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Coronavirus: Nigeria issues fresh directives to banks, offices
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, has asked banks and offices to start adjusting their structure, as the federal government ponders lifting restrictions. Aliyu stated this during PTF’s daily briefing on Thursday. He reiterated the 8 am to 2 pm working hours and need to adhere to physical distancing. “For banks and other financial institutions as well as offices, now is the opportunity to start adjusting to the new life post-COVID, as we lift restrictions over the next few weeks. “We are therefore asking banks and offices to make allowance for physical distancing measures both inside and outside their premises, to ensure staff working in the offices are limited to not more than 50% capacity and to encourage online banking as well as working fro...
Central bank reschedules MPC meeting over holidays
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rescheduled it’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting from Monday and Tuesday May 25 and 26 to Thursday, May 28. The CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Okorafor explained that the rescheduling of the meeting was due to the declaration of May 25 and May 26 as public holidays by the Federal Government to commemorate the Eid-el Fitr. He said for the avoidance of doubt, CBN had put necessary machinery in place for the meeting to now hold for only one day on account of the ongoing COVID-19 national lockdown. He added that this step taken was also to align this meeting with the extant rules of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and advisories from other rel...
Police arrest 413 lockdown violators, impound 98 vehicles in Kano
The Police Command in Kano State has arrested and prosecuted 413 violators and impounded 98 vehicles in one week, following the enforcement of total lockdown operations to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Habu Ahmad, told newsmen on Thursday in Kano that the violators were held for disobeying interstate movement restriction order. Ahmad noted that the arrests were made after mapping the state, strategic deployments of both human and material assets of the command were made to 34 strategic points/areas across 17 front lines. “The front lines bordered Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa and Bauchi States and are mapped out to checkmate and enforce the interstate movement restriction order,” he said. According to him, 289 violators were arrested from Kaduna/Kano bou...
Nigeria begs to traders not to hike prices
The Federal Government has appealed to traders not to hike prices of food items and transportation as the country battles to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, made the appeal at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 daily news briefing on Thursday in Abuja. He said it was necessary that market women and men understood the enormity of the time regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that there is a need to show compassion to all Nigerians by not hiking prices of foodstuff and services. The minister said that this period was a time to give back to society while calling on Nigerians not to take the opportunity of COVID-19 to further oppress other Nigerians. “This is a time people are giving back to s...
NCDC lauds Kwara over testing centre
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has commended efforts of the Kwara State Government in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state. The NCDC Team Leader, Dr Okoli Innocent, made the commendation when he led other members of the agency to inspect laboratories in preparation for establishing of Molecular Testing Centre in the state to test for the virus. Okoli explained that the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, was appreciative of the present administration’s strides in the health sector. The team leader pledged NCDC’s support to the state in the fight against COVID-19. He added that NCDC was not surprised that the state was ranked fourth in preparation for health emergency in the country, given the availability of modern medical equipment. Kwa...
Don Jazzy: I never had money ‘wahala’ with D’Banj in Mo’Hits
Michael Collins Ajereh, the founder of Mavins record, popularly known as Don Jazzy, has disclosed that he never had any financial issues with former partner and member of Mo’Hits records, D’Banj. He stated this in a live programme with Ubi Franklin, stressing that he enjoyed an unusual relationship with D’Banj while they were together. He said: “The way I am with people in my company like myself and D’banj, money issues didn’t occur. I and D’Banj were so in sync that D’Banj can go to Oba of Lagos and return with N10 million and we would still share that money. “It doesn’t have anything to do with performance o,” he shared while stating the need for record label executives to have a good relationship with their artistes. “If you are not in a good relationship with the artiste that is when h...
POLITICO-Harvard poll: Stark partisan divide on reopening America
Americans overwhelmingly recognize the danger. Over three-fourths of Americans — including nearly two-thirds of Republicans and about 90 percent of Democrats — said they believe the coronavirus outbreak in their state is a “serious problem.” But two months into a startling economic collapse that’s left about 39 million Americans filing for unemployment, many of those hit hardest by closures are ready to begin recovery. Six in 10 owners or managers of small- or medium-sized businesses said nonessential businesses should reopen. Also in agreement were 52 percent of households where someone lost a job or went on forced unpaid leave, compared to 41 percent of those who haven’t lost income. “They’re basically saying they think the economic risk outweighs the health risk,” said Georges Ben...
President Buhari signs amended executive order on voluntary overseas asset declaration
President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2018 Amended Executive Order 008 on Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS). Dr Umar Gwandu, Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on Media and Public Relations disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja. “As a result of stakeholders input and need to strengthen implementation mechanisms and structures, the Order was reviewed. “Consequently, the Amendment to the Executive Order 008 was signed on May 20 by President Buhari’’. He said the Executive Order 008 as amended mandated the Attorney-General of the Federation to set up and implement a Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme otherwise referred to as `VOARS’. “VOARS gives all relevant persons and their intermediaries who have default...
Nigeria begins sale of N150 billion sovereign Sukuk at 11.2 percent
The Federal Government on Thursday began the sale of its third tranche 7-year N150 billion Sovereign Sukuk, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said. The offer circular, which was obtained from its website, said the seven year Islamic Sukuk, referred to as Ijarah, was at a rental rate of 11.2 per cent and would be due in June 2027. The bond, which was aimed at funding key road infrastructure across the six geo-political zones, was payable semi-annually. Subscription for the bond, guaranteed by the government, would close on June 2. The circular said subscribers could purchase N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N10,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter with First Bank and Islamic wealth manager, Lotus Capital managing the sale. The DMO said it qualified as securities in w...
Nigeria’s Paralympic gold medalist gets four-year doping ban
Nigeria’s para powerlifter and Paralympic gold medalist, Esther Oyema, has been sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee for violating anti-doping rules. The IPC announced a ban of four years for the athlete in a statement it issued to the press. It said that Oyema “Returned an adverse analytical finding for a prohibited substance in a urine sample provided on January 28, 2019 after competing at the Lagos International Para Powerlifting Competition in Nigeria last year”. “Consequently, the 38-year-old para powerlifter, who won gold at London 2012 Olympics in the women’s 48kg category, will be disqualified from all IPC’s competitions from May 3, 2019 to May 2, 2023.” The athletic body also stripped her of the gold medal which she won in the women’s 55kg competition in Lagos. “As...
Lagos conducts 16,000 coronavirus tests
The Lagos State Government says it has conducted about 16, 000 COVID-19 tests at a cost of N40, 000 to N50, 000 per test. Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state Commissioner for Health, made this known at the Lagos COVID-19 update on Thursday. Abayomi said that there were plans to ramp up testing capacity to about one thousand tests on a daily basis. He said that Lagos had conducted the highest number of COVID-19 tests in Nigeria, with four testing laboratories, and planned to increase the testing sites in the coming weeks. According to him, as the state ramps up its testing capacity, there will be need to subside the cost of the test, either through insurance or donor funds. “For now, the Lagos State Government is providing COVID-19 tests free of charge,” he said. The commissioner said that the st...
At least a quarter of the workforce is out of a job. How much worse will it get?
Here are some of the Q&As below, edited slightly for brevity and clarity. Where do you think our current situation will rank among the Great Depression and the Great Recession? In terms of depth, I think it will be as deep as even the Great Depression, way more than the Great Recession. But in my definition, the thing that makes it a depression is the collapse of the financial system and the extended/can’t escape nature of it. And for that, a virus recession hopefully will not have to follow the normal rules and [the economy] can come back at least much of the way back much more quickly. — Austan Goolsbee, economist, professor and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. How long will it take the U.S. economy to recover? It’s going to take some time to get back to ...
