News
Federal Government on Tuesday said no fewer than 812 health workers have been infected with the Covid-19 virus in the line of duty.
It reiterated that the protection of health workers, especially those in the frontline of the pandemic are its priority, and will ensure the constant provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs), to shield them from exposure.
Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, in Abuja.
He said: “As we go further in the easing of the restrictions, I just want to remind all of us that the easing of the restrictions doesn’t mean the easing of the response. In fact, the public response is being strengthen.
“Crossing the 10,000 mark was quite a significant event, and every night when we work so hard to bring out those numbers, sometimes numbers begin to feel like what they are, that we forget that they are people behind each number.
“We have had 812 healthcare workers infected. They are not just numbers. Twenty-nine (29) of these work for the NCDC. They are people I know who have families, wives and children. About eight (8) of them right now are in the Idu treatment center. They are not just numbers but they are people and they matter and we must remember.
“We have distributed over 40,000 pieces of complete PPEs and will continue to do this. By this weekend new consignment will be going out to every state, every Federal Medical Centres in the country.
“We now have the third highest number of confirmed cases on the continent just after South Africa and Egypt. It means that there is an added responsibility for us to work harder everyday.”
He added: “We have increased our testing capacity. We have now tested over 65,000 samples and increased our lab network to 30; having just activated the laboratories in Bauchi State and Abuja.
The Nation
Nigeria’s electricity grid, operated from Osogbo, Osun State, again collapsed yesterday afternoon, leaving the entire nation in darkness.
Managed by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), sources at the firm confirmed the development to reporters as some distribution companies (DisCos) had already notified consumers of the total blackout.
While the grid experienced collapsed in May this year due to industrial unrest, it earlier gave way in April, questioning the integrity of the infrastructure.
Though TCN is yet to advance reasons for the latest incident, the network recorded over 11 failures last year.
Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), umbrella body of the distribution companies, had last year decried the repeated occurrences, stating that TCN’s analogue system caused over 100 collapses since the privatisation of the power sector in 2013.
Guardian
First son of Mr Joseph Masin, an archbishop and Nasarawa State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, kidnapped on May 28, Mr Miracle Masin, has said he sold about three cars belonging to him, his wife and his father before he could raise the ransom to secure his father’s release.
He noted that they also got contributions from some individuals to secure the release of his father who was abducted at his residence in Bukan-Sidi, Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
While decrying the harsh treatment meted to his father, who is also the General Overseer, Word of God Worldwide Gospel City, in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Miracle refused to disclose the amount paid by the family.
He explained that they started negotiations with the kidnapers from N45m, noting that when the kidnappers checked his father’s contacts on his phone and saw the caliber of persons there, they jacked up the ransom to N50m.
He said, “Millions of naira was paid but we are not ready to disclose it now. The pressure was so much but we thank God for everything. The negotiations began from the day he was kidnapped till he was released on Saturday, May 30 around 11.45pm. He got home on Sunday around 4am.”
Miracle noted that the entire family was delighted to have his father back in good condition.
He added, “My father didn’t even know where he was until he met some people, who were running away from him until one of them was bold to come close and ask him what happened. They later took him to a place where we met him in.”
While describing the kidnappers as beasts, he said his father was left in a bush and was sleeping on stones with his shorts.
He added, “For those days, my father couldn’t eat. They were bringing food but he couldn’t eat because he was not sure of what was in the food and he didn’t trust them.
While expressing his gratitude to Governor Abdullahi Sule, his deputy, Mr Emmanuel Akabe, and the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Bola Longe, Miracle pointed out that the state government was not involved in the payment of the ransom.
He called on the government to boost security across the state to tackle the issue of kidnapping in the state.
Punch
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday described Governor Dapo Abiodun’s attack on the striking Residents Doctors as “unbecoming and disappointing.”
The body also said the 300 percent increment for medical workers’ hazard allowance as announced by the governor was mere “blackmail and tricky.
It will be recalled that Abiodun had tongue – lashed striking Resident Doctors at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, whose action he labeled “irresponsible and politically motivated.”
The ARD OOUTH had penultimate Friday, announced commencement of industrial action, following the state government’s refusal to yield to their agitations for improved welfare package.
Prior to this, the association had embarked on a three-day warning strike, a development which forced the government into a negotiation with the aggrieved doctors.
But, the governor while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, expressed worry that medical doctors are demanding pay hike despite the effect of COVID – 19 on the economy.
Abiodun said the strike was “appalling and a breach of trust” considering the fact that the government has interfaced with ARD leadership and “has done everything to meet their demands.”
Miffed by the governor’s comments, the State Chairman of NMA, Dr Ismail Lawal told newsmen on Monday in Abeokuta that the governor’s attack on the striking doctors demanding their rights, was condemnable.
Lawal said the governor should address the aggrieved doctors’ agitation rather than resort to name calling.
“In fact, as a citizen of Ogun State, I am ashamed of myself and disappointed.
“That implies we are already grooming another constituted authority in the state.
“If you remember very well, we had a governor like that in Oyo state and at the end of the day, history is there to tell us what came after the issue,” the NMA Chairman said.
Lawal who maintained that the agitation predated coronavirus crisis, worried that the governor failed to show commitment to the doctors’ plight.
He, however, maintained that the medical practitioners would go back to the drawing board with a view to resolving the lingering crisis.
Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen have invaded three communities in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State and killed three people.
Sources in the communities claimed that the attackers were Fulani cattle herders.
Following the bloody attack, residents of Ikereku, Pade, Olanla and Babalola villages were currently said to be panicky.
According to the sources, the hoodlums invaded the villages with dangerous weapons such as guns, machetes and knives.
A politician in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity said three people were killed in wards 1 and 2 in the council area.
Reporters further gathered that the hoodlums invaded their victims’ farmlands and shot them dead.
The remains of the victims were said to have been taken from the surrounding bush.
The victims of the attack were identified as Ope Babalola, Waheed Ganiyu and Yemi Osuolale.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, who confirmed the incident, said some unidentified gunmen invaded Olanla village and shot three people dead.
Fadeyi said, ”Yes, the hoodlums attacked a village, Olanla and shot three men. Two of the suspects have been arrested while police detectives have been despatched to the village to arrest other suspects.’’
Punch
Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has deployed investigation aid and forensic support to Edo State Police Command to complement ongoing probe of the death of a 100-level student of University of Benin, Mrs Uwaila Omosuwa.
Uwaila had gone to study in Redeemed Christian Church of God, Miracle Sanctuary Mega Parish, Edo Province 10, Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City on May 27, 2020, when she was raped and brutalised by her assailants.
The men had reportedly forced their way into the church, raped and smashed Uwaila’s head with a fire extinguisher.
It was gathered that the church security guard, who just resumed duty, found Uwaila in a pool of her own blood and called for help, while the victim was rushed to University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
Uwaila did not recover from her state of unconsciousness until she died on Saturday.
Nigerians have urged the police to ensure that the assailants are brought to justice.
Some Nigerians and celebrities, on Monday, staged an indoor protest to demand a stop to rape and extrajudicial killings in the country.
The protesters took pictures and displayed placards with various inscriptions like: ‘Don’t tell me how to dress, tell them not to rape me. Enough is Enough’, ‘Stop raping women! Stop killing women! No means no’, ‘Say no to rape’, ‘Stop raping us’, ‘My body, my choice’, and ‘Don’t be a rape apologist.’
Musical artiste, Small Doctor, who also condemned rape on his Twitter page, @iam_smalldoctor, wrote, “Nothing Justifies Rape & Illegal Killings! STOP RAPING WOMEN. Use Your Voice However You. #justiceforTina #JusticeForUwa #StopRapingWomen #Justiceforall. _ iyanu MASHELE SOONEST.”
Actress, Mercy Aigbe, who also took a picture of herself with a placard with the inscription, ‘Enough is Enough. #We demand justice,’ wrote on her Instagram page, “I stand against Rape! I stand against Police Brutality! Enough is Enough! Justice must be served! #justicefortina #justiceforuwa #wedemandjustice.”
Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who condemned the action of the assailants on his verified Twitter handle, urged the police to bring the perpetrators to justice.
He tweeted, “The reports of the rape and murder of a 22-year-old undergraduate of the University of Benin, Uwa Omosuwa, in a church in Benin City, are extremely shocking. Such savagery has no place in the Nigerian society.
“As a people, we have to work to create safe spaces for our girls and women – in our homes, at work and in our places of worship – free from any sorts of sexual violation and I say this not just because I’m a #girldad, but because it is the right thing to do.
“I strongly appeal to our law enforcement agencies to leave no stone uncovered in finding the perpetrators of this heinous act and bringing them to justice. I pray that the Almighty comforts the Omozuwa family and strengthens them at this very difficult time.”
Some UNIBEN students and members of the public stormed headquarters of the state police command in Benin to demand justice for Uwaila.
The protesters, clad in black attire, staged a walk from the King’s Square area of Benin City to the state police command headquarters at the GRA.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Mr Ayoola Ajala, who received the protesters, assured them that investigation had commenced and arrests had been made in connection with the murder.
The victim’s father, Johnson Omozuwa, called on security agencies to fish out his daughter’s killers.
Johnson, who spoke with journalists in Benin City, said Uwaila was attacked by hoodlums, adding that she was a member of RCCG.
“I received calls from people living around the church, who saw my daughter in a pool of her own blood; photographs of the scene were taken, while a fire extinguisher cylinder, which the hoodlums used in inflicting injuries on her, was recovered,” he said.
Johnson said he took his daughter to the Enoma Hospital, Ogbeson Quarter, Ikpoba Hill, “and the management asked me to report the matter to the police, which I did at the Ikpoba-Okha Police Division.”
He added that the management of the hospital took Uwaila to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital for further treatment, but she passed away on Saturday night.
The victim’s mother said she was surprised that her daughter could suffer such a gruesome death after being raped.
She said Uwaila was a peaceful person and wondered why anyone would do such a thing to her.
Lawmaker representing the Ovia Federal Constituency, Mr Dennis Idahosa; and General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Mr Johnson Suleiman, condemned the killing.
The IGP, in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, said the killers of Uwaila would be brought to justice.
The statement read, “As part of deliberate and concerted efforts by the Nigeria Police High Command to unravel the circumstances surrounding the brutal attack and unfortunate death of Miss Vera Uwaila Omosuwa in Benin, Edo State, on May 28 and 30, 2020, respectively, the Inspector-General of Police has deployed additional investigation aids and forensic support in the Edo State Police Command to complement and expedite action on the ongoing investigation into the unfortunate incident.
“The IGP, while condemning the attack, commiserates with the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased. He calls for calm and gives the assurance that the force will surely bring the perpetrators of the callous act to justice in the shortest possible time.”
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, described Uwaila’s rape and murder as the height of criminality.
Obaseki, who spoke on the killing during his visit to the State House in Abuja on Monday, described it as gruesome and sheer madness, adding that the killers must be tracked down.
He said, “Fortunately, my new commissioner of police resumed today (Monday). I’m going back to Benin and that will be the first assignment. We must track down the killers, because their action is gruesome. It’s sheer madness.
“Why would you go to a church and rape a young girl? It’s the height of criminality.
Edo State Commissioner for Social Development and Gender Issues, Ms Maria Edeko, gave an assurance that the family of Uwaila would get justice.
She gave the assurance while addressing protesting students, who stormed the Government House, Benin City, to register their displeasure over the gruesome murder of the undergraduate.
She said the police had been mandated to fish out, arrest and prosecute the masterminds of the heinous crime.
She said the administration was resolute in ensuring that the perpetrators of the crime to face the full wrath of the law, noting that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law had been domesticated in the state to deal with such crimes.
Edeko stated, “On behalf of the governor, I express deep pain over this incident. We are saddened over the matter, because the deceased represented the old and the young. In this age and time when so many persons do not even think of studying, Vera Uwaila went to the church to read.
“Her death is disheartening, more so that the heinous crime was committed in a sacred place of worship.”
The commissioner added that the state government’s delegation had visited the family of the deceased student to commiserate with them and extend the governor’s deepest condolences.
Punch
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says Nigerians will pay stamp duties on WhatsApp messages, SMS, and messages via any electronic platform acknowledging receipt of funds.
The revenue service also stated that stamp duties would be paid on “POS receipts, fiscalised device receipts, and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) print-outs”.
According to a circular published by the agency, Nigerians will also be required to pay stamp duties on SMS acknowledging receipt of funds.
FIRS gave illustrations of situations where Nigerians are expected to pay stamp duties, one of them says: “ABZ Ltd’s chief accounting officer, after receiving a cash payment of N500,000 from Mr. XYZ on behalf of ABZ Ltd., composed a message which reads: ‘receipt of N500,000 is hereby acknowledged’ and sent same to Mr. XYZ via WhatsApp messenger.
“In this case, the WhatsApp message acknowledging the receipt of N500,000 constitutes a receipt for which stamp duty is payable.
“Mr XYZ is required to make a disclosure of the details of the transaction using FIRS e-stamp duty platform or to the relevant stamp duties Commissioner. This will lead to assessment and payment of appropriate stamp duties and a consequential issuance of a stamp duty certificate or an acknowledgement.
“Such certificate or acknowledgement will suffice as evidence that stamp duties have been paid and that the electronic receipt has been stamped appropriately.”
The agency adds that “all electronic dutiable instruments or receipts”, including e-mails, short message service (sms), instant messages (IM), any internet-based messaging service, are subject to stamp duty.
The circular, issued in April, clearly stated that “all printed receipts” and “all electronically generated receipts and any form of electronic acknowledgement of money for dutiable transactions” are liable to duty payment.
The Nation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new directives to banks for refunds to customers on any failed transactions through ATMs, PoS, internet transfer and e-platforms transactions.
The latest timelines for banks to ensure strict compliance were contained in a statement issued by the apex bank’s Director, Corporate Communication, Mr Isaac Okorafor.
He stated that revision of the timelines was part of the bank’s efforts to enhance service quality, particularly quick refunds when customers experience failed transactions, dispense errors or disputes.
Specifically, the revised timelines for reversals and/or resolution of refund complaints on electronic channels which takes effect from June 8, 2020, are as follows: “Failed ‘On-Us’ ATM transactions (when customers use their cards on their bank’s ATMs) shall be instantly reversed from the current timeline of three (3) days.
Where instant reversal fails due to any technical issue or system glitch, the timeline for manual reversal shall not exceed 24 hours.”
“Refunds for failed ‘Not-on-Us’ ATM transactions (where customers use their cards on other banks’ ATMs) shall not exceed 48 hours from the current 3-5 days.”
“Resolution of disputed/failed PoS or Web transactions shall be concluded within 72 hours from the current five (5) days.
All banks are directed to resolve backlog of all ATM, POS and Web customer refunds within two weeks starting June 8, 2020”, he added.
Okorafor further stated that “key service providers in the Nigerian payments system have also committed to establish an integrated dispute resolution platform for the industry and enhance their payment system infrastructure and processes to reduce incidences of transaction failure.”
Daily Trust
Armed bandits in Katsina state killed at least 18 people, including a local official, and stole thousands of livestock on Sunday, two witnesses and a police spokesman told our correspondent.
The eyewitnesses said as many as 500 men riding motorcycles, some brandishing assault rifles, charged into the Faskari local government area on Sunday afternoon.
“At least 18 person were confirmed killed by now and many others were suspected to be killed,” local resident Isma’ila Ya’u told our correspondent by telephone.
The men went on to the nearby village of Sabon Garin where they killed local leader Abdulhamid Sani, 55, after attempting to kidnap him, the witnesses and a police spokesman said.
Sadiq Hasaan, another witness, said the men were headed with the stolen livestock towards other villages in the Batsari local government area, and thousands of residents had fled their homes.
Police spokesman Gombo Isa confirmed the attack, adding the assailants carried “sophisticated weapons”. He said security forces were “combing the forest with a view to arresting the hoodlums.”
Criminal gangs carrying out robberies and kidnappings have killed hundreds in the last year in northwest Nigeria.
The attacks have added to security challenges in Africa’s most populous country, which is already struggling to contain Islamist insurgencies in the northeast and communal violence over grazing rights in central states.
Reuters
A police officer, Mr Monday Gabriel, on Sunday shot dead a sergeant, Felix Okago, in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
It was gathered that both policemen were on special duty in a Federal Government facility in Ikoyi when Gabriel reportedly went berserk and started firing indiscriminately and one of the bullets hit Okago.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Bala Elkana, said in a statement that Okago died from the injuries he sustained during the attack, adding that men of the Bariga Police Division arrested Gabriel in the Akoka area, while he was attempting to escape.
He stated that Gabriel, who presented signs of mental depression after being arrested, was taken to hospital for examination, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, while commiserating with Okago’s family, ordered an investigation into the incident.
Elkana said, “On Sunday, May 31, 2020, around 4.30pm, the Area ‘A’ Command received a distress call that one Inspector Monday Gabriel attached to the No. 21 Police Mobile Force Squadron in Abuja, while on special duty in a Federal Government facility in Ikoyi, Lagos, went berserk and started shooting indiscriminately.
“Felix Okago, who was on special duty with the inspector, died from the gunshot injuries, while others escaped unhurt.
“In an attempt to escape, Gabriel took a patrol van and headed for the Third Mainland Bridge and was shooting as he was escaping. He was intercepted by policemen from the Bariga Division at Akoka, disarmed and handcuffed. The rifle and the vehicle were recovered.
“The corpse of the deceased sergeant was deposited in the mortuary for autopsy, while the inspector has been taken to a police hospital for medical examination as he presented signs of mental depression.
“The CP has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of investigation to take over the investigation. The command deeply condoles with the family of our fallen colleague, who paid the supreme price in the service of his fatherland.”
Punch
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There is outrage in Nigeria following the murder of a 22-year-old student, Uwavera Omozuwa in a church.
The hashtag #JusticeForUwa is trending in Nigeria, with her family appealing for help to track down her killers.
Uwavera had been studying in a "quiet" church near her home in Benin City when she was killed, her sister, Judith, told BBC Pidgin.
The student, who had wanted to become a nurse, died in hospital on Saturday, three days after the attack.
Judith Omozuwa said her sister had also been raped.
Her family said they received a call from a woman at the Redeemed Christian Church of God on Wednesday evening.
Uwavera was taken to hospital after a security guard found her, her skirt torn and her shirt covered in blood, Judith Omozuwa said.
'Failure to curb gender-based violence'
However, a police spokesperson in southern Edo State, whose capital is Benin City, told BBC Pidgin that they were treating the incident as a murder, not a rape, case.
The student died following a fight at the church, the spokesperson added, without giving more details.
Uwavera had only just been admitted to the University of Benin to study microbiology when she was killed.
She often went to sit and "read" at the church near her house as it was quiet, her sister added.
Unconfirmed reports in local media said a group of men had entered the church, raping Uwavera and hitting her with a fire extinguisher.
On Tuesday, many Nigerians were angered after a policeman allegedly shot dead a 16-year-old girl, Tina Ezekwe, in the commercial capital, Lagos.
The officer was arrested, police said.
On Twitter, many Nigerians expressed concern about the government's failure to tackle gender-based violence, and questioned whether parents were bringing up boys properly.
BBC
Nigeria has evacuated some of its stranded nationals from China.
The 268 evacuees on Saturday landed in Abuja, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, said in a tweet.
“268 stranded Nigerians in China safely arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, 30th May 2020,” Onyeama said.
Last month, amidst the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, African nationals in China protested harassment from the Chinese government in several videos circulated on social media.
In the videos, Nigerians and other African nationals were reportedly subjected to forced evictions from their homes and arbitrary quarantine and mass Coronavirus testing in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China.
The incident drew the ire of Nigerians on social media as an hashtag #ChinaMustExplain on Twitter called out the Chinese government for the maltreatment.
Onyeama said the new evacuees would go on a 14-day quarantine in line with the standards of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to contain the spread of Covid-19.
This is coming on the wheels of the temporary suspension of evacuation of stranded Nigerians abroad.
Earlier in the week, Onyeama said the decision is to allow the take-off of a new policy on evacuating Nigerians who are willing to return from other countries.
He said with the new policy, evacuees would no longer go into 14-day government monitored quarantine if they test negative from their countries of residence.
Explaining why the Nigerians were evacuated as against the new policy, Onyeama’s spokesperson, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said the evacuation was done to cut costs because “the aeroplane that took the Chinese medical team back to their base could not just come empty like that.”
PT
Indications were rife at the weekend that Nigeria’s rising non-oil export is threatened by the Coronavirus restrictions as over 1,000 trucks laden with export cargoes have been stranded along the Lagos seaports corridor in the last two months.
This came as the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello said that he had taken notice of the sad situation and is working round the clock to ensure that the cargoes enter the seaports as soon as possible for onward export to the international market.
The export cargoes could not gain access into the ports due to wrong documetations and the Coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
In addition to that, several truck owners and shippers spoken in different interviews in Lagos, blamed the Shipping Lines and Terminal Operators for the delay.
They urged Federal Government to take urgent steps to salvage the situation, saying the Nigerian economy is being sabotaged by multinational shipping business operators at a time the country needs as much non-oil exports as it could to bolster the economy that is under serious danger of grinding to a halt, due to nation’s long dependence on crude oil as its main export product and about 90 per cent source of foreign exchange.
The truck owners noted that ongoing reconstruction of Oshodi-Apapa expressway is not the cause of the delay, insisting that the Seaport Concessionaires and the Shipping Lines are frustrating trade facilitation in Nigerian Ports.
Recent figures released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that the country has been recording steady growth in the non-oil export sector since 2016, a development that Bello called on Federal Government to refocus its attention on boosting the efficiency of the maritime industry and the non-oil exports sectors for resilient post Covid-19 economy that could quickly overcome the coming recession.
According to NBS, Nigeria’s non-oil exports grew from N344 billion in 2016 to N629 billion in 2017, N1.I trillion in 2018 and in 2019, it hit the N2.5 trillion mark.
New Telegraph
Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Federal Government to immediately implement all agreements it entered with the association or it will embark on indefinite strike action.
The ultimatum was issued by NARD in Bauchi on Saturday at the end of its 2020 Ordinary General Meeting with the theme: ‘Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Health in Nigeria.’
It also lamented the poor working condition of its members across the country.
The event held at the Multipurpose Hall of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.
National President, NARD, Mr Sokomba Aliyu, who read the communiqué at the end of the OGM, lamented that some of its members were intimidated, harassed and maltreated in Lagos, Kaduna and Plateau states and Federal Capital Territory in the cause of performing their professional duty.
He faulted the sack of 26 of their members at Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also faulted Kaduna State Government for slashing salaries of its members by 25 per cent.
Aliyu said, “NARD calls on federal and state governments to provide protective gear such as N95 respirators and gloves to health workers. NARD demands immediate recall of sacked resident doctors at Jos University Teaching Hospital and payment of their salaries.
“NARD demands the immediate implementation of the revised hazard allowance, and payment of Covid-19 inducement allowance. NARD condemns all illegal deductions from the salaries of our members by some state governments, and demand immediate refunds.
“NARD calls on security agencies to stop harassment and assault on doctors while carrying out their legitimate activities.
“The association hereby issues a 14-day ultimatum to the government to meet her demands, failure of which the association cannot guarantee industrial harmony.”
Punch