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Monday, 18 May 2020 05:32

Analysis: Given old debts and new borrowings, FG’s debt servicing projected at 96 percent of 2020 revenue

The government of Nigeria, whose revenue could be slashed by more than half this year due to the oil-price slump, finalized plans for a revised budget that keeps spending almost intact, and that will mean more borrowing. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed got approval from the West African’s nation’s cabinet on May 13 to go ahead with the new budget that cuts expenditure by only 0.6% from what was proposed before oil prices dropped. The government plans to spend 10.52 trillion naira ($27 billion) this year, even as it reduced the crude benchmark in the budget to $25 a barrel from…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:31

Buhari addresses Nigerians today on lockdown measures

President Muhammadu Buhari will again address the nation today following the end of the first phase of the gradual easing of the lockdown. National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force in Covid-19, Mr Sani Aliyu made this disclosure on Sunday. Aliyu said the President is to decide on whether or not the country should go ahead with the second phase of the easing of the lockdown. Meanwhile, chairman of the Presidential Task Force in Covid-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, has warned those flouting the guidelines of the relaxed lockdown, that the virus is…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:30

FG impounds British plane for violating flight ban rules

Nigeria impounded a plane operated by a British company for allegedly contravening a flight ban imposed to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, the aviation minister said on Sunday. Passenger flights into the country, with the exception of ones to evacuate people or repatriate Nigerian citizens, have been banned for weeks. The ban will remain in place until at least June 4. Flights for essential services, such as the delivery of food supplies and items for humanitarian use, are permitted. Aviation Minister, Mr Hadi Sirika said on Twitter on Sunday that a plane had been impounded after the rules were…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:29

Buhari approves suspension of loan deductions from states’ monthly allocations

There is reprieve for state governments following President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of suspension of deductions of loans and bailout funds from their monthly allocation. Coronavirus pandemic has virtually destroyed the world’s economy – draining Nigeria’s oil revenue to the bottom. Federation Account projected revenue has dropped by more than half, a situation that will make it impossible for states to meet up with their obligations, including payment of workers’ salaries from next month. Federal Government has slashed Budget 2020 as a result of the economic crunch. Many states have also downgraded their financial projections. It was learnt that the President…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:28

FIRS chairman ignores Buhari’s directive, retires nine directors, replaces them with members of his ethnic group

Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Muhammad Nami, has been accused of unlawful retirement of nine directors of the agency to pave way for his allies. Our correspondent was told that Nami relied on an old civil service rule, which had been suspended to remove the directors. Reporters gathered that the government of late President Umaru Yar’Adua had instituted a civil service rule which made it compulsory for directors to retire after serving for eight years. However, President Muhammadu Buhari rescinded that directive. According to new regulations, civil servants are to leave service after attaining the retirement age of…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:27

Sanwo-Olu hints of fully reopening businesses, places of worship

Lagos residents will soon heave a sigh of relieve as the state government is considering re-opening of the critical sectors of the state’s economy. The state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed this yesterday hinted that religious activities may be re-opened. He however, said the decision would not be taken hurriedly. He explained that in the coming days, his government would be rolling out Register-to-Open initiative as part of the plans that would enable it assess the level of readiness of the players in the identified sectors for supervised operations. Mr Sanwo-Olu spoke at a briefing after the State’s Security Council…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:25

People mostly staying home are still getting Covid-19. Here's the problem and what to do about it

In a press conference May 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 66% of new hospitalizations in New York for Covid-19 were people who had been staying home. "This is a surprise: Overwhelmingly, the people were at home," Cuomo said. "We thought maybe they were taking public transportation, and we've taken special precautions on public transportation, but actually no, because these people were literally at home." The "shocking" data came from a survey of more than 100 New York hospitals and about 1,300 new patients, Cuomo said. It raises the question: "Of the people who are staying home, how rigorously are…

Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:17

Gov’s excesses in Covid-19 lockdown measures

Governors across the 36 states of the federation have adopted various measures in efforts to prevent and contain the spread of the coronavirus in their states. However some of these governors have exhibited excesses in terms of their actions and measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Rivers: Wike demolishes hotels, arrests pilots Trending and an issue still discussed on various media platforms is the demolition of two hotels by Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike. He supervised the demolition of the hotels due to violation of his lockdown order aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus in the…

Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:16

Buhari receives Madagascar Covid-19 herbal mix

President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday at the State House, Abuja, received the Madagascan native formulation against the Covid-19 pandemic, and reiterated that he would listen to science before allowing traditional or any new medicines to be administered on Nigerians. At an audience meeting with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau who brought along with him the samples of the traditional medicine as shared to African nations by Madagascar, Mr Buhari said his position on all such herbal or traditional medicinal postulates had remained the same. “We have our institutions, systems and processes in the country. Any such formulations should be…

Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:13

Six killed as violence breaks out in Adamawa community

Six people were killed in ethnic violence in Adamawa state, police said Saturday, but locals put the toll higher. “Six dead bodies have been recovered from the violence which erupted on Friday,” state police spokesman, Mr Suleiman Nguroje told AFP. “It was an ethnic violence which started following a disagreement between the Hausa community and the Chabo tribe, after a tricycle accident,” Nguroje said. Scores of houses were also torched in the conflict, forcing hundreds of displaced residents to seek shelter in a school, he said. He said a joint military and police team was deployed “to maintain law and…

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Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:07

US believers see message of change from God in virus

The coronavirus has prompted almost two-thirds of American believers of all faiths to feel that God is telling humanity to change how it lives, a new poll finds. While the virus rattles the globe, causing economic hardship for millions and killing more than 80,000 Americans, the findings of the poll by the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicate that people may also be searching for deeper meaning in the devastating outbreak. Even some who don’t affiliate with organized religion, such as Lance Dejesus of Dallastown, Pa., saw a possible bigger message…

Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:05

China is set to force a '30-day calming period' on all divorcing couples

Chinese lawmakers have drafted a law to order all divorcing couples to complete a '30-day calming period' after the country saw tens of thousands of people applying for separation following the lockdown. Married couples who wish to break up must wait for a month before their request can be officially approved, the bill proposes. Officials believe the 'cooling-off period' can help partners avoid 'impulsive separation'. The bill was first proposed in 2018 after the divorce rate in the country had been increasing for the past few years. The growth continued to spike after the coronavirus lockdown, Chinese media report. During…

Sunday, 17 May 2020 05:04

Psychiatrists fear 'tsunami' of mental illness after lockdown

Psychiatrists are warning of a "tsunami" of mental illness from problems stored up during lockdown. They are particularly concerned that children and older adults are not getting the support they need because of school closures, self-isolation and fear of hospitals. In a survey, psychiatrists reported rises in emergency cases and a drop in routine appointments. They emphasised that mental-health services were still open for business. 'Patients have evaporated' "We are already seeing the devastating impact of Covid-19 on mental health, with more people in crisis," said Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. "But we are just as…

Saturday, 16 May 2020 05:20

FG fixes cost of mandatory isolation to be paid by Nigerians returning from abroad

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed Nigerian evacuees from Bangkok to pay a total of N297,600 for their hotel, isolation and quarantine upon arrival in Nigeria as a precondition for their airlift. A statement by the Embassy of Nigeria in Bangkok, Thailand, signed by Head of Chancery, Mr Nicholas Uhomoibhi said the prices were negotiated in Nigeria. “I am directed to bring to your attention due to measures that are beyond the control of Covid-19 local organizing team in Nigeria, all evacuees going to Nigeria henceforth are to now pay for their quarantine, isolation, accommodation centre or hotels before departure…

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