates N5.9tn To Education, Health, Defence, Infrastructure

9Oct

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

Economy, Nigeria, Security

FG Allocates N5.9tn To Education, Health, Defence, Infrastructure

The Federal Government has allocated the sum of N5.93tn to critical sectors of the economy including defence, health, education and infrastructure. According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the Federal Government prioritised defence and infrastructure sectors in the 2022 budget by allocating N2.41tn and N1.45tn to these sectors respectively, which represent N15 per cent and N8.9 per cent of the total budget. Ahmed disclosed this at the “Public Presentation and Breakdown of the Highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill’’ held in Abuja on Friday. She noted that the N2.14tn allocated to the defence and security sectors includes recurrent and capital expenditure for the Military, Police, Intelligence and Para-Miltary. Some of the projects tha...

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Drops After Six Months – New Study

6Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Covid-19, News, Nigeria

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Drops After Six Months – New Study

A study has revealed that the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech SE vaccine drops in preventing infection by the coronavirus to 47% from 88% six months after the second dose, Reuters reports. This was disclosed according to data published on Monday that the United States health agencies considered when taking decisions on the need for booster shots. The data, which was published in the Lancet medical journal, had been previously issued in August ahead of peer review. Also, the vaccine's effectiveness showed that the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalisation and death remained high at 90% for at least six months, even against the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. The data suggests that the drop is due to decreasing efficacy, rather than more conta...

How Firewood Smoke Kills 90,000 Nigerians Annually – Minister

6Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Environment, News, Nigeria

How Firewood Smoke Kills 90,000 Nigerians Annually – Minister

The federal government has said that more than 90,000 people, mainly women and children, die annually from smoke and other complications from firewood. The Minister for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed that 70 percent of Nigeria's population still depends solely on fuel wood in meeting their energy needs for cooking and heating. This was said at the 2021 Nigeria clean cooking forum with which was tagged, “Clean Cooking Energy for All in Nigeria – Achieving the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).” According to Ikeazor, “If current policies are allowed to continue; by 2030, 60 per cent or more of all households in Nigeria will still be cooking with traditional biomass. Dependency on biomass for cooking and or heating purposes increases pressure on local natural resource...

Resident doctors call off strike, to resume Wednesday

4Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Labour, News, Nigeria

Resident doctors call off strike, to resume Wednesday

The National Association of Resident Doctors has suspended its nationwide strike. The strike which began on August 2 has been suspended with effect from 8am, Wednesday, according to the President of the association, Dr Godiya Ishaya. Ishaya, in an interview with our correspondent, said, “We are suspending the strike for six weeks to give room for movement in some of the items we noticed a stalemate. There was a stalemate in the enrollment of our members into the IPPIS and payment of their areas. Read also: I’m Healthy, Just Undergoing Therapy – Tinubu “The government was invoking the trade dispute article 41, that is the ‘no work, no pay.’ And since they have been enrolled into IPPIS, it means there was not going to be any salary into their accounts. Without them being paid, th...

I’m Healthy, Just Undergoing Therapy – Tinubu

3Oct

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria

I’m Healthy, Just Undergoing Therapy – Tinubu

The National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in a video, said he was healthy but only undergoing physiotherapy in London. He said this while addressing the members of the House of Representatives from the north who paid him a visit in London. Tinubu, who was dressed in Kaftan and a red cap, has been in the United Kingdom for about three months after undergoing knee surgery. He however described the physiotherapy as gruesome. “Because of God and people like you, I am well. It is just the physio (physiotherapy) that is gruesome,” he added. Tinubu’s health had become a subject of controversy of late but in a statement on July 31, 2021, his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, said though the former governor was out of Nigeria, he was not hospitalised as cl...