Headlines
NCDC Confirms Nobody Has Died of COVID-19 in Nigeria in Nine Days
The Nigerian Center for Disease Control reported zero COVID-19-related death for the ninth consecutive days as the nation’s fatality toll remains 2,061.
The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the country last registered a COVID-19-related death on April 11.
It reports that aside from April 11, the number of reported deaths in week 14, which was April 6, was two from two states.
NAN reports that cumulatively since the outbreak began in week 9, 2020, there have been reported 2,061 deaths with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.3 per cent.
NCDC said it conducted 1,870,915 COVID-19 tests since Feb. 27, 2020, adding that 120 infections were registered as of Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 164,423.
“The breakdown of cases is as follows: Enugu-53, Lagos-22, Rivers-18, Ogun-8, FCT-7, Abia-6, Kano-6 and Bauchi-1.
“Today’s report includes data from Enugu recorded between April 14 and April 19,” it said.
The agency announced that another 22 people recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, adding that cumulatively 154,406 COVID-19 recoveries had been reported since Feb. 27, 2020.
It noted that a multi-sectoral National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, has continued to coordinate the national response activities in the country.
The agency said it had continued to lead the national public health response to ensure that Nigerians were protected from the virus since the first case of the disease was confirmed in the country.
“Aside from significant control of local transmission, one of the key areas of priority is the institution of public health measures to prevent further importation and exportation of the virus.
“In addition to the already established and widely expanded network of public health laboratories, the NCDC has also optimised testing through enrolment and operationalisation of private testing laboratories for increased accessibility,” it said.
NCDC said this initiative had resulted in scaled-up testing nationwide and efficient process in testing inbound and outbound travellers as they are mandated to test via private facilities.
It said this is in line with the national mandatory quarantine protocols and procedures.
The public health agency said the interventions had tremendously reduced the number of likely importation and exportation of cases.
It said, however, that trading and presentation of fake results at departure and arrival halls by some elements in some of the international airports has posed challenges recently.
“This poses significant danger particularly to travellers with genuine negative results, thereby resulting in further risk of exportation or importation of the disease,” it said.
The agency said others were to get accurate and prompt testing data and improve the quality and efficiency of the laboratory testing network through analysing data generated from this Information system.
It said that an important outcome was training staff of the airlines and of all five international airports with capacity to verify results from outbound travellers via “QR Code and USSD” built on result verification system.
The agency said that this was in line with its mandate of ensuring national and global health security through prevention of importation and exportation of the virus.
It said that it would continue to employ evidence-based public health strategies and initiatives aimed at protecting Nigerians against COVID-19 and other epidemic-prone diseases.
NAN
The Rivers State House of Assembly has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu of gross misconduct.
Twenty-six members of the Assembly raised the allegation in a notice sent to the speaker Martin Amaewhule and obtained by Channels Television.
They said the action was “in compliance with Section 188 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and other extant laws”.
The lawmakers accused Fubara among other things of reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds, hindering or obstructing the Rivers State House of Assembly which is another arm of the government, and the appointment of persons to occupy offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without allowing for the requirement of screening and confirmation.
Other accusations against the Rivers governor include the seizure of salaries, allowances, and funds standing to the credit of the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly and the seizure of the salary of the Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly Emeka Amadi.
They also accused Odu of “conniving and supporting the illegal appointment of persons to occupy offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without allowing for the requirement of screening and confirmation”.
Upon receipt of the notice, Amaewhule forwarded the same to Governor Fubara and said the allegation was raised by “not less than one-third (1/3) of the membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly”.
Speaker Amaewhule asked Fubara to “reply to the allegations made against you in the said ‘Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct’ accordingly”.
“In doing this, your attention is drawn to the provisions of Section 188(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which provides thus: ‘Within 14 days of the presentation of the notice to the Speaker of the House of Assembly (whether or not any statement made by holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice) the House of Assembly shall resolve by motion, without any debate whether or not the allegation shall be investigated’,” the speaker said in a letter sent to Fubara.
Headlines
Again, El-Rufai Attacks Tinubu over Chicago Varsity Certificate Scandal, Calls President Ungrateful
A former Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai, said he and his allies had hoped that President Bola Tinubu would replicate his achievements in Lagos at the national level but failed woefully.
El-Rufai explained that despite concerns about Tinubu’s alleged certificate forgery from Chicago State University during the 2023 presidential election they backed him, believing he could transform Nigeria as he did Lagos.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well, because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” El-Rufai told BBC Hausa in an interview on Saturday.
“We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed,”
El-Rufai called on opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to unite under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to salvage the country.
“What I want and pray for is for all opposition leaders—Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola—to join the SDP,” he added.
El-Rufai also dismissed accusations that he betrayed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, stating that his past disagreements with Atiku during the Obasanjo administration were based on principle, not personal animosity.
“I never betrayed Atiku Abubakar because we didn’t meet in politics; we met at work. In work, if I see that he didn’t do well, whoever he is, I will tell him. I told Buhari, and I even took Buhari to court on the new naira issue,” he said.
“When Obasanjo and Atiku were having issues, those of us working with Obasanjo looked at the issues between them and said Obasanjo was more right. It was not about north and south; Obasanjo was right. Atiku and I are now together, and if I betrayed him, why are we together now.”
United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has announced that President Donald Trump’s administration is expelling South Africa’s ambassador to Washington.
Rubio announced this on Friday, accusing the envoy of hating the country and President Trump.
“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio posted on X.
“Ebrahim Rasool is “a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” he said, referring to Trump by his White House X account handle.
“We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
The expulsion of the ambassador comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
Trump in February this year froze US aid to South Africa, citing a law in the country that he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers.
Trump further fueled tensions last week, when he said that South Africa’s farmers were welcome to settle in the United States after repeating his allegation that the government was “confiscating” land from white people.
