Politics
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No ‘miracle cure’ for coronavirus until clinical trials prove Madagascar’s herbal medicine
Scientists are putting an herbal remedy from Madagascar, purported to cure COVID-19, to the test. Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, in Potsdam, are collaborating with a U.S. company, ArtemiLife, to test an extract from the plant Artemisia annua to determine its effectiveness in speeding recovery from the virus. “We are working with two independent laboratories to ensure the highest possible quality and exclude any bias in the results,” Peter Seeberger, lead researcher, told VOA in an email response. Seeberger is hopeful the first results will be back soon. “We have collected a significant body of data but are again repeating the work to make sure any results are reproducible multiple times,” he said. “Within the next couple of weeks, we will be in a ...
NIDO flays Nigerian government’s directive on payment of N297,600 by stranded nationals in Thailand
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Thailand, has described the directive by the federal government that stranded Nigerians in Thailand must pay the sum of N297,600 for their quarantine, isolation, accommodation centres or hotels before their departure as insensitive and harsh. Its President, Dr. Lloyd Nwafor, in a letter dated May 17 and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, titled: ‘Appeal to Reconsider Decision on Payment for Quarantine, Isolation, Accommodation Centres or Hotels’, said it came to the stranded Nigerians in Thailand as a shock. He said that some of the evacuees are families who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, some are at the Immigration Deportation Camp (IDC), while others are visitors stranded in Thailand. Nwafor...
Wayne Rooney: Park was just as important to Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo
Getty Images Wayne Rooney has said that former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung was just as crucial to the club’s success as Cristiano Ronaldo, with the South Korean’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the team as a whole critical to lifting titles. Park and Ronaldo spent four years together at Old Trafford, winning three consecutive Premier League trophies, a League Cup and the Champions League in that time before the latter left the club for Real Madrid in 2009. And while Ronaldo’s goals, skills, speed and trickery will always be at the top of the highlight reel when looking back at that side, Rooney feels that Park’s contributions were just as important as that of the Portuguese icon. “It’s crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately...
Commission distributes aid to displaced persons in Kogi
The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) over the weekend distributed relief materials to about 2,000 people in Kogi State who were rendered homeless as a result of recurrent floods that have ravaged their areas. The local government areas that benefited from the aid are Bassa, Dekina and Ibaji, all flood-prone communities located along the banks of the River Niger. The Federal Commissioner of the agency, Basheer Garba Mohammed, who presented the relief materials in Ayangba, said that the donation was meant to alleviate the sufferings of the displaced persons in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari who expanded the mandate of the agency to include providing reliefs to displaced persons especially at this time of national emer...
Onome Ebi: Why players hardly earn 100 caps for Nigeria
Super Falcons experience defender Onome Ebi has explained why it is difficult for players to make 100 caps for Nigeria. Only Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama, and former Super Falcons assistant coach Maureen Madu are the only players who have played more than 100 games for the country. Ebi believes lack of proper structure and academy in the country is one of the major challenges. The Chinese base defender opined that Nigeria needs to learn from other countries and establish enough academies that will produce young talents for the country. “I will say in Nigeria we catch talents old, while other countries catch them young, in other countries that I’ve played, there are plenty academy and most players moved to national from 15, 16 years of age.” “It’s difficult in Nigeria, no academy, you have ...
Alex Iwobi reveals happiest moments of his career in national team shirt
Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi has revealed helping Nigeria reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup is the happiest moment of his career. Iwobi scored the winning goal against Zambia to help Nigeria qualify 2the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time, two years after switching allegiance to the West African Nation. While speaking to sports bibe on Instagram live session, the former Arsenal forward said the feat remains the best of his career, despite winning bronze at the African cup of Nations in Egypt and English FA Cup with Arsenal. “I’ve had a lot of happy moments in my career but for me, I will say when I scored against Zambia to send my national team to the World Cup because my parents were there,” he said. “That’s a special moment, I almost shed a tear on the pitch.” He said. Iwobi went on to rep...
Nasarawa Assembly members test negative for coronavirus
Nasarawa State Government All the members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have tested negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Alhaji Mohammed Omadefu, has said. Omadefu disclosed this during an interview with newsmen on Saturday in Keffi. Expressing gratitude to God over their COVID-19 status, the spokesman restated the assembly’s commitment in containing the spread of the pandemic in the state. “At last, all members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have been certified COVID-19 negative. “This followed the fact that the only member out of the 23, whom controversies surrounded his COVID-19 status, Hon. Mohammed Bello Isa, member representing Uke/Karshi, has been cleared this afternoon as his two tests results of COVID-19 were all neg...
PDP asks President Buhari to explain whereabouts of Chinese doctors
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given the federal government a 48-hour ultimatum to declare the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team it brought in to assist in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in our country. The PDP’s position is predicated on the declaration by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, that he could not account for the whereabouts of the Chinese team, who were brought into the country from the global epicentre of the pandemic. The 15-member team of Chinese medical personnel arrived in the country on April 8 “to share their experiences in fighting the COVID-19.” Some Nigerians had kicked against the federal government’s decision to invite the medical experts, saying the country had enough doctors to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nigerian M...
Rivers monarchs accuse IGP of reversing presidential lockdown order
President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to reverse the order of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the movement of agricultural produce, livestock, goods and services in Rivers State. The call was made on Saturday by the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, which noted that the IGP had set up a Joint Technical Task Force at the instance of the Federal Ministries of Agricultural and Rural Development, Defence, Environment as well as various security agencies, to ensure free and unhindered movement of food, livestock, agricultural inputs and others into the State. The State Chairman of the Council, King Dandeson Jaja, speaking on behalf of the council in Port Harcourt wondered why the IGP would unilaterally lift the ban on the Presidential order restricting interstate movement...
Coronavirus: Lagos begins chloroquine clinical trial this week
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, has said the state will this week commence the clinical trial treatment of COVID-19 using chloroquine as approved by NAFDAC. The state, which is the epicentre of the virus in the country, had previously disclosed plans to carry out the chloroquine clinical trial. Omotoso, in an interview with newsmen on Saturday, said, “We are ready for the chloroquine clinical trial because we have just secured all the approvals. The documentation has also been completed. Those that will be used for the trials are ready too. By next week we should be ready for the trial. “Also, Lagos got a supply of additional 20,000 testing kits, although we were expecting 40,000. It means that the testing will increase now.” In a related devel...
COVID-19 Exposes Lack of ICT Policy in Nigeria’s Education System
Sourced from the Chronicle of Education The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragile state of Nigeria’s education system. A system which the Guardian Nigeria describes as “messy,” one that “lacks information and communications technology (ICT) ingredients, leaving the system to churn out half-baked graduates.” They write that with the continued closure of schools in an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic – children are now going to be severely disadvantaged, and their families will suffer because of the interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare problems, and consequent economic cost to families who could not work. Today, the distinctive rise of e-learning had made education change drastically – teaching can be undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. But in Nig...
55 Coronavirus patients discharged in Jigawa
The Jigawa State Government has announced the discharge of 55 Coronavirus patients who tested negative twice for the virus. Auwal D Sankara, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, said in a statement that 55 COVID-19 patients were confirmed to have been cured and discharged after testing negative twice in Jigawa state, Northwest Nigeria. This brings the total number of discharged patients in the state to 62, with three fatalities. The statement quoted the Commissioner for Health and the chairman of the state Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Abba Zakari, as saying that the state was hoping to discharge more soon. Meanwhile, the commissioner said the state has recorded 15 additional cases and imposed lockdown in three additional towns affected to prevent further spread of the virus...
