Headlines
Momora: NIN Registration May Be Suspended over COVID-19 Risks
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, has said the ongoing National Identification Number enrollment may be suspended over COVID-19 risks.
He also urged the National Identity Management Commission to go back to the drawing board and re-order the enrolment process to avoid large crowds at its centres nationwide.
Mamora, who is a member of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the government has a duty to ensure Nigerians are protected at all times.
He spoke on Monday while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme monitored by The PUNCH.
The minister said, “I don’t feel good looking at the picture where people are gathered in multitude; it’s like a superspreader event which we don’t like. But I’m also aware that the relevant ministry which is the communications and digital economy is looking at this.
“My understanding is that the whole process may be suspended so as to reorder the whole process in terms of management of the crowd because it was never intended that it would become a rowdy process like that.”
Mamora added, “We have a duty as government to ensure that people are protected; we also have a duty to ensure people comply within the limit of what is good for the society at large.”
The PUNCH had reported that NIMC workers embarked on strike last Thursday over exposure to COVID-19 risks, lack of personal protective equipment and poor funding. The workers, however, called off the industrial action some 24 hours later.
The Federal Government through the Nigerian Communication Commission had ordered telecommunications companies to deactivate telephone lines of subscribers who failed to link their phones to their National Identity Number.
It also said telcos subscribers with NIN have January 19 as deadline to link their NIN with their SIM cards while subscribers without NIN have until February 9 to do so.
The Punch
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on Monday, held a crucial meeting with service chiefs and heads of security and intelligence agencies in the country
The crucial meeting took place at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, followed reports of a directive by the President of United States, Donald Trump to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria over the alleged genocide of Christians in the country.
Security sources hinted that the emergency meeting, which began in the afternoon was aimed at assessing the implications of Trump’s statement accusing the Nigerian government of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militant groups.
Trump’s remarks, made late Saturday, stated that the U.S. military was being prepared to “act in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militancy” a statement that had triggered widespread concern across diplomatic and security circles in Abuja.
Reports said that the NSA convened the session to coordinate a unified national security response and review intelligence assessments on the potential fallout of the U.S. president’s pronouncement.
The outcome of the meeting is expected to be communicated through official channels from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
