MONDAY 6TH APRIL 2020

Report Forecasts 20% Drop in Diaspora Remittances Obinna Chima A Pan-African credit rating agency, Agusto & Co, has predicted a 20 per cent drop in Diaspora remittances to Nigeria from $25 billion recorded last year to $20 billion this year.

However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had said that it did not have any record of remittances exceeding $3 billion, implying that the figures contained in several reports, including the latest by Agusto & Co must be based on other data sources.

It attributed the projected reduction to COVID-19 fallout, which has caused severe disruptions in the global economy.

The Lagos-based firm, in a report titled: “COVID-19 in Nigeria: Economic Perspectives and Mitigating the Risks,” also

anticipated that the effects of the pandemic could place the naira under strain.

“Our prognosis also indicates that with an economic crisis in several western nations, Nigeria could see a slowdown for the first time in over a decade in

workers’ remittances.

“We are forecasting a 20 per cent drop in the diaspora remittances to $20 billion from $25 billion in the prior year further placing the naira under strain.

“While we do acknowledge that the country’s import

bill will drop owing to the distortions in local and global economic activities, we do not believe that this will provide sufficient support for the naira,” it explained.

Agusto & Co stated that the Continued on page 9

NCC, ATCON Refute Claims 5G Responsible for Pandemic... Page 5 Monday 6 April, 2020 Vol 25. No 9128. Price: N250

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NMA, TUC Reject FG’s Plan to Invite Chinese Doctors to Fight COVID-19 Confirmed cases rise to 232, five deaths Lagos discharges 10-year-old, four others Osun releases index patient, 110 Ivorian returnees Africa CDC warns doctors against prescribing Chloroquine UBTH confirms three cases, isolates 24 health workers Chiemelie Ezeobi, Segun James, Emma Okonji, Martins Ifijeh, Rebecca Ejifoma in Lagos and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have rejected the plan by the federal government to invite Chinese doctors to assist in tackling the COVID-19 scourge in the country.

This development is coming as the Lagos State Government has discharged a 10-year-old and four other COVID-19 patients from the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba.

Nigeria has, however, recorded 18 new cases, bringing to 232 the total number of confirmed cases in the country.

Five of the 232 have died while 33 have been discharged.

Continued on page 9

Foodstuffs' Prices Soar as Lockdown Bites Harder Lamentation over inadequate palliatives

Our Correspondents Prices of foodstuffs and other essential goods have gone up with residents of locked down states, particularly the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Lagos State reeling under the effects of the one-week old total restriction to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A survey carried out by THISDAY in different parts

of Lagos State showed that the prices of staple items such as rice, yams and garri rose by between 80 and120 per cent.

For instance, at the market in front of the Lagos State Housing Estate at Abesan, Ipaja, the price for an average tuber of yam, selling for between N400 and N500 before the lockdown, has jumped to between N1,000 and Continued on page 10

DEFENDING THE ECONOMY...

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (left), and President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, during a meeting with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; and the Director-General, Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, on the review of 2020 Budget in Abuja…weekend

Tension in Plateau over Gunmen's Occupation of Villages... Page 8

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Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike

Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

NCC, ATCON Refute Claims 5G Responsible for Pandemic Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), have debunked public speculations that the deployment of Fifth Generation Mobile network technology, otherwise known as 5G Network in China and in a few other developed countries of the world, could be responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

They called on Nigerians not to allow such speculations to create additional fear in them as the world struggles to contain the spread of the virus. 5G network is an improvement on the existing 2G, 3G and 4G technologies that have already been deployed globally, including in Nigeria for internet connectivity via mobile phones and other computing devices.

However, as technology advances, China became the first country to deploy the 5G technology, while other countries, including Nigeria, are making preparations to deploy the new technology, which comes with higher speed of internet connectivity. But there are widespread speculations that the switching on of 5G in China may have led to the release of strong electromagnetic emissions from its network, which triggered COVID-19.

According to the claim, the

reactions of the electromagnetic emissions are responsible for the creation of the virus that was first discovered in Wuhan, an industrial city in China. However, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity at NCC, Mr. Bako Wakil, told THISDAY that there were no scientific studies to show that electromagnetic emissions from telecoms facilities, including mobile phones, could cause health hazard to humans.

He, therefore, called on Nigerians to discard the speculations. Also, ATCON President, Mr. Olusola Teniola, in his video message that has gone viral on social media, dismissed the speculations that the switching on of 5G technology in China was responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Teniola said: “5G is a technology being developed to help the world harness the digital resources for our general wellbeing. The message trending on social media that 5G is responsible for the formation of COVID-19, is designed to deceive the world and should be disregarded.” The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ibrahim Pantami, in a statement issued at the weekend had also debunked any linkage between 5G and COVID-19.

“The attention of my office

has been drawn to the public concern about the health implications of the deployment of Fifth Generation Mobile Networks (5G) in Nigeria.

Based on available records at my office and the earlier report received from the regulator, I would like to clarify as follows: The National Frequency Management Council (NFMC),

of which I am the Chairman, has not deliberated on or released any bulk frequency spectrum for the deployment of 5G; No licence has been issued for the deployment of 5G in the country. A three-month study trial commenced on the 25th of November, 2019 in order to critically review and study the health and security implications

of deploying 5G in Nigeria.

"As part of the study trial process, I directed the NCC to ensure that a team of experts, security agencies and other stakeholders fully participate in the trial process and my office also invited these agencies to participate in the trial. "The trial process has been concluded and the study and reporting process

is currently ongoing,” Pantami said. He assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari would not do anything to jeopardise their welfare, health and security.

According to the minister, the federal government will take an informed decision on 5G after due consultation with experts and the public.

CLERGYMEN JOIN THE FIGHT...

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Mr. Olu Victor; the Senior Pastor, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; and Assistant Divisional Head of Media, Mrs. Yemisi Famuyiwa, at a press conference on COVID 19 and the role of Church, by the senior pastor in Lagos… yesterday

ASUU, FG to Strike Deal Soon

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government may likely be resolved as soon as the country-wide lockdown caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 ends, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

An indication to this emerged at the weekend as both sides appeared to share similar views on the need for concessions following the impacts of COVID-19, which cut across every sector of the country's economy.

The reconciliatory tone came just as ASUU said that its members in the Chemistry and Pharmacy departments at the various universities in the country have teamed up to support the campaign against the virus by initiating the production and distribution of hand sanitizers and other protective materials.

ASUU, whose members embarked on an indefinite strike action few days before the federal government closed educational institutions as part of measures to contain the virus, said at the weekend that it did not rule out the possibility of concessions.

In the same vein, THISDAY gathered from a top official of the Federal Ministry of Finance that the federal government will most likely

release the withheld salaries of ASUU members as a form of olive branch to quicken the resolution of the crisis in the education sector.

THISDAY reliably gathered that before talks broke down between the two sides last month, the federal government had made offers to ASUU. President of the union, Prof.

Biodun Ogunyemi, who spoke to THISDAY in a telephone interview at the weekend said the union understood the precarious position the country had found itself and that it would be open to dialogue to resolve the issues.

"We are not oblivious of what is happening in our country and across the globe regarding the economic downturn that followed this COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the issue of whether we are going to give concession or not is something that has to be discussed at the negotiating table," he said.

On whether he could suggest concessions that may lead to the resolution of the dispute, Ogunyemi said: "It is not within my powers as an individual to say whether we will offer concession or not but I believe that our union is a reasonable one and they are welcome to all possibilities.

The way to achieve that is not by one side dictating to the other. It has to be a negotiated position."

When asked if the lecturers would consider discontinuing the indefinite strike action as an offer of olive branch following the burden the country had been put to by the virus outbreak, Ogunyemi also said: "I am not in a position to determine that but what is on the ground now is that the crisis that had emerged because of the COVID-19 attack had shown us that we should be part of the process of finding solutions and we are playing our part. Almost every branch of ASUU is coming up with its intervention programme in terms of information, education and communication as well as donation of materials.

We have mandated every branch to start the production of hand sanitizers, and television jingles, printing and distribution of handbills and posters produced in local languages. Even we are producing face masks to give to people in our locality and every branch is doing that," he said.

The ASUU president said its branches at the Universities of Ibadan, Jos, Maiduguri and Akure had all commenced production of hand sanitizers and are distributing them to members of the public.

He also said that members of ASUU in various branches had been donating materials through the state governors

to help in the containment of the COVID-19.

"This is to prove that our members are participating in finding solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic but that is not to say that we still don't have issues with government.

They are two separate things; this one is a global crisis and we are part of the global community standing with our national community.

"The issue we have with government now is that for two months, federal government had withheld our salaries. They are doing sectional payment of salaries to those they think were cooperating with them. But that will not stop us from doing what we are doing.

However, the most important thing is that we want it to be in the public space that ASUU is playing an active role in the present health crisis.

As to what will happen to the indefinite strike by our members depends on the way government handles the whole issue.

"If you owe people two, three months salaries and you are not talking about it, I think the whole world will help judge the situation," he said.

A source from the Federal Ministry of Finance, who spoke to THISDAY during the weekend said that what would likely happen is that

both ASUU and the federal government’s negotiating teams would have to sit down at a dialogue table and redesign the way forward.

He said the thinking of government was that the outbreak of the pandemic and its far-reaching economic and social implications had left difficult options for everyone, ASUU inclusive.

"You know we are now entering another phase of our national life and government and ASUU will have to do the needful.

"I think every stakeholder must be ready to make sacrifices so that the universities and indeed other sectors of our national life can recuperate from the damages already inflicted by COVID-19 pandemic, " he said.

Before the lockdown that led to the closure of all schools nationwide, ASUU had declared an indefinite strike action to protest the stoppage of its members' salaries and the directive by government forcing them to enroll with the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

ASUU also revisited its agreement with the federal government in February 2019 and demanded that all aspects of the deal not implemented should be religiously implemented.

Apart from asking for

18 months’ time-frame to develop its own alternative salary payment system, the University Transparency and Accountability System (UTAS), the union also demanded a phased release of N1.1 trillion for revitalisation of universities and N220 billion as arrears of earned academic allowances to its members said to have accumulated from the original agreement it had with federal government in 2009.

However, on its part, the federal government urged ASUU members to enroll on IPPIS while waiting for the full development of UTAS. The government side further promised that ASUU members will be migrated to UTAS whenever it is fully developed.

THISDAY learnt that the federal government had offered to release N20 billion to federal universities as a show of good faith. The amount is to be released by the ministry of finance before the end of May. On Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) government pledged to work towards meeting what was due for payment as at November, 2019.

Accordingly, the federal government proposed to also release another N20 billion before April 15 for the payment of EAA. It reassured the lecturers that no one will miss their legitimate earnings if he enrolls on IPPIS platform.

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Tension in Plateau over Gunmen's Occupation of Villages Clamour for settlement fuels fresh banditry in Sokoto Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto Tension has gripped Jos, the Plateau State capital, following the renewed killing of villagers and the forcible occupation of their ancestral homes by gunmen whose target is believed to be the takeover of the state capital, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

This is coming as the clamour by different armed gangs for recognition and settlement by the Sokoto State Government has fuelled fresh banditry in the state.

Following the killing of 29 people in Sokoto and Plateau states by gunmen, President Muhammadu Buhari, at the weekend, had ordered the Nigerian Army to assist the police to flush out the bandits from the forests of the two states.

Stakeholders in the affected communities around Jos, who spoke to THISDAY, expressed concerns about the mission of the gunmen who have refused to embrace efforts by the government to restore peace to the state.

They alleged that the attackers, who are called “unknown gunmen”, are now building new houses, occupying the villages they attacked and rearing cattle on their farmlands.

THISDAY gathered that the situation is even worse in Barkin-Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas where over 30 villages that were previously attacked have been taken over and occupied by the attackers that now graze on the lands of the victims.

The leaders of the affected communities told THISDAY that the ultimate aim of the attackers is to take over the entire Plateau State, adding that after chasing away and occupying the villages around Jos, they will finally overrun the state capital.

Lamenting the attacks and occupation of villages in Riyom Local Government Area, the lawmaker representing the constituency, Hon. Timothy Dantong, told THISDAY that over 30 villages that were attacked had been occupied by Fulani herders, adding that they are now no-go areas for the original owners of the land.

He said: “When they attack, kill and chase the people away, they take over their homes and farmlands, and the people cannot go back to their villages, yet they are described as unknown gunmen.”

He charged the state government to be more serious in dealing with the crisis, adding that he has proposed a bill to protect the property of people in internally displaced people (IDP) camps to the state House of Assembly.

According to him, if passed into law, the original owners of land will still be able to repossess their lands.

Also speaking on the issue, the lawmaker representing Barkin-Ladi in the state House of Assembly, Mr. Peter Gyendeng, said Gashish, Ropp and a few other villages were being occupied by the attackers.

“This is known to everyone, including government.

“In fact, government even promised to establish a mobile police barracks in Gashish after the people were attacked and over 200 persons were killed in 2018, but as I speak with you nothing has been done about it.

“These are the issues that we keep talking. These attackers called unknown gunmen are now building new houses and occupying the villages they attacked and chased the people from, and they rear their cattle on their farmlands," he added.

He said the military task force had made effort to send the attackers away and re-settle the people to their ancestral homes, but that had not yielded much result yet.

Reacting to the killing of over 10 people in Bassa Local Government Area in the past one week, the President of Irigwe Development Association, Mr. Sunday Abdu, said the ultimate aim of the attackers was to annihilate his people.

“Truth is, recently the land has not known peace owing to the wicked activities of herdsmen who have continued to destroy farmlands in an attempt to weaken the economic life of our people.

More worrisome is the loss of lives to this senseless campaign of calumny.

“While our people have

continued to remain indoors and law abiding in the wake of the national outcry over the COVID-19, the assailant Fulani herdsmen have continued each day within the last two weeks, to visit us with mayhem,” he said.

He said Ancha, Hukke, Gbra-zongu, Kpenrie, and Nkyiedongwro communities had been under siege in the past two weeks following sustained attacks by the herders.

He explained that rather than reinforcing security agents to the area, the military task force that should do so withdrew its men after two soldiers were killed in one of the attacks.

“It has been over a week since the withdrawal of the soldiers and here we are with a resumption of hostilities on our soil. We are confused and do not know what to make of this reality. That these atrocities have resumed, is the more reason we need security presence in our land.

“It must be noted that even in the North-east, which has been the theatre of war with some losses incurred by the military, never is the army withdrawn. Why has our case been different? Are we to think that we are paying the price for a crime that the Fulani herdsmen committed by killing the two soldiers in question?

“We are deeply concerned about the obvious silence of the Plateau State government over this resumed hostilities on our soil. Is the government so concerned about the raging COVID-19 pandemic that we are almost abandoned to the gruesome activities of the Fulani marauders? If the government does not rise up to tackle this challenge, Irigwe land would be wiped off even before the COVID-19 comes close to the state.

“We want to sincerely appeal to the military authorities to please, as a matter of concern and urgency, redeploy personnel to resume security duties in our land. If during their presence the assailants dared launched attacks on our communities, what more now that they are withdrawn?

We are tempted to feel that this withdrawal of troops may have given impetus to the rampaging herdsmen to continue or escalate their campaign of blood-sucking.

We therefore appeal that the authorities to immediately respond to our cry by returning the personnel,” he stated.

Clamour for Settlement Fuels Fresh Banditry in Sokoto

Meanwhile, the clamour by different armed gangs for recognition and settlement by the Sokoto State Government has fuelled fresh banditry in the state.

THISDAY gathered that armed groups who want to benefit from the state government’s largesse have launched fresh attacks to attract government’s attention.

The development, it was learnt, confirmed the fears of security experts who had faulted the amnesty proposed by the state governor and other North-west governors for bandits terrorising the region.

Some security experts said the gesture would cause more harms than good as it would encourage more lazy and unemployed youths to take to banditry.

Banditry in the region first started in Zamfara and Kaduna States before it spread to Katsina and Sokoto States .

In Sokoto State, the committee set up by the state government and headed by the Commissioner for Security Matters, Col. Moyi Garba (rtd), had recommended that repentant bandits be given cattle as loan and some money to engage in animal husbandry.

The committee also recommended that schools should be built at the rehabilitation

centres set up for the repentant bandits to enable their children to have access to Western education.

Following these recommendations, the state government met with leaders of the bandits and they agreed to drop their arms and embrace the amnesty offered with its packages.

The gesture yielded results, which led to the release of the captives and the surrender of weapons by the bandits .

But in order to enjoy these benefits offered the repentant bandits last year, THISDAY gathered that other armed groups have launched renewed attacks to draw the attention of the state government.

Investigation revealed that these armed gangs display arms at various markets of Isa, Sabon Birni , Bale, and Tangaza unchallenged.

“The renewed attacked is a result of new group of bandits seeking recognition. It is also as a result of infiltration of the bandits from Niger, Zamfara to the state,” a top official of the state government told THISDAY at the weekend.

Few days ago, the bandits killed 22 people and injured scores in Gangara village in Sabon Birni LGA of the state.

INCIDENT COMMANDER SPEAKS...

L-R: Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Commander, Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Apapa, Commodore Ibrahim Shettima, during a media briefing after the State Security Council meeting in Lagos...weekend

Jonathan Faults Campbell’s Claim on 2011 Presidential Poll Ejiofor Alike Former President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected the allegation by a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, that the 2011 presidential election won by him was rigged.

In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, the former president stated that “Campbell styles himself as a ‘Nigeria expert’ at the Council for Foreign Relations, but in truth, he is regarded as a figure of ridicule in Nigeria for his postulations, which have repeatedly and consistently proven to be way off the mark.

“How he can continue to make pretensions to be an expert on Nigeria beats our imagination.

Besides serving as a diplomat in his country's embassy in our dear country, what other competences

does Campbell possess to qualify as a Nigeria expert?"

Jonathan added that Campbell has continued to deploy “his half-baked knowledge of the nation’s political environment and his closeness to the United States power brokers not only to canvass his ill-conceived political agenda, but to also exploit some Nigerian politicians.

“For instance, because he is not well schooled in the tone and nuances of Nigerian politics, he had no way of knowing that the riots he cited in some cities in the north following the 2011 presidential election had nothing to do with his claims on rigging.

Otherwise, why would Bauchi and Kano States, where former President Jonathan had only 16 per cent and 15 per cent of votes, witness the worst riots?”

The former president explained that the 2011 presidential election

was adjudged by both local and international observers, including the Commonwealth Election Monitoring Group and even the US contingent of both the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, as the most credible and transparent elections in Nigeria, since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

Jonathan said the chair of the Commonwealth Election Observer Group, former Botswana President Festus Mogae, had said on April 18, 2011, that the 2011 Nigerian elections discarded the notion that the country can only hold flawed elections.

"Previously held notions that Nigeria can only hold flawed elections are now being discarded and this country can now shake off that stigma and redeem its image,” Jonathan quoted Mogae

as saying.

He added that the 2011 elections saw a 75 per cent reduction in election petition cases in Nigeria, adding that the United States Institute for Peace described the elections as the best run election in Nigeria’s history.

“Nigeria’s 2011 general elections—in particular the presidential election—were seen widely as being well-run. This was especially important, given the universally decried elections of 2007,” he stated.

Jonathan also recalled that on December 29, 2011, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, declared that he was validly elected.

“It is important to note that this was a seven-man panel and there was no dissenting judgment. The verdict had no such precedent in Nigeria’s political history,”

Jonathan added.

He said he was known for his ‘one-man, one-vote, one-woman, one-vote, one-youth one -vote’ policy.

Jonathan also recalled that before the 2011 elections, he had said his ambition was not worth the blood of any citizen, adding that he was guided by that creed throughout the electoral process.

He said he was also on record to have publicly called on the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to even attempt to rig for him, stating that he was a pencil in God’s hands.

“There is no doubt that Nigerians above 45 years witnessed the past six presidential elections in the country- 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 - and are in a better position than Campbell to objectively

appraise the processes. Today, our compatriots are focusing on such issues as electronic voting and complete independence of the electoral body INEC, as a way of strengthening our democracy, ahead of the next general elections. Anyone who means well for the country’s democracy should rather focus his attention on perspectives that could illuminate this path, not offer jaundiced and self-serving opinions on a settled past.

“Perhaps this is the time to remind Campbell and other wheeling and dealing consultants like him that Nigerians have placed the 2011 elections behind them and are no longer in a position to welcome those who have nothing but sophistry to offer our citizens! As our own inimitable Fela would say, ‘Mr. Teacher don’t teach us nonsense,” Jonathan said.

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PAGE NINE NMA, TUC RE JECT FG’S PLAN TO INVITE CHINESE DOCTORS TO FIGHT COVID-19 In addition, the Osun State Government has released returnees who were isolated over uncertainty about their COVID-19 status.

The state government has also discharged the index case after the patient fully recovered from the virus.

The NMA expressed dismay over the intention of the federal government to invite Chinese doctors into the country at this time of the global pandemic, saying their presence would dampen the morale of the frontline health workforce.

"The invitation demeans their sacrifices so far in this pandemic.

We fail to see how the 18-man team would impact the current efforts in any significant way," the NMA stated in a statement issued yesterday by its President, Dr. Francis Faduyile.

The association urged the federal government to rescind the decision in the overall interest of the country.

It described the government’s move as a "thing of embarrassment to members of the NMA and other health workers who are giving their best in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic under deplorable working conditions and a fragile health system to be subjected to the ignominy of not being carried along in arriving at such a decision."

It said the association would review its participation in the fight against COVID-19 considering the grave implications and the risk to the lives of its members should the government allow the Chinese team to come to Nigeria.

It said: "The lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), grossly inadequate test kits and test centres across the country and the absolute lack of any form of insurance for the workforce are primordial issues begging for attention at this time.

"We are, therefore, profoundly dismayed to learn that the federal government is instead inviting the Chinese who from available accounts are not out of the woods themselves. The spike in cases and the death toll from COVID-19 in Italy coincided with the arrival of the Chinese in the guise of offering assistance. Even the United Nations has only just recently commended the efforts of Nigeria so far."

The NMA expressed concern that the government did not take into consideration the extant laws regulating the practice of medicine in Nigeria as enshrined in the Medical and Dental Council Act, adding that the

Medical and Dental Council of Nigerian should have been consulted to grant necessary approvals to foreigners to interact with Nigerian patients.

It stated that while the association appreciates the commendable work done by doctors and health workers at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the various isolation centres nationwide, it expected the government to show appreciation by channeling the available resources and donations to improving testing facilities to detect more cases and ramp up capacity to train more workers.

According to Faduyile, NMA is aware of a large pool of general medical and specialist practitioners who are either unemployed or underemployed that can be engaged instead of bringing foreigners who aside from national security concerns may not be conversant with the country’s culture, terrain and peculiar challenges.

NMA said: "The association believes that this invitation is ill-timed and of no overbearing significance considering that whatever experiences the Chinese have can be shared by digital technology through conferencing bearing in mind that Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu has only just returned from China.

“We are not averse to the donation of equipment and supplies because we can always do with such support as even the developed countries receive support.

"In rejecting the invitation of the Chinese doctors, the NMA would instead urge the federal government to review and approve better welfare incentives to the frontline medical personnel. The provision of adequate personal protective equipment, opening and properly equipping more isolation centres and health facilities across the country is an excellent first step.

“Deploying more resources to facilitate testing as we are beginning to witness community transmission of COVID 19 is equally a better application of scarce resources.”

It advised the government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector and use the opportunity to fix the health institutions as a matter of urgency in a bid to stem the rot.

"The NMA urges the government to expand the Presidential Task Force to include other critical stakeholders, including journalists and the civil society to ensure more robust engagement, especially as the decisions of the task

force has implications for the health, wealth and security of our country.”

Toeing the same line, the TUC urged the federal government to drop the idea of inviting the Chinese doctors.

The union said the move would not be necessary since Nigerian doctors were capable of combating the pandemic.

In a statement issued yesterday by its President, Mr. Quadri Olaleye, and the Secretary-General, Mr. MusaLawal Ozigi, the union said the minimal number of infection and deaths was a proof that the country was not doing badly in the handling of the situation.

"Truly, the Chinese authorities have done well by not recording more cases in their country. It is novel and also shows how proactive and committed they are to the crises. That notwithstanding, we insist that we do not need them now; rather we shall continue to adhere to the precautions reeled out by the health professionals to make the job easy," it said.

The TUC also noted the debate about the connection between 5G network and the virus.

It said: "Although the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim, in a statement has said no licence had been issued as regards 5G in Nigeria, but at the same time we saw an official letter from a telco company notifying Nigerians that they are the first in West Africa to conduct a trial on 5G technology.

"That makes it a bit confusing.

We would want the federal government to set up a committee of professionals to research on the development as it will help to address the fears of many Nigerians. We must collectively work to ensure the welfare, health, and security of Nigerians are not taken for granted. We must be circumspect now."

Lagos Discharges 10-year-old, Four Other Patients The Lagos State Government has discharged a 10-year-old and four other COVID-19 patients at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba.

This brings to 29 the number of COVID-19 patients who have fully recovered and have been discharged after testing negative for the virus.

Announcing the patients' discharge yesterday, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said: "Today, I

am happy to inform you that five more patients, comprising two males and three females, including a 10-year-old girl, have tested negative twice for COVID-19 "These five patients have been discharged to reunite with their families. This brings to a total of 29, the number of patients who have fully recovered and have been discharged from our facility at Yaba."

He said although there was a strong indication that the state was winning the battle against COVID-19, it was imperative that residents remained steadfast to curtail the spread.

"I strongly advise that we continue to observe social distancing. Let us stay at home and stay safe to save lives,” Sanwo-Olu stated, adding: "I want to also use this opportunity to advise Lagosians against stigmatising the discharged patients. We need to do all we can to support them to get over the experience as soon as possible."

Sanwo-Olu also announced the death of a victim of the pandemic in the state, lamenting, however, the death of the patient, which brought to two, the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had earlier yesterday tweeted that a 36-year-old man died of the virus in the state.

He said the Nigerian died on Saturday in a private facility.

Abayomi confirmed the death as the second virus fatality recorded in Lagos.

distancing in the fight against COVID-19.

Videos of Akindele carrying out her ambassadorial work by campaigning for good hygiene and social distancing had also surfaced, making a mockery of the party she held to celebrate her husband’s birthday.

In a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), the police said the arrest was because she violated the restriction emplaced by the government.

It stated: “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command was drawn to a viral video showing a large number of persons mainly in the entertainment industry in an estate, along Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki axis, Lagos celebrating a birthday party organised by Funke Akindele Bello and her husband.

“Police detectives from the State CID Yaba were promptly drafted to the location. Funke Akindele was arrested.

“Investigation is ongoing, efforts are intensified to arrest the remaining persons in the video, among whom are Azeez Fashola a.k.a Naira Marley and Abdul Rasheed Bello a.k.a. JJC Skillz.

“They are in their best interests urged to report at the State CID Yaba on Monday or risk being declared wanted.”

Osun Discharges Index Case, Releases 110 Ivorian Returnees

Also yesterday in Lagos, the police arrested Nollywood actress, Ms. Funke Akindele, popularly called Jenifa, for violating the stay-at-home restrictions placed by the federal government.

The police also urged her husband, Mr. Abdul Bello, popularly known as JJC Skillz, and another artist, Mr. Azeez Fashola, a.k.a Naira Marley, to report to the station today or risk being declared wanted.

The actress and her husband had hosted family and friends to a birthday party at their Amen Estate residence in Lagos.

Nigerians had flayed Akindele for her role in the party given that she was an ambassador of NCDC and Dettol, two organisations promoting social

Meanwhile, the Osun State Government has also discharged the index case in the state and released 110 Ivorian returnees who were isolated over uncertainty about their COVID-19 status.

The Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, told reporters in Osogbo that 127 persons from Cote d’Ivoire, who came into the state recently have all been tested, adding that 17 of them tested positive for the virus.

“Upon their arrival in the state, as a proactive measure, we immediately quarantined them at an isolation centre in Ejigbo.

“We later discovered upon profiling that some of these returnees are indigenes and residents of other states such as Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, Edo, Delta, and Abia, among others.

Of the 127 isolated and tested returnees, 17 tested positive for COVID-19 while 110 returned negative. Of the 17, we also have persons from other states,” he said.

2020 and into 2021.

It said supply chains across the country would also be affected by the lockdown in Lagos.

While it acknowledged the stimulus package offered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to businesses, it called for more concerted efforts between fiscal and monetary authorities on a broader stimulus package.

“We believe Nigeria’s dire economic situation (preCOVID19) characterised by a two per cent post-recession GDP growth leaves the country in a bigger economic morass.

“This implies businesses will require a bigger fiscal stimulus package to sail through these times. The major effects of COVID-19 will be the uncertainty and unpredictability of events in the business environment.

Despite the deluge of risks, opportunities abound.

“We believe a few industries are set for strong growth as a result of the pandemic. Firstly, the increasing spate of global lockdowns also brings the subject of food security to the core. We believe the agricultural sector, especially grains and other

staples (particularly locally grown rice), is in a strong position to grow as food demand spikes from panic buying.

“Working remotely implies that several white-collar professionals will consume more internet data for work and virtual meetings leading to a spike in demand for data.

Even beyond the white-collar segments, we note that more telecoms consumers will spend more time on social media and other streaming apps at this time.

“We believe these trends will help drive growth in the telecommunications industry in 2020 through to 2021. "The home and personal care industry, especially for players who have been able to adapt rapidly to the spike in demand for hand wash and sanitisers, could also see record growths in revenue. “The grocery focused supermarkets also represent a bright spot for the times. The rush to stock-up on groceries by households has been the major driver of growth for this segment of the economy.

"Overall, at Agusto Consulting, we believe this time shall pass and eventually fade into folklore,” it added.

Lagos Police Arrests Funke Akindele for Violating Restriction Orders

REPORT FORECASTS 20% DROP IN DIASPORA REMITTANCES pandemic’s effects on economic activities and businesses in Nigeria would be dire.

It stated that with governments of some of the world’s major economies enforcing lockdowns and the slump in international travels and local commute, the consumption of energy has shrunk materially, which has led to a supply glut in the crude oil market.

It also noted that ego battles between Saudi Arabia and the Russians have led to the deterioration of the oil market and worsening the situation.

It added: “Crude oil represents about 95 per cent of Nigeria’s export revenues and a downturn in the market for the commodity always has a ripple effect on the economy.

“These shocks tend to spook the foreign exchange market leading to a depreciation of the naira and reactive demand management by the central bank to conserve foreign reserves. In January this year, the price of Bonny Light, the major variant of Nigeria’s crude production, averaged over $60 per barrel but had lost more than half that value by the end of the quarter.

“Our preliminary forecasts have been built around an average price of $35 per barrel for the rest of 2020. Under this scenario, Nigeria’s oil & gas export proceeds may fall by half in 2020 to $25 billion on a year-on-year basis ($50 billion; 2019). This has led to genuine concerns not only for the naira, but also the fiscal position of the federal government,” it added.

The firm anticipated that the naira may also come under pressure due to the slump in crude oil prices.

It explained that Lagos and Abuja are currently under an unprecedented lockdown that could last for as long as two weeks, at a minimum.

However, it noted that other sections of the country “such as Port Harcourt, the oil and gas capital of the country, akin to Texas in the US, are also under some form of lockdown.

“The lockdown of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, effectively crimps the three largest economies in the country.

Global experts on public health and epidemiology argue that the success of the lockdowns in various countries is largely

hinged on the rate of tests for the virus and then the ability to flatten the curve.

“Nigeria is in a bit of dilemma at the moment as current benign numbers of infected persons raise a bit of scepticism due to issues around the underwhelming rate of tests currently circa 2,000.

“It is only when Nigeria ramps up the rate of tests, contact tracing, isolations (for asymptomatic patients) and treatments that the subject of flattening the curve will become valid.

“For now, without increasing test rates, it is difficult to gauge the actual number of infections in Nigeria. Thus, it may be quite premature to make a call on the success or otherwise of the ongoing lockdown and its outcome,” it said.

According to the firm, an extension of the lockdown raises the risk of a social unrest while stoking political risks.

It added that without addressing the underlying issues of tests and contact tracing, Nigeria faces an extended lockdown that could push the economy into a double-digit recession spanning beyond

The governor added that the returnees who tested positive were undergoing adequate and proper treatment at the care centre and were all stable, expressing the hope that they would soon recover safely from the virus and rejoin their families.

“The 110 whose results came back negative have been released to join their families. Among them are: 11 going to Oyo State; two are going to Lagos State; one to Ogun State; three each to Edo and Abia States; four to Delta State and one to Imo State while 85 will remain here in Osun.

“The released persons have also been advised to observe all prescribed safety and preventive measures and to contact the state if they start to feel unwell,” he said.

Confirmed Cases Rise to 232 While also giving an update yesterday on the pandemic, NCDC said 18 more persons had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total count to 232.

NCDC, in a tweet, said 11 of the cases were from Lagos, four from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), two from Edo State and one from Kaduna State.

It said: "As at 09:30 pm 5th April, there are 232 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Thirty-three have been discharged with five deaths."

A breakdown of the figure is as follows: Lagos- 120; FCT- 47; Osun- 20; Oyo- 9; Edo- 9; Bauchi- 6; Akwa Ibom- 5; Kaduna- 5; Ogun- 4; Enugu- 2; Ekiti- 2; Rivers-1; Benue- 1, and Ondo- 1.

Africa CDC Warns Doctors against Prescribing Chloroquine Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) has warned doctors not to prescribe Chloroquine for COVID-19 patients and that patients should in turn not accept such drugs from doctors.

It added that Chloroquine had the potential to cause heart problems, blindness, neurological issues as well as other forms of toxicity.

In a statement to set the record straight on the growing quest by researchers and medical personnel on the use of Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, it said it was concerned by the inaccurate information being distributed through traditional and social media regarding prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Continued on page 12

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10

MONDAY, ;˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

FG Pays N240bn for Power Not Evacuated Gas shortage continues to slow supply Iyobosa Uwugiaren and Chineme Okafor in Abuja The federal government has paid over N240 billion between 2015 and December 2019 for power generated, but not transmitted through the national grid by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for distribution, a senior government official told THISDAY at the weekend.

The payment, however, is for five power plants: AGIP, Shell, Olorunsogo, Omotosho and Azura.

Also, contrary to claims last week by the TCN that the gas supply constraint, which generation companies (Gencos) recently experienced has subsided, power supply in Nigeria has continued to be negatively impacted by gas shortage.

The source said even though the plants generated reasonable amount of power, he put what was being evacuated into the national grid for distribution at about 30 per cent.

He attributed the challenges to lack of infrastructure, sustainment and expansion.

He also added that the power distribution companies were also hugely indebted to many banks, therefore, lacking the capacity to borrow more fund for sustainment and expansion.

Responding to a question on why the huge investment in the power sector has not yielded the desired dividends, the source stated: ‘’When you talk about the monies you have invested, I like to be evidencebased on my responses. I don’t have the total money spent in the sector or how they were spent; so I don’t give blanket responses. Because I hear this all the time and in some situations it becomes a challenge to respond.

"The question requires some facts to be able to say, okay, how have you spent the money? What we have in Nigeria is about 13,500 megawatt in existing power plants. We are talking about

how much has been spent and why is there a problem.

"If you look at this, I just want to explain to us that the possible amount of electricity that you can move through this is 5,000 megawatt. If you put on the switch, you see the electricity; there’s no storage in appreciable quantity.’’

The government official explained that where the government had made investment was in transmission - that is fully owned by government.

He said: “It means that TCN should have the budget; the same thing with the distribution; we should be able to do the sustainment, and if you now have money you’re building additional lines, you’re expanding, it means that if I’m running a new line from here to Damaturu, along the line too, I may require some transformers; I may require at some point to create an injection substation, that’s expansion.

"For each of these, we must provide the funding. You know how budget is released, even if I have to do a project that is N100 billion and at the beginning of the budget I get N10 billion, it becomes a challenge, the same thing happens in distribution, now the same thing is happening in supply.

“When it comes to generation, a number of them have made a lot of investment, but even at that they need to ensure things are working. But do they have the money in each of these things they want to do?’’

According to him, the growth in demand for electricity is not at the same pace with the investment in the sector.

He added that the sector requires more funding for expansion and sustainment of infrastructure.

On the huge amount of money being paid for power generation not evacuated, the source blamed government officials who signed deals with power generating companies,

without considering the enormous difficulty awaiting the government because of their ‘’vested personal and political interests.’’

For example, the source said in 2018, some senior federal government officials branded Azura power plant as the flagship of sovereign guarantees to private sector.

But THISDAY gathered that the deal has suffered setback because of the inability of TCN to dispatch about 70 per cent of power being generated from Azura.

That means while Azura is producing power, TCN does not have the capacity to dispatch; but the federal government still pays Azura for the power because of the nature of the agreement -- paying for the gas to Azura under the "take-or-pay arrangement.”

The complaint is that those who executed the deals "knew the problems before signing the agreement with Azura,’’ that the national grid does not have the capacity to evacuate the power that is being generated

by Azura.

Already, THISDAY gathered that the federal government is obligated to pay between $30 million and $33 million monthly to Azura for power generated, even if about 70 per cent of it is not transmitted through the national grid by TCN. The interpretation is that the $33 million invoice that the federal government receives from Azura monthly, is about N8 to N9 billion, and now that dollar has appreciated, it will probably be close to N10 to N11 billion monthly.

“It means Azura will take up to what the federal government is receiving. Does it mean we won’t pay other power generation companies? That is the huge problem we are currently face.

"Nigeria also pays roughly N700 million monthly as the exchange rate differential in the deal with Azura and with the current high exchange rate, we will pay more.

Meanwhile, contrary to claims last week by the TCN that the gas supply constraint, which Gencos recently experienced has subsided and reasonable supply restored, power supply has continued to deteriorate.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has also rolled out new guidelines to forestall potential shutdown of power supply in the country as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.

According to supply statistics obtained from the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, by THISDAY, the country’s 11 Discos got an average of 4,023 megawatts (MW) of electricity daily from the national grid between March 30 and April 3.

The analysed figures also showed that the national grid lost an average of 5,090MW of electricity daily to diverse constraints, chief of which was gas supply constraint, which the TCN said has been addressed.

For instance, on Friday, the

supply statistics indicated that as much as 6,665.9MW of electricity could not get to the national grid while only 4,072.04MW was supplied.

It explained that gas, transmission and line constraints were responsible for the shortage.

Last week, the TCN said gas supply to Gencos had significantly improved and that most power plants previously experiencing gas supply shortage have started generating power to the grid.

It noted that if the gas supply trend remained healthy, the problem of gas shortage to power plants would soon be resolved and supply to Discos improved.

However, the production records stated that on March 30, the country got 4,257.23MW from the grid and lost 4,295MW out of which 3,760MW was due to gas supply limitation.

Again, on March 31, 4,152.9MW was generated to the national grid while 5,295.9MW was not, with gas supply constraint contributing 4,070MW to the constrained volume.

On April 1, it was 3,549.74MW sent to the national grid and 4,656MW unavailable with 3,468MW of that as a result of gas supply constraint.

The supplied and constrained figures for April 2 were 4,082.87MW and 4,539.3MW respectively with gas shortage contributing 3,393MW of the constrained volume of that day.

On Friday, the country’s national grid got 4,072.04MW but lost 6,665.9MW out of which 3,478MW were occasioned by poor gas supply.

With regards to financial losses, Osinbajo’s office said approximately N12.217 billion was not earned by the power sector within five days.

It also noted that 13 Gencos were still significantly impacted by the shortage of gas for power production, adding that five Gencos of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) lost the most of their

production volumes.

The affected Gencos were Egbin, which lost an average of 220MW daily, Delta – 140MW, Okpai – 165MW, Geregu Genco – 165MW, Omotosho NIPP – 430.1MW, Geregu NIPP – 504MW and Omotosho Genco – 185.8MW and 2226.8MW from its units.

Others affected were Rivers IPP which lost 180MW daily, Alaoji NIPP – 126.5MW, Afam – 112.5MW, Ihovbor NIPP – 430.1MW, Sapele Genco – 120MW and Sapele NIPP – 379.5MW. NERC has also explained that its tracking of the COVID-19 situation made it fitting for it to issue guidelines to ensure that electricity production and supply in Nigeria remained unhindered.

It stated that it “has been monitoring the rampaging effects of the COVID -19 pandemic in Nigeria and the world at large,” adding that “considering the cardinal role of electric power in sustaining the wellbeing of any nation and particularly in powering critical infrastructure,” it would direct all operators in the electricity industry to ensure continuity of service during the period.

It added that it has directed all operators in the sector to immediately activate their business continuity plans to ensure that they maintain minimum manpower requirements on their operations, provide contingency plans for accommodating essential staff on site, provide health and isolation facilities for localised outbreak of Covid-19, provide essential resources, including food, medical supplies to their staff on site.

The commission also said the plan would cover operator’s sourcing of essential spare parts and consumables to maintain their operations, monitoring of their assets and equipment, arrangement for clearance of faults detected on networks, and creation of alternative channels for engaging with customers.

see the lockdown as a good idea. For example, if someone in the family has it, the rest will contact it because it’s not immediately you start seeing the effect of the virus definitely, there will be increase.”

On her staying power she said: “ If this doesn't exceed 14 days I am prepared for it and if does, there may be problem.”

Most of the people THISDAY spoke to said they had not benefited from the palliatives by both the Lagos State and the federal governments.

The immediate past Chairman of the New London Estate Resident CDA, Mr. Emmanuel Nzekwue, told THISDAY that the estate with almost 1,000 houses received only one 10kg bag of rice from the COVID-19 relief committee so far.

“The new Chairman of our CDA, (Mr. Gbenga Lawal) called me to come and collect a share of the rice that COVID-19 committee sent to our CDA. On getting there, I saw only one 10kg bag and I asked if that was my share but I was told by my chairman that it was the only bag that was sent to us,” he said.

The lockdown is also biting hard on FCT residents.

Many of them complained

about the effects of the restriction on their economic and social lifestyle.

John Agwu, who is a trader at Building Material Market, at Nyanyan, said he had been unable to fend for his family because his shop had been locked up since the directive.

“This lockdown is a sad statement for business, which has been badly impacted. We cannot make any sales because the shops have been locked since the lockdown. I have been finding it difficult to feed my family in the past three days because of the development.

My situation is also not helped because I took a bank loan to buy some of my goods. "How do I pay back when no one is certain when the restriction will be eased,” Agwu said.

A motor mechanic in Jabi Market, Matthew Akinsanya, described the restriction as an over-reaction.

Akinsanya said government failed to consider the effect a 14day restriction on movements would have on artisans like him.

He said he could barely eat since he had not been working in view of the stay- at- home order.

Another FCT resident, Lateef Atanda, said the lockdown

had paralysed all business and social services in the city.

Atanda, who is into media production, said he had been unable to fix the screen of his computer that cracked recently.

He said he could not get a computer technician to repair it in view of the lockdown.

Stephen Terhemba echoed concerns about the shock the lockdown would have on the economy as all public workers had been asked to stay at home since March 24 until further notice.

Gbenga Akinola, who lives at Wuse Zone 4, said the current situation had led to the artificial scarcity of commodities and hike in prices of those available.

He said with the closure of the Wuse Market, a crate of eggs that was selling for N800 before the lockdown, was being sold for N1,500.

But there are some residents who supported the lockdown.

One of such is Ali Hadejia, who resides at Mpape.

Hadejia said the federal government should be applauded for the measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said the nation’s economy and primary health facilities would not be able to cope if the spread of the virus escalates.

"In addition to paying for power generated, the federal government is also footing a yearly N5 billion bill for gas supply to Azura — even though the cost of gas is already part of the tariff approved for the plant’’, the source stated.

Azura is said to have guaranteed the highest tariff of 10.1 cents/kWh in the power purchase agreement with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc — the guarantor that buys electricity from generating companies (GenCos) and resells to distribution companies (DisCos).

And if the federal government fails or refuses to meet these monthly obligations, the World Bank partial risk guarantee (PRG) can be called

by Azura’s creditors.

Gas Shortage Continues to Impact Power Supply

FOODSTUFFS' PRICES SOAR AS LOCKDOWN BITES HARDER N1,200.

Also a paint bucket of garri, previously sold for N500, is now selling for N1,200.

Other foodstuffs like beans, plantain flour, corn flour have equally experienced increases in their prices.

“Oga, it is not our fault for the increase in these foodstuffs.

This yam (lifting up one of the big tubers on her table) comes from the market at N950. When I add transportation cost and my little profit, you don’t expect me to sell it at N1,000,” one of the traders, who identified herself as Mrs. Mary Adebayo, told THISDAY. She said because of the movement restriction, she might not be able to restock her store.

“I have almost sold my entire stock because people are rushing to buy food to keep at home; I may not be able to go to the market to refill my store as there are no vehicles on the road,” she added.

Also, one kilogramme of frozen turkey selling for N1,400 now sells for N1,800.

A popular bakery, Mount Olives Confectionaries, has also increased the price of its bread.

Retailers now sell the Oliver Bread for N350 instead of N300

for the average size.

At the Iyanera area of Ojo Local Government Area of the state, a buyer who simply identified herself as Ayomide said: “How can I buy a paint bucket of of garri for N1,200?

Most of the sellers had the foodstuff in their store; so, I wonder what influenced their decision to increase the price.

We are our own problem in Nigeria.

“A tuber of yam, which cost N400 now cost N1,200.

I was able to buy two tubers of yam only. A bag of sachet water now cost N150 instead of N100.

“I bought six bags from the suppliers. It costs N500 for six bags and a half, now five bags for N500.”

Reacting to the lockdown, a commercial motorcyclist, who simply gave his name as Innocent, said he came out to look for money to feed his pregnant wife.

He said: “I took her to the hospital yesterday at Alaba International to pay for hospital for delivery.

"We were charged N10,400 instead of the earlier charges of N7,000.

"She will be due any time soon. I don’t know if delivery fee will be hiked. And I couldn’t

stock my home. My pregnant wife eats three times her usual size of meal. I’m not happy at all about this isolation. We were not given enough time to stock up."

Another Lagos resident, Azeezat Zakariyah, said: “Honestly, it’s not easy at all.

Definitely, it’s for the good of the people so as to limit or eradicate the spread of the virus but our government has failed totally in putting things in order - things that could've helped citizens comply better to the stay-at-home rules.

“To start with, the power supply has been terrible. I can't boast of having four straight hours of power supply and yet we are expected to store food at home but no light to preserve food items kept in the freezer.

“What happens to those who survive on daily income?

Government should've thought of a better plan before the total shutdown.

“Well, personally I don't have a choice other than to comply by staying at home for the number of days given while I keep hoping for a positive situation.”

Another resident, who identified herself as Ajayi Sarah Ayomide, said: “I don't

11

MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

COVID-19 UPDATE...

COVID-19 UPDATE...

Makinde Tests Negative for COVID-19 Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, yesterday disclosed that he has tested negative for COVID-19.

The governor who had tested positive for the virus

on March 30, said yesterday evening via his Twitter that he now tests negative for the virus.

He said he received his second negative test for

the virus yesterday evening while appreciating those who supported him with prayers during the intervening period between when he tested positive and negative for

the virus.

“I am deeply moved by your prayers and support throughout this period. I am so thankful. This evening, I received my second negative

test result for COVID-19. I especially thank Prof Temitope Alonge, who acted in my stead as Head of the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force.

“I am also grateful to all

members of the Task Force for their cooperation during this time. I will be resuming my responsibility as Head of the Task Force from tomorrow,” he tweeted.

Fayemi Promises Accountability in FCTA Decontaminates Abuja City Centre Managing Mobilised Funds Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has hailed members of the COVID-19 Response Resource Mobilisation Committee recently set up to mobilise and manage funds and projects in the state against coronavirus.

Fayemi, in his inaugural message to members of the committee, said he was humbled and honoured by their positive response and readiness to serve the state at this crucial period.

He assured them that transparency and accountability would be maintained in the utilisation of the resources mobilised.

The governor said he was particularly happy seeing that many of the members had started generating ideas and contacts as soon as they accepted to serve on the committee. This, according to him, is an indication that the state would achieve its

set goal of curtailing the dreaded COVID-19 through the assistance of the committee.

He revealed that most of the meetings of the 47-member committee would be held via teleconferencing and other technological means in view of the need to observe social distancing.

Fayemi said: “I’ve had

cause to speak with almost everyone on this platform in the past few days, and I’m truly humbled and honoured by your genuine expression of concern, enthusiasm and readiness to serve the state in combating this existential threat.

“I thank particularly our Grand Patron, Aare Afe

Babalola; our patrons who are my predecessors in office, the chairman and members of the committee for your strong commitment to Ekiti State at this critical period. Indeed, some of you have started working with a relentless flow of ideas and contacts sent our way since you were contacted.

Law Firm Donates Medical Supplies to Ogun Martins Ifijeh One of Nigeria’s foremost commercial law firms, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, has donated medical consumables, equipment and other supplies to the Ogun State Government as part of efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on behalf of the firm during the handover of the supplies in the state recently, the Deputy Managing Partner of Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Oluseye Opasanya, said the medical supplies, comprising

suction machines, oxygen tanks, oxygen concentrators, scrub suits and personnel protective materials, would go a long way in assisting frontline medical personnel in the state to provide the much needed care and treatment to those who are infected with COVID-19.

Also speaking on behalf of the firm, the Managing Partner, Prof. Konyin Ajayi, said: “We are gratified to assist Ogun State just as we have done to other states through the provision of pro-bono legal advisory

support on the preparation of legal instruments which give legal backing to some of the precautionary measures taken in dealing with the COVID-19 menace.”

While responding, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ogun State on Health, Dr. Ololade Kehinde, appreciated the firm for the support.

He used the opportunity to thank the firm for its immense technical support to the state since the inception of the administration.

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has embarked on the decontamination of the city as one of measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exercise was flagged off yesterday by the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, at the Berger Roundabout in the federal capital.

She used the occasion to call for inter-agency collaboration to achieve the desired result in the battle against COVID-19 spread.

The minister assured residents of the territory that they are in safe hands as the government will continue to do everything possible to contain the spread of the virus, just as she stressed that nation-building is a collective responsibility.

“We are here to

symbolically flag-off the decontamination of the city starting from the Berger junction. This spot is very significant because it is a point of convergence. This is where you find the hustling and bustling in the city.

“As you can see today, the stakeholders are united in this battle against COVID-19.

You can see that the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Fire Fighters, and organised private sector are here to help fight the COVID-19 in every nook and cranny of the city.”

And from there, we will move to all the satellite towns as well.

“I congratulate all the stakeholders because united we are stronger. I want to assure Abuja residents that they are in safe hands, and that nation building is a collective responsibility.”

12

MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

COVID-19 UPDATE...

COVID-19 UPDATE...

Violators of Restriction Orders Risk Jail Term in Niger Laleye Dipo in Minna Any person who fails to comply with the restriction of movement and other prohibition order imposed by the Niger State Government shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment or both in accordance with the extant laws of the state.

Disclosing this at a media briefing, Secretary to the

State Government (SSG) and Chairman of the State Action Committee on COVID-19, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, said the new measure became necessary following the gross disrespect for the appeals and directives on social distancing and social gatherings by the people as the only precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus.

According to the committee chairman, it became imperative to go beyond appeals and directives to contain the spread of the highly infectious disease in order to avoid an impending health and economic calamity of unimaginable proportion in the state.

Matane said the state governor decided to invoke the Niger State COVID-19 Order 2020

conferred on him by all the relevant portions of the law and the constitution for the collective good, safety, security and public health of the people state.

According to the SSG, the state government has relaxed the restriction of movement imposed in the state from 2:00p.m. to 10.00p.m. beginning from yesterday.

Markets are now to open

from 8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. to enable people buy food stuffs and other essentials while the intra and inter state movement of people and vehicles remain banned.

However, he announced that the state civil servants on Grade Level 1 to 12 earlier directed to stay at home as part of measures to curb the spread of the disease are now to resume work on

April 6, 2020, from 8.00a.m. to 2.00p.m.

Meanwhile, all local government areas sharing border with neighbouring states have been directed to ensure effective monitoring of people and vehicles coming into the council areas as all entry points to the state remain closed except those on essential services.

NMA, TUC REJECT FG’S PLAN TO INVITE CHINESE DOCTORS TO FIGHT COVID-19 It said: “Based on a review of evidence and expert assessment, we recommend that physicians should not prescribe, and individuals should not take Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19 except under clinical trial or monitored emergency use of unregistered or investigational interventions (MEURI). These drugs can cause neurological, ophthalmic, cardiac and other forms of toxicity.

“Physicians should not prescribe and individuals should not take Lopinavir/ Rotinavir, Remdesivir or other medications to prevent or treat COVID-19 except under clinical trial or MEURI.” It, however, recommended that paracetamol, acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be used to relieve symptoms of fever and/or myalgia due to viral infection.

It said physicians should use evidence-based guidance when treating patients with COVID-19 infection, such as that published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“Clinical trials and MUERI should follow WHO guidance on ethical issues in infectious disease outbreaks.

“We will continuously update its guidance based on the latest available clinical evidence,” it said.

The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also warned that using Chloroquine phosphate without a prescription and supervision of a healthcare provider can cause “serious health consequences.”

The CDC said doctors and other public health officials should discourage the public from misusing non-pharmaceutical Chloroquine phosphate (a chemical used in home aquariums) and further advised patients and the public that Chloroquine, and the related compound Hydroxychloroquine, should be used only under the supervision of a healthcare provider as prescribed medications.

UBTH Confirms Three, Isolates 24 Health Workers The University of Benin Teaching

Hospital (UBTH) has isolated some of its health workers exposed to COVID-19 patients, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, has said.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, Obaseki said the health workers were exposed to the patients prior to the confirmation of their status.

He said: “We have so far received three patients who have been confirmed positive with COVID-19. The two surviving patients are currently being cared for by our dedicated staff in an isolation ward with restricted access.

“Prior to confirmation of their COVID-19 status, some of our healthcare staff was exposed to them while using only personal protection, which includes surgical face-masks and gloves.”

He said currently, all the staff that were exposed to the patients were asymptomatic and that they were being monitored closely according to current guidelines.

He said: “Further measures have been put in place to ensure

that our staff are not unduly exposed to risks of infection with COVID-19 in the course of them providing care for patients who come to the hospital for various reasons.

“Healthcare workers are on the front lines in this pandemic and therefore at a higher risk of being exposed than the general public.”

Pandemic Has Exposed Poor Quality Leadership in Nigeria, Says Okogie In a former Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, has said the outbreak of COVID-19 has been a dangerous yet a revelatory moment in Nigeria, having exposed the low-grade leadership style of government.

According to him “It is dangerous because this deadly pandemic has infected over a million and killed thousands of citizens of our planet. No one seems to know when and how it will end. But COVID-19 is also revelatory, a blessing in disguise

because it has exposed Nigeria as a country where the quality of leadership is of low grade.

What we have known but has been denied for so long is now shown to us as an incontrovertible fact that the quality of leadership in our country must improve.”

The cardinal, in a statement at the weekend, which he personally signed, however, said in the midst of poor-quality leadership, Nigerians must speak in laudatory terms about Sanwo-Olu; his Commissioner for Health, Abayomi, and his entire team for rising to the occasion.

“For right or wrong reasons, Lagosians have been critical of his government since its inauguration on May 29, 2019.

But it must be admitted that with a population said to be close to 15 million, if Governor Sanwo-Olu and his team had not provided outstandingly exemplary leadership, we would have had a more dangerous situation in our hands,” he said.

Okogie added: “At the risk of making a hasty judgment, it is

to be placed on record that, as at the time this is being written, Sanwo-Olu and his team have largely prevented the spread of the virus in Lagos.

“Let us pray for them and encourage them so that they will continue to show exemplary leadership to other political office holders in Nigeria.”

According to him, “COVID-19 has also revealed to us that, rather than invest in good health care service delivery in Nigeria, we have a political arrangement that makes it possible, even encouraging, to waste Nigeria’s money on government officials and health tourism abroad.

Thanks to our country’s constitution dubbed federal.

The government in Nigeria is embarrassingly big, sinfully expensive, prone to corruption, and scandalously inefficient.

Nigeria cannot adequately invest in the sectors of health and education because, among other reasons, the constitution of Nigeria has established offices that will require an endless flow of petrol-dollars to maintain.”

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MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ ʹ˜ 2020

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

LOCKDOWN AND HOMESCHOOLING

It is important for parents and caregivers to treat this period as a short holiday, writes Bidemi Nelson

T

he global closure of schools in the wake of the Corona Virus pandemic was an obvious safety call. However, the level of preparedness required for such a call is obviously missing. It is common knowledge that many children who are at home now, have no learning materials as their books, textbooks and other learning aids are largely at school. To compound matters, movement has been restricted in many places and privatelessons’ teachers cannot readily be hired now. Worsening all of these is that many of these children’s parents and caregivers have no clue on how to teach or assess actual learning at home. With an already ailing educational system, the disruption of learning as we know it and the large absence of innovation in educational provision, the future narrative is likely going to be that there will be a lot of re-work upon school resumption such as re-teaching, re-assessments and re-adjustments with respect to the curriculum and the school calendar. Children evidently, will be at the receiving end of the brunt.

With the timeline of measures meant to fight the Covid_19 pandemic being uncertain including several lockdowns, it is important to be proactive as parents or caregivers in preventing our children from suffering any educational rust. For starters, it is important for parents and caregivers to treat this period as a short holiday. Communicate this to children so as not to scare them about the pandemic. Try to keep yourself and other family members safe by following health and government guidelines. This will reassure children that everything is under control.

At this time, parents should consider having a study area for children at home. If your home is not large, you can use the living room while switching off devices like phones, radios and televisions. Ensure that the study area has comfortable tables and chairs for writing. It should also be well illuminated and ventilated.

You might also need to mimic school time table but can make it fun by incorporating academic and non-academic work such as religious lessons, gardening, games, simple exercises, drama, dance and dress-ups, among others. Motivating children is important. Stationeries such as new pencils can do wonders. You may need to research school curriculum online or use the lessons of their old note books and text books in getting topics to teach them. Ask questions to know topics they don’t understand too well. Also, remember children have a lot of

YOU MIGHT NEED TO MIMIC SCHOOL TIME TABLE BUT CAN MAKE IT FUN BY INCORPORATING ACADEMIC AND NONACADEMIC WORK SUCH AS RELIGIOUS LESSONS, GARDENING, GAMES, SIMPLE EXERCISES, DRAMA AND DANCE

faith in their teachers so they might question your methods. Please allow them communicate whatever they have in mind, no matter how incredulous it may sound. In addition, use any teaching aid at your disposal such as the internet.

For parents and caregivers that are still challenged about teaching their children, you can improvise. For instance, explore children’s love for cartoons to help them learn new words. Instruct them to write new words or concepts from these cartoons in a notebook with the implication that if they don’t have the “Cartoon Notebook�, they are not permitted to watch cartoons. It is also important to sieve the cartoons that children watch and ensure that at least 80% of them are educational and entertaining rather than just entertaining. Consider cartoons that teach about animals or problem-solving using mathematics or science.

It is important to know that the best form of teaching for children is teaching curiosity and their role in solving the problems that come from their curiosity. Try using newspapers or television/radio news content to talk about local and global issues, while brainstorming on how they can be resolved. Ensure whenever you are teaching your children, your interaction is face-to-face. Try not to be distracted and don’t distract them also, by sending them on errands during teaching sessions, for instance. Teaching is serious business so it must come with rewards for you and them when your objectives are met. For children, reward them for keeping to their timetables, coming up with solutions or even doing good presentations on the lessons you have taught them. Also reward them for non-academic work such as artwork, commitment to gardening and even newly learnt dance steps.

Here are a couple of DON’T(S) for parents and caregivers at this time and other holiday periods. Do not let children watch television all through the day and when they do, monitor what they watch while frequently using “Parental Guidance� restrictions. Second, don’t allow children play games or stay on the internet especially during mornings and early afternoon times. They can learn a lot during these periods.

Third, don’t let children be on the internet unsupervised. If they must use the internet, it must be in the public view of family members.

Don’t forget to teach internet safety tips. Please don’t neglect your children. Child neglect is a form of child abuse.

Nelson is CEO, Shield of Innocence Initiative, Ibadan, Oyo State

LET’S STARVE LECTURERS TO DEATH! Alade Fawole argues that the government is maltreating academics at the nation’s peril

L

et me state it very plainly: I subscribe to President Muhammadu Buhari’s government’s policy that Nigerian university scholars need to be starved to death! I am so strongly persuaded, and I urge you to be patient as I explain.

First of all, and unambiguously, this nation does not need universities! What does a rent-collecting state that depends wholly on proceeds of oil and gas being exploited by fraudulent and thieving foreign oil corporations need universities for? What functions will they perform in a nation that does not desire development? Frankly, they are totally irrelevant, if you ask me. Unfortunately, we have deluded ourselves and established several universities with public funds, that should ordinarily have ended up in the bank accounts of our leaders, and now we are saddled with them as a national headache.

Any wonder why governments have always turned a deaf ear to the irritating demands of the university lecturers?

Since the government may not be able to totally erase these inconvenient institutions we call universities by stroke of the pen, the easiest way to destroy them is to begin by slowly and incrementally starving the lecturers to death. By this the government would succeed in ridding itself of this singularly irritating sector, so that it can focus on other more pressing issues. And there would also be more money for our sybaritic elites to spend. I encourage President Buhari to help Nigeria get rid of its scholars who are nothing but a pain in the neck. They are arrogant, pushy, opinionated and make demands on the government as if they and their universities are the only responsibility the government has. I mean, why should we continue to tolerate their monotonous agitation for adequate funding of the universities?

When will they ever get it into their thick skulls that funding the universities will mean less money to satisfy the hedonistic lifestyles

of elected and appointed government officials and their families? One would expect that with all their researches and intellectual exertions, they would have realized that this nation does not need them.

The main preoccupation of the ruling class is to plunder the national patrimony. And whenever they want their usually disastrous offspring to attend universities, they send them abroad, or to private universities at home to be awarded unearned degrees. I say ‘unearned degrees’ not necessarily because their children are unwilling to learn, although it is true that many are not, but because in these poorly staffed and ill-equipped, profit-oriented business enterprises called private universities, degrees can actually be purchased without much academic exertion.

For example, the Department of Chemistry of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, alone parades more professors than the total number in some private universities. Even though many of these private universities which the children of the elites attend, have very few students, they also comparatively award the highest number of first class honours per capita. For them, awarding first class honours is a marketing strategy.

Even though private universities outnumber public (federal and state) universities, yet they collectively, according to the NUC Executive Secretary Professor Abubakar Rasheed, have less than six per cent of the overall undergraduate population of about two million as of 2018.

And their share is dwindling as avenues for official corruption are closing against treasury looters. Again, according to the Executive Secretary, the intake into the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in one year is more than the numbers that all the private universities combined enrolled in four years!

The implication is that these same poorly funded public universities, whose lecturers the government would rather starve to death over a disagreement, have more than 90 per

cent of the entire undergraduate student population!

If only Nigerians have been paying attention to these disturbing statistics, they would have come to the reality that it is the future of their own children that the ruling class is destroying by not funding the universities and by starving their lecturers. Regrettably, Nigerians always wrongly blame the lecturers and uncritically support whatever strong-arm tactics the government employs against them.

Many do so out of sheer inferiority complex, believing that university academics are too arrogant and pushy, thus deserving to be pulled down from their high horses. Others are simply ignorant about what universities are, equating them with secondary schools, and thus failing to see what makes lecturers different from other teachers. And, of course, there are the members of the ruling class who love to hold the nation in darkness and ignorance while their mindless accumulation of illicit wealth from the national patrimony goes on unhindered.

Pardon the digression. Now back to the issue of starvation at hand. Salaries of public university lecturers have been punitively stopped for two months now, and the nation’s business continues as usual. Salaries have been stopped by the federal government allegedly because of the lecturers’ refusal to be forcefully migrated unto a payment platform that has been convincingly proved to be highly defective, that violates university autonomy (as enacted and signed into law) and provisions of subsisting negotiated agreements which the government has bluntly refused to implement, among others.

Sadly, not even the parents and guardians whose offspring and wards would suffer the adverse consequences of this policy seem perturbed by it. At least no protest from any quarters. All is well and good, after all it is only lecturers. They can be dispensed with anyway.

Punitive salary stoppage and other

strong-arm methods have been the veritable means of addressing industrial disputes and disagreements since the early 1970s. The starvation that comes with it is the potent means for Nigerian governments, military and civilian alike, to deal particularly with protesting university academics. Whenever government policies and actions push the university teachers to strike as the only remaining option, governments characteristically revert to this default setting: salary stoppage! I can personally remember my salary having been stopped no fewer than 13 times, sometimes up to six months at a time, in the 37 years that I have been a university teacher. In case you are wondering why government officials are never mindful of how counterproductive this method is, it is because the nation does not need universities. Unfortunately, though, the same nation will turn around to blame the universities for not contributing to national development, and parents will expect starved and starving teachers who cannot feed their own families to work magic, while their family members are advised to wait till heaven for their rewards.

My honest and heartfelt advice to the federal government on the current face-off with the universities: let us totally ignore the lecturers and whatever fate may befall their families even as the raging coronavirus pandemic continue to wreak havoc on the nation. Nigeria will be better off if we starve to death the nuisance called lecturers even if the coronavirus pandemic may spare many of them. It is the quickest and permanent way to rid this nation of the headache that universities and lecturers have become. And we don’t have to look for fancy explanation for the mass extermination of irritating academics since the coronavirus pandemic is available to be blamed. This is the best time to execute the final solution, one Hitler himself would be immensely proud of.

Prof Fawole wrote from Obafemi Awolowo University

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020

EDITORIAL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM AKURE EXPLOSION The authorities owe the public lots of information about what happened in Akure

W

hile still reeling from the tragic Abule Ado explosion in Lagos which claimed more than a dozen lives, another explosion on the Akure-Owo Expressway led to large scale destruction of buildings, shops, schools, churches, petrol station and more. The force of the explosion created a huge crater on the road making it impassable. Mercifully, students of the Aina Awawu International College, a boarding school close by, were home on account of the raging coronavirus disease. But no fewer than 20 people sustained various degrees of injuries.

According to reports confirmed by security agencies and the Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, a vehicle transporting explosive devices to a storage facility in a neighbouring state developed a fault while in transit along the Akure Owo Road. Security personnel and other individuals transporting the ordinances noticed smoke from the vehicle. After several attempts to extinguish the resulting fire failed, WAS THE EXPLOSION the vehicle and its CAUSED BY FORCE OF consignment ignited, NATURE OR AS A RESULT causing a massive OF HUMAN NEGLIGENCE? explosion that was felt in Akure and its environs. That was the version recounted by Governor Akeredolu.

However, another account from some experts led by a professor of Geophysics and Earthquake Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Adepelumi Adekunle, contradicts that. The conclusion of their report is that the explosion was caused by a giant rock from space known as meteors. A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid – a small piece of an asteroid - burns up upon entering earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky. The experts found no evidence of fire or burnt objects anywhere. “No evidence of radioactivity radiation was found within the crater and immediate vicinity,”

said Professor Adekunle. “The field evidence points to a conclusion that a meteoric from an asteroid belt that travels at a great speed from space impacted the location at an angle of 43 degrees….”

The controversy surrounding the Akure explosion has made it imperative to carry a special investigation into its actual cause. Was the explosion caused by force of nature or as a result of human negligence? Is the vehicle transporting the explosives in compromised shape and did the driver take the required precautions? Was there a fire incident from the vehicle carrying the explosives? Did the transporting agents follow the necessary protocols - in accordance with the Ordinance and Fire Arm Acts?

What is the nature of the improvised explosive devices?

These are some of the questions that need to be resolved conclusively.

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T H I S DAY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI AJAYI, DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA

hile we commiserate with the wounded and their families, it is important that we find lasting solution to the wave of explosions which are sources of avoidable loss of lives and fortune in the country. Barely two weeks ago, an explosion wreaked massive destruction in Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Council in Lagos, an incident described by the Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as an equivalent of war, judging by the impact on lives and property. Besides, there were countless other explosions across the country aided by vandalised pipelines, faulty gas cylinders to others aided by the poor scooping fuel from broken down petrol tankers. Perhaps the Jesse incident in Delta State which occurred more than a decade ago deserves special mention because of the severity of its impact and the number of lives lost.

Harder to quantify is the impact of all these explosions on the living. That is why the authorities owe the public a lot more information about what really happened in Akure and beyond. The investigation set up by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu should be able to come up with answers to the Akure incident so as to provide safeguards against future occurrence.

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COVID-19 SCARE: Time For Humans To Evolve

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believe in God. My belief is enunciated in the Roman Catholic Credo. Now, in this twenty-first century, with much scientific knowledge around, belief in God can be reconciled with belief in the process of evolution; apparently, evolution is a very slow, time-enabled process.

Apparently. But this view that evolution is a slow timefunction process may not necessarily hold for humans. Given all his intelligence and abilities, it does appear that Homo Sapiens is one frail organism after all. As the world changes so rapidly in its ecosystem complex relationships, man is finding it increasingly hard to adapt. Now, too, I believe that God created man and He bequeathed man with wide mental faculty to adapt to and adapt the conditions of the world to suit the living-niche of man as the need arose. This past century (I have in mind the year of the Spanish flu pandemic, 1918, as baseline) and at irregular but comparatively frequent intervals through 1957 (the year of the Asian flu pandemic), 1968 (the year of the Hong Kong flu pandemic), the 2000s (the years of swine flu, MERS, SARS) and now to the 2019-2020 annals reckoning of the COVID-19 flu pandemic, man has shown susceptibility to infections of the nasal and oral orifices that present the major pathways to the interior of the human machine. These infections are of the respiratory kind and they are hurting man, altering the balance of his societies, and we must all accept that if tweaked one way or the other with malevolent intent by human malevolent

forces (that is, biological warfare) these infections are capable of quite diminishing the human race. Thus, what next? The time has come for humans to use their God-given knowledge to adapt to an increasingly hostile situation. How so? There are mooted propositions here and there that human, as biological species, may have reached its zenith of existence by the means of pushing its body-mass to survive in an earth where sunlight with its associated radiations are rife, where solar flares stream towards the human habitat plus other extra-solar radiations, where asteroids threaten from time to time, where toxic natural earth-emissions and artificial effluents are released from time to time, etc. The human body has taken enough beating as it is already. Thank God for the wisdom He has given us, and we can now use this wisdom to implement safe living condition for the human species whereby, according to those mooted propositions, cybernetics and artificial intelligence (AI) are synergised to create cyborgs that will “exist” alongside humans and help share our burdens of “living” in a world with fast-changing ecosystem signatures. These cyborgs will do all our basic tasks for us (agriculture and food processing, especially) and humans will only “exist” to appreciate the wonders and the fruits of their labours because it is humans who laid the blueprints for these cyborgs in the first place.

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

A MUDDLED BUT NOT MASKED VOICE

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he advice from John Selden’s ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ could be rewritten for President Donald Trump as ‘Do as I say, not as I don’t’.

His musing that ‘I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I don’t see it for myself’ is concerning for a number of reasons. He should be guided by medical experts not his personal preference.

As with most countries, America is substantially closed to non-citizens and most leaders are far too busy with the COVID-19 pandemic to personally travel anywhere. It’s unlikely that visiting the oval office will be on any one’s travel plans for a while.

It would also be hoped that he would decline to meet any dictators as they generally don’t treat their citizens well. If he is the most powerful person in the world, he doesn’t need to meet the bullies of the world.

Masks might muffle his voice although it already seems muddled so any change may make his messages more confusing than they are already if that is possible.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

COVID-19 UPDATE...

COVID-19 UPDATE...

Edo Urges Friends, Family Members to Report Oversea Returnees The Edo State Government has urged residents in the state to

report persons who recently returned to the state from

Adeboye Donates Sanitizers, Masks, Gloves to Lagos Mary Nnah The General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E.A Adeboye, has donated 8,000 hand sanitizers, 8,000 surgical face masks and 200,000 hand gloves to support the efforts of the Lagos State Government in equipping its medical staff with necessary protective gears needed to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical supplies were presented to the state government to support on-site operations and protect health workers as

they work towards containing the spread of COVID-19.

While presenting the items at Mainland Hospital (Formerly Infectious Disease Hospital) Yaba, Lagos, at the weekend, the AGO Admin/Personnel of RCCG, Pastor Johnson Funsho Odesola, who represented Adeboye, said: “We commend the sacrifices that all medical personnel are taking at this time; the church will continue to pray for them as they give their sacrifice of love even as the RCCG as a church agrees that combating COVID-19 is by every means a work for all.”

Benue to Conduct Post-mortem on Suspected Dead Victim George Okoh in Makurdi The Benue State Action Committee on COVID-19 has concluded plan to conduct a post- mortem examination on a dead person suspected to have died of the novel disease at Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State.

This was disclosed by the Benue State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Nguna Addigin, to THISDAY’s correspondent in Makurdi via a text message.

Addigin, who is also a member of the state’s action committee on COVID-19, said

that the Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom has approved a post--mortem examination on the deceased to ascertain the cause of his death.

It was gathered from locals in Okpoga that a middle aged man who hailed from the area, had returned from a foreign country last week and went into self-Isolation.

Addigin explained: “What I heard is that, a case of COVID-19 was discovered in Okpoga, Benue State today (Sunday). The guy came back from Ghana, went to his village and spent six days in his home town in Edumoga.“

overseas through the emergency helplines and other relevant health authorities, as part of their contribution to curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The state government is also establishing over 54 screening centres, with three in each of the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, as part of efforts to curtail the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a statement issued yesterday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said it became

necessary for residents to report returnee friends and family members to safeguard the health and safety of other residents following the rise in cases of COVID-19 in Edo State.

He said the basic precautionary measures and hygienic practices, which include keeping safe social distance, avoiding large gatherings and close contact with sick persons, regular hand washing with soap and use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, must be duly adhered to in order for all residents to be safe and healthy.

According to him, “We

are appealing to residents to provide information on their neighbours and family members who recently returned from overseas to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state. We must also continue to observe the government’s guidelines against the spread of coronavirus which include the work-athome order for civil servants, closure of social gatherings of persons above 20 and markets, excluding those trading on essential commodities and imposed stringent guidelines for transporters and hoteliers.”

The governor’s aide continued,

“We urge all Edo residents to strictly adhere to these guidelines as the state government ramps up efforts to prevent community transmission of the disease. We implore everyone to continue to remain calm, stay-at-home and be diligent in following social distancing guidelines if they must go out.”

Meanwhile, the state government is establishing over 54 screening centres, with three in each of the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, as part of efforts to curtail the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Trinity House Pastor Seeks Coordination, Data Collection in Affected States Ugo Aliogo As part of efforts to tackle the spread of COVID-19, the Senior Pastor of the Trinity House, Pastor, Ituah Ighodalo, has called for proper coordination and data collection in the affected states.

Ighodalo, who made this call yesterday in Lagos during a media briefing, said the affected states should work closely with the federal government to access

the progress, the challenges and the way forward in containing the spread of the pandemic.

He expressed the view that the affected states were working in isolation rather than collectivity.

He also highlighted the need to have more accurate statistics about the pandemic, especially the number of people coming into the country through the land borders.

Ighodalo said: “We also need more information from our friends overseas and the determination that going forward, things must change in Nigeria.

“The federal government should design a mechanism that will enable them know the activities taking place in each states. There are some states that have not recorded any case of COVID-19. These

states are not doing anything about it such as closing their borders and putting in place necessary measures to contain the spread if it enters their states.

“From the look of things, the federal government tends to be focus more on Abuja; they are not focusing on getting feedbacks, reviewing the activities in affected states, their challenges, their needs and how to support them.”

ASUP Suspends Plan to Embark on Industrial Action Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has suspended its plan to embark on nationwide industrial action over its dispute with the federal government.

In a statement issued yesterday by the President of ASUP, Mr. Anderson Ezeibe, the union said the move was due to the

overriding national interest and to enable its members join other Nigerians in the effort to check the spread of COVID-19.

The union said that it has encouraged its members nationwide to play complementary roles to the extent of the deployment of their professional competencies as well as participating in safe community’s efforts in the fight against the

COVIC-19 pandemic.

The union explained that its grievances were borne out of the inability of the government to keep to agreements entered into with it since 2010 as well as the avoidable shortcomings associated with the payment of February 2020 salaries in Federal Polytechnics in the country.

It said that its 97th National Executive Council meeting

had resolved to embark on an industrial action after the expiration of the 15 days ultimatum, which was issued March 18, 2020.

“However, our union is concerned at the prevailing but unacceptable rate of the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic across the nation and its debilitating consequences on our national life and indeed humanity.

MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSEXTRA

DHQ Lists Motivating Factors Driving Troops’ Performance Says Buratai first army chief to lead battle, repel ambush Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Defence Headquarters (DHQ) at the weekend declared that focused military leadership by the service chiefs anchored on provision of battlefield materials and regular payment of allowances were the motivating factors sustaining troops’ successes against insurgents.

It said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, remained the first service chief to lead troops in the battlefield and repel an ambush.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Coordinator, Directorate of Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, said focused leadership, provision of battlefield materials and regular payment of allowances provided by service chiefs since assumption of office in 2015 was the motivating factors driving the performance of troops in the ongoing war against insurgency.

“I want to state that the overriding motivation for what we have been achieving in the Northeast is leadership. Leadership in peace time is not the same with leadership in conflict times or times of war; they are never the same thing at all.

“One thing that the military (soldier), be he an officer, a soldier, rating, the airman or airwoman will desire when they are in the frontline is the leader being there with them and for them,” he said.

Enenche noted that “in peace time I can just do a letter; I can just pass verbal instructions, which stand as an order but in times when we are solving these security challenges, even in conventional periods or in the times past, not contemporary times, the major motivator is leadership. Is the leader there with you? Is he there for you? I

can tell you confidently that it is one of the major areas the Armed Forces of Nigeria had stood out in the North-east. Are there examples?

Yes, there are”.

He said “in 2015 when this set of service chiefs came on board, the first thing was to ensure that regular visits were conducted to the North-east with the commanders on the ground at the inception of that operation.

“When it was changed to Lafiya Dole and to demonstrate that, if you go back into history the various components, the land component, the air component and maritime component, the service chiefs all visited” Enenche recalled that “the land component of our Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai was even ambushed. Go into world history; there is no record where a service chief has gone into the frontline and was ambushed.

“The ambush was repelled with heavy casualties on the part of the enemy. If it was 35 years ago, assuming there was something like a committee or council of service chiefs they would have queried him but that wouldn’t have arisen because he was only demonstrating leadership”.

Enenche affirmed that “the best kind of leadership is that you don’t command from the rear; you command from the front.

The Chief of the Air Staff that was also there regularly and I can tell you that the moment that was done, it now dovetailed through to the theatre commanders and that way the men were greatly motivated and it continued that way, it has become a practice up till today”.

The Coordinator of the newly established Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO) said

Panic Grips Kogi Communities over Death of Two Herdsmen Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja Palpable fears may have enveloped Ogbom community in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kog State over the death of two herdsmen allegedly killed by unknown assistants, while another victim of herdsmen attack is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.

THISDAY gathered that the killings came barely a day after an initial attack on an indigene of Ogbom community by suspected Fulani herdsmen, who inflicted serious injuries on him, losing valuables in the process.

Sources disclosed that remains of the two victims were found in a bush between Imela and Ogbom communities in Yagba East LGA yesterday.

Investigations revealed that last Saturday, an indigene of Ogbom was attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen, who dispossessed the victim of his cash while returning from Imela to his village, Ogbom.

The victim, identified as Lekan, who suffered severe head injuries from machete cuts, is said to have been moved to the intensive care

unit of ECWA Hospital in Egbe, Yagba West LGA. This, it was learnt, has become more worrisome following the inability to identify the lifeless bodies of the herders by Fulani people in the area which was a subject of controversy, while the cause of the incidents was not known at the time of filing this report.

However, the Department of Security Officer (DSO) in the area, Abimbola Emmanuel Afolabi, told journalists yesterday that although the dead persons were confirmed as herders who also lost three cows killed by their assailants, they were not domiciled in the area, and are not members of the Miyetti Allah in Yagba West and Yagba East LGAs. The Senior Special Assistants on Security to the state Governor in charge of Yagba West and Yagba East LGAs, Tade Oshaloto and Juwon Abdulwakil respectively, immediately mobilised the joint military taskforce from the two council areas to the scene of the incident and to the palace of the Ologbom of Ogbom, Oba Michael Aiyenigba.

the military leadership headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin excelled in providing the needs of the soldiers.

“Whatever they wanted was provided; I can tell you that; forget

about all the stories that make it look like there is no equipment.

Equipment can never be enough.

Whatever they wanted right to kits that get worn out frequently were always provided.

“The major one is financial

remuneration, regular payment of allowances to the extent that I have had course to investigate then as the Director Defence Information,” he said.

He argued that he had contacts in the front and they gave

“information and the records are there of funds transferred as their allowances for being in the frontline, so those three reasons, leadership, supply of materials and regular payment of allowances are the major motivating factors”.

GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY…

L-R: Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN); Team Lead, Public Relations, Elizade Motors, Mrs. Bukunola Ogunnusi; Chief of Staff to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Tayo Ayinde; and Lagos State First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, during the presentation of keys and documents of 3 Ambulance donated by the company to Lagos State Government...recently

Report: Nigerian Refineries Failed to Produce Petroleum Products in Nine Months Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Refineries in the country, located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, have yet to produce a drop of petroleum in the last nine months, report from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has indicated.

Excerpts from the latest document released by the corporation showed that the refineries with a combined installed capacity to refine 445,000 barrels per day locally, had been operating at zero consolidated capacity utilisation level since July last year.

THISDAY gathered that before July last year, the facilities worked at 5.5 per cent in January, 13.18 per cent in February, 3.17 per cent in March, zero per cent in April, 1.75 in May and 2.4 per cent of installed capacity in June before it completely stopped production since July last year till date.

While the current combined installed capacity of PHRC is

210,000 bpd, those of KRPC and WRPC are 110,000 and 125,000 respectively and when functional are able to refine products ranging from petrol, jet fuel, diesel, fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas.

The NNPC has therefore in all the months that the refineries have been out of service, fully embarked upon the importation of all the petrol consumed by Nigerians, which the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) put at 38.2 million litres daily.

However, the report noted that the refineries, for the whole nine months stretch they have not operated were undergoing rehabilitation, which accounts for why the country now sources all its needed daily use of the product from outside the shores of Nigeria.

In January, the Senate while setting up a probe panel on the matter, put the turnaround maintenance expenditure on the ailing refineries just between 2013 and 2015 at $396 million without commensurate results.

Describing the constant importation of the product as an ‘embarrassment’, the President, Ahmed Lawan, mandated its Committee on Downstream Petroleum Sector to carry out a holistic investigation on the turnaround maintenance expenditure and current state of the refineries in the country.

But the Group General Manager , Group Public Affairs , Mr. Kennie Obateru, told THISDAY yesterday that the maintenance of the refineries would be extended till the end of 2023.

He added that the expectation of the corporation is that by the time the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) is fully completed, the plants would be able to operate at about 90 per cent.

“The ongoing revamp of the plants is expected to be completed by fourth quarter of 2023. It would ultimately improve the capacity utilisation of the facilities in line with the set roadmap for the

rehabilitation to achieve at least 90 per cent capacity utilisation upon completion of the process,” he said.

According to the full NNPC report ,which chronicled the fact that Nigeria is not currently refining in the country, the corporation has continued the distribution of the imported products to reach all Nigerians.

“In December 2019 (till now), the three refineries processed no crude and produced -619 MT (metric tonnes) of finished products; comprising -2,593 MT and 1974 MT by WRPC and PHRC respectively. Combined yield efficiency is 0.00 per cent owing largely to on-going rehabilitation works in the refineries.

“For the month of December 2019, the three refineries produced -4,513 MT of intermediate products at combined capacity utilisation of 0.00 per cent. The intermediate products were primarily used by WRPC and PHRC.

Gunmen Kidnap Nasarawa Gov’s Special Adviser Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia Special Adviser to Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State on Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Mr. John Waje Mamman, was reportedly kidnapped last Saturday night.

Mamman was said to have been kidnaped at about 8:00p.m. in his house at Dari village of Kokona Local Government Area

of the state.

A source who spoke to THISDAY on the condition of anonymity said the Special Adviser and his associates in the community were said to be relaxing in his compound on that fateful day as a result of the unfriendly weather when suspected kidnappers invaded his house and whisked him away.

According to him, the kidnappers surrounded his house

and started shooting sporadically which made Mamman and his friends to scamper for safety.

The source, however, said luck ran out on one of the suspected kidnappers as he was nabbed by some members of the community.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no communication between the suspected kidnappers and relations of the Special Adviser.

When contacted, the state

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nansel Raman, confirmed the incident, adding that police were on top of the situation.

He said: “The state Commissioner of Police, Bola Longe, has since detailed the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Kokona as well as the anti-kidnapping squad to immediately comb the area and ensure that the victim is rescued unhurt.”

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T H I S D AY ╦╛ MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

Arguments of Despair Over COVID-19 Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that an unnecessary period of bickering delayed critical response time as the Akwa Ibom State government expressed anger over the procedure adopted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to disclose the ямБrst case of COVID-19 in the state

Buhari

Emmanuel

Ayade

Wike

5

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19

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Ehanire

Ihekweazu

Ukpong

Udoh

work on the caution, there was apparent complacency in Akwa Ibom. For instance, while Governors Ben Ayade and Nyesom Wike of Cross River and Rivers states respectively shut schools and access into their states, in Akwa Ibom, it was business as usual. Therefore, it is not surprising that out of all the states that got the early warning from WHO, Akwa Ibom is the hardest hit with five established case of Coronavirus, because Akwa Ibom did not handle the challenge as well as other states.

The Akwa Ibom State government constituted its Coronavirus taskforce almost one month after the WHO notice.

Assuring newsmen of the state’s preparedness, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, disclosed that the state government had equipped facilities in private and public hospitals and also put on the alert. He said that isolation wards were constructed in hospitals with emergency operation centre in Ikot Ekpene. He added that the state government was in close contact with the NCDC, which had already inspected facilities in the state.

to the state ministry of health. “Till now nobody has told them of the result and they are still interacting with the rest of the us and other members of the public.

They have not been quarantined. Is the NCDC not supposed to tell them if their test result was negative or positive? We agree that the state government reacted late, but once the NCDC established presence of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom, the right to do was to inform the state government to activate its protocol on the novel virus.”

As a direct of the foggy information on who the five health workers at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) are, staff of the hospital are reported to be reluctant to report for duty, in a bid to avoid contracting Coronavirus.

However, the Chief Medical Director of Ibom Specialist Hospital, Professor Emmanuel Ekanem has been in the news giving messages of hope. Commending the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, he praised the team spirit among health care professionals in the state, saying there will be no mortality in Akwa Ibom after the COVID-19 scourge. He hinted that the five Coronavirus victims in Akwa Ibom were in stable condition.

labs and especially the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. There is no result anybody will give without verifying.

We are working very hard to make sure these results are correct. Sometimes we delay in releasing these results because the test is being repeated so that we can be very sure,” he added.

The NCDC boss appeared to reassure the Akwa Ibom State government of another window of opportunity for confirmation. According to him, the reported cases “will be retested at a specific time. After every positive case, we would retest anyway after three to four days. The only way to know if people are recovering or not is by retesting them so that will be done.”

during this period. Relevant security agencies have been briefed and they will ensure strict compliance with this directive.”

In view of the serious and imminent threat to public health by the pandemic, Governor Udom Emmanuel has exercised the powers conferred on him by “Sections 4 and 8 of the Quarantine Act, Cap. Q2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Section 1 (1) (c) of the Akwa Ibom State Infectious Disease(Control of Spread) Law, 2014, and all other enabling powers.” The new law covers all the 31 local government areas of the state.

“The whole area of land mass and water that constitute Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria consisting of thirty-one (31) Local Government Areas is hereby declared a Local Health Area.”

The directives ensure that: commercial tricycles shall carry not more than two passengers only; mini buses shall carry not more than one passenger per row; and a private vehicle shall carry not more than two persons at the back seat and one on the front Seat.

“All public burials, public weddings, and other forms of public gatherings are for the time being hereby prohibited.

“All places of religious worship, churches, and mosques shall strictly observe the social distancing prescription of a minimum of one metre spacing and not more than twenty persons per gathering. In addition, hand washing facility with running water, soap and sanitizer shall be made available,” the governor said.

Although the government placed a ban on all public parks, shops, eateries, clubs, restaurants, markets and offices within the state, it however granted waiver on those selling foodstuffs, drugs and other essential commodities.

According to the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Udoh, the state government will prosecute anyone found culpable of disobeying the directive.

Surprising Argument with NCDC Following its assumed preparedness and the supposed cooperation with the NCDC, it was shocking to find the public space awash with dispute between the Akwa Ibom State government and the NCDC over the presence or otherwise of COVID-19 in the state. Immediately the NCDC announced discovery of five cases of the novel virus in the state, the state countered it and demanded a “reconfirmation.”

Through its Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, Akwa Ibom State government claimed that there was “a disturbing breach in the test and reporting procedure” by the NCDC. Its major contention was that the agency should have reported its finding first to the state government instead of going public with the news.

Ukpong argued that “All 5 reported positive test cases have been contacted and they have showed no COVID-19 symptoms.

“Owing to the irregularities observed in the testing and reporting procedure, Health Care Professionals in Akwa Ibom State have called for an immediate reconfirmation test on the 5 reported cases,” the statement said.

The government said samples they have sent to the NCDC for the COVID-19 testing have all returned negative results.

“While the tests were being processed in NCDC approved test facilities, all suspected cases were held in isolation.

“Health Care Professionals in Akwa Ibom State have appealed to the NCDC to ensure that all future tests are conducted following due process in order to maintain continued confidence in the process,” the statement said.

Some doctors who were contacted at the University of the Uyo Teaching Hospital sided with the state government. They claimed that the 17 persons whose blood samples were taken were their colleagues who voluntarily drove

NCDC Insists There’s COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom However, the NCDC has maintained that its COVID-19 statistics on Akwa Ibom cannot be contested. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of the agency, emphasized the importance of doing away with politicking. He said, “This is not a time to release press statements against anybody. It is time to come together.”

Insisting that the test was carried out in a trusted laboratory, Ihekweazu claimed, “Every new case in a state always leave a little bit of anxiety and people need time to accept that these results are what they are. I have no reason to doubt the results coming out from any of our

Jolted into Action A couple of hours after the NCDC disclosure of COVID-19 cases in Akwa Ibom, Governor Udom Emmanuel announced a 14-day lockdown in the state to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

Emmanuel revealed that the confirmed cases were mostly health professionals, who had contact with a foreigner that later tested positive for the virus. He said the lockdown was to enable tracing those, who may have been exposed to the five confirmed victims.

He stated only properly identified persons on essential duty will be allowed to go about their lawful duties, “I am hereby announcing a complete cessation of movement in the state extended to period of 14 days. There will be no movement of persons except those on essential duties, who must carry a proper means of identification. The confirmed cases who are mostly healthcare professionals are in good health and have so far presented no symptoms. They have been moved to the isolation centres for proper management and the process of contact tracing has begun. All business premises, markets, shops, motor parks and offices must remain closed during this period. The only exception will be pharmacies and grocery shops.

All events of any nature are prohibited

In the second week of February, about two weeks before the first COVID-19 index case was identified, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had listed Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Enugu, Delta, Bayelsa and the Federal Capital territory as states with high risk of Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria.

Dhamari Naidoo, Technical Officer, Health Emergency Programme of the UN specialized agency, disclosed in Abuja that after a risk assessment, Nigeria was rated high because of frequent travel between Nigeria and China

Ministry Asks for N95.1million Further evidence that the Akwa Ibom State government has accepted the test results from the NCDC emerged from a memo MH/COM20/GH/VOL.V/284 dated April 2-2020 from Ukpong seeking Governor Emmanuel’s approval for the sum of Ninety-five million, one hundred and thirty-four thousand Naira (N95,134,000.00) to provide materials and maintain volunteers for a period of four weeks at Ibom Specialist Hospital where the CO)VID-19 positive patients are being managed.

The piece of communication tilted, ‘Memo on Treatment/Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State’ revealed that “Unfortunately, Akwa Ibom State has recorded five positive cases all linked to an American medical personnel on free medical mission to the state. Consequently, state public health has taken the positive cases to our isolation centre in Ibom Specialist Hospital, Uyo for treatment, other measures to trace their contacts have been put on high gear.”

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T H I S D AY ˞ ʹ˜ 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

A T

A P R I L

3 3 3

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

REPO 2.60 2.20

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

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Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

2 0 2 0

466.99% 0.03% 0.28%

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

0.28% - 2.95%

EXCHANGE RATE N361/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Fitch Downgrades S’Africa Further

Ratings agency Fitch downgraded South Africa’s credit rating further into “junkâ€? territory on Friday, another blow for Africa’s most industrialised economy, which is still smarting from a Moody’s downgrade recently. According to Reuters, Fitch lowered its long-term foreign-currency issuer defaultratingto‘BB’from‘BB+â€?andassignedanegativeoutlook.Theagency cited “the lack of a clear path towards government debt stabilisation as well as the expected impact of the COVID-19 shock on public ďŹ nances and growthâ€? among reasons for its decision. South Africa’s ďŹ nance ministry acknowledged the downgrade and said the country would implement structuralreformstoaddressweakeconomicgrowth. “Governmentisseized with addressing and minimising the impact of COVID-19, implementing measures to improve economic growth and setting government ďŹ nances on a sustainable trajectory,â€? Finance Minister Tito Mboweni was quoted as saying in a statement. Fitch forecast South Africa’s gross domestic product(GDP)wouldcontract3.8percentin2020andthattheconsolidated ďŹ scal deďŹ cit would surge to 11.5 per cent of GDP in the current ďŹ scal year.

It said a government-imposed 21-day lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak was a primary reason behind this year’s expected contraction.

South Africa’s public ďŹ nances have been stretched by a steep run-up in debt in the past decade, partly to fund bailouts for ailing state companies like power utility Eskom and South African Airways. Moody’s stripped the country of its last investment grade credit rating last week, a move which will see the country’s local-currency debt ejected from the benchmark World Government Bond Index.

Egypt, Sudan Parley on Electricity

CLOSING GONG CEREMONY

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema, (left), presenting a replica of closing gong to the Group Managing Director, Courteville Business Solution Plc, Dr. Adebola Akindele, during a courtesy visit to NSE in commemoration of 15th anniversary celebration of the company, at the NSE in Lagos‌recently

KPMG Highlights Risks Facing Businesses in Nigeria Obinna Chima KPMG, one of the leading big four professional services firms, has released its biennial risk management survey report titled: “Top 10 Business Risks in Nigeria for 2020/202.�

The report was based on aggregate perspectives of 108 executives including managing directors, chief financial officers, chief risk officers, chief audit executives and chief compliance officers cut across various sectors of the economy.

ECONOMY The report unveiled at the weekend, provided a holistic look at key risks that executives believed would impact organisations in Nigeria, in the coming year and highlighted the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s macroeconomic outlook and risks prioritised by the survey respondents.

Risk Consulting Partner, KPMG, Tomi Adepoju, explained that, “31 risks were assessed by C-suite

officers; five of which were rated high, 25 as medium and one as low. “The risk assessment had an aggregate score of 3.17, which depicts a ‘Medium Risk’ environment for Nigerian Businesses in 2020, based on our rating methodology. “This represents an upward shift in respondents’ aggregate risk score from our 2018/19 report.�

She explained that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest concerns for Nigerian executives across industries were the regulatory, fiscal and monetary

policy, as well as foreign exchange volatility risks.

This, she said maintained their place at top three from the 2018 ranking by the firm. “However, one cannot help but acknowledge the COVID-19 and its impact on Nigerian corporates and the global business climate at large,� she added.

According to her, between 2020/2021, the outlook of the Nigerian economy would rely on possible eventualities surrounding Continued on page 24

Research Institutes Secure $20m Grant, Seek COVID-19 Cure Emma Okonji Partners in the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator have announced grants of $20 million to three institutions—the University of Washington, University of Oxford, and La Jolla Institute for Immunology - to fund clinical trials in order to identify highly potent immunotherapies for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants mark the first investments to come from the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a large-scale initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard, to speed the development of and access to therapies for COVID-19.

Currently, there are no broad-spectrum antivirals or

MARITIME immunotherapies available to prevent or treat Coronavirus also known as COVID-19.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mark Suzman, who disclosed this, said: “These grants to leading institutions in their fields will advance our understanding of how existing drugs and antibodies can contribute to addressing the pandemic we’re facing around the world. “These initial investments through the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will bring rigor to the study of these potential solutions. The way forward will be informed by sound science and shared data.�

In addition, newly announced funding from government and philanthropic donors has added to the Accelerator’s initial funding.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative committed $25 million and the U.K. government committed ÂŁ40 million last week.

The additional funds would allow the Accelerator to continue making grants to study repurposed drugs and investigate biological compounds for activity against COVID-19. More funding would be needed to move promising therapies through development and scale-up.

Two of the newly announced trials would fund an investigation of two well-established drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, that have known antiviral properties.

These drugs have been used to treat malaria and a variety of rheumatological conditions for more than 50 years. The trials aim to determine whether the drugs are effective as pre- and post-exposure preventive therapy for COVID-19. While these drugs both show initial promise, rigorous scientific evidence is needed to make decisions on how, where and within which populations to use them in this pandemic.

The University of Washington will conduct a multi-site clinical trial in Western Washington and the New York City area, in collaboration with New York University’s School of Medicine, investigating whether hydroxychloroquine can effectively prevent

The electricity grids of Egypt and Sudan were oďŹƒcially connected on Friday with an initial capacity of 60 megawatts, Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Mining said.The extension of the grid to Sudan’s northern regions was completedwithtestingonFridaymorning,partofeortstoexpandpower supply, Reuters quoted the ministry to have said.The line was completed in April last year with a length of 100 km (62 miles) in Egypt and 70 km (44 miles) in Sudan, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Saturday. The ďŹ rst phase of connectivity aims to provide Sudan with a capacity of up to 70 megawatts, increasing to 300 megawatts in the second phase after the upgrade of some Sudanese power stations, it added. Egypt has rapidly expanded its power generation in recent years and has been looking to export surplus electricity to neighbouring countries.

Rwanda Gets $109m IMF Loan

Rwanda has secured a $109.4 million in emergency coronavirus funding from the International Monetary Fund, the ďŹ rst African country to do so, the fund said recently. The East African country has registered over 100 coronavirus cases, data from the World Health Organisation showed, and Rwandans are grappling with high food prices as the government on Thursday extended a national lockdown by 15 days. “TheCOVID-19pandemichasgroundRwanda’seconomytoahalt,creating an urgent balance of payments need,â€? Reuters quoted IMF deputy managing director, Tao Zhange, to have said in a statement.

The loan, which comes under the Rapid Credit Facility, will help alleviate pressure on trade, tourism and foreign exchange reserves, while enabling greater health spending, the funding announcement said.

While Rwanda was the ďŹ rst African country to secure this kind of coronavirus funding, the global lender said on Twitter it was “working hard on other requestsâ€?. Rwanda, which is heavily reliant on tourism to boost its foreign exchange reserves, last month closed its borders to travellers as a part of a broader lockdown designed to curb the spread of the disease. “This pandemic has already started showing eects on tourism, air transportation, conferences that have been stopped aecting hotels, restaurantsandotherservices,â€?Rwanda’sďŹ nanceministerUzzielNdagijimana told Rwanda’s state radio on Thursday. Both import and export markets have also been aected, he added.

The IMF is projecting Rwandan GDP growth this year to tumble to 5.1 per cent. Last year, growth hit 9.4 per cent according to government data.

Separately, the World Bank approved $1.9 billion in global coronavirus funding on Thursday, including $82.6 million to Ethiopia, $50 million to Kenya, and $47 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We have seen what happened in China and the developed countries, how the lockdown led to many people losing their jobs�.

Chairperson, GAVI,

Continued on page 24

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

T H I S D AY ˞ ʹ˜ 2020

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BUSINESSWORLD KPMG HIGHLIGHTS RISKS FACING BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA several global issues such as the COVID-19, the ongoing crude oil price war, the balance of demand and supply conditions, the United States presidential elections, and BREXIT. Also, Partner and Head, Risk Consulting Services, KPMG Nigeria, Olumide Olayinka, stated that, “Considering recent happenings, we urge businesses to develop and implement a robust enterprise risk management framework that covers business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and businesses that have a framework in place should seek periodic independent assurance on its effectiveness. “All organisations are encouraged to refer to KPMG’s weekly business impact series on COVID-19 for more information on topical issues arising from the pandemic and suggestions on how to manage them.�

RESEARCH INSTITUTES SECURE $20M GRANT, SEEK COVID-19 CURE

COVID-19 in people already exposed to the infection.

The trial would enroll up to 2,000 asymptomatic men and women who are close contacts of persons with confirmed or pending COVID-19 diagnoses.

Participants will be randomly assigned to take hydroxychloroquine or a placebo over two weeks, and samples will be collected and tested daily to confirm new COVID-19 infections across the two groups.

Sandoz, a Novartis division, has donated the hydroxychloroquine doses needed to conduct the study. Participant enrollment will begin in April, and results will be available in late 2020.

The Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) will lead a placebo-controlled prophylaxis study of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in preventing COVID-19 in at-risk health care workers, frontline staff, and other highrisk groups. At least 40,000 participants in Asia and Europe will be randomized to receive either chloroquine (East Asian countries), hydroxychloroquine (United Kingdom and Europe), or a matched film-coated placebo as daily prophylaxis for three months.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor ((Energy) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

NEWS

COVID-19: NSC Moves to Avoid Spread at Seaports Eromosele Abiodun The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, has warned those who have no immediate need to be at the seaports to stay at home to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

He also debunked claims by some agents that the ports were closed, adding that only essential goods are to be cleared in the port at this time The NSC boss made this known while speaking at a port stakeholders’ forum it organised with Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), to sensitise critical stakeholders in the maritime industry. He stressed that only essential cargoes would be cleared at the ports for now, due to the lockdown directive by the federal government to contain spread of Coronavirus. Bello, observed that even in countries hard hit by the virus, port operations have continued without hindrance. He added that essential commodities such as drugs, medical equipment and consumables critical for the Nigerian people needed to be cleared. According to him, “If as a freight forwarder you do not have business to do at the port, please don’t come out, stay in your house. Today when I came to Apapa, I was surprised at the number of vehicles I saw, it seems there has been no lockdown, this is very wrong, people must stay at home, except it is essential, please don’t come out.�

He disclosed that he has been interfacing with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police over some freight forwarders that were arrested on their way to the port

adding that the freight forwarders have now been released.

Bello, said the outbreak of the coronavirus further showed the need for electronic transactions at Nigerian ports.

He said the ports needed to have a national single window where agencies would be talking to each other. Also, Bello said truck drivers going to the port to pick essential cargoes must also practice necessary health guidelines.

He informed that the NSC would take stricter observation of people who come to the ports

by the buses provided by the council. On his part, the Registrar of CRFFN, Samuel Nwakohu, noted that only freight forwarders who have essential goods to clear at the port would be allowed in, while those with luxury goods would have to wait until the lockdown is over.

Nwakohu, added that there are presently six banks in operations for freight forwarders who needs to clear their essential goods.

Specifically, he said, “The primary aim of the government as it stands today is to look after our health, and that is why they

have taking all the steps they have taken. “It’s not business as usual, I said to my freight forwarders, after today, the executive secretary and I will approach the customs, the goods that will be cleared will be only those who have essential goods, if you have luxury goods you will have to wait until the shutdown is over. “Let me also state that you cannot clear goods whether it is luxury items or essential items if the banks are not there to provide services. “As at today we have six of

them Zenith Bank Plc, UBA Plc, First Bank Nigeria Plc, FCMB Plc, GT Bank Plc with the names of their staff so that you can call them.� Stakeholders present at the meeting included President of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tony Iju Nwabunike, Founder of NAGAFF, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, President of Shippers Association Lagos State, Jonathan Nicol, Vice President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto, NAGAFF President, Increase Uche, AMARTO Chairman, Remi Ogungbemi.

COURTESYVISIT

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Lawan Kuru (left), and Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice M.B. Dogban-Mensem when the AMCON CEO paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja‌. recently

NCC Reiterates Significance of 112 Emergency Number Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator has said the 122 National Emergency Number will continue to provide succour to Nigerians in the nation’s collective efforts to fight the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, also known COVID-19.

NCC, in a statement issued at the weekend, said Nigerians were able to call emergency response agencies/or first responders with respect to any issue they may want to report on the Coronavirus or other health-related issues and emergencies. The statement, which was signed by the Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, added: “Already, states and federal government

agencies are leveraging the 112 National Emergency Number, whose calls are handled through the Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) established by the Commission across the country.�

The ECC project is the brainchild of NCC to enable easy communication by Nigerians with emergency first responders such as Police, Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Orientation Agency (NOA) among others, by dialing the three-digit toll-free number 112. “On assuming office as the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC in 2015, Prof. Umar Danbatta, quickly put machinery in place to accelerate the implementation of ECC across the country in line with the decision of the Nigerian government to enhance security of lives and property and as

mandated by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003,� the statement added. According to Nkemadu, the NCC fast-tracked the execution of the emergency project, whose implementation had hitherto been dragging, in recognition of its mandates to promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number, which shall be designed as the universal safety and emergency assistance number for telephone services generally.

He said so far, the ECCs with their operational 112 toll-free emergency number, have been implemented in 17 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Aside FCT, beneficiary states of the ECC include: Benue, Kwara, Plateau, Kaduna , Kano, Katsina, Ogun,

Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Imo, Enugu, Anambra and Adamawa.

THISDAY gathered that efforts were being made by the Commission to deploy the ECC facility in other states of the federation.

Today, the 112 National Emergency Number is fully available in all the aforementioned states and FCT and can be leveraged by Nigerians, as an alternate number to reach first responders at this period of COVID-19 when seeking help and assistance from applicable government response agency during emergencies.

According to Nkemadu, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had identified the centrality of the 112 number towards handling citizens’ calls for help in this time of Coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “Obaseki, in a recent state-wide broadcast to sensitise the people of the state on the epidemic, urged the people of Edo State to take advantage of 112 three-digit, toll-free number to get help from response agencies in case they want to pass critical information to the government and the State Task Force on COVID-19.�

President Muhammadu Buhari, had on March 19, 2020, unveiled the Abuja ECC facility and flagged off the 112 National Emergency Number during the commissioning of the NCC’s Communications and Digital Economy Complex at the Mbora District of Abuja.

The President explained that the 112 Number would demonstrate his administration’s resolve to keep Nigerians safe.

OPEC Meeting Rescheduled for Thursday The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has delayed a meeting aimed at ending the oil price war, as Riyadh and Moscow trade barbs about who’s to blame for the collapse in oil prices. The alliance is tentatively aiming to hold the virtual gathering on April 9 instead of today, as it previously intended, a delegate familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg reported.

Producers need more time for negotiations, said another. Beyond the alliance, Saudi Arabia and Russia have indicated they want

other oil countries to join in any output cuts, complicating efforts to call a meeting, the delegate said, asking not to be named discussing diplomatic matters.

The delay came hours after Saudi Arabia made a pointed diplomatic attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening a fresh rift between the world’s two largest oil exporters and jeopardising a deal to cut production.

In a statement early on Saturday, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said comments

by Putin laying blame on Riyadh

for the end of the OPEC+ pact between the two countries in March were “fully devoid of truth.� The direct criticism of Putin, echoed in a statement by Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, threatens a new agreement to stabilise an oil market that’s been thrown into chaos by the global fight against coronavirus. President Donald Trump had devoted hours of telephone diplomacy last week to brokering a truce in the month-long price war between Moscow and Riyadh. “We always remained skeptical

about this wider deal as U.S. producers cannot be mandated to cut,� said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. “If so, Russia doesn’t come to the table. And if everyone doesn’t cut, Saudi Arabia’s long held stance is that they will not cut either.�

The prospect of a new deal spurred a 50 per cent recovery in benchmark oil prices last week as traders saw some relief from the catastrophic oversupply caused by a lockdown of the world’s largest economies, in a bit to halt

the coronavirus pandemic. With billions of people forced to stay at home, demand for gasoline, diesel and jet has collapsed by about as much 35 million barrels a day. “Russia was the one that refused the agreement� in early March, the Saudi foreign ministry said. “The kingdom and 22 other countries were trying to to persuade Russia to make further cuts and extend the agreement.�Sponsored by Trump, who’s fretting about the future of America’s shale industry, momentum for a new agreement had built in recent days.

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NSE All-Share Falls 3.5% as Lockdown Impacts Market Negatively Goddy Egene The Nigerian equities market fell by 3.51 per cent last week following continuing bearish trading brought by the COVID-19 on global stock markets. Sell pressure on bellwethers amidst rising cases of coronavirus made the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) to close lower at 21,094.62, from 21,861.78 the previous week.

Similarly, the market capitalisation shed N399.8 billion to close lower at N10.994 trillion. All other indices finished lower with the exception of NSE Oil/Gas which appreciated by 2.33 per cent while NSE ASeM Index closed flat.

Analysts at Cordros Securities believe the bearish trend would persist this week, as weakened market sentiments are expected to pressure market returns.

They, however, advised investors to take a position in fundamentally justified stocks.

A look at markets across Africa showed same negative performance except Kenya that gained 5.0 per cent and Mauriius that closed flat. Egypt’s EGX 30 index lost the most, down 4.6 per cent as monetary authorities held rates steady at 10.25 per cent. Morocco’s Casablanca MASI while Ghana’s GSE Composite index shed 0.8 per cent.

The BRICS markets also recorded a mixed performances with Brazil’s Ibovespa index was the lone loser, shedding 6.8 per cent. Russia’s RTS and South Africa’s FTSE/JSE All Share indices gained 9.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent in that order as investors reacted to oil price recovery. India’s BSE Sens and China’s Shanghai Composite indices posted flat returns.

But performance across some of the Asian and Middle East markets was bullish as three of five indices trended northward. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul ASI rose 6.7 per cent as investors positioned for gains following oil price appreciation. Thailand’s SET and Turkey’s BIST 100 index gained 3.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.

On the negative side, Qatar’s DSM 220 and UAE’s ADX General indices declined 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent in that order.

According to Afrinvest (West Africa), performance in the developed markets was largely bearish across indices under their coverage. The United States S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices declined 2.4 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively despite the government’s economic stimulus. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s XETRA DAX indices lost 4.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

Similarly, United Kingdom’s FTSE All-Share Index declined 2.1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices closed flat.

Market turnover Meanwhile, investors traded 1.534 billion shares worth N11.267 billion in 18,928 deals last week in contrast to a total of 1.452 billion shares valued at N14.918 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 21,828 deals. But The Financial Services industry led the activity chart with 1.105 billion shares valued at N7.100 billion traded in 12,225 deals, thus contributing 71.9 per cent and 63.02 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Industrial Goods followed with 218.471 million shares worth N1.236 billion in 1,610 deals. The third place was the Consumer Goods industry, with a turnover of 134.599 million shares worth N1.855 billion in 2,332 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely, Sterling Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Meyer Plc, accounted for 752.359 million shares worth N3.247 billion in 4,039 deals.

In the midst of the lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the

use of digital channels.

The Chief Executive Officer of the CSCS, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, said the company remained committed to continue to serve its community and markets, leveraging its digital channels.

According to Jalo-Waziri, over the past week, they have seen their staff perform effectively in home-working arrangements with all services running efficiently as they continue to support as a financial market infrastructure. “We continue to achieve 100 per cent performance across all services daily with our people having adapted to this new way of working. Furthermore, as part of our business continuity and governance process, we have instituted crisis management committees at both our board and management levels to ensure integrated governance and holistic coverage of our response mechanisms and practices, particularly at this unprecedented time. We assure our stakeholders and clients that CSCS will continue to ensure a high level of system stability and client service support across all business services at all times. Throughout this period, access to our offices will remain restricted to the handful of “essential services� staff required to ensure availability of critical services to our systems. As always, CSCS assures you of efficient clearing and settlement of your capital market transactions and safety of your assets at all times,� Jalo-Waziri.

Also, in a move to ensure investors get adequate information and remain protected, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week urged all companies to continue to make material disclosures to investors.

According to the market regulator, all public companies are required to continue to make material disclosures to investors on the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on their business operations. “They should also continue to disclose the trend and outlook for the company, and updates on implementation of business continuity plans. Public companies are to publish these disclosures on their websites and on other relevant media.

Public companies who plan to conduct annual general meetings (AGMs) are required to ensure that the conduct of the meetings comply with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Investments and Securities Act, the SEC Rules and Regulations, relevant government and health circulars and guidelines issued in this regard,� the commission said.

NSE moved trading to remote trading.

Also, the financial market infrastructure

for the Nigerian capital market, the Central Securities Clearing System

(CSCS) Plc, suspended services to walk-in clients and switched to the

Top price gainers and losers The price movement chart showed that only 15 equities appreciated last week, lower than 34 in the previous week, while 36 equities depreciated higher than 30 equities in the previous week.

Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc led the price gainers with 24.6 per cent, trailed by Livestock Feeds Plc with 18.6 per cent. Cadbury Nigeria Plc chalked up 12.9 per cent, just as Berger Paints Nigeria Plc gained 9.8 per cent. Double One Plc added 9.8 per cent, while May Baker Nigeria Plc and NEM Insurance Plc garnered 9.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively.

Other top price gainers included: Meyer Plc (8.7 per cent); Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services Plc (7.6 per cent) and Champion Breweries Plc (6.6 per cent).

Conversely, Nigerian Breweries Plc led the price losers with 13.7 per cent, followed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated with 12.3 per cent. Custodian Investment Plc shed 11.0 per cent, while Guinness Nigeria Plc dipped by 9.9 per cent. Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc lost 9.8 per cent.

C & I Leasing Plc and Wema Bank Plc shed 9.6 per cent apiece, just as Jaiz Bank Plc, International Breweries Plc and United Capital Plc went down by 9.4 per cent, 9.2 per cent and 9.1 per cent respectively.

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T H I S D AY ˞ ʹ˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

Aligbe: With COVID-19, Floating National Carrier Unlikely The Chief Executive Officer, Belujane Konsultant and industry stakeholder, Chris Aligbe, in this interview, says even when flight operations resume post COVID-19, it will take about a year for the aviation industry to record high load factor. Chinedu Eze brings the excerpts: that is suffering recession, there won’t be that.

Don’t you think it is high time government took a decision on Arik and Aero to chart a future for the airlines?

Does the government own the two airlines?

The government does not own the two airlines. If you look at the instrument with which AMCON (Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria) acquired it, they acquired it for the purpose of acquiring debts that they owed; that is the objective. Have they recovered these debts that they owed? They will recover all of them. It is only recently that I realised that AMCON did not acquire the debt owed to FAAN (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, NCAA (the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority) or all the other agencies, the only debt they acquired basically was the debts owed the banks and some other institutions. So, the debts they owed parastatals and others are still there. So, they didn’t acquire all the debts.

Their sole objective was to give the banks a clean slate. It is not to pay the debt of these agencies and other creditors. Why shouldn’t AMCON acquire the other debts?

Do you think if the two airlines were given lifeline instead of being taken over

by AMCON, they would have been more successful?

If they had reached that arrangement they would have been more productive. I tell you why. AMCON’s vision in the two airlines is debt collection. The mission was to collect the debt and leave. The original owners had a vision for the airlines. Don’t mind that they had their challenges and faults; you cannot say they have no blame, but they had visions for the airlines. I know that that Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide (owner of Arik Air) had a vision for the airline; I know that Aero Contractors owners (the Ibrus) had a vision for the airline. Aero’s new management wanted to bring in some investors into the airline, but the Ibrus told the management that it cannot do it. This is just to show you that the owners are still there. So, we don’t want these two airlines to collapse, how best can we do it?

What is your position? We are ready to move forward. We can merge them, if we agree. We could rate your shareholding. You still have a shareholding up to this point but this time it is not only you, it is a new entity, we get new shareholders so that these two airlines together will survive.

They can sit down and make that arrangement.

That is normally what they should have done.

The only way those two airlines will survive is, one, call the original owners and tell them that this is what we want to do, how do we go about it? Let us work together so that we can save both your investment and our investment. That will be the best way. Otherwise, like I said, those two airlines need a major turnaround and they need turnaround managers. I am not talking about the integrity of those who are managing but I do know that they need turnaround managers to be able to do this thing. Captain Ado Sanusi, the Aero CEO has managed to see a window of revenue and the window of revenue is in the maintenance. The money is not being made from flights; the money is being made from their MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul).

That is where they can grow and make good money. That window does not exist in Arik.

With the COVID-19 situation, what do you think will happen in the case of passengers’ ability to buy ticket and travel by air?

It is not going to be easy. The expendable funds that will be available to the public generally will be low. It may not be there and so it will take a while before the airline industry will pick up.

What you will find is that fares will go down because the airlines have to operate. They won’t leave the aircraft on ground particularly if they try to stimulate them to get back to operation.

But then, because the passenger traffic will be low, they will look at their fares again and bring it to the barest minimum. When they bring it down, then passengers can begin to fly. But it will take almost one year provided the economy don’t go into recession. It will take almost one year before you have passenger traffic picking

Aligbe up after the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the first thing is that people will still be a little bit careful to travel. They would want to know that the COVID-19 is not resurging and that they can travel safely. They want to make sure that it is cleared in the world. I am sure that even after this, many countries will be asking if a vaccine has been developed. Many countries will be asking that you carry a yellow card to show that you have been vaccinated against COVID-19. I won’t be surprised if certain countries will be asking you to arrive for test, that when you come in you will be tested for COVID-19. So there will be so many things that will happen but it will take about a year for air passenger traffic to start returning to what it should be.

Do you think airlines will lose their workforce?

If and only if the government does not provide grant to get the airlines. Part of the terms of the grant will be like, we are giving you this grant so that you can keep your operation and so that you can keep your staff until things pick up. We do not want you to retrench staff or send them back

We do not want you to retrench staff or send them back into unemployment. It is the responsibility of the government to keep people in employment. We already have a challenge about unemployment and those you have employed we don’t want you to throw them out

into unemployment. It is the responsibility of the government to keep people in employment. We already have a challenge about unemployment and those you have employed we don’t want you to throw them out. And that is one of the conditions why you are giving this grant.

Do you think the economy, which may slip into a recession, can birth a new national carrier?

I tell you this, a recession economy cannot have the funds for a national carrier, most unlikely.

Although it depends on the quantum of funds you are talking about. If the original thing they talked about is N24 billion, if there is intervention fund that the airlines can take from with low interest rate, single-digit and long term, a national carrier being floated can access and take from that. But I do not see only a recession; the government may not have a budgetary allocation earmarked for that purpose. Government can still draw from the remaining intervention fund, a remnant of the fund given to airlines some years ago.

At least, I know as at last year, the balance of the intervention fund that was given from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that it was still remaining. From all, what I know is that at the time the national carrier project was coming up before it was aborted, the CBN had said it had the intervention fund. so it was there.

The national carrier that will be created should not attract any grant. Whatever form it takes must be funds that should be repaid or funds that eventually will constitute equity.

The grant that will be given to operating airlines is different because they are in operation, because they have responsibility, it should be given to them. But a new floatation should not have it; any airline coming now should not have it because the airline that must benefit from it must be in operation, it is not a product of stimulating to continue again or start again. But they should have access to a loanable fund like low interest rate and long term. So it is still possible; it depends on the government, but I do not think that with that kind of budgetary provision in an economy

Before now Nigerian airlines operate very old aircraft and leasing is difďŹ cult because of the mismanagement of leasing trust and agreement. Now Air Peace has a new order of about 13 aircraft and then they want to change the aircraft type. They have realised that Boeing 737 may not be the best aircraft for the distance, in term of consumption of fuel and operational cost. Do you think after this COVID-19 these airlines will be able to re-eet and do you have any issues about the existing eet?

There are issues about existing fleet, many of the aircraft being used by domestic carriers cannot operate on Category 3 ILS (Instrument Landing System), they can only operate on Cat 2. That is one. We are advancing, with Cat 3 being put in place; it comes largely for foreign airlines. So except our airlines begin to acquire modern generation aircraft that have the ability to operate Cat 3, which we need, even the Cat 3 that is going to be operated is level A, not even level C. Level C is when you have zero visibility landing. Level A will at least get you down up to 300 feet visibility. Only about three or four domestic operators can operate Cat 3, all others cannot operate Cat 3.

So, we need to get them changed. Sadly, two operators had messed up the entire things about leasing aircraft, they had messed it up by what they did, refusing to adhere to the Cape Town protocol on mobile equipment by going to court to try to stop the equipment from being returned to the owners. And with that it has taken Nigeria decades upon decades back to its earlier position where Nigerian operators cannot lease any modern generation equipment, cannot even lease equipment.

Now they cannot even give you aircraft on lease. In the past they could give you on lease with high repossession cost. Now the repossession is not even an issue again, they will not even give you any lease. So, Nigerian airlines will have to buy equipment which is a much more difficult thing to do. And as you are buying, you are paying out rightly. Or you have a bank guarantor that will say; if he doesn’t pay I will pay. So those two airlines messed up the system, they have done tremendous injury not only to the Nigerian economy today, but also tomorrow.

That is because we have stopped new operators from coming in except the operators have enough money to buy aircraft out rightly. That is a very dangerous thing that has happened. In fact, I am sure if NCAA is reviewing its regulation, if I was in a position to make input, I will ask them to have a rule or regulation within the NCAA Act that whoever goes to corner this protocol will lose his operating license and will never operate an airline in the country. The law has to be much more stringent. New entrants cannot come in easily except you have money to buy your equipment. This is a severe damage to the country and those operators should never be allowed to operate any airline in the industry.

Let’s look at non-aeronautical revenue possibilities. Is it possible to establish a discotheque and other similar businesses at the airport in order to attract people to such airport to boost its revenue?

People don’t know that non-aeronautical revenue depends on the level of operation at an airport. If there are many flights coming, I invest in and operate a taxi system in that airport. But if there are only two flights coming there is no need for me to buy a lot of taxis and put at the airport. How many people will come? Those flights that will come may be half of those that arrive have their own private cars waiting there. So the level of operation in an airport determines the level of businesses that will account for non-aeronautical revenue. If an airport is not functional, nobody is going there, few persons are coming out there, it is not attractive for any business no matter what, even if it is just sitting by and selling oranges CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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ALIGBE: WITH COVID-19, FLOATING NATIONAL CARRIER UNLIKELY

Google Releases $6.5m to Tackle Fake News Emma Okonji

Aligbe and Suyas, people have to come out to buy.

When people are not coming out to buy and remember much of the revenues are derived from not just those who are travelling but people who come to meet and greet people as well. These are the people that come and spend time in the restaurant waiting for the passenger to come, they eat. If you have an airport with 10,000 through put, the number of meeters and greeters will be almost twice that, almost 20,000.

So you find that that the total number of people around the airport will be almost 30,000 because through put is 10,000 but meaters and greeters and those who do business around there will make up the rest figure.

Is it possible to build an event place at the airport?

It is possible if there are enough space around that airport. It is possible that you can do such things around the airport but when you do that you are beginning to look at the kind of airport city concept where people can have anything that they want within the airport city. But if that is the only thing there and it is far from town, how many persons will drive to that place to go and do that? They rather stay in town, so that is the situation. Activities around the airport will depend on the level of operations around the airport. If the operations are low, it doesn’t make any meaning establishing any business there. But if the operations are high then you can establish business because you are going to have customers both from passengers and then from meeters and greeters.

Harmattan haze has been a very big challenge and recently there were diversion of ights. What do you think is the problem with navigational aids in Nigeria and what advice will you give to the Nigerian airspace management agency?

The last thing that happened was a very sad accident. I call it an accident because it was a timing element in it. Because the Cat 3 ILS had been there, it has been installed or they have started installing it. But after installation, two things are required - some little of training for those who will handle it, both in FAAN and NAMA, particularly NAMA. But then you also have to make sure that the runway lights are there. You know there is Cat 2 runway light and there is Cat 3 runway light, they are different in colours. The runway lights have to be there, you make sure the power is constant and then the airlines themselves have to have training on utilisation of Cat 3 approach. And the aircraft has to be equipped. Like I told you earlier many of the aircraft are not so equipped but there are a few that are, but by and large, foreign airlines are equipped. But what happened is that after they installed it they needed to calibrate. The government had acquired a calibration aircraft but you need to train calibration pilot. That has not been fully done for the calibration, so those ILS 3 were not calibrated. After they are installed they were waiting for calibration, unfortunately they had removed Cat 2 ILS that was there before. So the place became blind as it were.

It was between this period that the harmattan

haze came, not until they now had to look for a calibration aircraft. Because I think it was not the aircraft that they bought that calibrated it, they had to get a private service provider to calibrate it. That was when it started working. It was a kind of unfortunate accident because there was timing element, it has been installed, they are waiting for calibration, calibration had not been reading, they had removed Cat2 when the weather came and so we had a blind situation, that was what happened. Virtually Abuja and Lagos are Cat3, they have also moved to install it at Enugu, Port Harcourt and in Kano. But all others are Cat 2. So, it is not that they didn’t know what to do or they were not doing what they should do but, they couldn’t finish it when the bubble busted. But it is operational now, but we need our domestic operators, we need newer equipment that can at least utilise Cat 3 and eventually we are hoping that we will move from Cat 3 A to B and to C, so that some time in this country we will be talking about zero visibility landing. Many of the foreign airlines many of the aircraft have capability for that Cat C but our ILS must be upgraded to that point for them to be able to use it so that they can at least achieve zero visibility landing in our country.

The hardest hit by Coronavirus seems to be the air transport industry, and every country is coming out to support their airlines.

Looking at our airlines, what do you think the government and others can do so that Nigeria can still have local air transport?

When things like this happen that is when people realise the role that the airlines have been playing in our country. When things don’t happen this way, people never understand. But now, people understand the role of airlines. People say these are private airlines, but these airlines have contributed immensely to the economic development of the country using their own resources, putting their own efforts.

You are talking about stimulus; that is, how do you stimulate the economy? How do you keep the economy running? How do you stimulate it so that after the coronavirus we don’t go into another recession? We must realise that one of the greatest catalyst in any economy is the airline industry, moving people from one place to the other, moving goods and providing those services. After this coronavirus, the only way we can get back is to hold on to the catalyst, reactivate them again so that the process of reactivating the economy will begin.

If you don’t reactivate them, then the economy will remain where it will be. I heard government saying it would support SMEs, factories to make sure that they get back. Some people are talking about tax cut, tax relief; some people are talking about some intervention fund. Yes, the intervention fund will not be the kind of intervention fund for the airlines. I heard Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it would be five per cent interest rate, but I don’t think that is what should be the first thing. The intervention fund should be a kind of a grant to airlines. Government will look at the size of the operation of each airline and determine what amount of money to grant to each airline.

Google has said it is providing $6.5 million in funding to fact-checkers and non-profit organisations that are fighting against misinformation around the world about COVID-19 spread.

Google said the funds would help address the challenge of the ongoing spread of misinformation related to the Coronavirus pandemic. Through its Google News Initiative (GNI), Google is providing the funds to support media outlets and fact-checkers working to combat misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic.

Google will be supporting Africa Check in Nigeria, and Data Leads in partnership with BOOM Live in India to leverage data from Question Hub. This will be complemented by an effort to train 1,000 journalists across India and Nigeria to spot health misinformation.

Google’s online resources are being updated to support the vital work journalists are doing and the GNI Training Center has tools for

data journalism and verification in 16 languages, with a global team of Teaching Fellows delivering workshops entirely online in 10 languages.

The News and Information Credibility Lead, Google News Initiative News Lab, Alexios Mantzarlis, said: “Health authorities have warned that an overabundance of information can make it harder for people to obtain reliable guidance about the coronavirus pandemic. “Helping the world make sense of this information requires a broad response involving scientists, journalists, public figures, technology platforms and many others.� Some other media outlets and nonprofits around the world which will receive support through the Google News Initiative (GNI) include First Draft, a nonprofit that is providing an online resource hub, Full Fact and Maldita.es, which will coordinate efforts in Europe focused on countries with the most cases, CORRECTIV in Germany, LatamChequea,

coordinated by Chequeado, in the Spanish-speaking world and Latin America, the collaborative verification project Comprova in Brazil, SciLine, based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Australian Science Media Centre, creators of Scimex.org among others. “We also want to do more to highlight fact-check articles that address potentially harmful health misinformation more prominently to our users and we are experimenting with how to best include a dedicated fact check section in the COVID-19 Google News experience. Already, we have made Google Trends data readily available in localized pages with embeddable visualizations,�

Mantzarlis said. Reporters across the globe need to understand and explain how the world is searching for the virus. Local Google Trends data is available for journalists, health organizations and local authorities to help them understand people’s information needs around the world.

IPMAN Seeks Reopening of Refineries Sylvester Idowu in Warrior As a way of sustaining the economy at this critical period of global meltdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari, to immediately direct Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), to reopen all refineries in the country.

Chairman Delta State chapter of the IPMAN, Zino Onaemor, who gave the advice in Warri, said there could never be a better time for the federal government to look inwards on how to improve the nation’s economy than now.

He opined that the nation’s earnings from oil revenues would continue to depreciate as long as the coronavirus pandemic continues globally, noting that the earlier the government considers the appropriate usage of its

crude through local production to sustain the economy, the better for the nation. “We are currently faced with a sad situation that requires a very drastic approach to keep our economy floating before we run into a more difficult and pitiable situation that could be worse that what we experienced during the recession period in this country. “Since we are operating a mono economy and the people that buy oil from us are presently being devastated by the coronavirus, thereby reducing the global prices of oil drastically, what a sensible government should be doing right now is making use of our crude by refining it locally to sustain our economy. “We have our oil and we cannot drink it; let the federal government direct NNPC to put the nation’s refineries back on stream, especially the Warri Refinery. “We are aware they have been

importing petroleum products to sustain the demands in the country, but if our refineries are working, it would go a long way in reducing these burden as these refineries can go into production to reduce the over dependent on importation. “Our refineries have the capacity and full potential of refining all petroleum products petrol, diesel and kerosene we needed for our daily consumption if they can be well managed and maintained to run at maximum capacity�, he said.

Onaemor also queried the rationale behind government’s decision to reduce only the prize of PMS (fuel), and nothing was about diesel and kerosene that were equally being imported, stating that if the government could reduce petrol price, then it should also effect reduction in the prices of the two other products to reduce the burden on the masses.

Chi Limited Launches Chivita Ice Tea in Cans Chi Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost Fruit Juice Company, has announced its introduction of Chi Exotic and Chivita Ice Tea in new hip, trendy and convenient cans.

The launch of the product, according to the firm, demonstrated its continuous quest for innovation that meets the dynamic needs of Nigerian consumers. “Still with the same unique and great taste of Chi Exotic and rejuvenating power of Chivita Ice Tea, this is another first from Chivita, as it is the first time a mainstream juice brand is available in cans. The new Chi Exotic and Chivita Ice Tea 330ml cans exude confidence and style, and appeal to the youthful consumer segment by providing satisfaction and refreshment on the go in line with changing lifestyle trends. “The Chivita cans are a perfect choice for on-the-go and in-home consumption, and will become

a popular choice for upwardly mobile consumers who desire an aspirational, sleek and elegant image. The cans also enable increased availability of the Chivita Brand, which is the market leader in Nigeria’s fruit juice and still drinks category,� the company in a statement.

It stated that the introduction of the new Chivita 330ml cans was expected to disrupt the packaged fruit juice category. “By expanding presence to more sales channels and outlets, this new launch will be a key lever for growth of the Chivita Brand in the coming years “An innovative communication campaign tagged “Chivita New Cool Cans’’ which will employ emojis that expresses the unique Nigerian diversity from a cool, and trendy perspective will be deployed across various platforms like TV, Radio, Out of Home, Digital and Print to generate awareness among

consumers,� it added.

According to the Managing Director of Chi Limited, Mr. Deepanjan Roy, the new Chi Exotic and Chivita Ice Tea 330ml cans was an innovative approach to address the trendy needs of upwardly mobile consumers. “We decided to introduce Chi Exotic and Chivita Ice Tea 330ml Cans in order to appeal to a youthful segment of the population, whose lifestyle needs keep evolving. These innovative Cans for Chivita are modern, and reflect the individual style & personality of the consumer who desires to be seen carrying & drinking fruit juice from a can,� he explained.

Chi Exotic Pineapple Coconut & Chivita Ice Tea are available in 330ml Cans and at an affordable price of N150 only. They can be purchased in Chi Shoppes, supermarkets, departmental stores, markets, and neighborhood kiosks.

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WarnerMedia, Firm Enter into Strategic Partnership Ugo Aliogo WarnerMedia and Trending Media Africa have revealed the commencement of a strategic partnership that would further diversify WarnerMedia’s business streams.

According to a statement, the partnership would offer Trending Media Africa (TMA) clients access to advertising solutions on the high-quality American blockbuster movie channel, TNT, as well as WarnerMedia’s iconic kids’ channels, Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

The statement explained that WarnerMedia has been present in Africa for more than 20 years, operating six channels across the continent in 56 English, French and Portuguese speaking countries; including Africa’s favourite kids’ channels - Cartoon Network and Boomerang - and Africa’s tailored blockbusters destination, TNT. The Vice-President, Head of Commercial and Business Development Turner France, Africa and Israel, Guillaume Coffin, said: “Our wide portfolio allows us to target a large array of segments from young adults, to families, to kids. We can, therefore, offer client’s a fully integrated advertising offering on our channels. We know that clients are looking for fully integrated advertising packages which WarnerMedia is now able to do in Nigeria through our TMA partnership.

With TMA’s expertise and its ability to bringing gamechanging innovation coupled with trade marketing flair, we are convinced that with this new partnership, we will bring even more value to clients.�

The statement further described Trending Media Africa as one of Nigeria’s leading media sales representatives for

satellite TV, radio and other related media platforms with a cumulative experience spanning over 50 years. It affirmed that the company has demonstrated understanding and clear vision of what customer relationships and satisfaction should be, “thus becoming a key player in a booming and highly dynamic market, where brands are more and more active to gain market shares.�

The Managing Partner, Operations at TMA, Julius Osumah, said: “We are excited to partner with the world’s leading media and entertainment giant. Nigeria is a vibrant market that holds a lot of growth potential for the brand, and, we will work closely with WarnerMedia to deliver the best returns.�

According to the statement: “TMA is now representing WarnerMedia’s channels in Nigeria, giving clients access to a broader distribution with its kids’ channels, and movie destination TNT, being available across DStv’s Family and Premium offerings. At the same time, Cartoon Network and TNT are accessible to GOtv subscribers on GOtv MAX, and TNT also featuring on the GOtv Jolli package. “Following the new partnership, Carton Network and Boomerang will be bringing fresh content like the all-new I, Elvis Riboldi, Lamput and Kingdom Force to their channels, as well as more than 1 000 new episodes of the channels’ favourites like Teen Titans Go, DC Superhero Girls, Apple and Onion, Zig and Sharko and Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. TNT has an exciting line-up with great blockbusters such as The Illusionist, Crank, Robin Hood, Gladiator, The Island, Jurassic Park and King Kong.�

AfDB Lists $3bn Social Bond on LSE Obinna Chima The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) “Fight Covid-19� social bond, the largest social bond to date to be issued in the capital markets, has been listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is now available through its sustainable bond market.

According to a statement, the listing marked an important milestone as the Bank launched its first bond on the LSE. The over-subscribed transaction, which attracted $4.6 billion of interest in the book and raised an exceptional $3 billion, was launched to alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s economies and livelihoods.

The three-year maturity bond, garnered interest from central banks and official institutions, bank treasuries and asset managers including Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investors.

It disclosed that several high-quality ESG investors actively supported the transaction. These included Affirmative Investment Management (UK), Breckinridge, Columbia Threadneedle (USA), the Government Pension Investment

Fund, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Pension Boards – United Church of Christ, PineBridge Investments, Praxis Impact Bond Fund, TIAA/Nuveen and the United Nations Development Program. “The international community must work together to successfully tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The UK, along with partners like the African Development Bank and London Stock Exchange Group, is supporting the most vulnerable countries to invest in their own health systems and avoid economic hardship,�

International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said about the listing. “While we invest in areas like vaccine research to help end the pandemic sooner, this private investment through the AfDB, and our support for emergency lending through the IMF, will also help limit its impact on the global economy,�

Trevelyan further noted.

The London Stock Exchange, at the heart of London’s vibrant financial hub, is championing forward-looking initiatives aimed at deepening and diversifying the market.

Its dedicated Sustainable

Bond Market (SBM) draws innovative issuers and improves access, flexibility and transparency for investors.

Eligible social or sustainability bonds with use of proceeds aligned to mitigating the impact of Covid-19 would be admitted on the Exchange with admission fees waived for an initial period of three-months, the LSE has announced.

Such social and sustainability bonds fund essential services such as healthcare, water and sanitation, supporting employment, or with a link to the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The CEO, LSE and Group Director of International Development, Nikhil Rathi, said: “We welcome the first bond from African Development Bank to list on our market and support them in their vital efforts to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 across Africa. “This bond highlights the important role that social and sustainability bonds can play in directing funding to those countries, sectors and people across the world heavily impacted by this pandemic.�

The Bank established its Social Bond framework in 2017

and raised the equivalent of $5 billion through issuances denominated in US dollars, Euro and Norwegian krone.

On his part, the President of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said: “We are proud to announce that our first listing on London Stock Exchange is a social bond. This is only the beginning of a stronger partnership between the African Development Bank and London Stock Exchange.

We will mobilise all we can on the capital market to fight the coronavirus in Africa.�

The Bank’s previous activity in the social bond market has seen financing to build hospital capacity, boost access to health and healthcare services, strengthen health systems, provide improved access to water and sanitation, and create jobs across the continent.

Commenting on the listing, Martin Scheck, CEO of The International Capital Market Association or ICMA, said: “We believe Social and Sustainability Bonds can provide an immediately actionable channel for the market to finance projects that directly contribute to alleviating the social and economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis.�

NSIA Insurance Joins Fight against COVID-19 The NSIA Insurance said it has joined other private sector operators and individuals in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

The company said it is doing this through financial support to the umbrella body of insurance underwriters, the Nigerian Insurers Association’s (NIA) COVID-19 Support Fund for combating the pandemic.

The association, which seeks to contribute to legislation and decisions made by the government in the best interest of the economy, recently volunteered to acquire testing kits and protective gears to help further mitigate the spread of the virus.

The NIA also announced a donation of N1 million free life insurance cover to each of the health workers and allied professionals catering for the needs of COVID-19 patients, a gesture that has been made possible through the collective contributions of insurance companies in Nigeria.

According to the MD/ CEO of NSIA Insurance, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, “We urge the general public

to comply with local authorities and stay indoors while following the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for staying safe during this period. “Our hearts go out to those families who have lost dear ones in the course of this pandemic and pray that they would have the strength to pull through the pain�.

Nwachukwu added, “Our staff members are currently working remotely, though our offices are closed, which means that we are still very much available to do business. We have an array of life products that we encourage customers to take at this time. “We also would want people to take householder insurance policies now since everyone is home and may need it for possible eventualities. Insurance at a time like this should be taken seriously.�

NSIA Insurance offers a wide range of insurance services at competitive rates to meet the changing financial, investment, and lifestyle needs of its corporate, commercial, and individual customers.

CSR IN ACTION

L-R: John Nwosu; National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Iju Nwabunike; Representative of the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly/Lawmaker Representing Amuwo Odofin Constituency 2, Hon. Olawale Suleiman; Managing Director/CEO,Westron Properties Nigeria Limited, Chief George Igboegwu and his wife, Lolo Gogo, during the inauguration ceremony of Westron Road and Bridge, Ijegun Egba, built by Westron properties in Lagos...recently

COVID-19: Kwara Hails Elumelu, Others Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The Kwara State government has commended the financial support of the chairman of the BUA Group Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Tony Elumelu, and the United Bank for Africa, among others, in their support to the national and subnational campaigns against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the state’s spokesman on Technical Committee on COVID-19 , Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye said, “The government appreciates the N1billion donation that Alhaji Rabiu has made to

seven states of the federation including Kwara State to bolster the national response to this pandemic. “Similarly, the government is profoundly grateful to Mr. Elumelu and the UBA for their donation of a whopping N28.5 million to the Kwara State Government to combat this crisis.�

According to the statement, “These gestures, which are a corporate social responsibility at its finest, are most welcome at this critical time when government’s resources are understandably stretched because of the global oil crisis partly engineered by this unexpected health

emergency that threatens the entire human race.�

The statement said the government needs all the help it could get to face down the pandemic, calling on other corporate bodies and philanthropists to donate to the Technical Committee to help its effort to curtail the virus.

The statement stated, “Donations can be made to the committee through Kwara State COVID-19 Support Bank Account 1022751448 at UBA. “The corporate bodies or individuals wishing to assist the state may either pay into this account, donate essential materials for government to take care of the poor, or do

their own private support to persons of their choice.�

The committee meanwhile has cautioned people against politicising the global pandemic for selfish gains, adding: “the nature of the enemy we face is such that all hands must be on deck and all of us must forget making any political mileage out of the situation while concentrating our energy only on curtailing it immediately. “Anyone who wishes to contribute anything should please send it through the right channels. This time calls for sober reflection.

It is no time to score cheap political gains at the expense of public health.�

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08038901925

Striving for Inclusion in Championing Gender Balance Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that for Sahara Group, the recently commemorated International Women’s Day was more than just a day marked out to celebrate women, rather it was an opportunity to shift from being women-centric to striving for male inclusion in championing a more gender-balanced and enabled world

G

lobally, every March 8 is dedicated to honouring the achievements of women in all spheres of life. On that day, women from different backgrounds and culture come together to fight for women’s rights and address issues of bias. This year, its theme was a timely call to action for improvement of women’s situations globally.

This year, the 2020 International Women’s Day (IWD) themed ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women's Rights’, which aligns with UN Women's new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality, which also marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, was marked on Sunday, March 8.

Although they align their brand with celebrating IWD, for Sahara Group, this year’s celebration was somewhat different. They organised programs and events to include men which created an opportunity for them to engage and learn practical steps needed for supporting women at home and in the workplace.

It is projected that by the year 2030, the world will have 8.5 billion people and since women and girls represent half of the world’s population, they represent half of its potential.

Each year, the International Women’s Day is set aside to celebrate women and advocate for equal social, economic and political opportunities for both genders.

But asides celebrating on one day, the conversations it produces usually outlast the day and create louder visibility for the issues women face in society. Also, on that day, it is quite common to hear people jokingly ask questions like “how may women’s day will we celebrate in one year, what of men’s day?�, with pockets of people arguing about feminism and the different forms of it.

Now more than ever, there is a sense of urgency in closing the gender gap as studies from the World Economic Forum have shown that the economic costs associated with the unlevel playing field has impeded the advancement of many nations, and when this gap is closed, GDP can increase by as much as 35 per cent due to reduction in unemployment rates.

A report by One.org states that in sub-Saharan Africa, 45 per cent fewer women than men have access to the internet and if an additional 600 million women and girls globally gained access to the Internet in the next three years, GDP across 144 developing countries could be boosted by up to $13-18 billion.

In Nigeria alone, the rise of internet adoption and social media usage has provided young women with avenues to run online businesses which ultimately contribute to the GDP of the country, showing that when issues affecting women are addressed, everybody benefits.

In the workplace, inequality hampers productivity and growth of organisations as women and men bring different skills which can impact the financial performance of institutions.

For instance, it is widely claimed that the advent of women into architectural design and engineering saw the addition of accessibility capabilities such as ramps and disabled parking to building and street design. This is because being primary care givers, women were more familiar with pushing prams and wheelchairs and understood the importance of creating spaces that meet the needs of all people.

As a famous quote says, “If you do not have a seat at the table, you are probably on the menu� and although this proverbial table is not gender- specific, women are encouraged to shatter the glass ceilings and make it into top decision-making positions where they can

Procurement Manager, Sahara Group, Doris Oji create solutions for global problems and shape the world.

Doris Oji, Procurement Manager at Sahara Group and World Economic Forum Global Shaper believes there are many benefits that the world has gained as a result of increased awareness to the plight of women. “Although we are far from achieving gender parity, there has been tremendous progress. In 2020, women’s leadership and

With this year’s theme being #EachForEqual, the focus is shifting from being womencentric to striving for male inclusion in championing a more genderbalanced and enabled world

representation in senior management roles have increased. For instance, the engineering sector which used to be a “boys’ club� has in recent times, seen women lead some of the world’s largest engineering companies, such as Mary Barra - CEO of General Motors, Marilynn Hewson - CEO of Lockheed Martins, and in Nigeria, Folake Soetan – Ag. CEO Ikeja Electric,� Oji stated.

Thus, by closing the gender gap at the top level of organisations, younger women are presented with positive role models who they can aspire to becoming in their various sectors.

With this year’s theme being #EachForEqual, the focus is shifting from being women-centric to striving for male inclusion in championing a more gender-balanced and enabled world. In Sahara’s Group’s celebration of IWD this year, more programs and events were organised to include men which created an opportunity for them to engage and learn practical steps needed for supporting women at home and in the workplace. “Gender Equality is second nature to us at Sahara Group as the organisation is passionate about equal opportunity for all, creating platforms for all employees in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East to develop and grow without any ceilings, irrespective of gender,� says Ivie Imasogie-Adigun, Group Head, Human Resources, Sahara Group.

Ivie’s comment sums up what the norm should be across the globe, although, we would

certainly have situations where deliberate measures would be required to provide buffers and incentives for apparently marginalise gender groups.

The fun part of the IWD celebration came alive at Egbin Power Plc, an affiliate of Sahara Group where the day was marked by giving the mantle of leadership to a young female engineer as the ‘CEO for a day�. This was keenly contested by two young women and the entire organisation held an election exercise to select the winner.

All through the campaign, it was refreshing to see young men supporting these women, canvassing for votes for them and extolling their leadership qualities. This type of collaboration and allyship is needed to create a gender-equal world in which all genders can thrive and advance.

Ultimately, the aim is to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 which aims to provide women and girls everywhere with equal rights and opportunity to enable them to live free of violence and discrimination.

According to the UN, the achievement of the other sixteen SDGs depends on the achievement of Goal 5 and so it requires a collaboration of all stakeholders and genders. Looking to the future, it is hoped that asides globally celebrating women on IWD, organisations create enabling environments and cultures that allow women thrive to ensure their contribution is amplified and appreciated each and every day.

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MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 •T H I S D AY

MONDAYDAY APRIL 6, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

32

NEWSEXTRA

SERAP Seeks Spending Details on COVID-19 Relief Funds Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide spending details of public funds and private sector donations to provide socio-economic benefits to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people, including details of beneficiaries of any cash payments, cash transfers, food distribution and other benefits during the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states because of COVID-19.

SERAP also asked the federal government and CBN to disclose information on the details of the implementation of the school feeding programme during the lockdown and closure of schools in several states where the programme is being implemented, including the number of children that have so far benefited from the programme and the names of the communities, since the lockdown and closure of schools, as well as the number of cooks, engaged.

In two Freedom of Information (FoI) requests sent to Minister

of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Ms Sadia Umar-Farouk,and the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, SERAP said: “We are seriously concerned that millions of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people have not benefited from the announced palliatives, donations, reported cash payments, cash transfers and other benefits.”

It noted that providing socioeconomic benefits to the country’s poorest especially at this time of COVID-19 crisis is a matter of human rights, not charity.

The organisation added that it is implicit in Nigerians’ right to freely use their natural wealth and resources, which ought to be spent for the public good and ensuring that relief funds and donations are used to provide much-needed benefits to beneficiaries is critical to keeping people alive, and addressing vulnerabilities and inequalities in the country.

In the FoI requests dated April 4, 2020 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare,

the organisation said: “Providing the information would help to address the concerns by many Nigerians regarding allegations of corruption and politicisation in the distribution of benefits, improve public trust, and

enhance the integrity of the entire processes and modes of distribution of reliefs/benefits to these Nigerians.”

The FoI requests read, in part: “Rather than making physical cash payments to the country’s

poorest and most vulnerable people, we urge you to begin electronic cash transfers to all beneficiaries through individuals’ Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), already available through the banks. This would

be cost-effective at this time of crisis, provide immediate and significant benefits, as well as give individuals and families the freedom to spend the money on goods and services that best meet their particular needs.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY…

Borno to Commence Irrigation Farming in 28 Communities

L-R: Eze Ndigbo of Mushin, Dr. John Nwosu; National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr. Iju Nwabunike; public intellectual, Prof. Pat Utomi; Managing Director/CEO, Westron Properties Nigeria Limited, Chief George Igboegwu; and his wife, Lolo Gogo, during the inspection of the newly inauguarted Westron road and bridge, built by Westron Properties, at Ijegun Egba, in Lagos…recently

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Rivers Set to Distribute Foodstuffs as Palliatives

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, is considering a plan to commence irrigation farming in the 28 communities located along the Lake Alau, which were displaced by Boko Haram at the peak of insurgency in the state.

Zulum, who had a ferry ride yesterday to the communities across the lake Alau, said the trip to the agrarian communities was to explore how irrigation could be restored in order to revive the means of livelihood of the people in the area.

The governor said: “We are here purposely to look into ways we can bring back irrigation activities along the shores of the Lake Alau.

As we know, 28 communities were

displaced and we will look into the possibility of resettling our brothers and sisters. The military is very committed; we will liaise with them to ensure sustained security of lives and property.”

The governor also inspected the water pumping station at Alau and the Maiduguri Water Treatment Plant to see the turnaround maintenance being carried out by the Borno State Ministry of Water Resources.

He said: “I am happy with what I have seen here. You have done a very good job. Sustainable portable water supply remains critical to my administration, and we must do everything for our people to continually supply them with clean water. However, this can only happen when we keep working day and night and with all sense of commitment.”

As a solution, the ANAP Foundation Think Tank headed

by Mr. Atedo Peterside is suggesting that where one-room dwellings are prevalent, the authorities should encourage the separation of the elderly who are more vulnerable in the event of COVID-19 infections from younger members of their families. This, the foundation recommends, will entail disparate families cooperating with one another. What the foundation is proposing is for, say, Family A to vacate their room but leave behind their aged relatives in that room and encourage other elderly relatives living with, say, Family B in another single room to move into the unit belonging to Family A. After vacating their single room, younger members of Family A will now move in to live with Family B younger family members in the single room vacated by their elderly relatives, and so on and so forth.

However, when Peterside was confronted with the impracticality of encouraging unrelated families to live together temporarily, his response put paid to any initial reservations. He asked: “When confronted with the choice of seeing thousands of people die because they want to hold on to their old living arrangements and seeing fewer

die because of temporary living arrangements, which would you choose?” It was pretty obvious which of the choices, no matter how inconvenient, made sense. Another option will be to move the elderly to the rural areas. But that should never be contemplated by the authorities, as this could lead to the spread of COVID-19 to far-flung villages and hamlets that will be much more difficult to access.

Enforcing the lock down in many states, especially in congested parts of Lagos is also proving to be a tall order for the authorities. People who have to leave their homes daily to eke a living are afraid that keeping them indoors will render them completely destitute. This is a genuine concern that the Lagos State Government is attempting to address by distributing food packs to the impoverished.

Sadly, this has been marred by its officials and politicians who are either diverting the food packs for their personal use, or where the food packs manage to get to the poor, utter chaos and mayhem ensures, effectively defeating the need for social distancing.

The government in Lagos State must address this problem urgently. It will have to work

out measures to ensure that the palliatives it has rolled out for the poor reaches them, if they must keep them indoors. If the initiative fails, poor and hungry Lagosians will succumb to their primal instincts for survival by leaving their homes to look for food and money through any means possible, including resorting to looting and riots that will be difficult to contain.

Equally important is the need for the authorities in Lagos to use megaphones in markets to educate traders and shoppers alike. Videos emerged at the weekend showing bustling, chaotic scenes at food markets in the state like it was business as usual. While it may be necessary to keep markets and shops selling food and other essential items open for limited periods, the state government must, through the market associations, maintain discipline and work with them to stem the spread of the virus.

Should it explode, we will remain shuttered for much longer. I shudder to think of what a prolonged lock down will do to our psyche, mental well-being, and an already battered economy.

Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said his administration has set in motion a vehicle to distribute food palliatives to the people of the state following the sit-at-home directive to check the spread of COVID-19.

Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday after inspecting the state Food Bank established for the distribution of the food palliatives, Wike said a committee would be set up to implement the distribution of the foodstuffs.

Wike was accompanied by Service Commanders who are also members of the state Task

Force on the Enforcement of the Ban on Public and Religious Gatherings.

He said: “We inspected where we kept the relief materials for our palliative programme. Our intention is to ensure that we mitigate the impact of the sit-at-home directive.

“We are going to set up a committee for the distribution of the foodstuffs meant to serve as palliative for the Rivers people.”

At the state Food Bank, the state government has rice, Garri, beans, noodles, yam, palm oil and salt to be distributed to the less-privileged in all the 23 local government areas in the state.

The governor warned against the politicisation of the fight

MUSINGS ON Cof ORONAVIRUS government and the health

Optimizing Scarce Resources Another area worth looking into is the need for all tiers

authorities to stem the waste of limited resources at their disposal needed to confront the Coronavirus. While not wishing the virus on anyone, it is disheartening to see top government functionaries and politicians such as the Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his family, the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro announcing that they have tested negative for COVID-19.

If these scare and precious testing kits are being wasted on otherwise healthy-looking government functionaries and the rich, what will be left for ordinary Nigerians that need to be tested? As I write this, so many people trying to reach the COVID-19 helplines are not getting the attention that they need. If anyone in government feels that he/she may have come in contact with an infected person, the same NCDC protocol of self-quarantining for 14 days that applies to other Nigerians should also apply to them, period! During the period of self-quarantine, they can continue to work from home and run their offices. It is only when they start to show symptoms

against coronavirus spread, saying all stakeholders must make sacrifices.

“We say to our people, this is not a time to play politics.

Nobody should play politics with the lives of the people.

Everybody has to make sacrifices to make sure everyone stays alive,” he said.

Wike said the state government is prepared to tackle the deadly virus, adding: “For now, we are not 100 percent ready, but we are about 90 percent ready. Luckily for us, we have no serious cases.

“The confirmed case is doing very well. They have sent her samples and it came out negative. The final sample has

been sent and we are expecting the results.

“We are doing quite well.

All members of the security council are working together to ensure that we prevent the spread of coronavirus.”

On the monitoring of compliance by churches, Wike said the taskforce is happy with the level of cooperation from worship centres.

He said: “We are happy with the level of compliance that we have seen throughout Obio/ Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas. The churches complied,” as the governor also inspected the progress of work at the state isolation/treatment centre under construction.

for COVID-19 that they should submit themselves for testing.

Otherwise, the testing kits should be preserved for others that need them the most.

It is important to reiterate that this is not a time to be flippant and to start broadcasting the names of persons that have tested negative for COVID-19 like it is a badge of honour.

When these same persons test negative for other diseases after medical check-ups, the public is kept in the dark. Accordingly, they should keep their COVID-19 negative status to themselves.

The only persons that the public needs to be made aware of their health status, be it negative or positive, is the Nigerian president and his deputy.

The health authorities may also have to review the protocol for the admission of every person that tests positive for the Coronavirus as we run out of bed space in hospitals and isolation centres. As is evident, many persons, even the elderly such as The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was never hospitalized after he showed mild symptoms and tested positive for the disease.

He self-isolated and recuperated at his Scottish retreat on the grounds of Balmoral Castle, but was never hospitalized. So did

the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock who tested positive but is now negative and is out and about; so is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is self-isolating and recovering at Number 10 Downing Street; so is CNN anchor Chris Cuomo who is self-isolating in the basement of his home in New York.

The reason many people with COVID-19 are self-isolating at home in Europe and the US instead of being treated in hospitals is because of the scarcity of bed space, ventilators and other medical supplies that are desperately needed to treat severe and critical cases afflicted by the disease. Knowing that 80% of COVID-19 cases will be mild, what the authorities in those countries are doing is encouraging people to self-isolate and take palliative medications to relieve and treat the symptoms that they are presenting. In the same breath, the Nigerian authorities may have to consider the same measure, seeing that quite a number of the confirmed cases in the country so far are mild. But this measure should only be contemplated if the number of confirmed cases in the country explodes to unmanageable proportions and the healthcare system is over-stretched.

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MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

COVID-19: Pope Urges Courage as Global Death Toll Tops 65,000 Pope Francis appealed Sunday for courage in the face of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 65,000 lives across the globe in just three months.

US President Donald Trump has already warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of deaths in the coming days, as the number of confirmed cases there surged past 300,000 — the highest in the world.

Queen Elizabeth II was also set to give a rare address on Sunday aimed at rallying Britain, where the government is warning of tougher measures on social distancing to try to curb surging infections.

The deadly march of the virus has left about half the planet confined to their homes, drastically altering life for billions of people and plunging the global economy into deep recession.

With over 1.2 million people confirmed to be infected, the virus is also putting massive pressure on healthcare services in nations both rich and poor which are struggling to find enough staff and equipment.

Despite Trump’s bleak warning for the United States, there were glimmers of hope in hard-hit Italy, ground zero for COVID-19 in Europe, and in Spain.

Pope Francis, who himself has been tested twice for the new coronavirus, delivered Palm Sunday mass by livestream with Saint Peter’s Square empty of the usual huge crowds.

“Today, in the tragedy of a

pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love’,” he said.

On Saturday, Trump warned that the United States was entering “a time that’s going to be very horrendous” with “some really bad numbers.”

“This will probably be the toughest week,” he said at the White House. “There will be a lot of death.”

But he stressed that the world’s largest economy — where over 8,500 people have died from the virus — cannot remain shut down forever.

“Mitigation does work but again, we’re not going to destroy our country,” he said. “I’ve said it from the beginning — the cure cannot be worse than the problem.”

Over 47,000 global deaths have been recorded in Europe, with Britain reporting a new daily high in fatalities, taking the overall toll to 4,300.

Queen Elizabeth is to make a “deeply personal” speech to urge people to rise to the challenge posed by the coronavirus, and personally thank frontline healthcare workers.

“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she will say, according to extracts released Saturday.

Infected UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson Admitted British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been admitted to hospital ten days after testing positive for coronavirus.

According to an announcement from Downing Street on Sunday night, the Prime Minister, who is still suffering from symptoms of the disease, will undergo tests as a precaution.

A spokesperson said: ‘On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests ‘This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of

coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.

‘The Prime Minister thanks NHS staff for all their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the government’s advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.’

Despite continuing to show symptoms of COVID-19, such as a cough and high temperature, Boris Johnson has resolved to continue spearheading the government’s response to the health crisis from his flat above Number 11.

Morocco to Free Over 5,000 Prisoners to SlowVirus Spread Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Sunday pardoned more than 5,600 prisoners and ordered their release in stages to avoid contagion in the country’s overcrowded jails.

The justice ministry said the 5,654 detainees that would be freed were selected based in their age, health, good conduct and length of detention.

They would be released in stages due to “exceptional circumstances linked to the emergency health situation and necessary precautions” against the virus, it said in a statement.

The decision came as the COVID-19 illness has officially killed 66 people and infected 960 in the North African country.

The king also ordered authorities to take “all the necessary measures to reinforce the protection of detainees in prisons” which are widely known to be overcrowded.

Morocco, home to 35 million

people, has an estimated 232 detainees per 100,000 inhabitants.

With the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, rights groups have urged authorities to release all political prisoners, including those held in preventive detention or nearing the end of the terms.

But it was not immediately clear if detainees linked to the “Hirak” protest movement that rocked northern Morocco in 2016 and 2017 would be among those pardoned by the king.

Morocco’s prison authorities have meanwhile taken measures to protect staff and reduced visits.

The UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet last month said countries should consider releasing older detainees and low-risk offenders.

Several other countries, including Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia, have moved to release thousands of prisoners to lower the risk of a major outbreak of the virus in prisons.

The British government warned it may ban outside exercise if people flout stringent guidelines aimed at curbing virus transmission as warmer weather stoked fears people could congregate in parks and open spaces.

The pandemic has hammered the global economy, with businesses hit hard as people are forced to stay indoors.

Governments have rolled out massive, unprecedented stimulus programmes to ease the pain, but economists have warned that the crisis could worsen poverty levels with millions of jobs lost.

Poor economies, such as Iraq, are struggling, with charities and volunteers rallying to provide food to the needy.

“This is more dangerous than Daesh,” said Iraqi volunteer Mustafa Issa, referring to the Islamic State jihadist group that swept through a third of the country in 2014.

There was, however, some encouraging news from Europe.

Italy, which has registered over 15,000 deaths, cheered after seeing the number of intensive care virus cases drop for the first time on Saturday.

Even some of the most cautious Italian health officials seized on the figures as evidence that the tide may be turning in the deadliest disaster the country has faced since World War II. “This is a very important data point,” said civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli. “It

allows our hospitals to breathe.”

Spain, which is under a near-total lockdown, saw a third successive daily fall in coronavirus-related deaths with 647 fatalities, taking its total to over 12,400.

Although the number of new cases also slowed, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an extension of a lockdown until April 25.

At a field hospital in Madrid set up at a conference centre, staff applauded whenever a patient was healthy enough to be discharged.

Builder Eduardo Lopez, 59, gave a “10/10” rating to the staff who cared for him “with tenderness and a great dose of humanity”.

New York state, the US epicentre, saw a record 630 deaths in a single day and Governor Andrew Cuomo warned the worst was yet to come. The state has recorded a total of 3,565 deaths.

Cuomo also cautioned that already strained hospitals were not prepared.

New York City appealed for licensed medical personnel to volunteer their services.

“Anyone who’s not already in this fight, we need you,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Trump said 1,000 military personnel, mostly doctors and nurses, would be deployed to help in the city, which he described as “the hottest of all the hot spots”.

CSR IN ACTION...

L-R: Deputy Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Mr. Oluseye Opasanya (SAN); Senior Special Assistant on Health to Ogun State Governor, Dr. Ololade Kehinde; Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, and Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN), during the law firm’s presentation of medical consumables, equipment and other supplies to the Ogun State Government to fight COVID-19 in Lagos....weekend

Spain Records Lowest South Sudan Records Rise in Coronavirus First Coronavirus Case South Sudan reported its first coronavirus on Saturday after Deaths Since Early March coronavirus case on Sunday, presenting herself at a UN clinic Another 674 people have died

of coronavirus in Spain in the past day, the lowest daily rise in percentage terms since early March.

The country has now seen 12,418 deaths from its devastating outbreak, the most anywhere in the world apart from Italy.

But the evidence strongly suggests that the nation is through the worst of the pandemic, with the pace of new cases and deaths decelerating.

The Health Ministry’s data shows there are now 80,261 active cases of Covid-19 in Spain, an increase of 1,488 from Saturday – but also the

smallest daily rise since March 17. The rise in the number of new cases has been declining in percentage terms since March 24.

However, there was an uptick of 329 in the number of people admitted to intensive care units since the pandemic began – compared to Saturday’s number of 116.

The ministry also reported that 38,080 have now recovered from the virus – nearly 4,000 more than the number reported Saturday. For the first time since statistics were made available the daily increase in active cases was under 2%.

one of the last African nations to confirm the presence of COVID-19 within its borders.

“South Sudan confirms one case of coronavirus,” Riek Machar, the country’s first vice president, told a press conference in the capital Juba.

Machar identified the patient as a 29-year-old woman who arrived in South Sudan from the Netherlands via Ethiopia on February 28.

Her nationality was not given.

In a statement, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said the woman is a member of its staff.

She tested positive for

on Thursday.

“The Ministry of Health is leading a full investigation with the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention including identifying and following up all the possible contacts and next steps,” Machar said.

South Sudan has already closed bars, night clubs and shops, other than those selling food, and encouraged people to observe social distancing rules.

Borders have been shut and the country’s international airport closed. A curfew is also in place from 8:00 pm to 06:00 am.

COVID-19: Expect More Death in US Weeks Ahead, Says Trump President Donald Trump told Americans to brace for a big spike in coronavirus fatalities in the coming days, as the country faces what he called the toughest two weeks of the pandemic.

“There’s going to be a lot of death,” Trump said at a briefing with newsmen on Sunday.

He pushed back on criticism that the federal government has not done enough to get ventilators that many critically ill coronavirus patients need to survive to the states.

According to him, some governors are asking for more machines than they will need.

“Fears of shortages have

led to inflated requests,” Trump said of submissions his administration has received to dole out equipment from the strategic national stockpile.

The U.S. has the world’s highest number of known cases of COVID-19, the flu-like respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

According to a Reuters tally, over 306,000 people have tested positive in the U.S. and over 8,300 have died.

White House medical experts have forecast that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could be killed in the pandemic, even if sweeping orders to stay home are followed.

“We are coming up to a time that is going to be very horrendous.

“We probably have never seen anything like these kind of numbers. Maybe during the war, during a World War One or Two or something,” Trump said at the White House.

On Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that in the grimmest day yet for the U.S. state hit hardest by the pandemic, coronavirus-related illnesses had killed 630 people in the last 24 hours in New York State.

“The disease has now killed 3,565 people in New York and the situation is particularly worrying on Long Island,

east of New York City, where the number of cases is like a fire spreading,” Cuomo told a news conference.

Health experts calculate that New York, home both to bustling Manhattan and hilly farm country stretching to the Canadian border, might be around a week away from the worst point in the health crisis which has killed about 60,000 people worldwide.

“We’re not yet at the apex, we’re getting closer. Our reading of the projections is we’re somewhere in the seven-day range.

“It’s only been 30 days since our first case, it feels like an entire lifetime,” Cuomo said.

34

T H I S D AY ˞ ʹ˜ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

BoI Supports COVID-19 Fight with N700m Dike Onwuamaze Nigeria’s Development Finance Institution, Bank of Industry (BOI) has joined other corporates and philanthropists in supporting the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria through the donation of N700 million into the relief fund.

The Bank at the weekend announced that it has contributed N500 million of its relief funding to the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

It anticipated that the donation

would go a long way to help in providing more testing, isolation and treatment centers across all geo-political zones.

In addition, the Bank said it would be providing financial support of N100 million to the FCT Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 as well as another N100 million to support the Lagos State government. “This level of contribution will advance regional efforts to combat the spread of the pandemic through the supply of critical care equipment, facilities and essential relief aid.

“At this pivotal moment in the history of our great nation, we stand in solidarity with the Federal Government and our colleagues across various industries,� said Bank of Industry MD/CEO, Olukayode Pitan. “We are optimistic that if we all play our part, we will beat COVID-19, and we will see Nigeria recover and thrive�, he added.

BOI also reaffirmed its commitment to continue to provide access to finance to Nigerian enterprises, in line with its strategic mandate.

FRC Activates Business Continuity Plan The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) said it has activated its business continuity plan, in view of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency, in a public notice, also said it has adopted measures to curtail the spread of the virus, in line with the directive of the federal government. “This pandemic is already impacting social, economic, political and other activities around the world. “The federal government has taken several measures to manage the identified cases of COVID-19 and curtail its spread. “One of such measures

includes the directives of President Muhammad Buhari that all non-essential offices be closed to business in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun.�

It added: “In compliance with the directive, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria have put in place a continuity plan (CP) to ensure we support all our stakeholders during this challenging period. “ It pointed out that FRC registration process could be done, from start to finish, via its website, stressing that physical visits to its offices are not necessary to complete a registration. “However, the Council’s staff are available to provide support on registration matters

through e-mail at register@ frcpay.com and through telephone. “For compliance, inspection and monitoring matters such as waivers, clearance of audited financial statements with modified opinions by auditors or ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraphs, we advise stakeholders to use our digital channels during this period. “We wish to assure all stakeholders that the Council shall do everything possible to support you at this time, as always, while continuing to monitor the situation and abide by all federal, state and local authorities’ instructions on the pandemic.�

FCMB Grows Profit to N20.1bn The FCMB Group Plc has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The audited results showed that the Group’s gross revenue increased to N188 billion compared to N177.2billion in 2018. The performance also manifested in profit before tax, which rose by nine per cent to N20.1 billion. Following this, the financial institution declared a dividend of 14 kobo per share to shareholders.

FCMB Group, a holding company divided along three business groups; Commercial and Retail Banking (First City Monument Bank Limited, Credit Direct Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited and FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited); Investment Banking (FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited) as well as Asset & Wealth Management (FCMB Pensions Limited, FCMB Asset

Management Limited and CSL Trustees Limited), also reported appreciable growth in key operating areas going by the audited results.

The financial results also showed that net interest income increased by five per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) to N76 billion for the twelve months of 2019, from N72.6 billion within the same period in 2018.

In demonstration of enhanced customers’ confidence in FCMB, deposits grew to N943.1 billion in December 2019, as against N863.4 billion in September 2019.

Commenting on the overall performance, FCMB Group stated that, “post-tax profits increased by 16 per cent to N17.3 billion, this translates to a return on average equity (RoAE) of nine per cent and earnings per share of 87.2 kobo, an

improvement of 8.1 per cen and 75.2 kobo, respectively, in 2018.�

It added that, “our businesses continue to improve with growth in other key indicators, such as loans and advances, deposits and assets under management (AUM), which grew by 13.1 per cent, 14.8 per cent and 28.3 per cent, respectively.

Our customer base also grew by 27.7 per cent across the Group from 5.3 million to 6.8 million. “Overall, customer satisfaction has shown positive trends, with a net promoter score of 31 in banking and 23 in asset management. Asset quality has continued to improve, with the Group-wide NPL ratio coming down to 3.7 per cent, from 5.9 per cent.�

FCMB Group is a frontline financial services institution in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.

CIBN Elects Olugbemi President The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) at the weekend held its 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM), where it announced the election of new officers and reviewed the 2019 financial and operational reports.

Highlights of the AGM held virtual, was the announcement of Mr. Bayo Olugbemi as the 21st elected President of the institute. Also, Mr. Ken Opara was elected the first Vice President; Prof. Pius Olanrewaju as second Vice President and Mr. Alabi, Oladele Adebiyi, as the National Treasurer.

Other elected positions in the

Governing Council are Mrs. Onitiri Rafiat Oluwatoyin; Mr. Odutola Olayinka Alade; Mr. Ajayi Rahman Olabode; and Dr. Adolor, Godwin Ununotovo, to serve the tenure 2020 to 2022.

The outgoing President, Dr. Uche Olowu, chaired the meeting with attendance by all members of the institute across the globe.

According to a statement, Olanrewaju, gave the financial highlights of the institute in 2019. The results showed that the institute recorded 7.1 per cent increase in Net Operating Surplus, from N539 million in 2018, to N577 million in the

year under review.

Also, it recorded a 5.8 per cent increase in total income, from N1.47 billion in 2018, to N1.55 billion in 2019, as well as a 6.9 per cent increase in IGR from N1.16 billion in 2018, to N1.24 billion in 2019.

Speaking further on the 2019 operations the CIBN, Olowu informed members that the institute was reference point in the country and across the globe.

He said all CIBN subsidiaries, from the Centre for Financial Studies to the Press, among others, recorded improved performance.

Pitan

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

11,007,422.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ Ͱ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $18.93 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $16.87 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

35

T H I S D AY ˞ ʹ˜ 2020

MARKET NEWS

International Breweries Assures Shareholders of Better Value Goddy Egene The Finance Director of International Breweries Plc, Mr. Bruno Zambrano, has assured shareholders of the company of better value going forward.

Zambrano, who gave the assurance during a visit by the company’s management to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), recently, said

the rights issue recently embarked upon by the company would have positive impact on its operations and financial performance.

International Breweries Plc had last December offered 18,266,206,614 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to existing shareholders at N9.00 per share to raise additional capital of N165 billion.

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

Speaking to market operators on the floor of the Exchange, Zambrano said the rights issue had helped to recapitalise the company, improve its operational and financial flexibility, as well as significantly reduce its financing cost.

He therefore assured shareholders of the company’s commitment to generate value for the

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

long term, adding that the company will continue to explore every option to bring smiles to consumers and shareholders alike.

The finance director reiterated the company’s strategy of building a sustainable business for the long-term future and continued goal of creating shareholder value.

In his comments, the Chief Executive Officer

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, commended International Breweries Plc, disclosing that the exchange was engaging government on the need for listed companies to be allowed tax breaks as an incentive to promote growth and productivity.

International Breweries Plc, is a part of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev,

O F

(AB InBev). International Breweries Plc was established in 1971 and was listed on the NSE in 1995.However, AB InBev consolidated its business stakes in Pabod Breweries Limited, Intafact Beverages Limited into its majority ownership of International Breweries Plc in a merger that was concluded in December, 2017.

0 2 / 0 4 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

36

MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

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Wike Berates FG for Politicising Fight against COVID-19 Davidson Iriekpen Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has berated the federal government for politicising the fight against the spread of COVID-19 otherwise known as coronavirus, describing the selective support to states as unfortunate.

In a broadcast yesterday, Wike condemned the exclusion of Rivers State from the federal government grants in the fight against coronavirus.

He noted that despite the exclusion of the state, federal government has continued to endanger the state by flying expatriates into the state.

He said: “It is quite unfortunate that the containment of coronavirus has been politicised by the federal government. While Lagos State received a grant of N10billion as a commercial hub, Rivers State as the nation’s oil and gas hub that produces a greater percentage of the nation’s wealth has not received any support from the federal government.

“One wonders why federal government should single out a state out of 36 States to give support. Does it mean that support will come when a State has a record of over 50 infected persons before it gets support. No state should

be seen as more important than any other state. This is a Federal Republic. No state is superior to others.

“Rivers State is entitled to support from the federal government. Everyday, we are inundated with letters from the federal government to allow oil companies to fly in expatriates to drill Oil. Then we ask, what is the status of those coming from Lagos?

Nobody has told us their status as regards coronavirus.

“If they come to come Rivers without us knowing their status, what will be implication assuming they have the virus.”

Wike announced that all markets in the state shall operate between 7a.m. and 12 noon on April 7 and April 8, 2020 to allow residents shop for Easter and also replenish their stock of foodstuffs.

He declared that Oil Mill Market, Mbiama Market and Slaughter Market would remain closed till further notice.

He said: “All markets in the state except Oil Mill Market, Mbiama Market and Slaughter Market at Trans-Amadi shall be open on Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8, 2020 from 7a.m. to 12noon. After those two days, the markets will remain closed. This is to enable residents shop for Easter

and also replenish their stock of foodstuffs.

“Oil Mill Market, Mbiama Market and Slaughter Market at Trans Amadi shall remain closed till further notice. “ The governor announced the dissolution of the board of RTC for the notorious operation of illegal franchise scheme.

“The Board of the Rivers State Transport Company (RTC) has been dissolved with immediate effect. All

those operating a franchise scheme in the name of the company are advised to desist forthwith. Anyone who violates this directive, will be arrested and prosecuted. Government took this measure because the franchise scheme of RTC has become notorious for illegal activities that compromise the interest of the state,” he said.

The governor directed security agencies to fish out and prosecute persons who

slaughter animals in the Bush for public consumption.

He said: “Our people must understand that lives are more important than profit.

“We are constrained to note again that despite our directive, commercial vehicle operators have refused to maintain social distancing. Their action portends grave danger because they place the entire society at risk of the virus.”

The governor announced

the setting up of a committee to work out modalities for implementation of the state government’s palliative programme.

“In line with our decision to provide palliatives to cushion the hardship being faced by our people, government has decided to set up a committee to work out modalities for the smooth implementation of this directive. This committee reflects all interest groups.

We Have No Record of Service TOUCHING LIVES… Chairman, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, Mr. Lawrence Danat; representative of Plateau State Governor, of Nunieh, NYSC Tells NDDC L-R: Mr. Irimiya Werr; and Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Plateau State, Maj. Gen Augustine Agundu; during the inauguration of Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has clarified that the sacked acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mrs. Joy Nunieh did not participate in the one-year compulsory national service.

NYSC’s clarification followed a request by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA)), NDDC’s supervisory ministry demanding the status of Nunieh in the scheme.

Responding to the request via a letter addressed to the minister , Senator Godswill Akpabio, the NYSC disclosed that from available record, Nunieh Joy Yimegbe, who graduated from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in the 1989/90 session was mobilised/ deployed to Kwara State for the one-year national service in the 1990/91 service year but never participated.

In the response captioned, “ReRequest for an official clarification on the status of the certificate of participation of Oghene Dr. Joi Nunier in the National Youth

Service Scheme,” the NYSC through its Director, Corps Certification, Mrs. Okonofua KN acknowledged receipt of MNDA’s letter with reference: ‘MNDA/172/1’ and dated February 10, 2020.

“I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter referenced MNDA/PS/1721 dated February 10, 2020 in respect of the above subject-matter.

“I am to further inform you that available record at the disposal of the NYSC Scheme shows that Nunier Joy Yimebe graduated from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in the 1989/90 session, and was mobilised for the one-year national service in the 1990/91 service year.

“However, no record exists either in NYSC Kwara State or NYSC National Directorate headquarters to evidence her participation in the scheme,” the NYSC said.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on February 20, 2020 sacked Nunieh who headed the interim management committee which was constituted by Akpabio.

Tinubu Hails Kazaure at 60 The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has congratulated the State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Lawal Kazaure, on his 60th birthday.

In a special congratulatory statement issued yesterday to coincide with,his birthday, the APC leader commended Kazaure for his diligent service to the country and dedication to President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the statement made available to journalists by his Media Office, Tinubu said: “Warm congratulations to State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador

Lawal Kazaure, on his 60th birthday.

“A fine career diplomat and an excellent human being, Ambassador Kazaure performs his responsibilities with utmost dedication, courage and commitment.

“As State Chief of Protocol, he serves the country meticulously and President Buhari diligently, just as he had done in the various positions he previously held in his illustrious foreign service career that has seen him work in Nigerian missions in Namibia, Turkey, Syria and Iran among others”.

Local Government Primary Schools constructed by Operation Safe Haven in Langai village, Magun LGA …yesterday

NNPC Debunks Insinuation of Mass Outbreak of COVID-19 in Corporation’s Estate The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has explained the circumstances of the reported COVID-19 infected individual at an apartment in the NNPC Estate in the Garki Area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

NNPC dismissed insinuation of mass outbreak of Coronavirus infection in the facility, saying the National Oil Company was aware

of all the actions taken by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to tackle the singular case, which for now, has remained an isolated incident.

The corporation explained that the said case, involving a nonmember of staff of the corporation, had to do with the individual who had just returned from the United Kingdom and developed symptoms of the disease.

Spokesman of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru said in a statement that his case was said to have been confirmed positive by the NCDC after undergoing a laboratory test.

The statement added that in line with NCDC’s approved protocol, all residents of the affected apartment were moved out and placed in Isolation, while officials of NCDC undertook a disinfection of the flat and

adjoining areas to eliminate the chances of community infection.

The NNPC said it had long embarked on public awareness campaigns within the Corporation and beyond her borders including sharing with the residents of the Estate guidelines on successful selfsupervised isolation to ensure strict adherence to all NCDC prescribed safety measures designed to tackle the COVID-19 global pandemic.

NIMASA Names New Spokesman The new Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has appointed Mr. Philip Kyanet as the spokesman and Head of Public Relations of the agency.

Jamoh approved his appointment as part of ongoing restructuring in the maritime agency.

Kyanet replaces Mr. Isichei Osamgbi who has been deployed to the Special Duties

(External Relations and Technical Cooperation) unit in the Office of the Director-General.

A statement issued yesterday by Mr. Osagie Edwards said Kyanet is a member of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration Nigeria (CIoTA).

The newly appointed spokesman is reported to have 15 years of work experience in

NIMASA, out of which nine have been in the public relations unit.

“A graduate of history from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kyanet also holds a post-graduate diploma in public administration from the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Badagry, Lagos,” the statement read.

“His working career which spans over two decades saw him at various times at the federal ministry of solid minerals as

the personal assistant to the honourable minister, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as the head of Abuja Liaison Office, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and the defunct Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC) before its merger with National Maritime Authority (NMA) to form NIMASA in August 2006.

“Until this appointment, Kyanet was an assistant director in the public relations unit.”

Oyetola Congratulates Oshiomhole at 68 Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Osun State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has congratulated the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on his 68th birthday anniversary.

Oyetola in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary,

Mr. Ismail Omipidan, saluted Oshiomhole’s doggedness, selfless service and strong commitment to the welfare of the common man, which he said, he demonstrated as a labour leader and later as the governor of Edo State.

“As the leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oshiomhole relentlessly fought

for the rights and welfare of the Nigerian workers, which endeared him to millions of the Nigerian masses,” Oyetola said.

The governor described Oshiomhole as a loyal and dedicated party man, whose commitment to the goals and aspirations of the APC is unwavering and exemplary.

He also acknowledged the

party leader’s contributions to the numerous victories of the APC since he became its national chairman.

Oyetola prayed God to grant the celebrant long life, good health and wisdom to keep serving humanity, adding that Oshiomhole still has a lot to contribute to Nigeria’s development.

37

MONDAY APRIL 6, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

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Dangote Cement Woos Investors With N100bn Issue Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s leading cement manufacturer, is seeking to raise up to N100 billion in fresh funds from the bond market, under its N300 billion Debt Issuance Programme.

According to the investor presentation document prepared by the company and themed: Building Prosperity in Africa, the funds from the debut offering in the bond markets are to be utilised to refinance existing short-term debt previously applied towards cement expansion projects, working capital and general corporate purposes.

The bond (medium term debt paper), Dangote Cement is issuing for the first time signifies confidence in business growth and in the Nigerian economy long term growth.

Dangote Cement Plc is a good

offer for discerning institutional investors and high networth individuals as it is Nigeria’s largest company by market capitalisation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the largest cement manufacturer in SubSaharan Africa with an installed capacity of 45.6Mta across its’ operations in 10 African countries and operates a fully integrated “quarry-to-customer” business in 7 of its operations with activities covering manufacturing, sales and distribution of cement.

The company which is Premium board listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), has a strong corporate governance framework supported by five Independent Directors while its shareholding base is diversified.

Dangote Cement posted an excellent financial performance in 2019 with

EBITDA margins of 44.3 per cent. It was rated ‘Strong financial profile including low leverage and significant operational scale.’ (GCR AA+(Ng) (Jan 20) Moody’s Aa2.ng (Mar 20) The company has a strong track record in the debt capital markets, having registered a N150 billion Commercial Paper programme in 2018, and issued an aggregate amount of N300 billion in Commercial Paper since programme establishment.

It also has a track record in Nigeria’s Debt Capital Markets as it raised an aggregate Issuance of N100bn under the Commercial Paper Programme in 2018, in 2019, raised an aggregate Issuance of N200bn under the Commercial Paper Programme.

These Commercial Papers were systematically oversubscribed.

House to Consider FG’s Request for N500bn Intervention Fund Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives has said it will go through the federal government’s request for 500 billion COVID-19 crisis intervention fund.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, at a meeting with the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad

Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, proposed an establishment of a N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund.

She told the lawmakers that the fund, if approved, would take care of special Public Work Programmes currently being implemented by the National Directorate of Employment

(NDE).

The House Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu told THISDAY that the lawmakers will go through the request and make a decision based on what is in best interest of the country.

He also said that the House members will resume after lockdown, adding that the fumigation of the National Assembly has been completed.

38

MONDAY APRIL 6, ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

MONDAYSPORTS Sports Minister Applauds IOC on Extension of Tokyo 2020 Qualifiers

Ugbade Faults Leicester’s Underuse of Iheanacho’s Potentials

Femi Solaja As the International Olympic committee (IOC) has now extended till the end of June 2021 the period which athletes who are yet to pick tickets for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to do so, Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, has applauded the move.

The grace period given by the IOC is because of the Covid-19 pandemic that has resulted in the postponement of the Games by one year.

Several federations were yet to complete their Olympic qualifications before the coronavirus struck, putting everything on hold. Now, IOC’s grace period is before the final deadline of July 5th, 18 days before the Olympics gets underway on July 23rd, 2021.

Only 57 per cent of the of the 11,000 athletes that would be participating at the Tokyo Games had qualified before the event was moved by a year due to the pandemic.

According to Dare, “ We are excited that the IOC has granted this concession so that those qualifiers can be completed.

This will give the athletes ample time to prepare.

“Also , we now have enough time to make funds available to those sports federations that had yet to complete their qualifiers,” observed the minister at the weekend.

Despite the lockdown, Dare insisted that the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development was monitoring the training programmes of most Team Nigeria athletes.

“We are monitoring all our athletes and we believe they are training well despite the world - wide lockdown.”

He assured stakeholders that Nigeria would stick to the earlier stance to feature in only 11 events at the Games in order to enhance the country’s chances of performing well.

Cloud of uncertainty had gathered over the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualifiers following the rapid spread of the virus around the world until IOC cleared the air in a letter addressed to all its members at the weekend.

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Former Golden Eaglet captain and coach, Nduka Ugade, yesterday insisted that Nigerian striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, will continue to struggle at Leicester City because the forward is not being played in his best position.

Iheanacho’s struggles for dependability at Leicester City are down to the Premier League outfit playing him out of position, according to Ugbade.

The Foxes were labelled to have pulled off quite a coup when winning the race for the Nigerian from Manchester City.

However, the 23-year-old is yet to reach his potential at King Power Stadium.

Nigerian football great, Ugbade – who worked with Iheanacho as assistant coach of the Nigeria U17 and U20 teams, believes the wrong approach is being taken with the star.

“Iheanacho’s coaches must know how best to use him,” he told Goal. com at the weekend.

“He is not an outright striker but he can play behind the main striker

Iheanacho

to provide assists while scoring goals.

“Myself and Manu (Garba) know him very well and we know what he is capable of doing. All he needs now is getting regular playing time to get himself back into the game.”

For Ugbade, learning different roles could be demanding for any young player, nevertheless, he suggests the Super Eagle will bounce back if he gains regular playing time at East Midland.

“I don’t think he has actually done badly knowing that he is from Nigeria - where developmental football is not so strong– and going to Manchester City where he was able to hold his own among some of the biggest names in world football,” he continued.

“At Leicester City, it took him almost a season to blend in because at Leicester, their style of football is much quicker than

Ndidi Rejects Comparison with Kante Super Eagles’ midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi has dismissed those comparing his game with French midfielder, N’golo Kante who left King Power Stadium in 2016 to join Chelsea The Foxes midfielder Ndidi described himself as a different player from Kante who he sees as a machine.

The 23-year-old Nigerian moved to England in January 2017 to fill the void left by Kante following his move to Chelsea in the summer of 2016.

Before his exit, the France international played a crucial role in the midfield to help

Leicester City win the 2015-16 Premier League title.

Ndidi has been playing a similar role for the Foxes since 2017, and he is rated as one of the best tacklers in England, however, he said he is trying to play his game and help the team.

“I’ve always seen myself as Ndidi, I want to be seen as Ndidi,” the Super Eagles midfielder said in an Instagram post.

“Kante is a great player, if you see the way he plays, you’ll know he’s a machine.

“The advice I got right from the time while I was playing

where he was coming from.

“Those of us who know Iheanacho understand that he is not a fast player but a highly intelligent player, trust me, he will continue to improve and score goals if he gets regular playing opportunities.”

He added: “Before English football was suspended due to Covid-19, he got some goals and you will agree with me that he has greatly improved – a far difference from the time he joined the club.

“I can only hope that by next season, he gets his feet completely right and continues to deliver.

“For those writing him off, it is so early because I can tell you for free that his future is extremely bright because he has not started yet.”

So far this season, Iheanacho boasts eight goals across all competitions for Brendan Rodgers’ men, with three of them coming from the English top-flight.

Ndidi

that position is just be yourself.

“Every player has his own quality, it’s not everybody that can be like Ronaldo or Messi, everybody has his own way.

“I just want to be myself, play my game and fight for three points.”

Ndidi has been a regular in Brendan Rodgers’ team this season before the suspension of the Premier League due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He has featured in 23 league games so far with two goals to his name for Leicester City who are third in the English top-flight standings.

Kobe Bryant Inducted into Man City’s Walker Faces Probe over Lockdown Breach Basketball Hall of Fame Kobe Bryant will be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The five-time NBA champion died, aged 41, in a helicopter crash in January alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

Los Angeles Lakers great Bryant retired in 2016; he was the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008, was Finals MVP twice and earned 18 All-Star selections.

He was in the United States team that won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Bryant’s death

was “unspeakable” and the league was keen to “honour” him.

“Kobe Bryant is

Bryant

synonymous with NBA AllStar and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,” Silver said.

“He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”

Tim Duncan, a five-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs, and Kevin Garnett, who helped the Boston Celtics win the championship in 2008, were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is named after Dr James Naismith,the Canadian physician who invented basketball

Kyle Walker faces disciplinary action from Manchester City after reportedly breaking lockdown rules by hosting a party involving two sex workers.

Walker, 29, has apologised and urged people to “stay home, stay safe” during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, City said the England defender’s actions had “directly contravened” his responsibility as a role model.

It added that the club would be holding an investigation.

The government has put social distancing restrictionsin place to combat coronavirus.

As of 09:00 BST on Sunday, 47,806 people had tested

positive for coronavirus in “Kyle’s actions in this the UK, with 4,934 deaths. matter have directly City said: “Manchester City contravened these efforts.

FC are aware of a story in a “We are disappointed to tabloid newspaper regarding hear the allegations, note the private life of Kyle Walker Kyle’s swift statement in relation to a breach of the and apology, and will UK lockdown and social be conducting distancing rules. an internal “Footballers disciplinary are global role procedure in models, and the coming our staff and days.” players have L a s t been working Wednesday, to support the Wa l k e r incredible efforts posted on of the NHS and social media, other key workers urging the in fighting the public to follow Walker effects of the Covid-19 government coronavirus in any way guidelines on social we can. distancing by staying indoors.

39

MONDAY APRIL 6, ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

MONDAYSPORTS

Random Musing on COVID-19 and Sports Duro Ikhazuagbe Nobody could have ever imagine March without football matches: whether domestic or European. Now one week into April, still no action. But that is the reality we now find ourselves with this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaging the entire world at the moment. It is not just football that has been suspended but all sporting activities globally!

Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China in late November, the world has never been the same again.

First, teams in the Italian Serie A started playing games behind closed doors. But what is football without fans? Fans create the vibes that make players create something out of nothing. Of course, it was just a matter of time for football authorities to realize that playing before empty stadiums is like eating Amala, a Yoruba delicacy, with fork and knife. The real fun is the licking of the soup-stained fingers! Almost at the same time, the Spanish top flight -- LaLiga -- also tried a couple of games without fans but it was obvious that these leagues cannot continue with the manner the Covid-19 was spreading like wild fire in harmattan period of the year. The season in England, Germany and other top leagues in Europe all had to be put on hold same way both the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League were stopped. For Nigerian-born Odion Ighalo, who had become the head cornerstone of Manchester United both in the Premier League and the Europa, scoring his fourth goal in four starts in United colours at Austrian club LASK Linz, was icing on his

career many had written off playing in the Chinese League.

Several pundits thought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had gone mad signing Ighalo on loan for six month from Shanghai Shehua on the winter transfer deadline day in January.

The match was the last played in the 2019/20 Europa League Round of 16 before it was put on hold. And this is the same Ighalo who was quarantined when he arrived England from China. He had to train alone for two weeks before he was integrated into the squad at Old Trafford.

Our own John Mikel Obi certainly knows real and present danger when he sees one. His warning to Turkish Lig authorities to suspend the season, which put him into trouble with his Trabzonspor club president, turned out prophetic! In Mikel’s words: “I do not feel comfortable and don’t want to play football in this (COVID-19 pandemic) situation. Everyone should be with their families and loved ones in this critical time.

Season should be cancelled as the world is facing such turbulent times.”

Barely days after Mikel walked away from the club, Turkey suspended play just as other top leagues in Europe have done due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As football was been shut down everywhere, Nigeria could not be the exception to continue to play. The country’s topflight, the NPFL, was halted. The second tier Bet9ja league that has been on hold since December due to several factors also failed to take off as planned. The women’s league has also been put on hold.

If there is any state hardest hit by the pandemic, that state is Edo. Governor Godwin

Obaseki and his Deputy, Phillip Shaibu, had gone the extra mile to ensure that hosting the 20th National Sports Festival in Benin City was going to set a new benchmark for the Nigerian ‘Olympics’. Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is not only wearing a new look, it has been transformed into perhaps, the best sports complex in Nigeria today. Apart from the ‘mint’ main-bowl with lush green turf and eight-lane track, the complex now has two Olympic-sized swimming pools, four tennis courts, four squash courts and a suspended gymnasium equipped with the latest technology. It is the third of such in Africa. To ensure safety of athletes, fans and officials, the stadium has a CCTV with the capacity to view five kilometres radius of the complex. And it is the only stadium in the country, as at today, with Video Assistant Referee (VAR) equipment to review any infringement.

There are other 16 centres with modern facilities to host the festival. In the words of Shaibu: “What we have done with our sports facilities in Edo is to make the sports sector capable of helping the careers of our youths in the state because we know talents abound here.” Edo was indeed ready to set a new benchmark in the hosting of the National Sports Festival before the pandemic led to its postponement.

Just like others around the world, Team Nigeria’s athletes have also slowed down on preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Despite the push by the Japanese Local Organising Committee to ensure that Tokyo 2020 was not postponed, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had no choice but accept popular opinions to shift the Games till next year summer.

IOC President Thomas Bach

and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived at the historic decision to delay the Olympics -- the first time that has been done in peacetime -- last Tuesday.

Before that decision, Canada and Australia had withdrawn their participation if Japan stubbornly decided to go ahead despite the continued spread of the virus around the world.

All other federations have either cancelled their season or suspended their programmes till later in the year. No one is sure when the pandemic will abate to allow life return to normal in sporting arena.

For most operators of football viewing centres, these are indeed trying times.

They have all closed shops as there are no games to screen to fans. One of the popular operators in Akowonjo, Tunde Taiwo said the pandemic has ruined his business. “I don’t know what to do now.

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress celebrating winning the AfroBasket as well as the ticket to Tokyo 2020

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress celebrating winning the AfroBasket as well as the ticket to Tokyo 2020 This coronavirus has spoilt everything for those of us earning our living from this viewing centre business. There are no matches in English Premier League or LaLiga. I am just confused now because I have spent so much money to renovate my viewing centre.

I even had to take loan from my friend to buy a new deep freezer as the old one I was using developed a fault. I sell drinks and pepper soup during matches. Now, nobody comes here anymore as there are no matches,” moaned the view centre operator.

It is not only the view centre operators that are counting their loses. A tricycle rider, who is an ardent patron of sports betting (Johnson), told THISDAY that he is missing the suspension of major football leagues around the world. “I play sports betting on Bet9ja almost every time there were matches and I always win. I bought this my Keke (tricycle) with one of my winnings in sport betting.

With no passengers due to restrictions on movement and no sports betting because there are no matches, I am just wondering how people like me are going to survive this stay at home directive from government.”

Before the postponement of Tokyo 2020, Nigeria’s male and female basketball teams had qualified for the Games. Odunayo Adekuoroye and two other wrestlers had also booked their tickets. Some of the country’s top athletes have also met the standard for their various events.

With the summer games moved to next year and no certainty on when the pandemic will come to an end, tough time awaits sports men and women and their administrators.

Monday April 6, 2020

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MISSILE

PDP to FG “If the federal government had taken precautionary measures, COVID-19 would not have come to Nigeria and the hardship being faced by Nigerians as a result of the lockdown would have been avoided.”

– The Peoples Democratic Party attacking the federal government for the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

IJEOMANWOGWUGWU BEHIND THE FIGURES

ijeoma.nwogwugwu@thisdaylive.com

Musings on Coronavirus S o much has happened since the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, labelled by scientist COVID-19 because of the year of its discovery in China five to six months ago. We have all watched in absolute horror as the disease spread like wild fire across the world. Not even the remotest outposts have been left unscathed by this rampaging pandemic.

With about 1.22 million Coronavirus cases globally and over 66,000 untimely deaths caused by the disease, it has left the living subsisting in morbid fear, suspicious of any and everyone around them, stretched the best healthcare systems to breaking point, led to millions of job losses, catapulted billions into the poverty bracket, and pummelled the world into a recession. The Coronavirus pandemic is a crisis like no other in recorded history.

Nigeria has not been immune to the virus.

Its leadership is struggling and flailing in a race against a virus that always appears to be 1,000 steps ahead of its pursuers attempting to put a lid on this pestilence. To be clear, let no one be deluded into thinking that it’s going to be a breeze beating this virus like we did the Ebola outbreak in 2014. The Ebola virus may be deadlier, but the Coronavirus is infinitely nimbler and more contagious.

This puts the Nigerian government and the health authorities under immense pressure to learn immediately from other countries battered by the virus and at the same time adopt homegrown remedies that factor our socio-economic peculiarities. Essentially, the federal and state governments need to start thinking outside the box, always bearing in mind that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to beating the virus.

This columnist may not be a medical practitioner or public sector administrator, but below are some suggestions that just might make common sense:

Funding for COVID-19 First, the federal and state government must as a matter of urgency restructure their 2020 budgets by diverting funding meant for capital expenditure to the healthcare sector. All tiers of government will need to stop acting like this is a walk in the park and temporarily abandon infrastructure projects. They must all focus completely on the health and wellbeing of Nigerians immediately. The federal government could also consider borrowing from the domestic sector if only the Central Bank of Nigeria can relax its rules barring individuals and companies from participating at its weekly OMO Auctions. Financial resources must be deployed like it’s a matter of life and death to hospitals, clinics and makeshift isolation centres springing up across the country. More resources are also required for test laboratories in every state of the federation (possibly one in each senatorial zone), ventilators, healthcare workers, ad hoc personnel, protective suits, gloves and masks, among other medical supplies.

The only areas of infrastructure that can and should be funded are the utility sectors comprising power and water resources. Without electricity and pipe borne water necessary for keeping the hospitals and makeshift isolation centres functioning, the fight against the

Preparing Hospitals and Clinics

National Coordinator/Chief Executive, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu Coronavirus will be futile. Access to clean water, including the deployment of mobile toilets and mobile water dispensers to reduce open defecation, is also necessary to keep the environment clean and sanitized at all times.

Funding should also be provided to the National Orientation Agency and other not-for-profit organisations for education and enlightenment on the Coronavirus and the measures all Nigerians must observe to protect themselves against the disease and slowdown or stem its spread. Right now, there is this erroneous impression that the Coronavirus is a disease of the rich, just because it was imported initially by the upwardly mobile strata of the society. It is not; it is no respecter of anyone.

Even though Ministry of Health claimed last Friday that it had increased testing to 1,500 cases daily, that number is minute relative to the number of asymptomatic COVID-19 super spreaders that may be carrying the disease and potentially infecting their families, colleagues, friends and secondary contacts.

Today is exactly two weeks since international flights were barred from landing at the Lagos and Abuja international airports – the last two that were left open to passengers flying into the Nigeria from overseas, after the Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano airports were closed.

What this indicates is that there will be a drop in imported cases of the Coronavirus and an exponential growth in the community spread of the disease, hence the need for mobilisation and sensitisation on the threat posed by the virus nationwide.

This is no longer a joking matter! A perfect pointer to the gravity of the situation was a story published in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper at the weekend. The news report stated that Germany and France were incandescent with rage after the United States had allegedly seized millions of masks that were to be shipped to the European nations from a Chinese manufacturer, amid the coronavirus crisis. Not only did the two countries accuse the US of “modern day piracy”, France was equally frustrated that the US had paid three times the going rate to secure the shipment of face masks from China that were due to be dispatched to France. Though the US denied the allegation, it showed how desperate countries have become as the virus ravages their citizens.

It is apparent that Nigerian hospitals and clinics, as well as the personnel that work in them are unprepared for the Coronavirus from a professional and ethical point of view. The federal and state Ministries of Health must compel all hospitals and clinics operating in the 36 states and Abuja, including clinics in the 774 local government areas in the country, to isolate or cordon off sections of their clinics and hospitals to accommodate and cater to patients who walk in exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms so that they can be treated and tested.

Too many stories abound of medical personnel in hospitals who should be the frontline workers against the virus turning back suspected cases out of sheer ignorance and fear. Instead, they refer them to infectious disease hospitals and isolation centres set up to combat the disease that may be far flung and not within the reach of sick persons. This is unacceptable and only helps to facilitate the community spread of the Coronavirus. It also reinforces the case for the deployment of more funding for all hospitals and clinics so that they can be better equipped with medical supplies, even if it is to the barest minimum, to administer palliative medication to suspected cases while they await the results of tests for COVID-19.

Besides, by isolating or cordoning off a section or some rooms in hospitals and clinics, and assigning and preparing dedicated medical personnel to attend to suspected cases of COVID-19, this will help to reduce a lot of the apprehension among health workers, enable them to handle cases with mild symptoms of the disease, and lessen the burden on infectious disease and isolation centres that may be overburdened with severe cases. Cordoning off sections will ensure that other departments in hospitals and clinics can continue to function and cater to patients with others ailments, especially for childbirth and maternal health issues.

Living in Denial As of last week, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and health ministry had announced that 2,000 people had been tested for COVID-19, testing had gone up to 1,500 a day, but 6,000 persons were being traced having been in contact with persons that had tested positive for the disease. What this means is that even as Nigeria is ramping up its testing capabilities, the number of persons who have been in contact with those that have been infected is growing exponentially. Mind you, this number does not include persons that are outside the contact-tracing sphere of the health authorities, are carriers of the disease, but are asymptomatic. These are the super spreaders and they are infecting thousands more people.

Then, there is the class of Nigerians who start to show symptoms but would rather remain in denial. Instead, they either self-medicate or go to hospitals to get treated for malaria, typhoid caused by the Salmonella bacteria or for the influenza virus, commonly known as the flu. All three ailments common to Nigeria, quite frankly, present similar symptoms to the Coronavirus.

The last class of suspected cases and super spreaders of COVID-19 are equally dangerous.

While the super spreader will show no symptom,

will have no reason to self-medicate or go to the hospital and cannot be entirely blamed for what he/she is ignorant about, ill patients who mistake the symptoms that they are presenting for malaria, typhoid and the flu will continue to spread it intentionally. Even when they are advised to self-quarantine and call the NCDC helplines to get tested, their immediate response is, “Coronavirus is not my portion.” What is worse is that the hospitals or clinics that such ill persons visit, typically test and treat the patients for malaria or typhoid, forgetting that 90% of persons that are not ill but resident in the tropics, where both diseases are prevalent, will test positive for the malaria parasite and salmonella bacteria in their blood stream. The added danger is that when hospitals test and treat for common maladies that typically afflict Nigerians (that is malaria, typhoid and the flu), while ignoring the possibility that they may be infected with the Coronavirus, not only are they helping the spread of COVID-19, they are also exposing their medical facilities and other patients to contamination.

A way out is for the Nigerian health authorities to expand the protocol for COVID-19 by ordering all persons who show malaria, typhoid or flu-like symptoms to self-quarantine along with their families for the same duration applicable to the Coronavirus, that is, 14 days. With respect to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies that dispense over-the-counter and prescription drugs for the treatment of these common maladies, their personnel should report all such cases to the NCDC and other infectious disease centres for monitoring and possible testing for cases where the illness persists.

Social Distancing and Lock Downs Since the onset of COVID-19, social distancing and lock downs, as recommended by health authorities and scientists the world over, have been the hardest to achieve. It is a battle all countries are contending with and struggling to implement. I watched the daily briefing on the Corona pandemic given by Mr. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of the State of New York last week, where he lamented that social distancing was proving to be a tall order in the Boroughs of Queens, The Bronx and Brooklyn in New York city. According to him, all three boroughs had thousands and possibly millions of families living in one-room or two-room dwellings, rendering social distancing impossible.

If Cuomo is worried about the situation in one of the most advanced cities in the world, I wonder what he would have done if he was an African leader? Bringing it home, I also don’t know how social distancing can be achieved in Nigerian towns and cities where slums dot the landscape and relatively large families are forced to hurdle together in single rooms and share bathrooms and toilets, where clean water just to wash their hands and keep their surroundings clean is a pipedream, and where the regular mode of transportation is typified by cramped mini-buses, motorbikes, rickshaws and dilapidated taxis. If we must be honest, rural dwellers living in mud huts with thatched roofs but have more rooms at their disposal, are better off than slum dwellers in Nigerian cities.

Continued on page 32

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