FG Declares War On Lassa Fever, Coronavirus [DAILY TRUST]
Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire. Federal Government yesterday expressed its determination to stop the spread of Lassa fever which has claimed many lives in parts of the country since the beginning of this year.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, told reporters in Abuja yesterday that the government had heightened response against the current Lassa fever outbreak across the country.
He said his ministry had the capacity to detect, assess and respond to coronavirus and other public health threats.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had set up a “Corona Virus Preparedness Group” and was ready to activate its incident command system for coronavirus, “if a suspect case emerges in Nigeria.”
He said there was high-level inter-ministerial consultation towards setting up a multi-sectoral committee to scale up surveillance and vigilance to detect suspicious cases and ensure containment at all points.
Insecurity Worsening, We Must Act Now, National Assembly Warns [PUNCH]
- Afenifere warns against Amotekun, IG’s model merger
The two chambers of the National Assembly on their resumption from a five-week recess on Tuesday reviewed the state of the nation and declared that insecurity in the country had reached an alarming level.
The House of Representatives lamented killings, kidnapping, banditry and insurgency across the country and said something must be done urgently to arrest the situation.
On their part, the Peoples Democratic members in the House assessed insecurity in the country, particularly the killings in Plateau State, and concluded that the Federal Government was complacent.
The Senate expressed concern that insecurity in the country had deteriorated. It promised to pursue the community policing policy with vigour.
In the last three months, there has been an upsurge in killings and kidnapping across the country, particularly in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kastsina and Niger states. Besides, there have been renewed attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province on residents and troops in the North-East.
Despite the killings and kidnapping, Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on Sunday, said insecurity in the country was not as bad as it was being reported. He said Nigerians ought to be thankful for the job being done by the government.
N2bn Fraud: Court Slashes Maina’s Bail To N500m, 1 Senator [SUN]
The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday varied the conditions of bail granted to the former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina. Maina is facing trial over alleged money laundering. Justice Okon Abang who granted the application for bail variation ordered Maina to produce N500m and one surety who must be a serving senator with landed property fully developed in Maitama, Asokoro, Business Central District, Wuse II, or Kantamkpe District of Abuja, with Certificate of Occupancy attached as evidence.
Justice Abang also ordered that the senator only needed to come to the court at every adjourned date to sign an attendance register that would be opened at the registry for that purpose and the registrar must sight the senator before he goes back to attend his legislative proceedings. Earlier, Justice Abang had noted that with the facts placed before the court, the application of the defendant ought not to have been granted.
“But in the past few adjournments, I watched the conduct of the defendant. He is calm and has not interrupted the proceedings of the court. Maybe he has realised that the court is bound to do justice in the case.”
$1.6bn Fraud: EFCC Files Fresh Charges Against Omokore, Others [SUN]
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed additional 15 criminal charges against Mr. Jide Omokore, and others bordering on alleged money laundering and procurement fraud to the tune of $1.6bn.
Others, standing trial before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja include two of his companies: Atlantic Energy Brass Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited, Victor Briggs and Membere Abiye.
They were initially re-arraigned on a nine-count amended charge brought by the anti-graft agency. At the resumed trial yesterday, a prosecution witness, Abdul-Rasheed Bawa who was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court, how huge monetary transactions transpired among the defendants.
The witness, an investigator and data analyst with the EFCC, further told the court that sometime in 2013, the EFCC received a complaint from a non-governmental agency urging the Commission to investigate the activities of the former minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke. He said that the transactions involved huge sums of money in United States dollars between the first defendant and his companies in respect of Strategic Alliance Agreement on Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 26, 30, 34 and 42.
According to the witness, the EFCC received intelligence report from Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) through the foreign based Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), on the alleged fraudulent transactions in dollars from the second and third defendants to one of their offshore companies.
Explaining further, Bawa, told the court that the letters of the investigative activities were sent to NNPC, NPDC, Ministry of Petroleum Resources detailing the EFCC’s reports on the OML 26, 30, 34, 42, 4 38, and 41. The prosecution witness, further identified exhibit three-30, as correspondences between the EFCC and some of the companies. Justice Dimgba, adjourned the matter until March 23, 2020 for continuation of trial.
Don’t Hold Rallies In Our Area, Edo South Warns Oshiomhole [SUN]
- Govt has no business with rallies –Azebamwan
A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo South, yesterday, put National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, on notice, warning him not to hold any rally in the South.
The warning is coming on the heels of a rally last Saturday at Auchi, where Oshiomhole received over 30,000 defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party into the APC.
Addressing journalists in Benin yesterday, Governor Godwin Obaseki Political Adviser, Monday Osaigbovo, wondered why the law enforcement agencies allowed the Auchi rally to hold in spite of ‘a current ban on political rallies’ in the state.
“We are putting Oshiomhole on notice that from now on, it is not what he thinks, we want to tell him that it is all over.
“We would not allow that in Edo South. If he has done it and succeeded, we would not allow it in Edo South.
“We will resist Oshiomhole, he will not come here and try to play demigod,” Osaigbovo said, alleging that their people were attacked at the Auchi rally.
On why the Edo APC crisis is proving difficult to resolve, Osaigbovo alleged that it is because the national chairman that is supposed to be the arbiter is an interested party.
PDP May Boycott 2023 Polls –Secondus [SUN]
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to boycott the 2023 general elections if electoral reform are not carried out.
National Chairman, Uche Secondus, stated this yesterday, when he received a team from the International Republican Institute (IRI), who visited him at the PDP headquarters, in Abuja.
He said the decision to shun the polls was borne out of the experience of the opposition party in recent elections, which he say had not been pleasant.
He claimed the government, security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were working together to deny the people the right to choose their leaders.
Secondus noted that the country needed a new electoral law that would legalise electronic voting as well as insulate the military and other security agencies from the electoral process. He said anything short of that would not be unacceptable.
“One of the areas we are looking forward to in our country is our electoral processes and laws. We believe they are antiquated, they need amendment. We need to improve on our voting patterns and the reporting of results from voting point and the transmission processes.
Insecurity: Buhari Stunned As Lawmakers Seek Action [NATION]
– President to go harder on criminals – Senators embrace community policing
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari said on Tuesday that he was “taken aback” by the resurgence of banditry and insurgency in the country.
But he promised to be harder on criminals.
Federal lawmakers who returned from their recess also expressed misgivings about the situation.
Both chambers of the National Assembly will today debate the worsening insecurity with a view to proffering solution having identified the need to rejig the nation’s security architecture.
The death toll in the Plateau State killings has risen to 33, causing discomfort for Governor Simon Lalong, who ordered the arrest of some community leaders.
Speaking to visiting Niger State Eminent Citizens led by Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello, the President said: “I was taken aback by what is happening in the Northwest and other parts of the country. During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising. It is not ethnicity or religion, rather it is one evil plan against the country.
”We have to be harder on them. One of the responsibilities of government is to provide security. If we don’t secure the country, we will not be able to manage the economy properly,’’ he said.
President Buhari said the onslaught of the bandits had also affected agricultural output in some parts of the country, in spite of the favourable weather for farming, because many farmers were attacked, and others had to stay away for safety.
15 Yrs After, NHIS Covers Only 2% Of Nigerians [LEADERSHIP]
In its 15 years of existence, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has only enrolled four million Nigerians for its services in various hospitals across the country.
The figure translates to just two per cent of the country‘s estimated 200 million population, LEADERSHIP has learnt.
This revelation came against the popular claim that between five to 10 million Nigerians are registered in the scheme.
Curiously, a reliable source in the sector declared that “it is difficult to ascertain the actual figure of those enrolled into the scheme because those percentages and figures that people are talking about in the country are not confirmed since the number of workers in the public sector is not something that anyone cannot determine.”
The source stated that “when the NHIS took off in 2005, the population of civil servants that was given then reduced drastically when the Treasuring Single Account (TSA) was introduced in 2015. And what that means is that there were a lot of ghost workers that were captured as part of the scheme. So, that gives a lot of confusion and conflict about the adequacy of the percentage, but I can tell you for sure that the figure is not up to four million.“
This may account for the recent statement of the NHIS that the claims of five to 10 per cent enrollees were unjustifiable.
I’ve Dissolved NDDC Board, PMB Tells Senate [LEADERSHIP]
President Muhammadu Buhari has informed the Senate of his dissolution of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board, which the upper chamber had late last year approved.
The Senate had on November 5, 2019 confirmed 15 nominees for the NDDC board and withheld the confirmation of one.
The confirmed nominees were the chairman, Pius Odubu (Edo); managing director, Bernard Okumagba (Delta); executive director (projects), Otobong Ndem (Akwa Ibom); executive director (finance and administration), Maxwell Okoh (Bayelsa); Delta State representative, Jones Erue; Victor Ekhatar (Edo) and Nwogu Nwogu (Abia).
Others were Theodore Allison (Bayelsa), Victor Antai (Akwa Ibom), Maurice Effiwatt (Cross River), Olugbenga Elema Ondo), Uchegbu Kyrian (Imo), Northwest representatives, Aisha Muhammed (Kano), Northeast representatives, Ardo Zubairu (Adamawa), and Southwest representative, Badmus Mutalib (Lagos).
The Senate, however, rejected the nomination of Joy Nunieh (Rivers).
But in a dated December 23, 2019 and addressed to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, read at the plenary yesterday, President Buhari told the Senate that he would re-constitute another NDDC board to manage the commission.
Lassa Fever: Death Toll Rises To 41, 258 Cases Confirmed [LEADERSHIP]
The federal government has confirmed 258 cases of Lassa fever across Nigeria as the death toll from the disease outbreak rises to 41.
Health minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who disclosed this at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, however, said that the overall case fatality rate (CFR) for this year was 15 per cent, compared to 20 per cent recorded in 2019, and the over 30 per cent for previous years.
Ehanire, however, assured Nigerians that the ministry in collaboration with other health agencies would continue to support response activities such as surveillance and contact tracing in the affected states through the deployment of rapid response team for improved case management and outcomes.
He explained that ”rapid response teams have been deployed in Kano, Ebonyi, Enugu, Ondo and Borno states,” adding that “we have also sent medical commodities and personal protective equipment to the states and particularly to Lassa fever treatment centres.
”As part of our response activities, on 24th January, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) activated a National Emergency Centre. It is an interdisciplinary technical group for Lassa fever, and they have a mandate to ensure well-coordinated response, case management and swift control of Lassa fever outbreaks,” Ehanire said.
The minister said that Lassa fever is preventable and can be treated especially when a case is presented early and urged Nigerians to avoid self-medication and to maintain good food and environmental hygiene to avoid invasion by the disease-carrying rodents.
The director, Prevention Programme and Knowledge Management of NCDC, Dr. Joshua Adesanya, revealed that six health workers had been affected so far, with five confirmed dead and one probable.
Joshua, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to embrace good hygiene, stressing that all hands were on deck to contain the disease and to get a vaccine against it.