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The International Monetary Fund on Monday announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries, to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Twenty two of the countries are in Africa.
They are Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique.
Others are Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal and Haiti are also on the list.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.
The IMF board approved the debt relief for the countries.
The fund together with the World Bank have called for rich nations to stop collecting debt payments from poor countries from May 1 through June 2021.
The debt relief will be funded by the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), which was first set up to combat the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2015 and has been repurposed to help countries fend off COVID-19.
The fund currently has $500 million, with Japan, Britain, China and the Netherlands among its main contributors.
“I urge other donors to help us replenish the trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries,” Georgieva said.
Last week, the World Bank said it would roll out $160 billion in emergency aid over 15 months to help countries stricken by the virus, including $14 billion in debt repayments from 76 poor countries to other governments.
The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Musiliu Akinsanya also known as MC Oluomo, has said members of the union caught engaging in crimes during the coronavirus lockdown would be dismissed.
MC Oluomo disclosed this on Monday in a statement posted on his verified Instagram page.
He implored his men to endure the season.
Cases of robbery and banditry have increased in the last few days with Lagosians forming vigilante groups and making bonfires to survive each day.
The NURTW boss said members apprehended at crime scenes would be prosecuted and dismissed while urging them to obey the stay-at-home order of the government.
The statement read in part, “The NURTW Chairman enjoined all members to endure for the time being otherwise any member caught either attached to robbery or caught at the scene of the act will be totally dismissed and prosecuted by law.
“MC Olumo advised members, including motorcycle and tricycle riders, popularly called Okada and Maruwa to adhere to the federal and state governments’ orders as regards the lockdown on movement.
“He also implored all members especially the branch chairmen to be vigilant and assist their various communities in combating the daylight robberies that are currently being reported in different areas.
“He pleaded with them to stay indoors because it is for the general good.”
Former First Lady of Nigeria, Patience Jonathan has struck a deal to release her 200-bed hotel as a Coronavirus Isolation and treatment centre.
The former First Lady, it was learnt, struck the deal with First Lady Aisha Buhari, which led to her release of the hotel, under litigation, for use by the government at the critical time, The Nation reports.
The First Lady Aisha Buhari, through her pet project, the Future Assured Programme, entered into separate agreements with Mrs. Jonathan and the Ministry of Health to convert the hotel into a COVID-19 treatment centre.
Mrs. Buhari made an offer to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, to equip it as a treatment centre to international standards, the publication adds.
Although the hotel will be formally handed over to the Minister of Health on Monday, it will be managed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) COVID-19 committee.
The Future Assured Programme is providing facilities like water, furniture, beddings, fittings and modern health equipment used to manage COVID-19 cases.
It was gathered that the “deal” between the First Lady and her predecessor was struck at a recent meeting by the duo at the Presidential Villa.
A source who spoke to TheNation quoted Mrs. Jonathan as saying: “This is the time we must all come together, irrespective of political differences, to assist this nation to fight the pandemic. It is a time to shun politics.
“I will do everything to help this great country that has also given me the opportunity to serve.”
Investigation revealed that the First Lady decided to collaborate with Mrs. Jonathan to avoid the Future Assured Programme running into any legal crisis.
A highly-placed source told the publication: “Since the dispute over the property is still in court, the First Lady opted to seek the consent of Mrs. Patience Jonathan on the temporary use of the seized hotel. This mutual understanding has removed all legal hurdles.
“After the nation has overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel will be handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health, which will in turn revert back to the EFCC. Those involved are, therefore, the Future Assured Programme, the Ministry of Health, the EFCC and ex-First Lady Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
“All the existing agreements are without prejudice to the final decision of the court on the property, which the First Lady said is owned by a separate entity, Aurora Foundation.”
About 1.15pm on Sunday, April 12, about 30 workers were seen putting final touches to the centre.
A 20-man team of mobile policemen was on the alert to secure the sophisticated equipment already installed.
A source said: “It is a five-storey hotel which can actually be upgraded into 300 bedrooms. But so far, we have fitted the ground floor and three out of the other five floors.
“All things being equal, the hotel will be handed over on Monday by the First Lady. We have been working day and night on this project."
The hotel is located in a valley in Mabushi part of Abuja, off the ever busy Mabushi Kado Expressway.
The 15-year-old son of a Bauchi state medical doctor, Rilwanu Sadiq, has been killed by suspected kidnappers despite receiving N4.5 million ransom from his distraught father.
Abubakar who attends a Secondary school in Bauchi, was abducted in front of his father's house along Gombe road in Ningi local government area of the state on April 1st.
Dr Sadiq, who works at the Abubakar Tafawa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, said he was at work when he got the news of his son's abduction. He immediately reported the matter to the neighbourhood security outfit as well as the state police.
Sadiq said his son's abductors contacted him and initially demanded for N3 million ransom which he paid. Afterwards they demanded for another N1.5 million. He said he had to pay so he could get reunited with his son.
“We were giving them at intervals. They got ?2 million hand-to-hand from me. The balance of ?2.5 was paid into about five bank accounts. But they kept asking for more. That was when I said I can’t bear it anymore, not knowing that they will even kill my son.” Dr Sadiq told Premiumtimes
The corpse of his son was exhumed from a shallow ditch inside an uncompleted building not far from their home on Sunday April 12. The distraught Father said he believes that his son’s killers, based on his kidnap and where his body was buried, are well acquainted with his family.
Commenting on the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, Kamal Datti, said two persons have been arrested in connection with the death.
“Two suspects have been arrested in relation to the death, and investigation is on'' Datti said
A 55-year-old man, who was admitted to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, has died of complications from COVID-19.
The newspaper quoted a source as saying the patient died on Friday morning.
The deceased reportedly had underlying health issues. He was said to have been hypertensive and diabetic.
He reportedly arrived LUTH emergency unit on Thursday night complaining of “malaise, tremors, and fever” and was also diagnosed with acute chronic kidney disease and sepsis.
He was reportedly sent to the “spillover unit” of the hospital because of the unavailability of bed space.
But when he developed complications, a junior doctor at the accident & emergency unit was said to have reviewed his case and notified the senior registrar of his suspicion.
According to the source, the patient did not disclose his travel history to Holland and died “a few hours” after he was admitted.
The hospital was said to have discovered that the patient had COVID-19 when a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was conducted on his blood posthumously.
“Fingerprint antibody test was done on him, confirming his COVID-19 infection,” the source was quoted to have said.
“The man did not give his travel history or the fact that he had contact with someone who had travelled overseas.
“He told the doctors that he had no history of coughs, sore throat, joint pains or diarrhea. After the Senior Registrar reviewed his case and confronted him with their findings, the man revealed the true story about his travels and his fear that he might have contracted COVID-19 and died shortly afterward.
“He confessed that he had been coughing and that he had returned from Holland two weeks ago, where he had gone for follow-up treatment after a renal transplant he also had there.
“When confronted after the man’s death, his family members said they withheld the information about his likely COVID-19 infection because they were afraid that LUTH would reject him if they disclosed his true state.”
The state coronavirus emergency workers have reportedly taken the remains of the deceased away.
The Kwara government on Friday said there are no facts that UK returnee who died in Ilorin had coronavirus.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, in Ilorin.
The statement noted that Kwara had not recorded a case of COVID-19 as all the six samples of suspected cases so far tested in the state had been negative.
The statement read: “The Kwara Technical Committee on COVID-19 wishes to clarify that the state has not recorded any confirmed case of COVID-19 as of now. All the six samples tested from Kwara have returned negative.
“The committee states that there is no fact, at this moment to support suggestions that a male patient who died on Wednesday night at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital was a COVID-19 patient.
“Findings by the medical advisory subcommittee revealed that the patient and his wife arrived from the United Kingdom and reportedly came to Ilorin on March 20.
“The patient went into self-quarantine without reaching out to the government or the technical committee.
“On the 13th day of the self-quarantine, he suddenly had difficulties breathing after reportedly eating dinner and was rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
” Efforts to resuscitate him proved abortive and he was pronounced dead.
“The deceased, a Muslim, was promptly taken to Offa, his hometown, where he was interred on Thursday.
“Owing to the travel history of the deceased, all the medics who attended to him at the UITH have gone into self-quarantine.
” Similarly, family members who have had contact with the deceased and his wife have been directed to do same.
“For abundance of caution, samples have been taken from his wife and four others and results are expected in the coming days.
“The committee hereby repeats that there is no record that the UITH patient ever tested positive for the virus,’’ Ajakaye said.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced two deaths from complications of COVID-19 and 20 fresh cases.
The agency broke the news in a tweet on Friday night.
A breakdown of the new cases showed that 11 were in Lagos, three in the federal capital territory, three in Edo, Two in Osun and one in Ondo.
“Twenty new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria; 11 in Lagos, 3 in the FCT, 3 in Edo, 2 in Osun & 1 in Ondo. Two new deaths have been recorded in Lagos and Edo State,” the tweet read.
“As at 10:30 pm 3rd April there are 210 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.”
Twenty new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria; 11 in Lagos, 3 in the FCT, 3 in Edo, 2 in Osun & 1 in Ondo
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 3, 2020
Two new deaths have been recorded in Lagos and Edo State
As at 10:30 pm 3rd April there are 210 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/YzXdfxXPTe
Richard Akindele, sacked lecturer of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has been released from prison after serving a two-year term.
TheCable learnt that the lecturer, who is a professor of management accounting, was released on March 19 and now back home to his family.
In 2018, Maureen Onyetenu, judge of a federal high court in Osogbo, Osun state, sentenced Akindele to prison after he pleaded guilty to a four-count charge filed against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
She sentenced Akindele to 24 months jail-term for asking Monica for a sexual benefit and handed him another 24 months jail-term for soliciting from the victim, sexual benefit to pass her.
The judge also sentenced Akindele to 12 months jail-term for deleting parts of the WhatsApp conversation between him and Osagie to conceal evidence against him and sentenced him to another 12 months jail-term for falsification of age. She had held that the six-year jail terms would run concurrently.
In an audio which went viral online, Akindele was heard demanding five rounds of sex from Osagie to award her a pass mark in a course she failed.
Akindele, a clergyman at the Anglican Diocese of Ife, was a member of the church’s marriage committee before the scandal.
TheCable also learnt that his appeal against his conviction is scheduled for hearing at the court of appeal, Akure, on May 19.
In his new book, “Naked Abuse: Sex for Grades in African Universities”, Olusegun Adeniyi addressed the menace of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions across Africa.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says Eti-Osa Local Government Area has the highest numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state.
Abayomi, during an update of COVID-19 situation in the state on Friday, said that Eti-Osa has 47 out of the 98 confirmed cases.
The commissioner said that Ikeja has 24 cases, Lagos Mainland- 11, while Alimosho, Agege and Ikorodu has one case respectively.
According to him, out of the 98 confirmed cases in the state, 74 are still active cases, while 24 has recovered and has been discharged.
He noted that most of the patients fell between 30 and 59 years, adding that two patients over 60 years and another two over 70 years were among the patients currently receiving treatment at the facility.
Abayomi said 64 per cent of the patients were males, 36 per cent females; noting that 68 per cent of the cases were imported in the first four weeks of confirmation of the index case in the state
According to him, 91 per cent of the cases are Nigerians, stating that since the closure of the air and land borders imported cases had reduced, while the state has started experiencing local transmission of the virus.
He said most of the patients were experiencing a mild to moderate degree of the illness, adding that two of the patients were presently on oxygen.
The commissioner, said that if the oxygen does not work for them, they would change it to ventilators.
According to him, there are about 20 ventilators in the state hospitals, and another 20 in the private hospitals which the state can access if the need arises.
The commissioner said that the state has three molecular laboratories for COVID-19 test, and was conducting between 200 and 300 COVID-19 tests daily.
He said there was an ongoing training of medical personnel and volunteers, stressing that the state has adequate personal protective equipment for its staffs.
Abayomi disclosed that the state was curently tracing 2, 450 contacts.
He advised the public to continue to practice social distancing and adhere to the stay at home order toward reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
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The federal government says a medical team from China will arrive the country in a few days.
Osagie Enahire, minister of health, broke the news at the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja on Friday.
He also said a group of Chinese companies working in Nigeria have donated medical supplies to support the country’s fight against COVID-19.
He said the items include commodities such as personal protective equipment and ventilators.
“I have been notified of medical supplies from China, courtesy of a group of Chinese companies working here in Nigeria. A special cargo aircraft shall leave Nigeria in a few days to collect the items which include commodities, personal protective equipment and ventilators,” he said.
“An 18-man team of Chinese medical experts including doctors, nurses and other medical advisers shall come along with the flight to assist us. I must at this juncture commend our frontline workers who are doing a great job in case identification and management.
“As we prepare to contain COVID-19, we must not lose sight of other health challenges in our country. Routine health service must continue in our hospitals. Only a wing of tertiary health centres should be used for infected patients.”
The minister said nearly 3,000 samples have been tested for the disease, adding that Nigeria will witness an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases despite the lockdown.
Nigeria has recorded 190 confirmed cases out of which Lagos state, which is the epicentre of the disease, has 98 cases.
The federal capital territory (FCT) has 38; Osun, 20, and Oyo, eight cases. Akwa Ibom state has five cases; Ogun and Edo states have four each; Kaduna, four; Bauchi, three.
Enugu and Ekiti states have two cases each while Rivers and Benue states have recorded one each.
In Africa, over 7,000 cases have been recorded with 284 deaths spread across 50 countries.
Globally, the confirmed cases hit one million on Thursday, with at least 51, 300 people dead from complications of the disease.
The infection has spread to 204 countries and territories since the first case was recorded in Wuhan, China, late December.
On March 24, Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce company, donated medical kits for Nigeria to fight coronavirus pandemic.
A Nigerian doctor identified as Apostle Caleb Anya, has died of Coronavirus in the United States.
The deceased who has been working hard to give treatment to those infected with the virus, died 5 days after he was admitted in a New York hospital for contracting for the virus.
Apostle Caleb who is from Ohafia in Abia state, will be cremated in line with the directive for for management of Coronavirus patients. He has been described as a "hero" by his close relatives.
Residents of Omole Estate, Phase II, Lagos are now in perpetual fear following the death of a patient suspected to have died of Coronavirus.
Report said the patient who presents with Coronavirus symptoms was rushed to the Primary Healthcare Centre in the area, and that there was no ambulance from the NCDC and the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) to evacuate her to the Infectious Disease Centre, Yaba.
She was said to have been returned to her residence in a tricycle where she eventually died.
According to Starconnect, her death spread panic in the estate after the chairman, Omole Phase II, Mr. Bamidele Lanisa reportedly issued a notice urging residents to stay indoor over the case.
The chairman, in the notice wrote: “Dear Residents, this is to inform you that there is a confirmed case of coronavirus in our neighboring community (Olowoira).
“The patient was taken to the Health Centre and when the NCDC/Lagos ambulance was unavailable to evacuate her, she was returned to her residence in a tricycle and eventually died.
“As you can imagine, many people came in contact with the patient and the risk to transmission in the neighborhood is real.
“We advise residents to please stay in their houses and refrain from unnecessarily going about. Please safe. We advise a total stay at home for now.”
Thank you.
Bamidele Lanisa
Chairman OMOLE PH 2
Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has ordered a detailed investigation into alleged battery and rape of Elizabeth Oyeniyi by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Abdumumuni Danga.
Narrating her ordeal to the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, Oyeniyi, a Kogi beauty queen, said the commissioner abducted and battered her for advising him to be responsible to his family members.
She explained that when she saw a photo of the commissioner distributing relief materials for COVID-19, she makes a post on social media asking him to help his (commissioner) sister who happened to be her friend, with the reference ‘charity begins at home’.
Oyeniyi alleged, “On March 29, the commissioner was shown my post and he ordered some boys to pick me. They took me and his sister from Okene to Lokoja, a distance of about 70km, and the commissioner personally flogged us.
“He tore my clothes and made a video of my naked body, which he threatened to circulate while he kept me in his Lokoja residence asking me to make another post apologising and countering my first post where I told him to assist his sister.
“He did not release me that day. In the night, he made sexual advances at me. And I allowed him to have sex with me because of fear. He only took me back to Okene the second day because they had an assignment in Okene.”
Demanding justice, the victim said she was living in fear of another attack by the commissioner.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Commissioner of Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, the governor expressed shock over the story.
“Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, who is an avowed advocate of the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens, especially within the boundaries of our dear state, is shocked by these accusations.”
“The state government reaffirms its unalloyed commitment to the protection of everyone from all forms of oppression, and will not tolerate violence against women or children under any form or guise.
“We give our word that if these allegations are proven, everyone found culpable will be brought to justice,” he stated.
However, all efforts to speak with the commissioner proved abortive, as he neither answered phone calls put across to him nor responded to text messages.