17042020 - COVID-19 will get to every state — NCDC BOSS WARNS

C 

M 

Y 

K 

Saro-Wiwa’s 

son dies of 

COVID-19 

in UK 

COVID-19: We 

don’t have 

enough isolation 

centres for 

Town Unions 

Ohanaeze 

ask S-East 

youths flay 

govs to 

police 

evacuate 

brutality, 

stranded 

skewed 

28 

15 

8 

Igbos returnees — FG palliatives 

N0 buyers yet for 50m barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil — S&P Global Platts 

11 

3 

VOL. 27: NO. 64050 FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

COVID-19 will get to every 

state — NCDC BOSS WARNS 

•Kano records 1st COVID-19 death, as positive cases spike to 21 

•Lagos records 2 more COVID-19 deaths, discharges 5 

•90 persons with COVID-19 symptoms test negative in Abuja 

•NSCDC stops COVID-19 patient from escaping isolation centre in Kaduna 

•Complaints trail alleged skewed distribution of palliates 

COVID-19 

UPDATE 

Lagos 214 

FCT, Abuja 58 

Osun 20 

Edo 15 

Oyo 11 

Ogun 9 

Bauchi 6 

Kaduna 6 

Akwa Ibom 6 

Katsina 5 

Kwara 4 

Kano 4 

Delta 3 

Ondo 3 

enugu 2 

Ekiti 2 

Rivers 2 

Benue 1 

Niger 1 

Anambra 1 

Total 373 

Deaths 11 

Recovered 99 

Serious/Critical 2 

Africa 

Cases – 18, 040 

Deaths – 943 

Recovered – 3,722 

Serious/Critical – 172 

World 

Cases – 2,147,799 

Deaths – 144,313 

Recovered – 546,227 

Serious/Critical – 57,062 

SEE WORLD NEWS 

ON PAGE 22. 

LOCKDOWN MOBILE COURT IN ASABA 

Mobile Court trying people that violated the lockdown order in Delta State, yesterday in Asaba. Photo: 

Nathaniel Onojake. 

LOCKDOWN PROTEST: 

Police arrest 18 in Delta 

•Okowa confirms 4th case in Delta 

•Why Edo insists on partial lockdown — Obaseki's aide 

•Akwa Ibom expresses happiness over discharged 6 patients 

DONU 16 OWEI 17 BOLA TINUBU 22 AZU 28 

10 

5 

Mr & Mrs

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 — 3 

:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews 

NSE hosts debut digital 

closing gong ceremony 

LOCKDOWN-COMPLIANCE— Ever busy Iyana-Ipaja, along Lagos-Abeokuta express road, almost 

deserted, yesterday, due to government-ordered lockdown in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor. 

No buyers yet for 50m barrels 

of Nigeria’s crude oil — PLATTS 

•Says glut forcing down value of Nigeria’s oil 

By Michael Eboh, 

with Agency Report 

GLOBAL 

energy 

data, financial 

information and analytics 

company, S&P Global Platts, 

yesterday, disclosed that 

more than 50 million barrels 

of Nigerian crude oil for late 

April and May 2020 loading 

were still unsold, while the 

overhang is forcing down 

the value of the country’s 

crude oil. 

In a report on its website, 

Platts stated that Nigerian 

crudes, which are largely low in 

sulfur and yield a generous 

amount of diesel, jet fuel and 

gasoline, are finding it very 

difficult to attract interest from 

refiners in a market where 

demand had been battered due 

to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“A lot of Nigerian crude is 

already floating on the seas and 

in storage tanks with no home 

and destination. Some sellers 

have no option but to continue 

to look to floating storage, even 

as freight rates remain at 

elevated levels,” S&P Global 

Platts stated. 

According to Platts, the sheer 

weakness of the physical oil 

market can be best explained by 

the state of the Nigerian crude 

market, as the once coveted light 

sweet Nigerian barrel is facing 

one of its toughest trading cycles, 

as refiners shun these crudes, 

even as they are trading at 

record-lows. 

It noted that sellers were 

resorting to holding some of this 

oil on inland or floating storage, 

to hope to sell at a later date, 

Best stimulus package for Nigerians now 

is free electricity — GBAJABIAMILA 

•As Reps, Executive, stakeholders raise joint implementation 

committee 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—SPEAKER of 

the House of 

Representatives, Femi 

Gbajabiamila, has said that the 

best stimulus package the 

federal government can give 

to its citizens at the moment is 

free electricity supply. 

This came as the House, the 

Executive arm of government 

and stakeholders in the power 

sector have agreed to set up a 

joint implementation committee 

on the proposed two-month free 

power supply to the poor and 

vulnerable Nigerians. 

It will be recalled that the 

speaker had in the previous 

weeks, had series of meetings 

with stakeholders on how to 

cushion the effect of coronavirus 

pandemic lockdown through free 

power supply. 

At the latest meeting on 

Wednesday were the Minister of 

Power, Mamman Sale; the 

Chairman and Chief Executive 

Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian 

Electricity Regulatory 

Commission (NERC), James 

Momoh; Group Managing 

Director (GMD) of the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation 

(NNPC), Mele Kyari; Managing 

Director/Chief Executive Officer 

(CEO), Nigeria Bulk Electricity 

Trading Plc (NBET), Marilyn 

Amobi, as well as representatives 

of distribution companies. 

Others were the Leader of the 

House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; 

Chief Whip, Mohammed Tahir 

Monguno; Deputy Leader, Rep. 

Peter Akpatason; Deputy Chief 

Whip, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; 

Minority Leader, Ndudi 

Elumelu, and the Chairman, 

House Committee on Power, 

Magaji Da’u Aliyu, among 

others. 

In his opening remarks, 

Gbajabiamila said the essence 

of the meeting was to proffer 

means of alleviating the socioeconomic 

effects of COVID-19 

on Nigerians during and after 

the crisis period through the 

supply of power. 

He said: “We are here to find 

out how we go about it. I’m 

happy that in my previous 

engagements with the NNPC 

GMD, he was very interested. 

“Whatever the issues are 

within the power supply chain, 

they have to be dealt with 

and set aside, but how we 

deal with the issue at stake 

is why we are here today. 

“This is not about 

technicalities or blaming any part 

of the power supply value chain; 

it is just about how we find a 

solution. 

“The objective is very simple: 

we are asking people to stay at 

home for several days or weeks, 

so we need to make their stay at 

home comfortable. We need to 

help the poorest of the poorest 

at this time in Nigeria. 

“How we go about it is why 

we are here today. So, the 

mandate is very simple with all 

the stakeholders here. I 

believe that the best stimulus 

that we can give our people 

right now is the supply of 

electricity to the very vulnerable 

households. 

“Even if we agree that this 

proposal as an investment 

scheme according to the power 

sector stakeholders, I think we 

need to keep our eyes on the 

ball. What is that ball? Get to the 

end-user, who is the beneficiary 

of that investment scheme 

“I wouldn’t want to look at it 

as the DisCos or GenCos or 

even the Transmission Company 

as the beneficiaries. For me, the 

ultimate beneficiary is the 

Nigerian people. 

“If that is what the investment 

scheme takes, to supply power, 

it may not be 100 per cent, but 

let’s say 70 or 80 per cent, then 

we would have succeeded.'' 

when demand recovers. 

It quoted a crude oil trader as 

stating that “all those who want 

to sell or get rid of a cargo are 

asking for bids ... you find a 

treasure if you get a bid.” 

Platts noted that demand 

destruction for jet fuel and 

gasoline had been particularly 

severe as the bulk of the world 

remains in lockdown, with 

restrictions on driving and flying. 

Another reason for low 

demand for Nigerian oil, 

according to the company, had 

been that its main customers, 

Europe and India, have 

massively cut their refining runs. 

It said: “This overhang of 

Nigerian crude is possibly the 

largest ever in recent trading 

cycles, according to traders. This 

has pushed Nigerian crude 

values to record-lows and is 

weighing down on the alreadydepressed 

Atlantic Basin crude 

market. 

“The fall in Nigerian crude 

differentials has been 

cataclysmic. Bonny Light was 

assessed at a discount of $5.70 

per barrel to Dated Brent on 

Wednesday, its lowest level since 

S&P Global Platts started 

assessing the grade in July 2001. 

‘’Similar values were heard 

yesterday afternoon, sources 

added. At the start of the year, it 

was trading at a premium of $1.70 

per barrel to Dated Brent. 

“The June loading program for 

Nigeria is expected to be released 

in just under a week, to add to 

the glut. Under the new OPEC/ 

non-OPEC deal, Nigeria has 

committed to keep its crude 

output at 1.412 million barrels 

per day in May and June and at 

1.495 million barrels per day 

between July and December. 

From January 2021 to April 2022, 

it will keep the output at 1.579 

million b/d. 

“Last week, Nigeria was 

producing 2.30 million b/d of 

crude and condensates, 

according to senior oil officials. 

With May loading cargoes 

already trading, sources were 

unsure as to how the cuts would 

be implemented from May, 

though they expect some barrels 

to be stored rather than exported 

as the demand picture already 

looks very bleak.” 

By Peter Egwuatu 

THE Chief Executive Officer 

of The Nigerian Stock 

Exchange, NSE, Mr. Oscar 

Onyema, has expressed the 

Exchange’s commitment to 

providing corporates and 

investors access to the market 

in meeting their financial and 

investment needs during this 

period and beyond. 

He made this known during 

the first ever Digital Closing 

Gong ceremony hosted by the 

Exchange via Instagram Live 

yesterday, April 16, 2020, in 

honour of the contributions of 

Sterling Bank Plc to the fight 

against COVID-19 in Nigeria. 

Speaking on the Exchange’s 

efforts to sustain an open and 

vibrant capital market, Onyema 

said: “Following the activation 

of our Business Continuity Plan 

and our transition to remote 

working and trading, the 

Exchange has been resolute in 

its commitment to ensure 

that there are no 

disruptions to operations 

for any of our stakeholders. 

‘’We have leveraged our 

existing digital assets to ensure 

there is continuous flow of 

information and activity in the 

market and are now looking at 

how we can deploy creative 

solutions to enhance our 

stakeholders’ experience during 

these unprecedented times.” 

Onyema identified the 

sounding of the Closing Gong 

to mark the end of the trading 

day as a treasured tradition of 

7 APC chieftains vow to 

destroy ex-gov Shettima, 

CSOs raise alarm 

By Ndahi Marama 

M AIDUGURI— 

SEVEN chieftains of 

the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in Borno State 

have resolved to unleash what 

they described as devilish 

campaign against former 

governor of the state, Kashim 

Shettima. 

The chieftains, according to a 

press statement by the 

President, Coalition of Civil 

Societies and Media Executives 

for Good Governance in Nigeria, 

COCMEGG, Comrade Omoba 

Kenneth Aigbegbele, alleged 

that they were still aggrieved 

with the outcome of the 2019 

governorship elections in Borno 

and are now regrouping ahead 

of 2023. 

Aigbegbele, who raised the 

alarm in a statement issued 

yesterday in Maiduguri, said 

already, the unnamed chieftains 

have planted a mischievous 

allegation in the social media 

claiming that former Governor 

Shettima had been boasting of 

being in worth of $900m in cash. 

The group, he added, went as 

far as fabricating a fake Wikipedia 

page to support the false 

narrative. 

“As activists of public rights, we 

have the solemn duty to raise 

our voices not only against the 

wrongs carried out by public office 

holders but also those done 

against them by other Nigerians. 

‘’We speak against everything 

that is either evil or wrong. Since 

December, 2019, a group of 

the Exchange that had been 

impacted by the temporary 

closure of the trading floor and 

one which presents an 

opportunity for digital 

engagement. 

“It has been our pleasure to 

rekindle the tradition of sounding 

the Closing Gong albeit digitally 

with Sterling Bank Plc. It would 

be remiss of me not to thank the 

Mr. Abubakar Suleiman for 

joining us to achieve this 

milestone and commend him for 

the notable efforts Sterling Bank 

is making to curb the spread of 

COVID-19 in Nigeria and 

support the Nigerian economy 

at this time,’’ he added. 

On his part, Abubakar 

Suleiman, Chief Executive 

Officer, Sterling Bank Plc, said: 

“My appreciation goes to the 

NSE for leading the digital 

transformation of our market. 

These are interesting times we 

live in with the outbreak of 

coronavirus changing the way 

we live and work. 

‘’While we all come to terms 

with these new realities, I urge 

everyone to identify and leverage 

the opportunity we have been 

given to reset our nation and our 

businesses,’’ he said. 

Speaking to the bank’s efforts 

in providing succor to 

stakeholders at this time, 

Suleiman said: “At Sterling, we 

are offering a range of solutions 

to help Nigerians manage 

through temporary or 

extended periods of reduced 

or lost income as a result of 

the coronavirus outbreak.'' 

seven chieftains of the APC in 

Borno State, five of whom are 

former public office holders and 

two of them in public service, 

have been making frantic efforts 

against one of their own, former 

governor, Kashim Shettima. 

‘’Their main grievance is the 

outcome of the 2019 

governorship election in Borno, 

and ahead of 2023. 

“My particular concern is the 

fact that these chieftains have 

been shopping for civil societies 

they can recruit into their evil 

mission. 

‘’The group has recruited two 

experts on ICT and social media 

engagements and have also 

gone far in trying to register a 

pseudo civil society platform they 

call Northeast Vanguard Against 

Corruption and Bad Governance, 

with the singular objective of 

leading vicious media campaigns 

against the former governor and 

the current administration in 

Borno State. 

“Their number one aim is to 

have Kashim Shettima 

humiliated, whether by the 

EFCC and ICPC or by losing at 

the polls in 2023 should he seek 

re-election for the Borno central 

senatorial seat which he now 

occupies. 

“As part of their mission, the 

chieftains recently planted 

through one of their associates, 

a mischievous narrative on 

Twitter, that former Governor 

Kashim Shettima has been 

claiming he is worth $900m, 

which is equivalent to nearly 

N400 billion.''

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

Quack doctor 

dumps woman’s 

body on road 

after failed 

abortion in Osun 

By Shina Abubakar 

OSOGBO—THE body 

of a 30- year-old 

single mother of one 

allegedly impregnated by 

an Islamic school student 

was reportedly dumped on 

the street of Ikirun, Osun 

state by a quack doctor after 

a failed abortion. 

The woman identified as 

Yetunde, and popularly 

called Iya Farida of Are-Ago 

compound in Ikirun, 

allegedly visited a private 

hospital in the town run by 

the fake doctor, Najeem 

Adejumo. 

It was gathered that she 

died during the procedure 

but her body was dumped 

late in the night on the 

street. 

The source added that the 

lifeless body was discovered 

at Idi-Isin area of Ikirun 

around 6:30 am on Tuesday, 

as no one saw the body 

being dumped on the street 

because of the lockdown in 

the state. 

While confirming the 

incident, the state Police 

Public Relations Officer, 

Yemisi Opalola, said the 

quack doctor has been 

arrested and cooperating 

with the police. 

She added that the Police 

Commissioner, Johnson 

Kokumo, said besides the 

fact that the suspect had 

confessed to dumping the 

body on the roadside after 

the victim gave up in the 

process of the abortion, 

investigation would further 

be launched to unravel 

more quacks involved in 

such activities in the town. 

“The Commissioner of 

Police, Johnson Kokumo, 

has asked men of the 

Criminal Investigation 

Bureau CIB to commence an 

investigation into activities 

of other quack doctors that may 

be operating in the town to 

bring them to justice before 

such person wreak havoc on 

the society”, she added. 

ENFORCING LOCKDOWN: Lagos State Task Force operatives patrolling Iyana-Ipaja in Alimosho 

LGA of Lagos to enforce the government-ordered lockdown yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

14 feared dead in ghastly 

motor accident in Kano 

By Bashir Bello 

K persons 

ANO—FOURTEEN 

reportedly 

died Wednesday night when 

the bus they were travelling 

in caught fire along 

Maiduguri road by Lahadin 

Makole, Dawakin Kudu 

Local Government Area of 

Kano State. 

It was gathered that the 22 

passenger Hiace Bus with 

number plates: DAL 116 XA 

reportedly fell before going 

up in flames. 

The Public Relations Officer 

of Kano State Fire Service, 

Saidu Mohammed, who 

confirmed the incident, yesterday, 

said eight others were rescued 

alive. 

Mohammed said, “We got a 

distress call at about 11:07 pm and 

our men arrived at the scene 

around 11:18 pm at Maiduguri 

road by Lahadin Makole, 

Dawakin Kudu local government. 

“A Hiace Bus with 

registration number DAL 116 

XA fell and caught fire, 22 

people were reported trapped. 

Fourteen died while eight were 

rescued alive. 

“Eight people rescued alive 

includes, Lami Abdullahi Bichi 

(45-years), Safiya Bello 

Ganduje (40-years), Ai 

Lurwanu Bichi (40-years), 

Sa’ida Sama’ila D/KUDU (46- 

years), Safiya Danbaba Bichi 

(35 years), Amina Danliti Bichi 

(40 years), Binta Sale Bichi (50 

years) and about 45 years. 

“The 14 others were handed 

over to the security of Gano 

division,” Muhammad said. 

....As armed herdsmen storm Benue community, 

kill one, injure others 

By Peter Duru 

MAKURDI—A 25- 

year-old farmer, 

John Chinter, was 

reportedly killed by 

suspected armed herdsmen 

that invaded Tse Igba 

Police arrest NSCDC official for killing 

motorist in Abia 

By Ugochukwu Alaribe 

& Eric Ugbor 

UMUAHIA—ABIA State 

Commissioner of Police, 

Mr Ene Okon, has confirmed 

the arrest of the operative of the 

Nigeria Security and Civil 

Defence Corps, NSCDC, who 

shot dead a motorist, Amobi 

Igwe, at the former toll gate 

along the Enugu–Port Harcourt 

expressway. 

Okon said he has directed 

that the NSCDC official, 

identified as Eke Richard, be 

transferred to the State 


Department, SCID, Umuahia. 

He said if after investigation 

the official is found culpable, 

police would arraign him for 

murder. 

Eke had allegedly 

demanded bribe at the 

checkpoint but the driver failed 

to meet up with the demand. 

However, an argument 

ensued as he reportedly shot the 

driver. 

Eyewitnesses told Vanguard 

that the bus was loaded with rice 

and tomatoes while the driver 

wasn’t carrying any passenger. 

The eyewitnesses said; “The 

Civil Defence people demanded 

money from the driver, he gave 

them some money, but they still 

demanded more and the driver 

refused. They also demanded 

him to hand over the key of the 

bus to them, but he also refused 

that he committed no offence. 

“And the operatives wanted to 

impound the bus. One of them 

threatened to shoot him if he 

failed to comply with the order. 

Without delay, he shot the 

driver. We raised alarm and 

started clustering the scene but 

the NSCDC team fled to the 

Umuahia police station.” 

community in Mbabai 

council ward of Benue state, 

yesterday morning. 

It was gathered that the 

deceased before his untimely 

death was a member of IFAD- 

VCDP supported farmers’ 

cooperative society in the 

community. 

A member of the 

cooperative, who spoke on 

condition of anonymity, 

stated that the armed herders 

stormed the community at 

about 1am and started 

shootings sporadically. 

According to him, “they 

stormed the home of the 

young man and his family 

members at about 1 am ,while 

they were sleeping and 

opened fire on them. 

“You know that because of 

the hot weather, people now 

sleep outside their houses. So 

when they stormed the 

compound they opened fire on 

the people, who they met 

sleeping outside, killing the 

young man and injuring 

others who tried to flee. 

“They are presently 

receiving treatment at the 

Benue State University 

Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, in 

Makurdi. 

“This is unfortunate because he 

was somebody I knew very well, 

a member of our cooperative 

society who was peaceful and 

hardworking, it is painful. 

When contacted, the Police 

Public Relations Officer, 

Deputy Superintendent, DSP, 

Catherine Anene said she 

was yet to receive details of 

the incident. 

WARRI—THE Police 

Command in Delta 

has arrested a notorious 

armed robbery suspect, 

Iwebunor Onyebuolise, over 

the killing of a drug dealer in 

Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South 

Local Goverment Area of the 

state. 

The command’s 

spokesperson, DSP Onome 

Onovwakpoyeya, who 

confirmed the arrest to 

newsmen yesterday in 

Asaba, said the suspect had 

been on the wanted list of 

the command. 

“The suspect, Iwebunor 

Onyebuolise, along with his 

gang, reportedly waylaid 

the victim on the road and 

killed him after robbing 

him. 

“However, the command 

has arrested the criminals, 

including Onyebuolise, 

also known as ‘Ukwa,’ and 

they are undergoing 

Rainstorm 

wreaks 

havoc pulls 

down court 

building 

in Delta 

community 

By Chancel Sunday 

B 

O M A D I — 

RAINSTORM, 

yesterday, wreaked havoc 

in Odorubu community, 

Patani local government 

area of Delta State, 

pulling down part of the 

District Customary Court 

building 

President-general of 

Odorubu community, 

Comrade James Orogun, 

said the extent of 

destruction particularly on 

the court building was 

overwhelming and called 

on the state government to 

intervene without delay. 

“The court edifice was 

built in 2001 and there 

have been cracks on the 

walls before the incident,” 

he said. 

However, the registrarin-charge 

of the court, Mr 

Dede Cyril, thanked God 

that there was no casualty 

as nobody was around 

when the incident 

occurred. 

“Since after the 2012 

coastal flood which 

submerged the court 

building, there have been 

several cracks on the 

walls before the fateful 

incident. This court is 

functional and we have 

been sitting before the 

incident. 

“We appeal to the 

government to come to our 

aid, though we have not 

written to the authorities 

because of the Coronavirus 

pandemic in the state, more 

parts will collapse if 

immediate action is not 

taken”, he said. 

Police in Delta nab robbery 

suspect on wanted list 

interrogation. 

“The case has been 

transferred to the State 


Department (SCID), Asaba,” 

she said. 

It gathered from a reliable 

community source that 

Onyebuolise shot the victim 

along the Ejeme-Aniogor- 

Adonte road also in the local 

government area. 

“After executing his 

mission, ‘Ukwa,’ made away 

with the bag of Indian hemp 

belonging to the victim. 

“After the shooting, he fled 

with the bag of weed, 

leaving the victim to die; but 

the victim did not give up the 

ghost until passers-by 

arrived the scene of the 

crime. 

“The victim identified his 

assailants and mentioned his 

name before he eventually 

gave up the ghost,” the 

source said.

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 


POCKET CARTOON 



By Clifford Ndujihe, 

Chioma Obinna, 

Bashir Bello & 

Abdulmumin 

Murtala 

L AGOS—Nigeria 

Centre for Disease 

Control, NCDC, said 

yesterday that every 

state of the federation 

would have its share of 

coronavirus. 

At present, 17 states 

are free of the virus 

which index case in the 

country was recorded in 

February. 

This came as Lagos 

and Kano recorded three 

deaths yesterday from 

the virus, with Lagos 

recording its 10th death 

and Kano its first. 

Meanwhile, Kano’s 

confirmed cases spiked 

from 12 to 21 yesterday. 

This is even as the 

Federal Capital Territory 

Administration, FCTA, 

said 90 persons who 

showed COVID-19 

symptoms tested 

negative for the disease, 

while operatives of 

Kaduna State Command 

of National Security and 

Civil Defence Corps, 

NSCDC, arrested a 

COVID-19, patient who 

attempted to escape from 

isolation centre in the 


Speaking, yesterday, 

on a Channels Television 

breakfast programme, 

Sunrise, Director- 

General of NCDC, Dr 

Chikwe Ihekweazu, said 

there was no reason the 

virus would not spread 

to every state of the 

country, being a 

respiratory virus. 

He said the federal 

government was making 

efforts to curb the further 

spread of the disease, 

admitting that it had 

been a tough task. 

“We have responded to 

Lassa smoothly and 

nobody shut down the 

country because it wasn’t 

necessary, the response 

was fairly efficient. 

It will spread to all 

states — NCDC 

“Now, COVID-19 is on 

a much larger scale, at 

the moment in 22 states, 

but it will grow to every 

state in Nigeria, there is 

no reason it won’t, it is 

a respiratory virus,” the 

NCDC boss said. 

He also reacted to the 

differences in the figures 

of confirmed COVID-19 

cases released by the 

NCDC and the numbers 

in some states, 

especially in Lagos and 

Kano, adding that the 

agency had been 

working hard to tackle 

coronavirus while the 

authorities in various 

states had their roles to 

play. 

He insisted that 

Nigeria could not run 

away from the outbreak 

and that NCDC would 

continue to be 

transparent with the 

results, to stimulate more 

response from various 

aspects of the 

government. 

The NCBC boss added: 

“We just activated the lab 

in Kano a few days ago. 

So, these are the results 

of the increased testing 

capacity that we are 

providing for the 

country. 

“The tests are fairly 

robust; I can’t say 100 

per cent but they are as 

close to that as possible. 

We had the highest 

number of positive cases 

in a single day. 

“Since the onset of the 

outbreak, we are testing 

a lot more (and) that is 

beginning to show. It is 

only so much we can do 

from NCDC; we are 

working with the state 

governments. 

“They actually own the 

response at the state and 

local levels, and we need 

all of them now. We 

really have to face the 

reality that this is an 

outbreak, this is a virus. 

“It will circulate in 

Nigeria, absolutely no 

doubt and our 

responsibility as a 

country is to prepare 

more, to be able to detect, 

isolate, treat, list 

contacts, and stop 

transmission.’’ 

Kano records first 

death; cases spike 

Similarly, Kano State 

Ministry of Health 

Wednesday night 

confirmed the first death 

from coronavirus, even 

as positive cases of the 

virus spiked to 21, 

yesterday. 

The ministry late 

Wednesday night 

confirmed 12 new cases, 

bringing the total to 21 

within one week. 

On its verified Twitter 

handle @KNSMOH, 

the ministry said: “As at 

Wednesday, April 15, 

2020, at 11:55 p.m., one 

death from COVID-19 

was recorded in Kano 

State. As at the same 

time, 12 additional cases 

of COVID-19 were 

confirmed, bringing the 

total number to 21.” 

Meanwhile, ahead of 

last 

night 

commencement of the 

seven daylockdown 

announced by the state 

government, residents of 

the ancient city made last 

minute effort to stock 

food items and other 

necessities that could 

last them during the 

Continues on Page 27 

By Bose Adelaja 

COVID-19: How FG should distribute palliatives (3) 

I 

would suggest it should 

be distribute from 

house to house just like 

head counting during census 

is being done. While 

doing this, strict monitoring 

should be exercised by 

FG on the officials assigned 

for it in order for 

them not to pocket it. Although, 

it might look tedious 

but it’s a reliable 

way to record success on 

the distribution. 

Shehu Suleiman, 

Writer 

FG should deploy votebuying 

tactics to disburse 

palliatives. They 

should go to the grassroots 

through community leaders 

and councilors to identify 

needy people especially 

those who live on daily 

work. The palliatives are 

really needed at this critical 

time. The FG could 

also use electricity distribution 

companies to deliver 

palliatives to Nigerians. 

Joseph Tanimola, 

Banker 

FG should go to areas 

or neighborhoods 

where the poorest of the 

poor are and deliver the 

palliatives to their doorsteps. 

They will count the 

number of rooms in each 

building and share it using 

this logic. This should be 

done on time because people 

are hungry. Lockdown 

without food is actually 

death in another form. 

Dahunsi Olabode, 

Content Creator. 

I 

believe the federal 

Government can 

achieve door to door distribution 

which for now is the 

best way to distribute the 

palliatives and to also 

avoid unnecessary gathering. 

They should take a look 

at other countries and see 

how they achieved this 

without any issues. I believe 

we can learn from 

even our African neighbours. 

Popoola Motunrayo, 

Analyst 

Federal government 

should partner with 

state Ministry of Environment 

and Youths which will 

in turn liaise with local government 

for a door to door 

distribution, using official 

government vehicles. They 

however need the help of 

volunteers for the distribution. 

There should be a 

proper documentation and 

people should be encouraged 

to give feedback. 

Adedoyin Kadiri, 

Unemployed graduate 

The Federal Govern 

ment should share the 

COVID19 relief through 

the Federal Legislators, 

State legislators and local 

government legislators. 

These people know the 

wards and the units and 

virtually know almost everybody 

from the wards to 

the unit. This is the best 

way we can make the relief 

materials get to the actual 

people that needs it. 

Akinwa Afolabi 

Social Entrepreneur


COVID-19: Akeredolu warns 

against politicising distribution 

of palliatives 

By Dayo Johnson 

A 

K U R E — 

GOVERNOR 

Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo 

State has warned the 

committee members and 

community leaders against 

segregation while 

distributing palliatives to 

people of the state following 

the outbreak of COVID-19 

pandemic in the state. 

He also said that over 

70,000 vulnerable people 

across the 18 council areas 

of the state will benefit from 

the palliatives to be 

distributed by the state 

government. 

Governor Akeredolu, who 

flagged off the programme, 

said the palliatives are 

meant for the vulnerable in 

the state irrespective of their 

religion or political leaning. 

The governor said: “The 

idea of palliative became 

very necessary since the 

....Epe monarch urges 

Lagosians to be patient 

By Jane 

Echewedo 

L AGOS—OLU- 

EPE of Epe kingdom, 

Oba Shefiu Bangbopa, 

Eshinlokun 1 has 

commended Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of 

Lagos State, saying his 

rapid and efficient response 

to the outbreak of the 

coronavirus pandemic is 

yielding positive results in 


The monarch, who urged 

Nigerians to be patient on 

the lockdown imposed by 

the Federal Government to 

check the spread of the 

pandemic, implored them 

to strictly obey all set-out 

guidelines issued by 

relevant authorities to 

curtail the spread of the 

deadly virus. 

Addressing newsmen in 

his palace in Epe, he said: 

“I want to urge all 

Lagosians and Nigerians at 

By Shina 

Abubakar 

O SOGBO—OSUN 

State Government, 

yesterday, warned that 

private hospitals in the 

state should desist from 

admitting and treating 

suspected or confirmed 

Coronavirus patients. 

The Commissioner for 

Information and Civic 

Orientation, Mrs. Funke 

Egbemode, who gave the 

warning, stated that nonadherence 

to the directive 

:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

:@vanguardnews 

government has directed 

the people to stay at home 

as part of the precautionary 

measures to stem the 

spread of the COVID-19.” 

Akeredolu said the main 

distribution of the items will 

be at the local government 

level where the 

Commissioners, Special 

Advisers and members of 

the state House of Assembly 

from the local government 

will jointly see to the 

distribution at the various 

local government levels. 

Speaking at the flag-off of 

the distribution of the 

palliatives in Akure, 

chairman of the committee, 

Mr. Akin Olotu said: “The 

process of distribution 

would be monitored in each 

local government area by 

traditional rulers, religious, 

youth and women group, 

to ensure an equitable 

distribution of the 

palliatives and to ensure 

that the palliative gets to the 

poorest of the poor in the 

society.” 

large to follow the safety 

measures. It is for our own 

good. Ensure you regularly 

wash your hands with soap 

under running water and 

use hand sanitizer 

immediately. Ensure you 

also maintain social 

distancing and keep your 

environment clean always. 

“It is our collective 

responsibility to defeat and 

put an end to this deadly 

virus. It is in our hands. 

Some sacrifices must be 

made including the stress 

of the lockdown, though, 

painful but it is the safest 

containment measure. 

“Please let us bear with 

the government at this 

time, it is for our good and 

what they are doing is in 

the best interest of everyone 

in the state. I am sure that 

very soon by the grace of 

God all will be over, but let 

us obey the rules so that we 

can stop the spread of the 

virus.” 

IG confirms arrest of Funke Olakunri’s 

killers 

By Ola Ajayi 

A 

B U J A — 

AUTHORITIES of 

the Nigerian Police, 

yesterday, declared that 

Police Operatives have 

arrested the killers of Mrs. 

Funke Olakunrin, 

daughter of the leader of 

the Pan-Yoruba sociocultural 

organization, 

Afenifere, Chief Reuben 

Fasoranti. 

The four suspects are 

Lawal Mazaje (40) from 

Felele area of Kogi State, 

Adamu Adamu (50) from 

Jada area of Adamawa 

State, Mohammed Shehu 

Usman (26) from Illela area 

of Sokoto State and Auwal 

Abubakar (25) from Shinkafi 

area of Zamfara State. 

In a statement by the 

Force Public Relations 

Officer, DCP Frank Mba 

said: “After months of 

relentless efforts to 

apprehend the killers, the 

Police Team, on 4th March 

2020 during a follow-up 

action on a case of a highprofile 

armed robbery and 

kidnap for ransom that 

occurred in Ogun State, 

arrested one Auwal 

Abubakar (25), an 

Private hospitals can’t treat COVID-19 

patients —Osun Govt ....Explains lockdown extension 

would attract prosecution by 

the State Government. 

Egbemode said: “The 

State Government of Osun 

has reiterated that private 

hospitals across the State 

are not allowed to treat 

COVID-19 patients, 

whether suspected or 

confirmed. 

“The State has 

recognised, accredited and 

adequate Government 

facilities with the required 

personnel to take care of 

patients, whether 

suspected or confirmed, at 

FIRE—Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde (right) and Caretaker Chairman, Ibadan North West Local 

Government, Rahman Adepoju, during the governor's visit to Dugbe Market, which was razed by the fire. 

its Isolation and Care 

Centres. Testing and 

treatment are free in all 

government facilities.” 

Similarly, the state 

government said the 

extension of the lockdown 

was taken to forestall 

community spread of the 

deadly virus. 

Speaking during a radio 

programme, yesterday, the 

Chief Press Secretary to the 

governor, Ismail Omipidan, 

said the decision was 

necessarily taken in the 

overall interest of the State. 

....Declares gang leader, Tambaya, wanted 

....As cleric pays N2.5m to secure release of 

wife, daughter in Oyo 

accessory after the fact of 

the crime, along Sagamu- 

Ore expressway in Ondo 

State. 

“The arrest of Auwal 

Abubakar led to the arrest 

of two other members of the 

gang, Mohammed Shehu 

Usman and Lawal Mazaje 

in Benin, Edo State, from 

whom cache of ammunition 

was recovered and one 

other Adamu Adamu in 

Akure, Ondo State. 

“Having established 

sufficient physical and 

forensic evidence linking 

the suspects to the killing 

of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, 

the investigators, 

determined to clear all 

doubts relating to their 

findings, on 8th April 2020, 

conducted an Identification 

Parade at the Federal SARS 

Headquarters, Lagos 

which led to the positive 

and physical identification 

of three suspects, Adamu 

Adamu, Lawal Mazaje and 

Mohammed Shehu Usman 

by a survivor of the earlier 

crime. 

“The survivor gave a clear 

description of the roles each 

of the identified suspects 

played in the killing. 

“At this point, the suspects 

capitulated and voluntarily 

offered a no-holds-barred 

confession on how Mrs. 

Funke Olakunrin was 

killed. Investigations so far 

reveal that the operation 

that led to the killing was 

carried out by eight fully 

armed kidnap/robbery 

suspects led by one 

Tambaya (other names 

unknown) who is currently 

at large. 

“While four of the 

suspects are in custody, an 

effort is being intensified to 

arrest the four others still on 

the run. 

“The 8-man gang has its 

operational base and 

membership spread in the 

south-western part of the 

country and Edo State. 

“Consequently the 

Inspector General of Police, 

hereby, declares the 

principal suspect, Tambaya 

(other names unknown) 

wanted for his involvement 

in the death of Mrs. Funke 

Olakunrin.” 

N2.5m ransom 

paid for release of 

kidnap victims in 

Oyo 

Meanwhile, a sum of 

N2.5 million has reportedly 

been paid for the release of 

wife and daughter of 

Reverend Olusanjo Ojo 

who were kidnapped about 

48 hours ago. 

The kidnapped persons are 

from the family of Baba Aso of 

Igbole in Ibarapa Central Local 

Government Area of Oyo State. 

The kidnapped woman, 

identified as Funbi and her 

daughter, a serving corps 

member, were returning from the 

Oyo State College of Agriculture 

and Technology, Igboora, when 

they were abducted by the 

hoodlums. 

Vanguard gathered that 

the victims were forced into a 

forest on Igboora-Abeokuta Road 

by the hoodlums. 

An impeccable source said: 

“The Olori and her daughter were 

released Wednesday night after 

payment of N2.5 million. We took 

the money to the abductors 

yesterday night to secure their 

release. 

“We delivered the money to 

them in a bush where the mother 

and her daughter were 

surrounded by about 12 armed 

herdsmen. They told us that not 

even the police could stop them.” 

Police react 

When contacted, the Police 

Public Relations Officer, Oyo 

State Police Command, Olugbeng 

Fadeyi, told Vanguard that: 

“Concerted efforts of the police 

teams in collaboration with critical 

stakeholders in the community 

such as the vigilantes and 

hunters, paid off.” 

'COVID-19 tests are free in Lagos' 

By Chioma 

Obinna 

LAGOS—LAGOS State 

Commissioner for 

Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, 

yesterday, said the COVID- 

19 tests in all approved 

testing centres in Lagos 

State are free of charge. 

Reacting to alleged 

reports of patients paying 

N30,000 for COVID-19 

tests at the Nigeria Centre 

for Disease Control, NCDC, 

approved centres in Lagos; 

Abayomi said no 

designated testing centre in 

the state was allowed to 

collect money for tests. 

He said: “I want to state 

unequivocally that there is 

no designated COVID-19 

testing centre in Lagos that 

collects, or is allowed to 

collect money for COVID- 

19 tests. Tests at the 

designated testing centres 

are free of charge.” 

Abayomi urged 

Lagosians to wary of 

misleading reports targeted 

at discrediting frontline 

health workers who are 

working extremely hard to 

ensure that COVID-19 is 

contained. 

He said: “I want to assure 

the public that activities at 

the Infectious Disease 

Hospital, Yaba and other 

approved centres for COVID-19 

screening are effectively 

monitored in accordance with the 

strict guidelines of the Lagos State 

COVID-19 Response under 

which no fees are collected for the 

tests.”


:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES: 

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

Davido, stay America. SARS don 

slap you? Life cheap for naija o 

LOCKDOWN: Burnfire in Lagos, as hoodlums protest the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown extension. 

COVID-19 lockdown: Panic as hoodlums take 

over Lagos 

By Mike Ebonugwo, 

Evelyn Usman, 

Olasunkanmi Akoni & 

Esther Onyegbula 

LAGOS—THERE was panic 

in some areas of Lagos State, 

yesterday, following reports of 

attacks by street urchins and 

cultists on residents. 

The hoodlums, who initially 

carried out their nefarious 

activities at night, since the 

lockdown directive aimed at 

preventing the spread of 

Coronavirus pandemic, have 

been brazen to attack their victims 

in broad daylight in some parts 

of the state. 

Already, residents of the affected 

areas have resorted to forming 

vigilante groups, where they take 

turns to keep vigil on their areas. 

Unfortunately, the hoodlums, 

who are called No Salary 

Boys, One million Boys, 

Omokesari and Awawa boys, 

took to the streets in their 

numbers, dispossessing residents 

of cash and valuables. 

Motorists are also not spared as 

the hoodlums barricaded the 

roads, set up bonfires, which 

forces them to slow down on 

approaching the spots. 

The situation was the same in 

some parts of Ogun State 

yesterday. 

Affected areas 

Most areas affected in Lagos 

are Irepo estate, Lanre, Akesan, 

Adexson Ile Epo, Alhaji Ede, 

Governor road in Ikotun, 

Opeoluwa, Omololu via 

Aiyenero, Yusuf Esan, in Okoko 

area and Afariogun in Oshodi. 

Also affected was the Alaba axis 

along the Mile-two Badagry 

expressway. 

They were said to have 

attempted to invade Onimaba 

estate in Igando, but residents 

resisted the invasion with 

dangerous weapons. 

Also, residents of Egan and 

Okerube areas remained indoors 

over fears of being attacked. 

A resident, who lives around 

Lanre bus-stop, along the LASU- 

Isheri expressway, sent a distress 

text message to his relatives, 

appealing that security agents 

should come to their aid. 

The text message read: “There 

has been commotion in this area 

for two hours. Bad boys are 

parading with cutlasses, 

....Security agents protest, abandon duty posts 

....Over 800 culprits arrested in Lagos —Police 

molesting people around. They 

collected phones and cash from 

people. Shop owners have locked 

up and everyone has run into 

their houses. Please call security 

agents.” 

About 30 minutes later, the 

resident sent another text 

message, informing that a joint 

patrol of Police and the Military 

had arrived. 

Some Vanguard staff, who ply 

the affected routes could not make 

it to the office yesterday, as the 

hoodlums had taken over the 

road. 

At the Iba low-cost housing 

estate along the LASU-Isheri 

expressway, residents narrated 

how the One Million 

Boys attempted to invade their 

houses but were repelled. 

A resident of the estate, who 

spoke on condition of anonymity, 

said: “They left when they saw 

that we were also ready for them. 

They left and threatened to return 

at night.” 

Police raid criminal 

hideouts 

Meanwhile, the Lagos State 

Taskforce in collaboration with 

Rapid Response Squad, RRS, 

stormed places such as Magodo, 

Isheri, Berger, Ojodu, Agege, 

Egbeda, Oshodi and others after 

reported threats by the hoodlums. 

CP Odumosu reacts 

In his reaction, the Command’s 

boss, CP Hakeem Odumosu, 

however, described claims of the 

attacks by hoodlums as fake, 

warning residents against 

spreading fake news. 

The CP’s denial is coming on 

the heels of frustration and anger 

by residents of these areas, who 

alleged that the Police appeared 

not interested in coming to their 

rescue, but would rather deny 

such attacks so that Inspector 

General of Police and the state 

government would not call them 

to question. 

But advising residents against 

raising a false alarm, spokesman 

for the Command, DSP Bala 

Elkana, said: “Before pressing the 

forward button or putting that call 

across, take some time to verify 

the source of the information. 

Avoid being a courier or victim of 

fake news. Together we will 

continue to keep Lagos safe.” 

Elkana, however, said: “The 

Special Forces were last night 

deployed to Igando, Idimu, 

Ikotun, Agege, Dopemu, 

Abattoir, Mangoro, Alakuku, and 

other parts of Lagos State to 

provide round the clock Patrols. 

The teams have clear instructions 

to deal decisively with criminal 

elements operating under 

whatever guise. The Command 

will not relent on its efforts in 

protecting the lives and properties 

of citizens. 

“Over 800 members of the 

gangs and their leaders were 

arrested and charged to Court. 

They are still in correctional 

centres. No criminal gang is 

capable of unleashing terror on 

our communities. We are far 

bigger and stronger than any 

criminal elements.” 

Policemen protest 

Meanwhile, policemen and 

other security agents across the 

country are protesting what they 

described as neglect and 

insensitivity of government to 

their plights in the fight against 

the spread of Coronavirus in the 

country. 

An 

investigation 

by Vanguard revealed that some 

security agents out of fear of being 

infected by COVID-19, are 

shying away from their duties, an 

action attributed to the vehicular 

and human movements in most 

states of the federation. 

Some of these security agents, 

especially the Police, argued that 

while concentration was targeted 

mainly at those in the medical 

sector, the Presidential 

Committee on COVID-19, failed 

to provide them (security agents) 

with hand sanitizers. 

Some of them, who spoke on 

the condition of anonymity, said 

since the enforcement of the 

lockdown directive, the 

Presidential Taskforce Committee 

did not deem it fit to include them 

in the palliatives to Nigerians, 

inspite of the risk they faced 

interacting with people. 

A Police officer, who craved 

anonymity, said: “Most of us still 

come in contact with people who 

defy the sit-at-home directive. We 

were not provided with hand 

sanitisers, no face mask and no 

medical personnel attached to us 

to check whether any of these 

people we come in contact with 

have symptoms of COVID-19. Yet, 

we are expected to perform magic.” 

This's how you know a boy 

that lived with grandma 

When a liar and a thief 

meet in holy matrimony 

The things kids of today missed!


By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA — THE Federal Government 

said yesterday it does 

not have enough isolation centres to 

keep the high number of Nigerians 

in diaspora who have indicated willingness 

to return home. It also reiterated 

its warning to state governments 

not to relax their control measures, 

declaring this was not the time 

to play games. 

The government equally warned 

against stigmatizing patients and 

survivors of coronavirus, expressing 

concerns about possible exponential 

increase in infection rate as many of 

those currently with symptoms 

would prefer to remain in their closets, 

rather than step forward for evaluation 

and treatment. 

Inadequate Centres 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

Mr Geoffrey Enyeama, who stated 

this at the daily briefing of the Presidential 

Taskforce on COVID-19 in 

Abuja, said there was currently a high 

number of Nigerians seeking a return 

to the country, adding that there 

were not enough isolation centres to 

keep them for the mandatory 14 days. 

He said: "We have received all the 

numbers from our various embassies 

around the world. We are collating 

those numbers, then we have 

now selected two airlines that will 

be responsible for going to fetch 

them. 

"The numbers are high and the 

places where we can isolate them are 

not enough for those numbers. So, 

we will have to do it in a target fashion. 

Together with the National Emergency 

Management Agency 

NEMA, NEMA, and the Ministry of 

Health, we will have to come to an 

agreement to be bringing them back 

according to the number of beds and 

other things that are available. But 

as I said, we have now identified the 

airlines and so we are almost ready 

to go.'' 

Also speaking at the briefing, chairman 

of the Presidential Taskforce on 

COVID-19 and Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, Boss 

Mustapha, said while he advanced 

reasons for the frequent altercations 

between Nigerians and security operatives 

enforcing the lockdown, citizens 

have to be civil in communicating 

with operatives, adding that 

respect was reciprocal. He said: "Let 

me also advise that whenever you 

are outside the confines of your 

homes, make sure it is for very legitimate 

reasons covered by the exemption 

or within the hours relaxed for 

the purchase of basic items. 

''Similarly, you should carry with 

you a valid means of identification. 

Finally, I urge everyone to please 

exercise patience in communicating 

with the law enforcement agents assigned 

to ensure compliance with 

the Presidential orders. They are 

there to protect all of us! "The PTF 

continues to monitor developments 

around the country and provide guidance 

to the sub-national entities and 

all Nigerians on measures to take to 

strengthen their systems and to minimize 

the risk of infection. 

"We note the number of confirmed 

ABUJA — Stanbic IBTC 

Holdings Plc has donated 

N250 million to the Nigerian Private 

Sector Coalition Against Coronavirus 

(COVID-19), formed recently 

to combat the virus. The bank 

joined other corporate organisations 

to offer support to the federal government 

in the fight against the outbreak 

in Nigeria. 

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, which 

is also a member of the Operations 

Committee of the Nigerian Private 

Sector Coalition Against COVID- 

19, made the donation to support the 

government’s effort and boost the 

Nigeria's health sector capacity to 

combat the pandemic. The Opera- 

UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS 

COVID-19: We don't have enough 

isolation centres for returnees — FG 

•Warns states 'this isn't time for games' 

•Adds 'stigmatization of patients can lead to explosion in infections' 

•Blames spread of COVID-19 on inter-state travels 

cases for Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 

which represents the highest single 

day rise in number since the inauguration 

of the PTF a month ago. We 

also note the encouraging number 

of people discharged from care and 

management facilities. We are working 

in a collaboration with states all 

over the federation. I have been in 

contact with them through the Governors' 

Forum and even yesterday 

after our video conferencing with the 

President, the DG, NCDC and the 

National Coordinator of the PTF 

were on with them for several minutes 

discussing synergy and how we 

can harmonize our response so that 

we have one national response. 

No games 

"I must commend the states because 

they are doing a good job but 

you heard me say this morning (yesterday) 

that this is not the time to 

relax any lockdown. A state has gone 

from one index case in under one 

week to 21. So, it is serious business, 

please. 'It is not a joking matter and 

this is not the time to play any games. 

It is only our collective resolve as a 

country that can help us deal with 

this pandemic. So, I will continue to 

emphasize the fact that we have one 

national response and scientifically 

proven, the only way you can drastically 

reduce transmission is through 

the lockdown. 

''Once people do not come in contact 

with one another, we will be able 

to trace those that have appeared on 

our radar as persons of interest, follow 

them up, track them and if need 

be, test them. 'If they are positive, take 

them into isolation. Remove them 

from cohabiting with other people 

who are not infected and give them 

the appropriate care. But as long as 

Stanbic IBTC donates N250m to 

fight COVID-19 

tions Committee is responsible for 

project management, logistics, communication, 

and advocacy. 

Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive Officer, 

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, 

said: “The rate at which the COVID- 

19 virus is spreading calls for quick 

action and collective response to 

avert unprecedented health, social 

and economic crises. 

''This is not the battle which the 

government can fight alone. Both 

public and private sector stakeholders 

need to muster every available 

resource to combat the COVID-19 

spread. “Stanbic IBTC remains 

committed to this cause and will 

continue to support the government 

and our compatriots in the fight 

against the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

we allow business as usual, people 

getting together, partying, then we 

should be prepared to deal with the 

consequences of our actions. ''So, 

given these two weeks, I must commend 

the governors that have taken 

bold steps in locking down their states 

so that the needful be done.'' 

Stigma 

In his remarks, Minister of Health, 

Dr Osagie Ehanire, warned against 

stigmatizing patients and survivors, 

saying it was a disincentive for those 

who might want to access testing and 

treatment. He said: "The COVID- 

19 outbreak has provoked social stigma 

and discrimination against anyone 

thought to have been in contact 

with the virus as well as people of 

certain backgrounds. 

''This negative association means 

those with the disease, their caregivers, 

family, friends and communities, 

are labelled, stereotyped, discriminated 

against, and treated poorly because 

of a disease. "Unfortunately, 

stigma can prompt social isolation 

of persons or groups and drives people 

to hide the illness, prevents them 

from seeking health care immediately, 

and discourages them from 

adopting healthy behaviours. ''This 

could cause a situation where the 

virus is more likely to spread and 

increase the difficulty of controlling 

the COVID-19 outbreak. We must 

not stigmatise persons who have recovered 

from COVID-19. 

3,000 tests per day 

"The national testing capacity has 

been increased to 3,000 per day in 

13 molecular laboratories nationwide 

activated by the Nigeria Centre 

for Disease Control, NCDC. 

The target this week is to significantly 

increase the national testing 

capacity further; two more laboratories 

are scheduled to come up in 

Borno and Sokoto states. "The states 

have been supplied sample collection 

kits and are encouraged to develop 

innovative methods to improve 

testing capacity, such as engaging 

the private sector to outsource and 

diversify sample collection sites and 

improve logistic support." 

Blames spread on 

inter-state travels 

Sani Aliyu, national coordinator 

of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) 

on COVID-19, said the committee 

was concerned about reports of people 

being smuggled in trucks out of 

Lagos. Aliyu said inter-state travels 

were leading to community spread 

of the disease. He appealed to Nigerians 

to limit their movement if the 

disease must be curtailed. 

Govs to set up infection prevention, 

control committees in states 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA— Governors in the 

36 states of the federation have 

resolved to set up infection prevention 

and control committees in their 

states as part of efforts to support 

health workers on the frontline of the 

pandemic. 

The governors, acting under the 

aegis of Nigerian Governors' Forum, 

NGF, also said that in recognition of 

the importance of ensuring the continuous 

existence of businesses during 

the lockdown, caused by COV- 

ID- 19 pandemic, they would take 

necessary measures to support same. 

Rising from a meeting in Abuja 

yesterday, the governors in a communique 

signed by NGF chairman 

and governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode 

Fayemi, said they were working 

to improve their logistical and operational 

efficiency for sample collection 

and care. 

They said most states have established 

COVID-19 hotlines and would 

ensure that emergency services were 

integrated into the operations of their 

Task Force on COVID-19. 

The Communiqué read: "We, members 

of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum 

(NGF), at our meeting held today 

(yesterday) deliberated on the 

COVID-19 pandemic in the country 

and resolved as follows: 

"The Forum received briefing from 

the National Coordinator of the Presidential 

Task Force (PTF) on COV- 

ID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu and the Director 

General of the Nigeria Centre for 

Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe 

Ihekweazu, on activities of the 

PTF, including the current partnership 

with the Coalition against 

COVID-19 (CACOVID) to support 

states’ response to the pandemic 

through the delivery of essential 

health equipment and the distribution 

of palliatives to vulnerable persons. 

"Members commended the Presidential 

Task Force and NCDC for 

ramping up the country’s testing and 

contact tracing capacity during the 

2-week period of lockdown in many 

parts of the country, and called for 

greater collaboration with States 

who are the primary stakeholders of 

the COVID-19 response." 

Why we quarantined our employees 

in Delta, Lagos — Chevron 

By Jimitota Onoyume & 

Michael Eboh 

ABUJA — Chevron Nigeria 

Limited, yesterday, stated that 

none of its employees has contracted 

COVID-19, saying it was operating 

safely without any incident related 

to the virus. 

Reacting to speculations that the 

company quarantined some of its 

staff suspected of coronavirus in a 

hotel in Warri, Delta State, General 

Manager, Policy, Government and 

Public Affairs of Chevron, Mr. Esimaje 

Brikinn, in a statement in Abuja, 

disclosed that none of the staff had 

the virus but noted that the quarantine 

of the employees became necessary 

as part of precautionary measures. 

According to him, as a responsible 

organization, one of the precautionary 

safeguards Chevron has put 

in place to prevent the spread of 

COVID-19 is the introduction of a 

compulsory two-week supervised 

quarantine for all personnel return- 

VISIT: 

Kwara State 

Commissioner for 

Health, Dr Raji 

AbdulRazaq; 

G o v e r n o r 

Abdulrahman 

Abdulrazaq; and 

Special Adviser on 

Health Matters to the 

Governor, Prof. Wale 

Sulaiman; during the 

governor's visit to the 

State's isolation 

centre in Ilorin, the 

state capital, 

yesterday. 

ing to work at its Escravos Operations 

during this period of the pandemic. 

Brikinn clarified that based on the 

coronavirus directive issued by the 

Federal Government regarding sustained 

operations in the oil and gas 

industry, Chevron entered into arrangements 

with some hotels and 

other facilities in Warri and Lagos 

where its staff on rotational duties 

would be accommodated, and their 

health status monitored to ensure 

that they didn't have COVID-19 before 

returning to work at its Escravos 

operations. 

He said: "The first group of personnel 

scheduled for quarantine 

were moved to the designated facilities 

on Friday, April 10, 2020 and 

other groups will follow based on the 

crew change schedule and the personnel 

will be required to strictly 

maintain social distancing protocols, 

personal hygiene, and use of appropriate 

personal protective equipment 

during the supervised quarantine 

period."



INSPECTION: From left; 

Acting Director General, 

Sheda Science and 

Technology Complex 

(SHESTCO), Prof. Paul 

Onyenekwe; Minister of 

State for Science and 

Technology, Alhaji 

Mohammed Abdullahi; 

Perm Sec, Federal Min of 

Science and Tech, Dr 

Mohammed Bello; 

Minister of Science and 

Technology, Dr 

Ogbonnaya Onu and 

others during the 

Minister's visit to 

SHESTCO to inspect 

Aptamer-based test kit, 

Face Shield, N-95 nose 

masks and 3D recycle 

printing filaments which 

are part of their COVID- 

19 products at Sheda, 

Gwagwalada, in Abuja 

yesterday. 

IMF approves debt servicing relief 

for poor countries 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau Chief 

A BUJA—THE 

Executive Board of 

the International Monetary 

Fund, IMF, last night 

approved relief on debt 

service for 25 member 

countries that are eligible 

for support from the 

Catastrophe Containment 

and Relief Trust, CCRT. 

This was contained in a 

statement issued by the 

Fund yesterday, and the 

affected countries are 

expected to request such 

relief in the coming weeks. 

The statement read: “ The 

approval enables the 

disbursement of grants 

from the CCRT for 

repayment of total debt 

service falling due to the 

IMF over the next six 

months, with potential 

extensions, up to a 

maximum of full two years 

from April 14, 2020, subject 

to availability of sufficient 

grant resources. 

“The initial relief 

provided to these countries 

amounts to $213.4 million. 

“Relief on debt service 

will free up scarce financial 

resources that now can be 

directed toward vital 

emergency medical and 

other relief efforts while 

these members combat the 

impact of the pandemic,” 

the organisation said. 

Dangote-led flood c'ttee donates extra 

N1.5bn to fight COVID 19 pandemic 

THE 

Presidential 

Flood Relief and 

Rehabilitation Committee, 

led by President of the 

Dangote Group, Alhaji 

Aliko Dangote, has donated 

N1.5bn to further fight 

COVID-19 pandemic in the 

country. 

The committee, which was 

set up in 2012 by the 

Federal Government, said 

the donation was to further 

curtail spread of the virus. 

Announcing the donation 

after an emergency 

meeting, chairman of the 

committee, Aliko Dangote 

said it had become 

imperative for all wellmeaning 

Nigerians to dip 

their hands into their 

pockets and help the 

Federal Government in 

fighting the deadly virus 

that had also claimed 11 

lives in Nigeria. 

He said: “The reality of the 

pandemic has set in now in 

Nigeria and all hands must 

be on deck to save our 

country from its attendant 

crisis. So far, so good, we 

need to sustain the 

momentum and ensure that 

we curtail the spread.” 

The mandate of the 

committee was to provide 

support for flood victims, 

and by extension, similar 

related disaster relief 

situations in the country. 

It would be recalled that 

the committee assisted 

victims of communal 

clashes and insurgency on 

several occasions, in line 

with its terms of reference. 

In attendance at the 

meeting were Aliko 

Dangote, Tony Elumelu, 

Tunde Lemo, Karami Rabiu, 

Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, 

among others. 

Among the members who 

supported the decision 

taken at the meeting but 

who could not be in 

attendance were the cochairman 

of the committee, 

Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, Mrs 

Folorunsho Alakija, Prof. 

Sani A. Lugga, Hajiya 

Fatimma Wali- 

Abdurraham, Hajara Alkali, 

among others. 

It would be recalled that 

the Federal Government in 

2012 set up the committee 

to raise significant funds to 

provide reliefs for the flood 

victims. At the fund-raising 

dinner held at the 

Presidential Villa on 

November 8, 2012, eminent 

citizens pledged about N12 

billion for the task. The 

Federal Government and 

Dangote made the highest 

donation of N2.5 billion at 

the event. 

The flood committee, had 

consistently intervened in 

states, across the country 

that had problems with 

flood since its inception till 

date. 

Some of the top donors to 

the committee and the 

amount donated so far are: 

Aliko Dangote, (N2.5 

billion), Jim Ovia, (N1 

billion), Tony Elumeleu 

(N500 million), Folorunsho 

Alakija (N500 million), 

Prince Arthur Eze (N480 

million), Nigerian 

Governors’ Forum (N150 

million), Flour Mills (N200 

million), among others. 

Dangote in a goodwill 

message on the occasion of 

his 63rd birthday, last week 

said: “If we all work 

together to combat this 

virus, then there is light at 

the end of the tunnel. 

“All hands must be on 

deck to help fight the 

coronavirus pandemic, and 

every gesture of support 

from other stakeholders 

outside government and 

the business community in 

Nigeria and Africa, would 

go a long way to help tackle 

this global dimension issue, 

with its impact felt all over 

the world,” his message 

read in part. 

He lauded the efforts of 

the organized private 

sector, which through the 

Coalition Against COVID- 

19 (CACOVID) initiative 

had raised over N21 billion 

to support government 

efforts to tackle the 

pandemic in Nigeria. 

Dangote also appreciated 

the efforts of the 

government at all levels 

and those on the frontline 

of the fight against 

COVID-19, which 

currently was ravaging the 

economic, health and social 

sectors of the country. 

It added that the 

Managing Director, Ms. 

Kristalina Georgieva, has 

launched an urgent 

fundraising effort that 

would enable the CCRT to 

provide relief on debt 

service for a full two years, 

while leaving the CCRT 

adequately funded for 

future needs. 

“This will require a 

commitment of about 

US$1.4 billion. Donors 

have already stepped up 

with pledges and 

contributions including a 

US$185 million pledge by 

the United Kingdom and 

US$100 million provided by 

Japan as immediately 

available resources. 

“Other donors, including 

the People’s Republic of 

China and the 

Netherlands, are also 

stepping forward with 

important contributions. 

‘’On March 26, the 

Executive Board of the 

International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) adopted a set 

of reforms to its CCRT to 

enable the Fund to provide 

immediate debt service 

relief for its poorest and 

most vulnerable members 

during the current COVID- 

19 pandemic. 

‘’The CCRT enables the 

IMF to deliver grants to 

eligible low-income 

countries to cover their IMF 

debt service obligations in 

the wake of catastrophic 

natural disasters and 

during major global public 

health emergencies. 

‘’Eligibility for CCRT 

support is limited to IMF 

member countries with 

annual per capita GNI 

below the World Bank’s 

operational cut-off (or 

twice the cut-off for small 

states), generally the 

poorest and most 

vulnerable member 

countries.’’ 

Nigeria is not part of the 

relief because it does not 

owe IMF any debt. 

The country has, 

however, applied for $3.4 

billion facility in Drawing 

Rights, which means 

collecting her contributions 

to the IMF to enable her 

tackle the COVID-19 

pandemic and then 

replenish it later. 

COVID-19: Google 

announces Emergency 

Relief Fund for newsrooms 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

THE global search 

engine, Google, has 

announced a Journalism 

emergency relief fund to 

help local newsrooms 

across the world handle the 

economic effects of 

coronavirus pandemic. 

The tech giant did not 

disclose the size of the 

Journalism Emergency 

Relief Fund but said it is 

part of its news initiative. 

This initiative comes after 

the Google News Initiative 

announced a $6.5 million 

fund to support factcheckers 

and nonprofits 

that are working to fight 

coronavirus-related 

misinformation. 

Local news is a vital 

resource for keeping 

people and communities 

connected, especially 

during this lockdown. 

The company explained 

that news was playing a 

greater function during the 

crisis, hence the 

introduction of the relief 

package. 

News organisations 

report on local lockdowns 

at home orders, school and 

park closures, and data 

about how COVID-19 is 

affecting daily life. 

It observed that the 

crucial role of the news 

industry was being afflicted 

with the economic 

downturn prompted by 

COVID-19 and that many 

local newsrooms were 

currently dealing with job 

cuts, and cutbacks, 

promoting the intervention 

for newsrooms to get 

thousands of dollars in 

funds. 

Justifying the emergency 

fund, Google’s Vice 

Presidents of News, 

Richard Gingras, said the 

goal of the programme was 

to fund thousands of small, 

medium and local news 

publishers globally. 

He added that small 

newsrooms would receive 

low thousands of dollars, 

while larger newsrooms 

would receive tens of 

thousands of dollars. 

Google also said it 

would be donating $1 

million to two organizations 

supporting journalists – the 

International Center for 

Journalists and the 

Columbia Journalism 

School’s Dart Center for 

Journalism and Trauma. 

Social media giant, 

Facebook, has also 

announced a $100 

million fund to support 

local news organizations in 

response to the current 

crisis. 

However, interested local 

newsrooms are encouraged 

to apply for funding and 

application will close at 

11:59 pm on April 29, 2020. 

Kano Grand Khadi frees 59 

inmates, including one female 

By Bashir Bello 

KANO—KANO State 

Grand Khadi, Tijjani 

Yusuf Yakasai, yesterday set 

free no fewer than fifty-nine 

inmates with minor 

offences and delayed trial 

in order to decongest the 

Nigerian Correctional 

Service to curtail the spread 

of coronavirus. 

The inmates, including a 

female, were freed from 

Kurmawa and Goron 

Dutse Custodial Centres in 


The Grand Khadi ordered 

the release of the inmates 

through a committee he 

set up under the 

Chairmanship of Upper 

Sharia Court Judge, Kofar 

Kudu, Alkali Ibrahim Sarki 

Yola. 

Yola, who presided over 

the sitting at the Dogon 

Dutse facility, said the act 

was to secure release of 

inmates with delayed trial 

and minor cases. 

He said: “We were 

ordered by the Grand 

Khadi to create time to visit 

the facilities from time to 

time to decongest them. 

That we should look out for 

those with minor offences 

and delayed trial, grant 

bail to those who deserve 

to be granted bail and also 

set free those who 

deserve to be set free. 

“Based on this, we have 

today (yesterday) freed 32 

inmates, including a female. 

On Wednesday, we visited 

Kurmawa center where we 

freed 27 inmates. 

“The Grand Khadi’s 

action were based on his 

leadership style and to 

follow suit and foot step of 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari who recently 

pardoned some inmates. 

“The intention was to 

reduce congestion in the 

prisons in order to curtail 

the spread of the deadly 

coronavirus. 

“However, while we set 

the inmates free, we have 

also preached to them to go 

out there and turn a new leaf 

and not to return to the 

previous lifestyle. We 

warned that we will not take 

it lightly with any one of 

them who is brought back 

for any offence.’’ 

Earlier, the Public 

Relations Officer, DSC 

Musbau Lawal, expressed 

gratitude with the gesture 

aimed at decongesting the 

facilities, saying it was 

timely. 

Some of the inmates freed 

included those who had 

been in detention for almost 

three months for insulting 

a neighbour over poor 

upbringing of her ward.


:Vanguard News 


COVID-19: Police arrest 18 over Sapele protest 

• Okowa confirms 4th case in Delta 

• Why Edo insists on partial lockdown — Obaseki's aide 

• Akwa Ibom expresses happiness over discharged 6 patients 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha, 

Olasunkanmi Akoni, 

Festus Ahon, Chris 

Ochayi, Gabriel 

Enogholase, Perez 

Brisibe, Chioma 

Onuegbu, Harris 

Emmanuel, Ike 

Uchechukwu & 

Ozioruva Aliu 

Delta State Police command, 

yesterday said it had 

arrested 18 persons in connection 

with Wednesday's 

protest by women in 

Sapele, who took to the 

streets, demanding an end 

to lockdown extended by 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in 

the state 

The lockdown was part of 

measures by the state government 

to curb the spread 

of the corona virus in the 


Speaking on the number 

of persons arrested so far, 

the state Commissioner of 

Police, Mr Inuwa Hafiz, 

said: "18 arrests have been 

made so far. They just 

brought them here to the 

headquarters and we have 

started investigating the 

matter at the state Criminal 

Investigation Department 

level. 

"They will be charged to 

court and it is the court that 

will decide their fate based 

on the investigation. Now, 

whatever we say will be like 

we are preempting the outcome 

of the investigation, 

so the investigation will 

determine what will be 

done on the matter. 

"If they are found to have 

committed more criminal 

offences, they will be 

brought before the regular 

court while we solicit the 

Chief Judge of the state to 

ask a magistrate to try them, 

but if it's just the issue of 

them flouting the lockdown 

order, we will charge them 

before a mobile court. So in 

summary, it is the outcome 

of the investigation that will 

determine all that." 

APC slams govt's 

description of 

protest as politically 

motivated 

Meanwhile, the state 

chapter of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, took 

a swipe at the state government's 

description of the 

protest as "political motivated," 

noting that the position 

of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP led state government 

was an "embarrassing 

attempt to divert attention 

from the state government 

ineptitude in bringing 

about things that benefits 

Deltans." 

Publicity Secretary of the 

APC in the state, Sylvester 

Imonina in a statement yesterday, 

explained that in as 

much as the APC throws its 

weight behind the state 

government on the lockdown 

to check the spread 

of the pandemic in the 

state, the party was embarrassed 

by the spontaneous 

comments by the state government 

through the Commissioner 

for Information, 

Charles Aniagwu, who described 

the protest as politically 

motivated. 

Okowa confirms 

4th case in Delta 

Meanwhile, Governor 

Okowa, has confirmed the 

fourth confirmed case of the 

coronavirus pandemic in 

the state, saying that the 

case was being treated at 

one of the Isolation Centres 

in Asaba. 

Okowa who, who briefed 

newsmen shortly after inspecting 

the state's Food 

Bank, said the three confirmed 

cases except the second 

who died, were currently 

on treatment at the 

centres in the state and 

were doing well. 

He said that more blood 

samples of suspected cases 

had been sent to the laboratory 

for test, advising 

Deltans with symptoms of 

the virus to quickly reach 

out to medical experts or 

COVID-19 team to avert 

complications and infection 

of other persons. 

The governor told owners 

of private health facilities in 

the state to report suspected 

cases of the virus to public 

health centres to protect 

other persons from the infectious 

disease, adding 

that distribution of the first 

phase of one million face 

masks produced by the 

state government for residents 

of the state would 

commence in two weeks. 

Why Edo insists on 

partial lockdown 

— Obaseki's Aide 

In Edo State, the state 

government has explained 

that its decision to impose 

partial lockdown in the state 

in the face of the corona virus 

pandemic was the best 

option given its peculiar socio-economic 

dynamics 

and the need to sustain a 

post-COVID-19 economy. 

A statement in Benin City, 

yesterday, by Special Adviser 

to the Governor on 

Media and Communication 

Strategy, Mr Crusoe 

Osagie, said, "We are 

aware of sinister plans by 

some unscrupulous elements 

to stir controversy 

over the state government's 

decision to adopt a partial 

as against total lock down. 

Their strategy is such that 

they would influence public 

opinion to force government 

to impose a total lockdown 

so as to advance their 

selfish interests to make the 

government unpopular. 

Edo to screen 

500, 000 residents 

in 18 councils 

Also, Governor Obaseki, 

has disclosed that the state 

plans to screen over 500,000 

citizens across the 18 local 

government areas of the 

state in the next few weeks. 

The screening of the citizens 

is coning on the heels 

DISTRIBUTION: 

Some food items 

procured by State 

Government at the 

food Bank, Ibusa 

for distribution to 

indigent Deltans to 

assuage the effects 

of the lockdown 

order in the State as 

a result of the 

COVID-19 pandemic 

of the securing of two additional 

testing facilities at 

the University of Benin 

Teaching Hospital, UBTH 

and Stella Obasanjo Hospital, 

Benin City by the 

government as part of increased 

efforts to detect and 

manage cases of corona virus 

in the state. 

The governor said the 

government was working 

assiduously to contain the 

scourge and urged residents 

to adhere to directives 

on good hygiene and safety, 

including regular washing 

of the hands, use of sanitizers 

and observing social 

distancing. 

A' Ibom expresses 

happiness over 

discharged 6 

patients 

In Akwa Ibom State, the 

state government has expressed 

happiness that the 

situation of the novel COV- 

ID-19 in the state had been 

effectively managed, as six 

patients who were undergoing 

treatment on suspicion 

of the disease in the 

state were discharged on 

Wednesday. 

Chairman of the COV- 

ID-19 Committee, Dr. Emmanuel 

Ekuwem and Secretary 

to State Government, 

SSG, explained that the six 

persons were cleared and 

discharged from COVID- 

19 Isolation Unit at the 

Ibom Specialist Hospital in 

Uyo, after being confirmed 

negative from two tests conducted 

by the Nigeria Center 

for Disease Control, 

NCDC. 

Ekuwem who spoke 

Wednesday to newsmen on 

developments regarding 

the COVID-19 in the state, 

explained that three of 

those discharged were from 

the initial five index cases 

from the state reported by 

NCDC. 

Flanked by the Commissioners 

for Health, Information, 

and Chief Press 

Secretary to the Governor, 

Ekuwem said that the state 

must remain unrelenting in 

its efforts despite the reduced 

number of positive 

cases. 

Don't use imported 

nose mask for now 

— Ayade warns 

Governor Ben Ayade of 

Cross River State has 

warned Nigerians not to 

use imported nose mask at 

this time but buy the ones 

made in the country. 

Ayade gave the warning 

in Calabar while distributing 

stimulus package to 

vulnerable persons in the 

state. He enjoined Nigerians 

to buy and use made 

in Nigeria face/nose masks 

for now. 

He said, "Please, my people, 

I beg of you, it is high 

time we start looking inward 

to create solutions to 

our problem, we must not 

depend on foreigners and 

foreign countries for solutions, 

we must face our 

challenges head on with 

our own strategies and 

ideas. 

"For now, I will advice that 

our people should not use 

foreign nose masks, allow 

other people to use them 

first if we see how good it 

is, then we can go ahead, 

lets use locally made ones 

for now. 

"The foreign nose masks 

might be more fancy than 

our locally made ones but 

they both carry out the same 

functions, ours too is effective 

like the imported ones," 

Ayade said. 

CYMS tasks FG on 

fairness in 

distribution of 

palliatives 

Also, a pro government 

group, Committee of Youth 

on Mobilization and Sensitization, 

CYMS, has 

urged the Federal Government 

to ensure fairness in 

the distribution of palliatives 

to Nigerians during 

the extension of lockdown 

ordered by President Muhammadu 

Buhari. 

The group, which faulted 

the processes of distribution 

of palliatives to the 

people during the first of 

lockdown, noted that over 

80 percent of the affected 

Nigerians did not benefit or 

feel the impact of the largesse. 

CLASSIFIED 

CYMS's Intelligent Officer, 

Sam Amadi who addressed 

newsmen, said 

"We call on the federal and 

state governments to engage 

better. They must design 

better palliatives that 

take into cognisance the 

structure of our society. The 

private sectors should also 

be fully involved." 

He advised the security 

agencies to be professional 

in the enforcement of the 

lockdown order while condemning 

any form of harassment 

that might have 

been meted on the media 

personnel, health and social 

workers working to defeat 

the Covid-19 in the 

country. 

"CYMS is appealing to 

the Presidential Taskforce 

on Covid-19 to ensure that 

Nigerians, especially the 

masses in rural areas, have 

the feeling of the Federal 

Government's intervention 

with regards to the N500 

billion," he said. 

NBC, Foursquare, 

task religious 

bodies, the wealthy 

in giving back to 

society 

Also, The Nigeria Baptist 

Convention, NBC and 

Foursquare Gospel Church 

have urged religious bodies 

and organisations in the 

country to seize the current 

situation of lockdown, occasioned 

by COVID-19, 

pandemic to assist governments 

in reaching out to the 

less privileged and needy 

in the society. 

President of NBC, who is 

currently, the President of 

the Christian Association of 

Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Samson 

Ayokunle, and the General 

Overseer of the Foursquare 

Gospel Church, 

Rev. Sam Aboyeji, gave the 

task, during a presentation 

of relief package to representatives 

of the Lagos 

State Government. 

The items include 300 

packs of Noodles, 1,000 

tuner of yams and 500 

bags of 50 kilograms of 

Cassava flakes, popularly 

called "garri," while 

Foursquare donated 200 

packs of Noodle, 500 bags 

of 5 kilograms of rice to 

government officials. 

Ayokunle, represented 

by Mrs. Titilayo Abereowo, 

Welfare Secretary, 

said the items were part 

of NBCs gesture to complement 

the efforts of the 

state governments and 

others at cushioning the 

harsh economic effect of 

the lockdown and urged 

other churches and well 

meaning Nigerians to assist 

government "by giving 

back to the society and 

not about receiving alone 

at a time like this." 

OGBUEHI 

We, formerly known and addressed as Ogbuehi Edwin Ifeanyi, Ogbuehi Bridget Nnenna, Ogbuehi 

Glory Amarachi , Ogbuehi Gold Chinenye, Ogbuehi Success Ugochi, Ogbuehi Precious Odinaka, 

Ogbuehi Emmanuel Chibueze, now wish to be known and addressed as Ifeanyi Edwin Amanze, Ifeanyi 

Bridget Nnenna, Ifeanyi Glory Amarachi, Ifeanyi Gold Chinenye, Ifeanyi Success Ugochi, Ifeanyi Precious 

Odinaka, Ifeanyi Emmanuel Chibueze. All former documents remain valid. The general public should 

please take note.

By Henry Umoru, Vincent 

Ujumadu, Dennis Agbo, 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu, &Peter 

Okutu 

WORLDWIDE Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo Youth wing has 

dared the police and other security 

agencies to inflict further 

harm or death on any Igbo citizen 

and await its revenge. The 

apex Igbo Youth group also 

frowned at what it alleged as 

skewed distribution of the federal 

government palliatives to cushion 

the effects of paralyzed economy 

as a result of the Covid-19 

pandemic. 

In a statement, yesterday, President 

of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth 

wing Worldwide, Amb. Arthur 

Obiora said that they have observed 

with dismay, the brutality 

of law enforcement agents, particularly 

the Police and the Nigeria 

Security and Civil Defence 

Corps, NSCDC, on Igbo citizens, 

in the guise of enforcing the Stay 

At Home order as a result of the 

Coronavirus Pandemic. 

Obiora said the group has 

counted several instances of impunity 

against Igbo citizens in the 

Igbo-speaking states of Abia, Anambra, 

Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo 

and Rivers, as a result of the lockdown, 

which in some cases resulted 

to deaths of innocent and 

hungry citizens. 

"Igbo youths, therefore, make 

bold to say that we will no longer 

condone undeserved death of our 

people as a result of trigger-happy 

law enforcement agents posted 

to Igboland, where they have 

turned goldmine and corruptly 

feeding on the sweat and blood 

of our people," Obiora fumed. 

He pleaded with the Inspector 

General of Police, Adamu 

Abubakar to call his boys to order 

and ensure that they act with civility 

in the course of their job. 

Obiora further alleged that policemen 

lobby to be posted to Igboland, 

where among other 

things they have perpetuated 

extrajudicial killings and odious 

money making. 

"Henceforth, Igbo youths will 

no longer guarantee treating with 

kid gloves any unwarranted attack 

by the police, let alone reckless 

killing of Igbo citizen as a 

result of issues arising from Covid-19 

or any other matter thereof. 

"In the same manner, Ohanaeze 

Youths frowns at the distribution 

of the Coronavirus palliatives 

to the identified 2.6 million 

Nigerians in 11 million households 

which no Igbo has reportedly 

benefited from. Matters as 

this type of skewed programme 

give the impression that the Igbo 

are either second class citizens or 

are not wanted in the federation. 

"Is the federal government saying 

that there is no poor family in 

Igboland? Even if the Igbo are 

better off in the indices of standard 

of living, the present palliatives 

are emergency commodities 

that require that every affected 

citizen should benefit from. 

"Ohanaeze Youths therefore 

urge President Muhammadu 

Buhari to call for scrutiny of the 

palliatives to ensure that no part 

of the country is left out as beneficiaries," 

Obiora stated. 

Ekweremadu condemns 

killings by security agents 

Similarly, former Deputy President 

of the Senate, Senator Ike 

Ekweremadu, Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, Enugu West has 

condemned in very strong terms, 

alleged extrajudicial killings in 

several parts of the country by security 

agencies who are enforcing 

the lockdown ordered by the 

Federal Government and some 

states of the federation to contain 



Ohanaeze youths flay police brutality, 

skewed palliatives 

•Availability of basic amenities'll cushion effects of lockdown — Ozigbo 

•Ekweremadu condemns killings by security agents 

•Police arrest 33 suspects for violating Ebonyi COVID-19 law, fraud, others 

•Enugu discharges one covid-19 patient 

•We need more aggressive testing — Obi tells FG, NCDC 

the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a statement yesterday in 

Abuja, Ekweremadu, who is also 

a member of the seven-man International 

Parliamentary Taskforce 

on COVID-19 called on 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

and the security agencies to stem 

the needless killings immediately 

Ḣe has also called on President 

Buhari, the Federal Government 

and the relevant security agencies 

to carry out a holistic investigation 

into the matter with a view 

to ensuring that the reprehensible 

acts are nipped in the bud 

and the culprits, brought to book. 

The statement which was signed 

by his Media Adviser, Uche Anichukwu 

read: “I am deeply saddened 

by report from the National 

Human Rights Commission of 

the loss of 18 Nigerian lives in 

the hands of security agents enforcing 

the lockdown order by the 

Federal Government and various 

state governments. 

“This is most unfortunate and 

condemnable, especially when 

we consider that the number of 

Coronavirus fatalities in the country, 

stand at 12, as at today. 

“I call on President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the relevant security 

and government agencies 

to ensure that the reprehensible 

acts are thoroughly 

investigated and the culprits 

brought to book. We must ensure 

that law enforcement 

agents do not turn their weapons 

against the very citizens 

they are supposed to protect. 

“While the lockdown and 

other precautionary measures 

are very necessary for containing 

the pandemic, they must 

be enforced with every sense 

of professionalism, discipline, 

restraint, empathy, and above 

all, with utmost respect for 

human life, which the lockdown 

were put in place to protect 

in the first place”. Ekweremadu 

condoled with families 

that lost their loved ones and 

prayed God to grant the deceased 

eternal repose. 

Anglican Communion warns 

against lopsided palliatives' 

sharing 

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican 

Communion, Diocese 

on the Niger has warned respective 

leaders in the Nigerian 

society, against capitalizing 

on the helpless situation 

Nigerians have found themselves 

to rob them through 

their actions and inactions. 

Speaking through its Bishop, 

His Lordship, Rt. Rev. 

Owen Nwokolo, the Diocese 

frowned at the alleged lopsidedness 

in the sharing of palliatives 

to cushion the effect of 

the lockdown to avoid the 

spread of Coronavirus. 

Bishop Nwokolo alleged 

that many Nigerians are robbing 

both God and humanity 

through their actions and 

inactions, warning against diverting 

the donations made by 

well placed individuals for distribution 

to the downtrodden, 

COVID-19: The Corps Marshal Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps CP Gbemisola 

Akinpelu (retd) on advocacy campaign to sensitize the market leaders at Ile-Epo market on the 

need for social distances in the market in Lagos. 

saying that such diversion 

amounts to stealing and robbery. 

Police arrest 33 suspects for 

violating Ebonyi COVID-19 

laws 

Also yesterday, Ebonyi State police 

command, said it has arrested 

thirty three (33) persons including 

minors who engaged in fraudulent 

practices, attempted abortion 

and violation of the social distancing 

measure put in place by the 

state government to curtail the 

spread of COVID-19 in the State. 

The Police Public Relations Officer, 

DSP Loveth Odah confirmed 

the arrest to newsmen in Abakaliki. 

She said that the minors who 

packed themselves in one room, 

violated the COVID-19 law on 

social distancing order of Ebonyi 

State government. The police 

spokesperson noted that the minors 

came from different states of 

the Federation, and have stayed 

for some weeks in one room. She 

further noted that the minors were 

arrested following an information 

by a reliable source who told police 

of the incident, alleging that 

they were there committing formication 

that resulted to pregnancy 

of one of the female occupants. 

According to her: "We arrested 

33 children between the ages of 

17 to 23 years. They were 33 in a 

one room. That is not their parent's 

house. We asked them of 

what they are doing in that one 

room. "They said that they are 

networking. And they are living 

in someone's house. The owner of 

the house could not report to police 

that such persons are in his 

place. Not until someone reported 

to one of our police divisions. 

"The minors came from different 

states: Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Cross 

River, Imo, Delta, Ekiti and many 

others. Apart from FCT and two 

other states, it would have completed 

36 States of the Federation 

in one room. How can parents 

allow their children of that age to 

leave their houses without them 

knowing their where about? 

"It is worrisome that, it is a mixed 

up of male and female staying together 

in one room. There was a 

rumour that one of the girls among 

them was pregnant and have taken 

a pregnancy pill to terminate 

it" she stated. 

Enugu discharges one 

Covid-19 patient 

In Enugu State, the Ministry of 

Health said it has discharged one 

patient from treatment and isolation. 

It would be recalled that the 

Nigeria Center for Disease Control 

(NCDC) had announced two 

cases of COVID 19 in Enugu 

State. The two cases, husband 

and wife, have been in isolation, 

receiving care. 

A statement by the State Commissioner 

for Health, Assc. Prof. 

Ik. E. Obi, stated that "one of them 

has recovered and is now negative 

for the Coronavirus and has 

been discharged" . 

We need more aggressive 

testing — Obi tells FG, NCDC 

But following what he described 

as the slow pace of the 

COVID 19 testing process, the 

Vice Presidential candidate of the 

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 

in 2019 elections, Mr Peter Obi, 

has called on the Federal Government 

and Nigeria Centre for Disease 

Control (NCDC) to speed up 

the Coronavirus testing process 

in Nigeria. By this, he believed 

that a greater percentage of the 

population would be tested within 

a short while and by so doing, 

the government would easily ascertain 

the true number of people 

who were infected with the virus 

and thus take a better and more 

practicable approach to combating 

the pandemic. 

Obi who spoke on Channels TV 

on Wednesday, April 15 2020, acknowledged 

the NCDC and other 

relevant health agencies for 'the 

good work they were doing', while 

urging them to add more speed 

to their testing process so as to 

get more people tested. Calling 

on the Federal Government 

to establish testing centres in 

every state of the country, Obi 

said 'it would speed things up 

by easing off the burden on the 

few testing centres we have in 

the country'. 

Ugborodo people laments impact of 

oil vessels on community shores 

THE people of Ugborodo 

community in Warri South- 

West Local Government Area of 

Delta State, have raised the alarm 

over the devastating impact of oil 

vessels plying their waterways. 

The community also warned the 

oil companies, particularly, Nest 

Oil, not to take its peaceful 

disposition for granted, vowing 

that it would not fold its hands 

and allow the firms destroy the 

means of livelihood of the people. 

Former National Youth 

Chairman of Ugborodo 

Community, Ofe Nene, in a 

statement made available to 

Vanguard yesterday, expressed 

fears that the people might resort 

to individual solutions to protect 

their land. 

He said: “We had an agreement 

with Nest Oil, which agreed to 

be paying the community a 

certain developmental levy for 

every vessel that passes the 

waterway, but for over a year now, 

we have not gotten anything from 

them, while similar payments 

were being made to other 

communities along the 

waterways. 

“Owing to the speed and size 

of the vessels, their movement 

always cause damages to the 

shorelines of the community, 

threatening both lives and 

properties of the people. 

“To avoid a clash with operators 

of the vessels, they should do the 

needful so that we can protect our 

shoreline and mitigate the 

devastating effects of the vessels 

on our communities because as a 

community leader, I sense trouble 

ahead because and we would not 

be liable if any such thing 

occurs.”




SENTENCE: Mobile Court trying violators of COVID-19 lockdown order at Owain-Aladja , Delta State, yesterday. 

Ex-Bayelsa Commissioner urges NOSDRA 

to probe pollution of coastline 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

Y ENAGOA—FORMER 

Bayelsa State Environment 

Commissioner, Mr 

Iniruo Wills, has called on 

one of the nation's oil industry 

regulator, National 

Oil Spills Detection and Response 

Agency, NOSDRA, 

to priorities investigation of 

increased toxicity of Atlantic 

coastline causing death 

of fishes in Bayelsa and 

Delta states communities. 

Wills, an environmental 

rights crusader in an interview 

in Yenagoa, noted that 

continual massive death of 

fishers within Nigerian territorial 

waters in the past 

N'Delta ethnic leaders defend Wike's action on arrest of 

Caverton Pilots .…Condemns outburst by Sirika 

Perez Brisibe 

PORT HARCOURT— 

ETHNIC leaders from 

the Niger Delta region under 

the aegis of Stakeholders 

and Leaders of Ethnic 

Nationalities of the Niger 

Delta, have defended the 

actions of Governor Nysom 

Wike of Rivers State following 

the arrest of two pilots 

of Caverton Helicopters, 

who allegedly flouted the 

executive order of the governor 

put in place as part 

of measures to curb the 

spread of corona virus in 


The leaders while condemning 

the outburst by 

the Minister of Aviation, 

Hadi Sirika, said, "There is 

no sane leader that would 

not be justifiably incensed 

by the action of Caverton 

Airline that flew in 10 passengers 

into Port Harcourt 

in total defiance of a valid 

no-cross-border movement 

order of the Rivers State 

Government." 

Backing the actions of the 

governor, Head of Media 

and Publicity of the group, 

one month was an indication 

of underlying factors 

from nearby oil installations. 

He said that NOSDRA 

should as a matter of urgency 

swing into action to trace 

the source of the pollution, 

despite the COVID-19 

pandemic to safeguard 

public health. 

According to him, the oil 

and gas sector is categorized 

as essential services 

by the government and 

therefore, exempted from 

the COVID-19 induced 

lockdown as oil production 

and export was not shut 

down. 

Though the Director General, 

NOSDRA, Mr Idris 

Hendricks Opukeme in a 

statement yesterday, explained 

that the altercation 

between Wike on one hand 

and Sirika and Caverton 

Helicopters on the other 

hand, could have been 

viewed as a political matter 

but for the serious health 

issues involved, they however 

cannot stand aloof 

when the governor is being 

"harassed for defending 

and protecting the security 

and health" of the 

people. 

The group while listing 

posers for the minister to 

answer, asked: "Does the 

Aviation Minister have 

any sinister motive to 

cause the spread of COV- 

ID 19 in Rivers State and 

in the Niger Delta at 

large? Is the minister not 

aware of the no-cross-border 

movement order issued 

by the government 

of Rivers State? Is the Rivers 

State government not 

justified in striving to protect 

the lives of citizens 

that they swore on oath to 

protect? 

Musa, had said the agency 

would mobilise personnel 

and resources to commence 

investigation as 

soon as the lockdown for the 

COVID-19 was lifted, Wills 

however, urged the agency 

to brace up in pursuit of 

its regulatory mandate to 

ensure that health safety 

and environment standards 

were not compromised by 

operators. 

"I do not want to say NOS- 

DRA is giving a lazy man's 

excuse, but I am astonished. 

If oil production is 

considered as part of essential 

services such as to grant 

Caverton, a private aviation 

support service for the oil 

industry approval to fly, how 

"The argument of the 

Minister and his likes is 

that the company had 

clearance from the federal 

authorities and that 

Wike was wrong to have 

taken this line of action. 

much more NOSDRA that 

is a federal agency for oil 

pollution control? 

"In any case, there are restrictions 

on gatherings in 

Bayelsa State where this 

hydrocarbon ecological virus 

is causing havoc on our 

communities, but no lockdown 

here, so there is no 

excuse as NOSDRA officials 

are domiciled here. 

"Are NOSDRA and the 

federal and state governments 

waiting for another 

epidemic to break out 

in our coastal communities 

before they start to 

play fire brigade? 

"They need to move 

now and immediately, to 

avert the looming disaster 

from the Atlantic coast 

of the Niger Delta," he 

said. 

Again, the minister's position 

that the persons 

flown into Port Harcourt 

were going for oil business 

to boost oil production 

where Wike is a beneficiary 

in our opinion is 

not only puerile but also 

a complete balderdash.’’ 

Display transparency, accountability in managing 

COVID-19 relief funds — LEDAP urges FG 

By Innocent Anaba 

LEGAL DEFENCE and 

Assistance Project, 

LEDAP, has called on the 

Federal Government and 

its agencies especially the 

Ministry of Humanitarian 

Affairs and Disaster Management, 

Office of the Special 

Adviser to the President 

on Social Investment, the 

Ministry of Finance and the 

Presidential Task Force on 

COVID 19 to display transparency 

and accountability 

in the disbursement of palliatives 

and conditional 

cash transfer to millions of 

poor Nigerians to alleviate 

the hardship necessitated 

by the Covid-19 lockdown. 

LEDAP's National Coordinator, 

Chino Obiagwu, 

SAN and Programmes Director, 

Pamela Okoroigwe 

in a statement, yesterday, 

said "It is worrisome that 

despite the billions of Naira 

earmarked by the government, 

in addition to the donations 

from the Private 

Sector Coalition against 

COVID 19, (a private sector 

led initiative to support 

the Nigerian Government 

to cushion the negative effects 

of COVID 19 pandemic), 

millions of households 

are yet to benefit from 

the announced palliatives 

and Nigerian are not clear 

about the criteria for selection 

of the beneficiaries. 

’’This is contrary to the government's 

claims of distributing 

cash payments to 

NUJ laments continuous attacks 

on journalists in Delta 

By Perez Brisibe 

UGHELLI—THE Delta 

State chapter of the Nigeria 

Union of Journalists, 

NUJ, has lamented what it 

described as disheartening 

continuous attacks by security 

agents and government 

officials on journalists in the 

state in the course of carrying 

out their constitutional 

responsibilities. 

The union also threatening 

to boycott coverage of 

programmes and activities 

within Uvwie Local Government 

Area of the state, 

if the council chairman, Mr 

Ramson Onoyake fails to 

apologise and prosecute the 

team that attacked a crew 

from the state owned broadcasting 

outfit, Delta Broadcasting 

Service last 

Wednesday. 

In a statement yesterday 

by the state chairman, 

We monitor staff in hotels before 

resuming work — Chevron 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

WNigeria 

ARRI—CHEVRON 

limited, 

CNL, has described as 

false, allegations that its staff 

with coronavirus were being 

quarantined in hotels 

in Warri, Delta State and 

Lagos state, adding that 

none had covid-19. 

A statement by the General 

Manager Policy, Government 

and Public Affairs 

, Mr Esimaje Brikinn explained 

that it only went 

into arrangement with hotels 

in the two states to accommodate 

its returning 

staff for a period for monitoring, 

adding that at the 

end of the monitoring period, 

they were allowed to 

resume work at the Chev- 

Jonathan, Diri condole with 

Keniebi Okoko's family 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

Y ENAGOA—FORMER 

President Goodluck 

Jonathan has commiserated 

with the family of 

households in Nigeria. 

"The government has 

also indicated payment 

locations, most of which 

are not in the areas most 

affected with the corona 

virus. There seems to be 

little or no connection between 

the palliatives payment 

plan and areas most 

impacted by the Covid-19 

crises. ’’At this difficult 

time, it's imperative to 

show transparency in the 

process of identification of 

poor households to Nigerian 

citizens, who are 

faced with the hardship in 

the wake of the lock down 

order imposed by the government 

to curb the 

spread of the deadly virus. 

Michael Ikeogwu and secretary, 

Churchill Oyowe, 

NUJ stated that several reports 

of harassment and intimidation 

of media practitioners 

by security agencies 

and hired thugs of government 

functionaries in the 

state have been incidented 

at its secretariat, noting that 

it viewed the latest of such 

attacks and previous ones 

as "barbaric in an era where 

democratic tenets and freedom 

of the press are expected 

to be held in high esteem." 

The statement reads in 

part, "We recall that in the 

wake of the lockdown, the 

media were among those 

exempted from movement 

restrictions. This is because 

of the vital role the media, 

like other critical sectors, 

play in the developmental 

advancement of society.’’ 

ron's operations in Excravos, 

Delta State. 

He said it was part of 

steps to guard against the 

virus in Chevron facilities 

and offices 

He said, "Based on the 

Coronavirus directive issued 

by the Federal Government 

regarding sustained 

operations in the oil 

and gas industry, CNL entered 

into arrangement 

with some hotels and other 

facilities in Warri and Lagos, 

where staff on rotational 

duties will be accommodated, 

and their health status 

monitored to ensure that 

they do not have the COV- 

ID-19 virus before returning 

to work at our Escravos 

Operations.’’ 

Professor Kimse Okoko, 

the people and Government 

of Bayelsa State 

over the sudden death of 

Pastor Keniebi Okoko, 

describing his passing 

as shocking and most 

painful. 

In a condolence message 

to Professor Kimse 

Okoko, father of the deceased, 

Jonathan said, "I 

condole with you and 

your entire family and 

sympathizers on the untimely 

death of Keniebe, 

which occurred on April 

14, 2020 in Lagos at the 

age of 42. 

"His death is shocking 

and most painful as he 

was in his prime. Without 

a doubt, Keniebe still 

had a lot to offer to the 

progress and development 

of Bayelsa State 

and Nigeria as he was a 

young man full of great 

ideas and lofty dreams. 

On his part, Governor 

Douye Diri of Bayelsa 

State, said he received 

the news of the sudden 

demise of Pastor Okoko 

with great shock and 

pain.


c 

:Vanguard 

News 

COVID-19: Ortom sets up c’ttee to 

bolster state’s economy 

By Peter Duru 

M AKURDI— 

GOVERNOR 

Samuel Ortom of Benue 

State has set-up a Strategic 

Economic Committee on 

coronavirus, COVID-19, to 

explore alternative sources 

of bolstering the state’s 

economy in the face of the 

looming global economic 

downturn. 

The governor, who made 

this known, yesterday, in 

Makurdi, said the 

committee, which he chairs, 

has the Deputy Governor, 

Mr. Benson Abounu, as 

alternate chairman while all 

....Ex-Jigawa gov, 2 aides test negative 

By Aliyu Dangida 

FORMER Governor 

Sule Lamido of Jigawa 

State and his two aides 

have tested negative to 

Coronavirus, COVID-19. 

The former governor, who 

made his status known on 

his Facebook page, 

yesterday, informed that his 

Police orderly, Madu 


VIOLATORS—One of the violators of the sit-at-home order, Lucky Amiadamen (in green shirt), 

listening to the charges proffered against him before the Magistrate of FCT Mobile Court, as 

violators of the COVID-19 lockdown were being prosecuted in Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

....To replicate Operation Feed the Nation in Benue 

members of the State 

Executive Council are 

members. 

He said “we are also 

drafting some technocrats 

into the committee to ensure 

that we have a rich 

assembly of capable hands 

who would work 

conscientiously to help our 

state successfully glide 

through this period of 

recession the COVID-19 

pandemic has unleashed 

on the global economy. The 

priority is to seek alternative 

sources of revenue 

generation for the state 

Musa, and the Driver, 

Zayyanu Muhammad, 

also tested negative. 

According to him: ”Dr. 

Imam Wada Bello called at 

5:35pm 15/4/2020 and 

informed me that they are 

through with our sample 

tests and our results, that 

is myself, driver and 

orderly thankfully are all 

negative and that he will 

given the deep slide in oil 

prices and sharp fall in 

revenue accruable to the 

federation. 

“The committee will 

ensure that we replicate in 

Benue the celebrated 

Operation Feed the Nation, 

a national agricultural 

extension and mobilization 

programme of the federal 

government which was 

initiated in 70s to achieve 

self sufficiency in food crop 

production and also inspire 

the younger generation to 

embrace farming. 

“So the committee, while 

send me the details later 

tonight (Wednesday). 

“I still do not know how 

to react to the 

professionalism of Dr Bello 

and his team or to the 

hundred messages of 

prayers and goodwill on 

my Facebook wall or to over 

a thousand text messages 

of prayers on my MTN 

number from across all 

cooperating with our 

development partners will 

look at the entire 

agricultural value chain 

and create the avenue for 

everyone to key in, even 

those who are too weak to 

engage in farming will 

have something to do to 

improve their wellbeing. 

“We will take advantage 

of our agricultural 

potentials to overcome the 

economic crisis, that is the 

way to go if we must survive 

the International Monetary 

Fund, IMF, projected 2020 

recession which was put at 

3.4 percent, being the worst 

in recent time. 

religious, tribal, regional, 

political, racial or any 

divide! Only Allah the most 

merciful most benevolent 

can make this happen!” 

“For now or any time I do 

not have the language, in 

art or mastery to convey to 

each and every one the 

depth of my feelings or 

emotions or gratitude. “ 

....Health workers storm Narawasa Assembly over 

unpaid salaries 

By David Odama 

LAFIA—MEMBERS of 

the Medical and 

Health Workers Union of 

Nigeria, MHWUN, 

yesterday, stormed 

Nasarawa State House of 

Assembly to protest unpaid 

March salaries, as the 

nation battles coronavirus, 

COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Doma Local 

government Council's 

branch of MHWUN 

accused the council's 

administration of refusing 

to pay members’ their 

March salaries. 

Led by the Secretary of the 

union, Mr Adamu Musa, 

the workers in a petition, 

among others, said “we 

petitioned the Chairman of 

Doma local government 

area , Alhaji Sani over 

nonpayment of March 

salaries to health workers. 

This has affected our 

standard of living and that 

of our family members 

negatively. “ 

The union’s secretary 

commended the house 

committee for ordering for 

the immediate payment of 

their salaries within one 

week, noting that the 

council’s chairman was 

used to such acts. 

Responding, Chairman, 

House Committee on 

Public Complaints, Petitions 

and Security, Danldi 

Jatau, directed the 

chairman to pay the affected 

workers their salaries 

within one week, saying 

“When we received the 

petition from the health 

workers, we have also 

discovered that the staff 

of the education 

department have not been 

paid their March salaries. 

We are hereby directing 

the council chairman of 

Doma Local Government to 

do all what is humanly 

possible to pay the two 

departments, the health 

and education workers their 

March salaries from now 

and Thursday next week.” 

When contacted, the 

council Chairman, Alhaji 

Robo Sani declined 

comment saying he has 

nothing to said. 

19 die of Lassa fever in Bauchi 

B AUCHI—BAUCHI 

State Government, 

yesterday, said no fewer 

than 19 persons had lost 

their lives to Lassa fever in 

the state since January. 

The Deputy Governor, 

Baba Tela, who is also the 

Chairman, Bauchi State 

Task Force Committee on 

Coronavirus, COVID-19, 

and Lassa Fever, disclosed 

this at a briefing in Bauchi. 

Mr Tela also revealed 

that no fewer than 48 

people were being 

monitored and undergoing 

treatment for the deadly 

disease in the state. 

According to him: “It is 

not as if we have gotten rid 

of Lassa fever completely in 

the state. No, we have not. 

So far as of week 14 of our 

campaign, the total number 

of deaths to Lassa fever is 

19 and we don’t have any 

new case so far. We are also 

following up contacts of 

about 48 persons. Those 48 

have been confirmed and 

are under medication and 

they are recovering very 

well.” 

The deputy governor 

further urged residents to 

always report any 

suspected case of Lassa 

fever in the state as early 

diagnosis and treatment 

could help patients recover. 

He said the state 

government would embark 

on a massive sensitisation 

of the public to the nature 

of the disease. 

He said in the course of 

sensitisation, the masses 

would be educated on what 

to do and what to abstain 

from. 

Giwa residents rescue 10 women 

from bandits 

By Ibrahim 

Hassan 

K ARAUKARAU— 

RESIDENTS of 

Karaukarau village of Giwa 

Local government Area, 

Kaduna State, have 

appealed to the authorities 

to help release three 

nursing mothers allegedly 

abducted by gunmen. 

Muhammadu Sani 

Bakale, a community 

leader in the affected area, 

told journalists that the 

gunmen stormed the 

community on bikes and 

abducted 13 women 

including nursing mothers 

during a wedding 

ceremony. 

Speaking in Hausa, he 

....3 nursing 

mothers abducted 

said “ because of the curfew 

imposed on the state, the 

bandits were looking for 

soft targets in villages to get 

food. They came Tuesday 

afternoon and unleashed 

violence while our people, 

mostly women were 

celebrating a wedding that 

took place. 

“But when the locals 

came out in numbers and 

took arms against the 

bandits,10 women were 

rescued. Sadly, they ran 

away with three nursing 

mothers.” 

But the state's Police 

spokesman, ASP 

Mohammed Jalige, said 

the police were yet to get 

the details of the abduction. 

COVID-19: Group demands 

transparent disbursement of 

funds 

FOLLOW The Money', 

an initiative of 

Connected Development, 

CODE, has decried 

perceived secrecy in the 

disbursements of several 

billions of Naira mobilised 

by the Federal 

government, the private 

sector and international 

donors, respectively, as the 

nation battles to contain the 

coronavirus, COVID-19 

pandemic. 

The group said it has 

tracked over N40 billion 

mobilised by the Federal 

government and others, 

questioning alleged lack of 

transparency in the 

disbursements. 

According to the 

organisation, its discovery 

is against about N30 billion 

claimed to have been 

received by Minister of 

Finance, Budget and 

National Planning, Zainab 

Ahmed. 

A statement by Executive 

Director of Program- 

Public Conscience on 

Radio, Produced by the 

Progressive Impact 

Organisation for 

Community Development, 

PRIMORG, Agbonsuremi 

Okhiria, said the founder 

of Follow The Money 

Initiative, Hamzat Lawal, 

spoke on the Program- 

Public Conscience on 

Radio, Produced by 

PRIMORG, in Abuja. 

Lawal said among others, 

that the tracking of over 

N40billion was carried out 

through digital tools and 

data analysis, as it was 

difficult to deploy inquirers 

to the fields for fear of 

contracting the virus. 

He described some of the 

painstaking processes in 

seeking accurate 

information from Ministries 

Departments and 

Agencies, MDAs as futile, 

seeing that most were 

unwilling to share, despite 

evoking the Freedom of 

Information Bill.

14—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

DONATION: Head the Ovwor Farms, a branch of the Ibru Organisations, Mr. Joe Oluku (2nd left), 

the Ohworode of Olomu, HRM R.L Ogbon, and other members of the team when they visited the 

monarch's palace, during the distribution of food items to the poor and vulnerable in Delta communities. 

COVID-19 lockdown: Oyo reads riot act to 

criminals 

By Adeola Badru 

IBADAN—THE Oodua 

Peoples’ Congress, 

OPC, in Oyo State, 

yesterday, warned 

criminals to desist from 

taking advantage of the 

lockdown occasioned by 

the Coronavirus pandemic 

....As Oscar Ibru distrubutes food items to 

vulnerable, poor, others in Delta communities 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—TO cushion 

the effect of the 

lockdown order by the 

Delta State Government 

as part of measures to 

contain the spread of the 

ravaging coronavirus 

pandemic, Olorogun 

Oskar Ibru has 

distributed food items 

worth millions of naira to 

the vulnerables in 

Agbarha-Otor, Ogor, 

Ovwor-Olomu, Effurun- 

Otor, Owvewve, and 

Emeragha communities 

in Ughelli North and 

Ughelli South of Delta 

State. 

Items distributed to the 

beneficiaries which 

included the vulnerable, 

poor, widows and the 

elderly, were; rice, 

beans, tomatoes paste, 

salt, vegetable oil, 

matches, onions among 

others. 

The food distribution 

team led by the Head of 

the Ovwor Farms, a 

branch of the Ibru 

Organisations, Mr. Joe 

Oluku also visited the 

palaces of the Ovie of 

Agbarha-Otor kingdom, 

HRM Richard Okorefe l, 

Ovie of Ughelli 

kingdom, HRM Wilson 

Oharisi III, the Ovie of 

Ogor kingdom, HRM 

Igere, the Owhorode of 

Olomu kingdom, HRM 

Ogbon Oghoro I and the 

to disturb the peace that is 

reigning in the state. 

The Oyo Coordinator of 

the group, Mr. Rotimi 

Olumo, said this while 

speaking with newsmen in 

Ibadan. 

Olumo said that Oyo OPC 

is ready to assist the state 

Ovie Effurun-Otor 

kingdom, HRM Johnson 

Duku. 

Speaking at Ovwor after 

the door-to-door distribution 

of the items, Mr. Joe Oluku 

said the gesture was borne 

out of Olorogun Oskar Ibru's 

desire "to reach the people 

to ensure that they get 

something in this period 

that this pandemic is on." 

He said Ibru was out to 

assist the needy and "let 

them get access to food 

especially the vulnerable, 

poor, widows and the aged. 

It started in Agbarha-Otor, 

we have been to Ogor, 

Ovwor, and Effurun-Otor. 

The items contained in a 

bag can last a family for at 

least three days. 

"That has been his kind 

of person. He cannot see 

people suffer, he can't see 

people hungry, he is 

always out there to reach 

out to the people and that 

has been his nature and 

we thank God for his 

character and 

benevolence." 

Speaking at his palace, 

the Owhorode of Olomu 

kingdom, HRM Ogbon 

Oghoro I, expressed 

appreciation to Olorogun 

Oskar Ibru for his 

benevolence, saying he has 

always shown commitment 

to the wellbeing of the less 

privileged in the society. 

On his part, the Ovie of 

Effurun-Otor kingdom, 

HRM Johnson Duku 

thanked Olorogun Oskar 

Ibru for the kind gesture, 

saying "l am not surprised 

because I know him and he 

is one of the pillars of the 

Urhobo nation as at today". 

‘Africa's one of continents with highest 

number of migrants' 

LAGOS—WAKA Well by 

an International 

Organization for 

Migration’s, IOM, working 

in Nigeria has continued to 

show innovative campaigns 

in West Africa that seeks to 

prevent exploitation by 

empowering young people 

to make informed decisions 

about their future, both at 

home and abroad. 

Reports have shown that 

Africa is one of the 

continents with the highest 

number of migrants, legal 

and illegal. This is a result 

of the level of poverty, 

ethnic conflicts, political 

issues, and terrorism. 

government and the 

Nigeria Police to reduce 

crime and criminality in 

the state, adding that the 

group was not happy with 

the current happenings. 

He maintained that the 

crime rate, which has 

reduced drastically in the 

But migration becomes 

illegal if people do not 

have the permission of the 

country or borders they are 

entering into. Young 

Nigerians make up the 

largest population of the 

growing flow of migrants 

from Africa to developed 

countries. In 2016, over 

20,000 involved in the 

Mediterranean Sea 

crossing were reported to 

be from Nigeria. 

According to a study 

conducted by WAKA Well 

by IOM, "Illegal 

migration has been a 

problem in Africa, a major 

cause of brain drain. It has 

state before, has suddenly 

increased in the last few 

weeks. 

He, however, directed all 

local government chairmen 

of the group to make sure 

that their domains are crime 

free, saying that the OPC 

would not allow any group 

to cause crises in the state. 

robbed Africa of talents, 

hence promoting the 

shortage of manpower in 

different sectors. 

"The youths who make up the 

larger percentage of the migrants 

leave the continent in order to 

explore and showcase their skills 

for ‘befitting’ reward. When talents 

leave, things become difficult in 

the sectors that need them and 

this cripples the economy. 

Also, another IOM study 

conducted in September 2019 in 

Oredo and Ikpoba Okha, Edo 

Nigeria reveals that 58 percent 

(out of 419 respondents) aged 

between 13 and 40 have not heard 

or seen information on the dangers 

of irregular migration in the last 

year. 

DHL struggles to cope as 

online parcel volumes surge 

DELIVERY business DHL is struggling to cope with a 

flood of parcels from online purchases due to the coronavirus 

crisis, forcing it to cut back extra collections from 

retailers in Germany, parent company Deutsche Post said 

yesterday. 

A Deutsche Post spokesman said that the extra pick-up 

trips to retailers had been reduced nationwide, adding that 

DHL was handling more than 8 million parcels a day, 

similar to pre-Christmas trade and compared to an annual 

average of around 5.2 million. 

“We are continuously working to synchronise our capacity 

with demand,” the spokesman said. 

The German association of online retailers (BVOH) had 

earlier highlighted the problem, saying if retailers had 

known about the bottleneck, they would have sought to 

rein in sales. 

“Now the packed parcels are at the retailer and will not 

be delivered,” said BVOH president Oliver Prothmann. 

Wall Street rises on hopes of 

lockdown easing 

UNITED States (US) stock markets opened higher 

yesterday as data showed weekly jobless claims fell 

slightly from the previous week and on hopes President 

Donald Trump would push to relax strict lockdowns 

imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.31 points, or 

0.17percent, at the open to 23,543.66. 

The S&P 500 opened higher by 15.98 points, or 0.57percent, 

at 2,799.34. The Nasdaq Composite gained 85.93 

points, or 1.02percent, to 8,479.11 at the opening bell. 

Verizon to buy Zoom-rival 

BlueJeans for below $500m 

VERIZON Communications Incorporated said 

yesterday it has agreed to buy videoconferencing 

company BlueJeans Network Inc, a 

rival of Zoom Video Communications 

Incorporated, for less than $500 million. 

Lockdowns enforced across the world to contain 

the spread of the new coronavirus have pushed 

businesses to work from home, leading to a surge 

in demand for video-conferencing apps such as 

Zoom, Cisco’s Webex and Microsoft’s Teams. 

Zoom, which has a market value of $42 billion, 

has seen its daily active users jump to 200 million 

from about 10 million before the pandemic started 

spreading. 

BlueJeans, which has not publicly disclosed its 

user numbers, counts big enterprises such as 

Facebook Incorporated, LinkedIn and ViacomCBS 

among its customers. Large banks like Goldman 

Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are 

also known to use BlueJeans. 

“Collaboration and communications have become 

top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes and 

in all sectors in recent months,” said Tami Erwin, 

chief executive officer of Verizon Business. 

COVID-19: Eat ’N’Go rolls out initiative 

to cater for essential workers 

Eat’N’Go Limited, master franchisee for Domino’s 

Pizza, has rolled out a charity initiative to support 

the Nigerian government in combating COVID-19. 

This initiative has allowed the firm provide food to essential 

workers who are at the frontline in combating the 

spread of the virus. 

Speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Eat’N’Go Limited, 

Patrick McMichael acknowledged the sacrifice and diligence 

of all medical practitioners, the government as well 

as other essential workers who have put their selves forward 

to manage this pandemic. “We are thankful to everyone 

at the forefront of this battle, doing all it takes to 

end the pandemic. As a firm that holds the wellbeing of 

others in high esteem, we are committed to contributing 

our quota to ensure you remain healthy throughout this 

period, which is why we have decided to drive this initiative” 

Speaking further, he also expressed his utmost concern 

and sympathy, highlighting the effect the pandemic may 

have had on the Nigerian economy. 

He said “Having the understanding that the world, including 

Nigeria, is facing a global crisis which is eating 

deep into the nation’s economy, we believe that now is 

the time for corporates to rise to support the government 

more than ever. As a firm that has implanted its footprints 

in Nigeria through various capacities, we are committed 

to continue to lend our support to the country.” 

Some strories from Reuters.




LOCKDOWN: Despite the lockdown, buying and selling still goes on at Bolade bus stop, along Agege Motor 

road, Oshodi, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Joe Akintola. 

IPOB accuses armed forces of killing 

more Nigerians than coronavirus 

• Says Nigerian lives are meaningless to their leaders 

Police arrest NSCDC official for killing motorist in Abia 

By Ugochukwu 

Alaribe & Eric 

Ugbor 

U MUAHIA—ABIA 

State Commissioner 

of Police, Mr. Ene Okon, 

has confirmed the arrest of 

the operative of the Nigeria 

Security and Civil Defence 

Corps, NSCDC, who 

shot dead a motorist, Amobi 

Igwe, at the former toll 

gate along the Enugu –Port 

Harcourt expressway. 

Okon said he had directed 

that the NSCDC official 

identified as Eke Richard, 

be transferred to the State 

Criminal Investigation Department, 

,SCID, Umuahia; 

By Anayo Okoli 

E NUGU—INDIGE 

NOUS People of Biafra, 

IPOB, has alleged that 

the Nigerian armed forces 

have killed more civilians 

in this Coronavirus period 

than the virus itself. 

The group alleged that “the 

armed forces are busy killing 

people who are hungry. 

How many terrorists 

have they killed?” 

According to the Leader of 

the group, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu said, “we are not only 

battling with the combination 

of hunger and starvation, 

but also with the double 

standard from some section 

of the country; intimidation, 

terrorism, deception, 

photo shops, repressiveness 

as well as dictatorial 

tendencies from this regime 

and all their countless 

harassment”. 

A statement from the 

group’s spokesman, Emma 

Powerful quoted Kanu as 

saying that “as the lockdown 

is going on everywhere 

even in Anambra, 

they are busy installing 5G 

network cables that weakens 

the immune system. 

People have been asking 

what is the connection between 

5G and Coronavirus?. 

“The correlation is this: 5G 

weakens the immune system 

that allows common 

cold to invade your system 

like the Coronavirus which 

stressing that if after investigation 

the official was 

found culpable, police 

would arraign him for murder. 

Eke had allegedly demanded 

bribe at the checkpoint 

but the driver failed 

to meet up with the 

demand. However, an argument 

ensued and he 

shot the driver who lay in a 

pool of his 

blood. Eyewitnesses told 

Vanguard that the bus was 

loaded with rice and tomatoes 

while the driver wasn’t 

carrying any passenger. 

The eyewitnesses said; 

“The Civil Defense people 

demanded money from the 

driver, he gave them some 

money, but they still demanded 

more and the 

driver refused. They also 

demanded him to hand 

over the key of the bus to 

them, but he also refused 

that he committed no offence. 

And the operatives 

wanted to impound the 

is a cold virus. All your lives 

are worthless before the 

political leaders in Aso 

Rock. As long as they are 

comfortable with their family, 

they will do anything 

they like with your lives. 

This gospel is for everybody 

not just for Biafrans. 

“Your future and that of your 

children had been crushed 

down the drain by the political 

leaders in Aso Rock 

and your governors. It 

doesn't matter if they are 

PDP or APC, they are all the 

same; they have all failed 

you and will continue to fail 

you unless you upgrade 

your reasoning by revolution 

which is needed now. 

“Those thinking if Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu gets to power 

that things will be better 

for them should think twice, 

Olusegun Obasanjo was 

there for 8 years, did your 

life get any better?, Those 

in southern part of Biafra, 

Goodluck Jonathan was 

there for 6 years, what was 

the outcome?. 

“This revolution must be 

region by region, the West 

should organize themselves 

for it, the Middle- 

Belt should organize 

themselves for it; the East 

is organized already waiting 

for orders to come onboard. 

How many people 

are they going to kill if we 

rise up at the same time to 

revolt against this oppressive 

and repressive rogue 

regime?. 

bus. One of them threatened 

to shoot him if he 

failed to comply with the 

order. Without delay, he 

shot the driver who lay 

in a pool of his blood. 

We raised alarm and 

started clustering the 

scene but the NSCDC 

team fled to Umuikaa 

Battle for Imo North senate: 

Monarchs appeal to Uzodinma 

Alleged N19.63bn fraud: Ihedioha's IMC ready to 

confess — Govt 

Leave Nigeria now — Group urges Ndigbo 

By Chinedu Adonu 

ENUGU—A group, Bi 

afra Zionists Federation 

has urged Ndigbo to return 

home from Nigeria, 

saying that the marginalization 

of the people of the 

South East in the COVID- 

19 palliative distribution 

has clearly shown that Nigerian 

Government does 

not reckon with them. 

The group said that the 

people of the South East do 

not reckon in the national 

affairs of the country even 

as they claim that all the 

policies of the Nigerian 

government have been directed 

at marginalizing 

Ndigbo. 

The leader of the group, 

Benjamin Onwuka who 

spoke in Enugu said that 

prevention of COVID-19 

palliative being given to 

Igbo states by the Federal 

Government has clearly 

shown how South East 

states were schemed out. 

Onwuka also recalled that 

$21.7 billion dollars loan 

was being sought by the 

Federal Government without 

the zone being included 

in the projects mapped 

out to be done with the loan- 

According to Onwuka, it 

is clear that President Muhammadu 

Buhari-led Federal 

Government has divided 

Nigeria along ethnic 

lines in the face of the coronavirus 

disease. 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI—THE Imo 

State government yesterday 

said that the Interim 

Management Committee, 

IMC, chairmen under 

former administration of 

Emeka Ihedioha, have expressed 

their readiness to 

explain their level of involvement 

in the alleged 

misappropriation of the 

N19.63 local government 

funds in the state. 

The Commissioner for Information 

and Strategy, Declan 

Emelumba, spoke in 

Owerri, on the ongoing recovery 

process of the funds by 

the Auditor General for local 

government from those who 

were said to have mismanaged 

the monies. 

In Emelumba's submission, 

the chairmen were 

eager to exonerate themselves 

by saying what they 

know about the funds, one 

of which he said was the 

procurement of earth moving 

equipment for all the 

27 local government areas. 

He said among other 

things that, "This is a routine 

thing in civil and public 

service. Public funds are 

Town unions urge South-East 

Govs to evacuate stranded Igbos 

By Anayo Okoli 

ENUGU—THE umbrella 

body of all the town 

unions in the South East, 

ASETU, has sent save our 

soul message to the South 

East Governors, appealing 

to them to arrange as soon 

as possible, the evacuation 

of all her sons and daughters 

stranded across different 

parts of the globe as result 

of COVID-19 pandemic. 

Meanwhile, ASETU has 

called for the provision of 

more testing centres in the 

South East zone, saying the 

only one in Abakiliki is not 

enough. 

Lamenting the devastating 

effect of the coronavirus on 

life and economy of the people, 

the association of the 

south east town unions 

urged wealthy sons and 

daughters of Ndigbo to 

henceforth think of investing 

more in the manufacturing 

sectors of the economy 

especially,“in the health 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI—THE battle 

for who will occupy the 

Imo North senatorial district 

seat, was yesterday intensified 

with some traditional 

rulers pleading that Ihitte/ 

Uboma local government 

area, where the late Senator 

Ben Uwajumogu, hailed 

from, should retain the position 

in the zone. 

The monarchs alongside 

other stakeholders from the 

area visited the commissioner 

for Special 

Projects, Simon Ebegbulem, 

in Ihitte/Uboma, 

where they unanimously 

asked the commissioner to 

help them send their message 

to Governor Hope 

Uzodinma. 

People troop out of their homes 

in Anambra, complain of hunger 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA—MANY streets 

in the various cities in 

Anambra State were jam 

packed with people who 

subject to audit and that is 

the law. The funds from local 

governments are subject 

to audit and that is what the 

auditor general has done. 

"Nobody is talking about 

probe here. What the audit 

report is saying is that some 

people fictitiously spent local 

government money and 

it is improper. They should 

refund the money. 

"What is at stake here is 

that the auditor general for 

local government did an 

audit report and discovered 

that a staggering amount of 

N19. 63 billion was fictitiously 

spent for contracts 

that were not executed, 

were withdrawn from 

JACC, without a clearly stated 

purpose for that and they 

asked the governor, Hope 

Uzodinma, for approval to 

recover the money and the 

governor gave them the 

approval." 

products sub-sector, among 

other critical sectors as a 

lesson from the COVID-19 

pandemic." 

In a statement by the President 

General of the association, 

Chief Emeka Diwe, 

said that ASETU noted with 

“dismay that one testing 

centre for COVID-19 is 

grossly inadequate for the 

South-East zone” and appealed 

to the South-East 

governors and leaders to 

work towards getting more 

COVID-19 testing centres 

in the zone for easy access 

to the people” and commended 

Governor Dave 

Umahi of Ebonyi state for 

his effort in bringing the 

testing centre in the 

state.““The spread of covid-19 

in Nigeria and the 

world has caused a lot of 

hardship to families in Nigeria. 

ASETU wishes to 

appreciate the efforts of the 

South-East Governments 

on how they are responding 

to the COVID-19 pandemic." 

In the visit were HRH 

Eze Uwa of Izunomi 

community, HRH Eze Basil 

Nwokeke of Nkumato 

community, HRH Eze Kelechi 

Okeke of Umuawueke 

and Eze U.K, of Ikperejere 

community. 

Also part of the visit were 

a former Transition committee 

chairman of the area, 

Boniface Okafor and High 

Chief Tony Anyanwu 

among others. 

Among other things, they 

endorsed Mark Uchendu, 

one of their own for the Senate 

seat, saying that, "It will 

be politically and morally 

unfair to deny Ihitte/Uboma 

the Senate position after 

the sudden demise of 

Ben Uwajumogu, who is 

from our area". 

said they were out to find 

food for their families, complaining 

that the effect of 

hunger was becoming 

more severe than the coronavirus 

pandemic. 

The situation in the state 

yesterday looked as if the 

stay -at - home order had 

been relaxed, even though 

the road blocks were still in 

place. 

Among those who spoke 

with Vanguard were artisans 

and mechanics who 

complained that their continued 

stay at home could 

lead to starvation in their 

homes. 

A mechanic, Mr. Obiorah 

Nwosu said he had to be 

calling his customers to inform 

them that he was at 

his workshop, adding that 

his action paid off because 

some of them brought their 

vehicles for repairs. 

Also speaking, Mr. 

Charles Ogbodo, who is a 

block builder said he would 

go to the block industry 

where he was working before 

the lockdown as his 

manager had assured him 

that he could resume work 

immediately.

16— Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

ITHINK it is fair to say that 

the Niger Delta 

Development Commission, 

NDDC, has never before had 

a CEO who is more perfectly 

suited to the circumstances 

that prevail on his turf. 

Kemebradikumo Pondei, a 

distinguished Professor of 

Medicine, became acting 

Managing Director of NDDC 

on February 20. Shortly 

afterwards, the coronavirus 

pandemic - which had already 

started to wreak havoc on and 

generate panic in China and 

Europe – reached Nigeria 

(this country’s first case was 

confirmed on February 27). 

This terrible COVID-19 

disease, which has caused so 

many hospital admissions and 

agonising deaths across the 

globe, has triggered off a 

medical emergency that will 

not leave the nine states in 

which NDDC has 

interventionist responsibilities 

- Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, 

Bayelsa, Abia, Imo, Cross 

River, Edo and Ondo – 

unscathed. 

Medical 

emergency 

And who is better able to 

manage the ramifications of a 

medical emergency caused by 

a virus than a senior medical 

doctor who specialised in 

virology and has impeccable 

academic credentials and 

plenty of practical hands-on 

clinical experience? 

Most indigenes of NDDC’s 

vast constituency are pitifully 

impoverished, despite the 

Nigerian economy being 

largely dependent on the oil 

that flows from their ancestral 

lands and creeks. 

Long story short: The 

majority of Niger Deltans are 

in desperate need of support 

during this particularly 

difficult time and Pondei, in a 

NDDC’s doctor 

recent interview, proved that 

he fully understands the 

challenge that has been thrust 

upon him and is up to the task 

of tackling it. 

Highlighting the need for 

the NDDC to work with state 

governments in the Niger 

Delta region, to ensure 

maximum effectiveness, he 

said at a press conference in 

Port Harcourt on Wednesday: 

“Having discussed with 

different state governments, 

we didn’t want to duplicate 

efforts. For instance, we 

wanted to procure ventilators, 

but…(discovered that) the 

states had (already) made 

plans to get ventilators, so we 

thought it better to support 

states financially.” 

Pondei reminded his 

audience that health centres 

built by NDDC in various 

communities were not 

functional today because the 

Health centres 

built by NDDC in 

various 

communities were 

not functional 

today because the 

state governments 

were not carried 

along 

state governments were not 

carried along. 

Pondei also said that the 

best way forward is for 

Nigeria to quickly increase 

the number of testing centres 

across the country….and 

contain the pandemic by 

finding out who has been 

exposed, then tracing and 

quarantining such persons’ 

contacts. 

But he added that it was not 

NDDC’s place to tell states 

how to build capacity and 

achieve objectives, given that 

each state knows what 

peculiar obstacles it faces. 

Pondei then reflected on the 

bigger picture beyond the 

Niger Delta and said that 

much as testing was key, it 

was also a problem because no 

nation has the capacity to test 

everybody. 

He noted: “A number of 

nations have made the 

mistake of acquiring test kits 

that have ended up being 

useless. Right now, the 

Nigeria Centre for Disease 

Control, NCDC, is doing a 

very good job, expanding the 

testing centres and getting 

requisite equipment.” 

He observed that most of the 

kits being used were not 

Farewell to a sister 

LAST week, Carol 

Jamabo, aged just 56, 

became yet another tragic 

coronavirus statistic in the 

UK. She was a Rivers girl. 

She will be much-missed. 

One of our friends wrote the 

following tribute: We are all 

shocked and deeply 

saddened by the unexpected 

and untimely passing of our 

beloved Carol. 

A key worker for over 25 

years, she had been 

employed in various 

government organisations 

such HM prison service and 

NHS trust Guys and St 

Thomas as an administrator. 

Most recently, she worked as 

a carer in the community for 

Cherish Elderly Care after 

moving from the South East 

to the Manchester area to be 

closer to her two children. 

She would have been well 

deserving of a round of 

applause for her hard work 

and commitment over the 

years. 

"Carol suddenly became 

efficient and may not be able 

to detect COVID-19 “because 

everybody has one way or 

another been exposed to 

Coronavirus and those kits 

just test for antibodies that 

already exist in most of us.” 

Pondei stressed the need 

for people to take simple 

health tips seriously - social 

distancing, not smoking in a 

crowd, good coughing 

etiquette and regular 

handwashing with soap and 

water. 

He advised that 

handwashing techniques be 

taught through the mass 

media; and this message is 

one that is emphasised in 

NDDC’s ongoing public 

enlightenment campaign. 

The NDDC boss underscored 

the need for a comprehensive 

health insurance scheme for 

the country, stating: “Health 

•The late Carol Jamabo 

unwell at her home whilst 

with her son and was then 

rushed to hospital. Over the 

days her condition rapidly 

deteriorated. She was 

transferred to the intensive 

care unit but treatment there 

with a ventilator was not 

successful. 

Carol or CJ as loved ones 

and close friends fondly 

referred to her as, was a de- 

insurance is the key to 

universal health coverage, 

which is the desire of 

everybody.” 

He added: “For us to get 

health insurance to work, 

there is a need to make it 

compulsory for all Nigerians. 

It does not work well when it 

is voluntary. In all the 

countries where it has worked 

well, it is mandatory. 

“In the United Kingdom, as 

long as you work, you will 

contribute to health insurance. 

In our own country, it has 

been difficult even with the 

National Health Insurance 

Scheme, NHIS, which has 

been able to cover only five per 

cent of the population.” 

Dismissing the various 

conspiracy theories in the 

public domain, Pondei said: 

“This talk about 5G network 

and COVID-19 could be a 

source of distraction. While 

people are debating over 

unsubstantiated claims, the 

virus is spreading. We should 

be worried and thinking 

about finding solutions. That 

is why public enlightenment 

is very important. Some 

people do not even believe 

that the virus exists. Others 

say that it doesn’t kill Black 

people. But in the United 

States of America, Blacks are 

dying in their numbers.” 

“The 5G is supposed to be a 

massive improvement on the 

4G network in terms of speedy 

delivery. It is a faster 

communication network. 

There is no scientific evidence 

to link COVID-19 and 5G 

network. There is still a lot that 

is not known about this virus, 

but it is clear that it is not from 

genetic manipulation or from 

any laboratory.” 

Let’s hope that those who are 

spreading fake news listen! 

vout Christian and 

mother to two boys who 

she will sadly be unable 

to guide and support any 

longer. 

She was a fun loving 

person and will be 

remembered for her 

uplifting, joyful and 

enthusing personality. 

Words cannot describe 

the damaging and 

destructive impact her 

passing will have to her 

work colleagues, friends, 

family and most painfully, 

her two children. 

RIP Carol. 

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To 

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unless you specifically request 

anonymity, your email or text 

message may be published 

with your name and contact 

details attached.

America’s pointless battles 

against WHO 

THE World Health 

Organization, WHO, which 

is coordinating and leading 

humanity’s war against the 

Coronavirus COVID-19 

pandemic, is ironically under 

attack by the United States, US, 

itself, the country most devastated 

by the virus. 

US President Donald Trump sees 

the world as a stage in which he 

must play the lead role. In a 

quixotic manner, he proclaimed 

himself as a wartime leader 

commanding the forces against 

the virus. He is right, this is a war 

and the human race already has 

over two million infected and 

more than 136,000 deaths within 

the last fifteen weeks. 

However, it is not a war fought 

by the conventional forces in 

military fatigue or camouflage. In 

fact, modern troop carriers of the 

most advanced navies each 

carrying thousands of troops, are 

being abandoned without a shot. 

This war is being fought and led 

by courageous men and women in 

white overall and nursing uniform, 

and coordinated by the WHO 

which was established in 1948 as 

the directing and coordinating 

authority for international health 

matters and public health. Its 

mission is to improve people's lives, 

reduce the burdens of disease and 

poverty, and to stop the 

By LADESOPE LADELOKUN 

THE world is going through one of the 

most trying times in history. With 

humans streaming to graves in thousands 

across the world on a daily basis because a 

stubborn and deadly virus is bent on 

mercilessly decimating the population of the 

world, panic has become an unwanted 

companion. Indeed, nothing evokes fear across 

the world more than the coronavirus 

pandemic. 

Many who are familiar with the Christian 

holy book- the Bible- argue that it is a sign 

that the end time has come. But it is pointless 

to get into such debate as it would neither stop 

the wind of death blowing the world over nor 

lead us to the solution that we earnestly need 

to bury the sorrow that pervades the air. 

Like the days of Pharaoh in Egypt when 

there was a great cry in the land owing to 

the plague that provoked wailing and 

gnashing of teeth, coronavirus has stolen joy 

from numberless homes and freedom from the 

world, making grieving a daily routine - an 

aftermath of a war without guns and the boom 

of bombs. 

But this period will vanish like the 

pandemics before it. Remember the Bubonic 

plague of the 14th century that has been 

described as the worst pandemic recorded in 

human history, leaving up to 75 to 125 million 

dead globally? 

Or the Spanish flu that reportedly killed at 

least 17 to 50 million people from 1918 to 1920? 

We shall conquer coronavirus, bid it farewell 

and have our normal lives back. 

However, there is no denying the fact that 

we will grapple with the effect of this period 

when it is all over. With over almost two million 

cases across the world, the International 

Monetary Fund, IMF, Managing Director, 

Kristalina Georgieva, had warned that the 

coronavirus pandemic will cause a global 

transmission of infectious agents 

in the world. 

Given the fact that the WHO is 

the Central Command against the 

COVID-19 War, the distracting, 

pointless and childish attacks 

against it by the US is like a mutiny 

at the war front. The WHO has led 

humanity against a number of 

pandemics such as the Asian Flu 

which claimed 1.1million lives, 

HIV/AIDS, Swine Flu and the 

Ebola and Zika Virus epidemics, 

and has the distinction of 

eradicating small pox from the 

world. 

The world was caught off guard 

when COVID-19 crept on her. The 

first hint was on December 30, 2019 

when Chinese doctor, Li Wenliang 

raised the alarm. On January 20, 

2020 China declared an 

emergency. That same month, the 

WHO in lightning speed, 

produced COVID-19 tests which 

it shipped to dozens of countries 

including the US. But the Trump 

administration declined to use 

these. Rather, it decided to produce 

its own. Unfortunately, the test kit 

it developed was faulty which led 

to a huge testing backlog. This 

delay, gave room for the virus to 

spread to the extent that by this 

Wednesday, it had infected 609,400 

Americans and claimed some 

28,300 lives in the country. 

Rather than blame itself for the 

recession in 2020 that could be worse than that 

of 2008. "The economic impact will be severe 

but the faster the virus stops, the quicker the 

recovery will be,” she added. 

Kristalina hit the bull’s eye. We are battling 

a disease that has not only changed the way 

we live but threatening to bring the whole 

world to its knees. Perhaps the world would 

not have been caught unawares if it has seen 

it coming. 

Forget the prediction often mentioned in 

Koontz Dean’s The Eyes of Darkness that saw 

a virus that only affected humans, but Live 

Science reported that the first dog with 

coronavirus infection had died. Or the 

prediction that the virus does not last outside 

the human body more than a minute. Time 

has indeed given the lie to Dean’s predictions. 

Beyond the preparedness or lack of it for 

the pandemic currently ravaging the 

world, the lessons this moment brings must 

not be lost if we must stop circling the same 

mountain. 

It is no fairy tale, for instance, that politicians 

descend from their high horse when they need 

the votes of the electorate. You will not struggle 

to see them fraternise with the commoners in 

barbershops, football fields, restaurants and 

other public places. Granted, the fear of 

coronavirus is the beginning of wisdom, but 

donating the kind of cash they throw around 

during electioneering to assist the needy and 

fight against coronavirus will not harm. 

No one should be fooled by politicians that 

donated a portion of their salaries but left their 

far more humongous allowances untouched, 

or those who have their faces and names 

etched on the souvenirs shared to their 

constituents in this trying moment. 

They already have their original motive 

advertised. Well, that’s the way of politicians. 

It underscores the point that the electorate are 

just a tool to actualise the ambitions of 

politicians who throw cash at them when they 

spread, and for its lackadaisical 

attitude including claiming that 

the virus is not a serious threat and 

that the country should return to 

work, the Trump administration is 

accusing the WHO of being slow 

to act! 

Also, Trump claimed that the 

WHO had not quickly investigated 

early reports coming out of China 

which made China slack in 

containing the virus, thereby 

allowing it to spread across the 

world. Trump last week said based 

on this: “The WHO failed in its 

basic duty and must be held 

accountable.” 

I do not buy this narrative 

because in quickly alerting the 

world and providing COVID-19 

test kits to dozens of countries 

It was not the 

World Health 

Organisation, 

WHO, that was 

slack or sloppy, it 

is the American 

government 

within two weeks of China’s 

declaration of emergency, the 

WHO moved at supersonic speed. 

Trump’s claim that China was 

slack and the WHO was guilty in 

not getting that country to act fast 

enough to contain COVID-19, is 

bizarre. 

Trump himself had 

acknowledged China’s quick 

moves in containing the virus. In 

his January 24, 2020 tweet, Trump 

wrote: “China has been working 

very hard to contain the 

Coronavirus. The United States 

greatly appreciates their efforts 

and transparency. It will all work 

out well. In particular, on behalf 

Between coronavirus and the original repentance we need 

are needed and get them disposed when they 

are done like a piece of trash. 

It is gratifying to know that 11 million 

Nigerians are being targeted for palliatives 

by the Federal Government to mitigate the 

effect of hardship precipitated by 

government-imposed lockdown. In a country 

where poverty is headquartered, the effect of 

coronavirus on pauperised Nigerians is better 

imagined, particularly in a lockdown 

situation. 

But the Federal Government’s 11 million 

target raises concerns. In its 2019 report, an 

international human rights 

organisation, Oxfam, said there were at least 

94 million Nigerians living in extreme 

poverty. Clearly, the Oxfam report exposes a 

wide gulf between Nigeria’s wretched and 

the portion selected for palliatives. It has again 

When this siege is over, we 

must begin to have honest 

conversations about our 

deplorable health infrastructure 

brought to the fore the need to have a unified 

data system to provide a single pool of data 

for all citizens. 

But the coronavirus pandemic is a sad 

reminder of the failure of leadership here. Long 

before now, long-suffering Nigerians were left 

alone to suffer the pains of a decaying health 

infrastructure. Now that Nigeria and other 

countries with state-of-the-art health 

infrastructure are locked down, those who 

abandoned the decrepit hospitals here will 

now be compelled to use the facilities that yield 

death certificates should they have any health 

emergency. 

Little wonder the Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss 

Mustapha attracted knocks from angry 

Nigerians when he said he never knew 

Nigeria’s health sector was in such a parlous 

state until he was appointed the Chairman of 

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020—17 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

of the American people, I want to 

thank President Xi!” How can a 

man lie against himself? 

Besides, the world generally 

acknowledges the fact that China 

was swift in tackling the virus; the 

reservation by some is that it used 

alleged undemocratic methods 

such as locking down some 500 

million people. So it was not the 

WHO that was slack or sloppy, it 

is the American government. To 

cover its gross incompetence in 

handling COVID-19, and given the 

approach of presidential elections, 

the Trump tribe decided on a fall 

guy, who else can fit the bill but the 

WHO? 

The American moves against the 

WHO were first noticeable in 

February, 2020 when the Trump 

administration decided to cut its 

2019 $452 million funding 

contribution to the WHO to $57.9 

million. This 2019 contribution 

which is 15 percent of the WHO 

annual budget has been the 

traditional American funding for 

the organisation. 

After muted attacks, in the last 

few weeks, it opened fire on the 

WHO and its Director General, the 

microbiologist, Tedros Adhanom 

Ghebreyesus. In hurling his own 

missile, American Secretary of 

State, Mike Pompeo, on April 8 

announced that America was: 

“reevaluating our funding with 

respect to the World Health 

Organisation. Organisations have 

to work. They have to deliver the 

outcomes for which they were 

intended.” 

There were also a lot of attacks 

and even death threats against the 

WHO boss who in an 

uncharacteristic move, on April 8, 

called a press conference to fight 

back. Tedros, an African, revealed 

to the press: "I can tell you personal 

attacks that have been going on 

for more than two, three months. 

Abuses, or racist comments, giving 

me names, Black or Negro. I'm 

proud of being Black, proud of 

being Negro. I don't care, to be 

honest ... even death threats. I don't 

give a damn." 

He described European 

scientists who discussed on French 

television the possibility of testing 

COVID-19 vaccines on Africans, 

as relics of "colonial mentality." 

Adding that they insulted: "the 

whole black community." 

Tedros asked politicians in the 

world who are attacking him and 

the WHO to stop the diversions, 

pleading: "Please quarantine 

COVID politics. That's what we 

want. We don't care about personal 

attacks. We care about the life 

passing every single minute 

unnecessarily because we couldn't 

unite to fight this virus." Such pleas 

fell on deaf ears as President Trump 

this Tuesday announced that the 

US is cutting all funding to the 

WHO. 

In unison, the world including 

traditional American allies, 

Europe, reacted negatively to the 

American decision. One of the 

most logical responses was by the 

President of the American 

Medical Association, Patrice A. 

Harris who argued: “During the 

worst public health crisis in a 

century, halting funding to the 

World Health Organisation is a 

dangerous step in the wrong 

direction that will not make 

defeating COVID-19 easier. 

Cutting funding to the WHO, 

rather than focusing on solutions, 

is a dangerous move at a 

precarious moment for the world.” 

In its silly and inane battles with 

the WHO, the Trump 

administration is behaving like a 

child who proclaims that because 

he is quarrelling with his head, he 

would henceforth wear his cap on 

his navel. 

the Presidential Task Force on coronavirus. 

Mustapha’s statement only bears testament 

to the fact that a great number of leaders in 

this part of the world are detached from the 

agonising realities of our situation. 

Truth be told, the coronavirus pandemic has 

no doubt provided an opportunity to assess 

the governance structure and institutions of 

countries across the world, playing up why 

we all need one another. Interestingly, 

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour, Mr. 

Festus Keyamo, had in a tweet said 

coronavirus was the consequence of our sins, 

explaining that it was God’s way 

of redirecting our steps. 

Hear him: “God has allowed COVID-19 to 

afflict the human race only to redirect our steps 

back to him. We have so distorted God’s word 

to suit our own human weaknesses and satisfy 

our greed,even in supposed holy places. We 

should collectively ask for forgiveness and it 

will all end in praise.” 

While it cannot be established that the 

coronavirus pandemic is a punishment from 

God, it cannot be incongruous to tell the ruling 

class that Keyamo belongs to begin to redirect 

its steps back to God. And, there cannot be a 

better way than sparing a 

thought for ordinary Nigerians by seeing the 

global pandemic as a wake-up call to fix 

health infrastructure, education and other 

critical sectors that are of immense importance 

to ordinary Nigerians without the financial 

muscle to leave the country, even when they 

find this space unliveable. That is the 

repentance we need from our rulers. 

No doubt, coronavirus will one day leave 

with its troubles and return our stolen 

freedoms. But the bigger tragedy is allowing 

it to leave with its lessons. When this siege is 

over, we must begin to have honest 

conversations about our deplorable health 

infrastructure. Unified data system. Our 

porous borders. Other national illnesses the 

coronavirus pandemic has exposed. It is the 

way to go. 

•Ladelokun, a social commentator, wrote 

via ladesopeladelokun@gmail.com


TO their credit, the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, was the first major 

political party in Nigeria that made 

monetary payments to the poorest and 

most vulnerable in our society part of 

their campaign promises in 2015, 

though some officials of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s government 

initially attempted to deny it. 

Public pressure, criticisms and the 

benevolence of the World Bank which 

provided $500m credit in June 2016 

moved the hand of the Federal 

Government which invested $1.3bn in 

setting up the National Social 

Investment Programme, N-SIP. 

The N-SIP is the umbrella that 

houses social welfare initiatives such 

as the N-Power, the Homegrown 

School Feeding Programme, HGSF, 

the Government Enterprise and 

Empowerment Programme, GEEP, 

and the Conditional Cash Transfer 

Programme, CCTP, which doles cash 

directly to the poor. 

Of the four programmes the CCTP 

has been the most controversial 

Sanitising the Social Investment Programme 

because of opaque criteria used in 

selecting beneficiaries and the actual 

amount so far spent. 

It is said that the Coronavirus 

pandemic will change a lot of things. 

Definitely, it is already changing our 

health sector for the better and also 

the Nigerian Social Register, NSR, 

which is being presumably used in 

implementing the CCTP. 

Even though there are over 100 

million Nigerians under the poverty 

line, President Buhari only last 

Monday ordered the expansion of the 

2.6million register by one million 

more persons. 

Apart from the paucity of number 

of beneficiaries, Nigerians are 

sceptical as to whether even those on 

the register are getting their monthly 

N5,000 allowances. 

Recently, Hajiya Aisha Buhari and 

the National Assembly joined the 

horde of critics of the N-SIP. The 

Nigerian Governors’ Forum has also 

called for its reform. Governors want 

the states to be involved to ensure that 

the benefits of the programme get to 

the intended persons. 

The Ministry of Humanitarian 

Affairs, Social Development and 

Disaster Management outraged 

Nigerians when it started the 

Coronavirus pandemic palliative 

measures by sharing dirty naira notes 

in an Abuja suburb. 

In the process it broke the social 

distancing policy ordered by the 

President and the Governors. 

To reform the social register and 

ensure the equitable and transparent 

administration of cash disbursements, 

we need a panel of experts to examine 

the Register and bring it up to date in 

line with international standards. 

There must be a place in it for 

independent watchdogs to know how 

the programme is being run. This will 

minimise corruption, partisanship and 

nepotism. 

More importantly, the Federal 

Government should not be abandoned 

to shoulder the burden alone. The 

states and the corporate world should 

play their roles along with the 

international donor agencies, 

especially in this emergency situation. 

We must share the burden of 

poverty with the poor to ensure social 

stability and equilibrium. If the 

grassroots revolt there will be no 

hiding place for the pyramid toppers. 

OPINION 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

COVID-19: Of Chinese experts, encouraging recovery data, and breakthrough therapies 

By YUSHAU A. SHUAIB 

THE controversy over the arrival of 

Chinese medical experts in Nigeria is 

needless, going by an official statement from 

China Civil Engineering Construction 

Corporation, CCECC, which sponsored the 

trip of the medical personnel and the supplies 

being brought into the country. 

The Managing Director of CCECC, Michael 

Jiang, said the medical team is not coming to 

Nigeria to treat any COVID-19 patient but is 

only escorting the medical supplies to the 

country, and would be on hand to provide 

guidance for their usage and distribution. The 

supplies being donated to Nigeria include test 

kits, ventilators, disinfection machines, 

disposable medical masks, medicines, rubber 

gloves, protective gowns, goggles, face shields, 

infra-red thermometers and other critical care 

items. 

On the day the Chinese medical team arrived 

in the country late in the evening of Wednesday 

April 8, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, 

NCDC, had announced then that the total 

number of coronavirus infection cases in the 

country was 276, with 44 of these having been 

treated and discharged, while quite 

unfortunately six of those who contracted the 

disease had died. 

The rate of recovery of coronavirus disease 

patients in Nigeria is quite encouraging. In 

fact, a number of high-profile personalities who 

had tested positive to the infection have since 

recovered and been given a clean slate of health 

within a short period of time. They include 

governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State 

and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. 

While a conspiracy of silence subsisted on 

effective remedies for the coronavirus infection 

and disease, Governor Makinde of Oyo State 

revealed that he had fought the infection with 

carrots, vitamin C, black seed oil with honey 

and made vigorous efforts to boost his 

immunity, whilst regularly exercising when in 

isolation. 

Meanwhile, a Nigerian professor of 

Pharmacognosy and Chairman of the Imo 

State Taskforce on COVID-19, Professor 

Maurice Iwu has laid claims to the creation of 

a plant-based and already patented drug for 

the treatment of the dreaded coronavirus, 

which he said is presently going through 

clinical trials in the United States of America. 

This, he had disclosed to Nigeria’s minister of 

science and technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, 

during a recent visit. 

Still, there have been cheerful news around 

the world about breakthrough medicines and 

remedies that are tackling the menace of 

coronavirus to great degrees of efficacy. After 

President Donald Trump of the United States 

of America had nudged at the use of 

Chloroquine therapy in curing the virus, a new 

controlled clinical study conducted by doctors 

in France has shown that a combination of 

Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin (Z- 

Pak) completely cures coronavirus patients 

within six days of treatment. 

In fact, the healing of 80 additional patients 

has confirmed the effectiveness of this new line 

of therapy, as advanced by the French 

researchers. In a similar development, another 

wonder drug, Tocilizumab, is reputed to have 

cured 90 per cent of those it was administered 

on, in a groundbreaking trial on severe and 

critical COVID-19 patients in two separate 

hospitals in the eastern province of Anhui in 

China. Tocilizumab, otherwise known as 

Actemra and produced by the Swiss 

pharmaceutical firm, Roche, is typically used 

to combat arthritis. 

Another report claims that Chinese doctors 

gave the medication to 20 patients during the 

peak of the epidemic in China. Of this number, 

19 of them were discharged within 14 days, 

despite having earlier been critically ill. The 

drug has now been approved for use in China 

and for trials in the US. While I strongly 

believe that this period of anxiety and fear 

over the coronavirus disease pandemic 

would soon be over, there are many people - 

young and elderly, educated and 

uneducated, rich and poor, powerful and less 

We need to cultivate a 

more positive mindset, 

fostered by healthy diets, 

regular exercise and taking 

enough rest in this difficult 

period 

powerful - who are greatly disturbed 

psychologically in this period, and who have 

no one to give them words of encouragement 

and hope. 

It is unfortunate that some traditional and 

religious leaders have been aggravating the 

anxiety of their followers by giving them 

misleading information and raising false hopes 

in them, at a time when fact-based approaches 

are essential to tackling the coronavirus 

scourge. 

It is, however, reassuring to note that a 

number of major religious bodies in Nigeria 

have aligned their messages to the faithful with 

medical advice. The Nigerian Supreme 

Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA and the 

Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for 

instance, have asked their followers to obey 

the directives of governments and take all 

precautionary measures issued by the 

authorities on coronavirus. 

They have cautioned Muslims and 

Christians against convening or attending 

religious activities, while observing social 

distancing when they experience symptoms of 

coronavirus such as respiratory distress, fever, 

cough, and shortness of breath, etc. 

At this period of global anxiety, confusion 

and a near state of hopelessness due to 

overwhelming and disturbing news about the 

coronavirus infection and disease, we should 

encourage our loved ones in coping with the 

attendant stress. According to experts, excessive 

thinking about the pandemic can worsen 

mental health conditions. 

It is, therefore, necessary to always take 

breaks from the preponderance of alarming 

information, disturbing news and activities on 

the traditional and social media. We need to 

cultivate a more positive mindset, fostered by 

healthy diets, regular exercise and taking 

enough rest in this difficult period. When 

disturbed, it is advisable that we talk to people 

we feel comfortable with and trust in expressing 

our fears and concerns. 

The manageable levels of the pandemic, 

within the limits of our health care system in 

Nigeria, needs to be sustained through rigorous 

campaigns on social distancing and the 

adoption of appropriate hygienic lifestyles. 

•Shuaib, author of award-winning Crisis 

Communication Strategies, wrote via 

yashuaib@yahoo.com

OPEC AGREEMENT: Nigeria to cut output 

despite improved production capacity 

*No buyers yet for 50m barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil – Platts 

*Says glut forcing down value of Nigeria’s oil 

*As price remains below $20pb 

By Udeme Akpan, Mike Eboh 

and Ediri Ejoh 

THE Organisation of Petroleum Export 

ing Countries, OPEC, has put Nigeria’s 

oil production, excluding Condensate at 

1.78 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 

March 2020. 

But at the March level, Nigeria’s actual 

production is expected to be reduced to 

about 1.41 mbpd as the country undertakes 

to cut 417,000 barrels per day under the 

current OPEC output cut agreement. 

This also means that Nigeria’s daily production 

would be 290,000 barrels less than 

the 1.7 million barrels in the adjusted 2020 

budget. 

The production cuts exclude condensates 

and domestic consumption; the budgeted 

1.7 million is also excluding condensates, 

incremental production for repayment arrears 

and domestic consumption. 

Added to the huge price downturn, the output 

cut is expected to further undermine the 

Nigeria’s revised 2020 budget. 

Oil price steady below $20 

The price of Nigeria’s premium grade, 

Bonny Light, at the international market 

yesterday, traded at $19.68 as against 19.50 

per barrel Wednesday. 

Similarly, other international grades, Brent 

and WTI dipped marginally, trading at 

$27.26 and $19.68 as against $27.43 and 

$19.87 recorded at the close of the market 

on Monday. 

OPEC+ meeting 

At the virtual meeting of the OPEC and its 

allies (OPEC+) which held yesterday, it was 

agreed that a total of 10 million barrels 

would be cut from production. 

Of the 20 countries that attended the meeting, 

19 countries agreed to cut back production 

by 23% using October 2018 production 

data as a baseline. 

Meanwhile according to data collated 

from official sources, Nigeria’s March output 

indicated an increase of 37,000 bpd 

when compared to 1.74 m/bd produced in 

February 2020. 

In its April market report obtained by 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

RAND 

116.95 -0.25 

2,198.00 -67.00 

10.10 0.05 

$ 27.87 -1.73 

$ 19.97 -0.14 

360 360.5 361 

449.388 450.0122 450.6363 

392.868 393.4137 393.9593 

372.7866 373.3043 373.8221 

3.351 3.3557 3.3603 

0.4923 0.5023 0.5123 

418.271 418.852 419.4329 

50.9682 51.0395 51.1107 

95.732 95.8649 95.9979 

19.2399 19.2666 19.2934 

CBN Exchange rate as at 15/04/2020 

Vanguard, OPEC, which doubted the capacity 

of the global economy to take much 

oil at this time revised the 2020 global 

demand growth to 6.8 m/bd as the 

Coronavirus pandemic continues to hit 

the world. 

No buyers yet —Platts 

In another development, the global energy 

data, financial information and 

analytics company, S&P Global Platts, yesterday, 

disclosed that more than 50 million 

barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil for late 

April and May 2020 loading are still unsold, 

while the overhang is forcing down 

the value of Nigeria’s crude oil. 

In a report on its website, Platts stated that 

Nigerian crudes, which are largely low in 

sulfur and yield, a generous amount of 

diesel, jet fuel and gasoline, are finding it 

very difficult to attract interest from refiners 

in a market where demand has been 

battered due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

“A lot of Nigerian crude is already floating 

on the seas and in storage tanks with no 

home and destination. Some sellers have 

no option but to continue to look to floating 

storage, even as freight rates remain at 

elevated levels,” S&P Global Platts stated. 

According to Platts, the sheer weakness of 

the physical oil market can be best explained 

by the state of the Nigerian crude 

market, as the once coveted light sweet 

Nigerian barrel is facing one of its toughest 

trading cycles, as refiners shun these crudes, 

even as they are trading at record-lows. 

It noted that sellers were resorting to holding 

some of this oil on inland or floating 

storage, to hope to sell at a later date, when 

demand recovers. 

It quoted a crude oil trader as stating that, 

“all those who want to sell or get rid of a 

cargo are asking for bids ... you find a treasure 

if you get a bid.” 

Platts noted that demand destruction for jet 

fuel and gasoline had been particularly 

severe as the bulk of the world remains in 

lockdown, with restrictions on driving and 

flying. 

Another reason for low demand for Nigerian 

oil, according to the company, had 

been that its big main customers — Europe 

and India — have massively cut their 

refining runs. 

said, “This overhang of Nigerian crude, is 

possibly the largest ever in recent trading 

cycles, according to traders. This has pushed 

Nigerian crude values to record-lows and 

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 — 19 

is weighing down on the already-depressed 

Atlantic Basin crude market. 

“The fall in Nigerian crude differentials 

has been cataclysmic. Bonny Light was 

assessed at a discount of $5.70 per barrel to 

Dated Brent on Wednesday, its lowest level 

since S&P Global Platts started assessing 

the grade in July 2001. Similar values were 

heard on Thursday afternoon, sources 

added. At the start of the year, it was trading 

at a premium of $1.70 per barrel to Dated 

Brent. 

“The June loading program for Nigeria is 

expected to be released in just under a week, 

to add to the glut. Under the new OPEC/ 

non-OPEC deal, Nigeria has committed 

to keep its crude output at 1.412 million 

barrels per day in May and June and at 

1.495 million barrels per day between July 

and December. From January 2021 to 

April 2022, it will keep the output at 1.579 

million b/d. 

“Last week, Nigeria was producing 2.30 

million b/d of crude and condensates, according 

to senior oil officials. With May 

loading cargoes already trading, sources 

were unsure as to how the cuts would be 

implemented from May, though they expect 

some barrels to be stored rather than 

exported as the demand picture already 

looks very bleak.” 

Executive Director, ENL Consortium, Mr. Mark Walsh, (right), who represented the 

company’s Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Princess Vicky Haastrup, presenting the personal 

protective items donated by the company in support of efforts to contain the spread 

of COVID-19 to the Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Mrs. Fumilayo Olotu, in Apapa, 

Lagos on Wednesday. 

Dangote Cement, NB shares sustain 

equities rally *Market up, 0.07% 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

ACTIVITIES in the Ni 

gerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE) closed marginally 

up yesterday as 

profit taking in some 

heavily capitalized stocks 

weighed seriously in the 

market. 

Though almost all the 

banking stocks, including 

the tier-1 banks, as well as 

BUA Cement Plc recorded 

heavy losses, but the sustained 

buying interest in 

Dangote Cement Plc, the 

most highly capitalized 

stock in the market, kept 

the market in the green 

zone. 

Specifically, Dangote Cement advanced 

by 2.18 percent during the 

day, while Nigerian Breweries 

(NB) and Nestle Nigeria Plc, two 

other highly capitalized stocks, 

appreciated by 9.89 percent and 

10 percent respectively to lift the 

local bourse. 

This is in addition to 3.57 percent 

returns recorded by a telecommunication 

giant, MTN Nigeria Communication 

Plc. 

Consequently, the equities market 

rose marginally by 0.07 percent, 

while investors recorded N8 

billion capital appreciation during 

the day. 

At the end of the day’s trading, 

the benchmark All Share Index 

(ASI) rose to 22,554.84 points from 

22,539.94 points the previous day, 

representing 0.07 percent increase. 

Similarly, the equities market capitalization 

rose by the same margin 

to close at N11.755 trillion from 

N11.747 trillion on Wednesday. 

Analysis of sectorial activity 

showed a mixed performance as 

three of the sectors recorded positive 

returns, while two depreciated. 

Breakdown shows that the consumer 

goods sector buoyed by significant 

gains in Nestle Nigeria Plc 

and NB increased the most, rising 

by 5.7 percent, followed by insurance 

and oil & gas sectors with 

1.19 percent and 0.25 percent increase 

respectively. 

Market sentiment, as measured 

by market breadth, was negative 

as 18 stocks gained, relative to 20 

losers. 

UBA alerts banks 

customers over 

scammers 

By Ediri Ejoh 

AMIDST increased online fi 

nancial transactions on the 

backdrop of socio-economic 

lockdown, the United Bank for 

Africa (UBA) Plc, has called on 

its customers to exercise utmost 

caution in their banking transactions 

and ensure that they do not 

fall prey to any nefarious activities. 

Specifically, UBA has urged its 

customers not to divulge any sensitive 

personal information regarding 

their bank and or card 

details. 

UBA’s Executive Director, Retail 

Banking & Payments, 

Chukwuma Nweke, said the 

bank’s attention has been drawn 

to some fraudulent messages 

making the rounds, where customers 

have been asked to provide 

their card details for disbursement 

of funds into their accounts. 

He emphasised that customers 

should ignore such requests 

He stated: “Some of our customers 

may have received a call or 

message asking for their card 

details and Bank Validation Number 

(BVN) for disbursement of 

COVID-19 funds. Others may 

have also received an email informing 

them of bonuses of between 

N30,000 and N70,000 

upon validation of their bank details 

online. 

It is important to note that these 

emails and messages did not 

originate from UBA, and we 

would never at any point in time 

ask for your account details over 

the telephone of via SMS, emails, 

live chat or social media. We 

advise that you kindly delete 

these messages and do not entertain 

calls of this nature. Please 

also inform the bank of these incidences 

immediately they occur”. 

Nweke further stressed that personal 

banking details including 

passwords, usernames, card 

numbers, security numbers at the 

back of cards, BVN, OTPs, security 

answers and other sensitive 

information should not be shared 

with anyone as UBA would never 

ask for them online or through 

phone calls or text messages. 

“Your card is for your personal use 

alone, do not give out your PIN 

and do not share any information 

regarding your card with anybody; 

if your card is missing or 

stolen please contact us immediately’ 

he said. 

COVID-19: ENL Consortium 

Donates Protective Kits to 

NPA 

By Godwin Oritse 

ENL Consortium, operators of 

Terminals C and D of the Lagos 

Port Complex Apapa has donated 

nose masks and other protective items 

to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) 

in support of government’s to contain 

the COVID-19 pandemic in the 

country. 

The items donated by ENL Consortium 

include 3,000 units of nose 

masks; 1,000 units of hand gloves; 

1,000 hand sanitizers and infrared 

thermometers. 

The Executive Vice Chairman/ 

CEO of ENL Consortium, Princess 

Vicky Haastrup, who was represented 

by the company’s Executive 

Director, Mr. Mark Walsh, during the 

presentation of the items in Lagos on 

Wednesday, said the gesture is in line 

with the company’s Cooperate Social 

Responsibility initiative and in 

support of the efforts of the Federal 

Government to contain the spread 

of the deadly virus in Nigeria.

20 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 — 21

22—Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

Economic policy: Coronavirus economic 

stimulus programme 

BY ASIWAJU BOLA 

AHMED TINUBU 

POLICY background: The 

coronavirus has changed 

the modern world with a 

velocity un-foretold. To protect 

their populations, nations have 

taken unprecedented steps in 

closing down cities, halting 

socio-economic activities and 

quarantining vast numbers of 

people. Given the lethality of 

the disease, the public health 

measures have been prudential. 

If such action were not taken, 

the toll of this pandemic might 

rival the 1958 Asian Flu which 

took over one million people or, 

worse, the 1918 Spanish Flu 

where an estimated 50 million 

people passed away. 

While the public health 

measures may save lives, their 

economic consequences have 

been brutal enough to place 

large numbers of people in a 

different form of jeopardy. We 

face a trade-off between certain 

pandemic and possible 

widespread depravation. 

Having to make this dismal 

trade-off between a currently 

incurable sickness and 

significant economic 

contraction is a dilemma no 

nation wishes to face. However, 

it is the one upon us. 

The Nigerian government 

acted wisely to suppress the virus. 

Our health system and medical 

facilities simply cannot cope 

with legions of cases. The 

capacity and aptitude of 

government are more suited to 

dealing with the economic 

fallout of the public health 

restrictions than in dealing with 

the medical complexities of a 

contagion no one fully 

understands. 

The economic pain suffered 

by the private sector can be 

counter-balanced by 

government fiscal and monetary 

policies that stimulate the 

flagging economy. We dare not 

ASIWAJU BOLA TINUBU 

underestimate the twin dangers 

posed by the virus itself and the 

economic consequences of the 

public health response. Our 

goal must be that the people live 

neither with disease nor in 

hunger. This situation presents 

a historic chance to establish a 

more beneficial social contract 

between government and the 

governed. If we so utilise this 

moment, it will be recorded as a 

pivotal one in our national 

history. If we allow this moment 

to slip, history will not be obliged 

to treat us with great mercy. 

The economic situation: To 

stop the viral spread, the world 

has gone into self-induced 

economic contraction. Most 

recessions have their roots in 

crisis born first in the financial 

sector. We should sound an even 

louder alarm when contraction 

befalls the financial sector and 

real economy at the same time. 

When both experience steep 

downturn simultaneously, there 

exists the true danger of 

descending into something 

worse than recession. 

The global economy has 

turned against us. Oil prices 

have steeply fallen. The price 

may rebound but not nearly 

enough to return to customary 

levels. The resultant revenue loss 

impairs the naira exchange rate. 

In general, the price of imports 

per unit has become dearer. 

Thus, wise policy suggests 

limiting our imports during this 

emergency in order to save hard 

currency and protect the 

exchange rate. 

Nigeria’s private-sector 

economy can be divided into 

three broad sectors: 1) 

Agriculture, 2) Service and 3) 

Industry. Each sector has been 

affected by this crisis but with 

different degrees of severity and, 

in some instances, in entirely 

different ways. Most Nigerians 

are engaged in low-level 

agricultural production in rural 

areas. Thus far, the coronavirus 

is mostly in urban areas and not 

in rural communities. Because 

of their relative isolation and the 

nature of their work, most 

farmers can continue their 

vocation. This means the supply 

of domestically produced food 

staples should not materially 

fall. 

With the reduction in imports, 

demand for their crops should 

accordingly rise. Unfortunately, 

If we do not take 

additional steps to 

stimulate the 

economy and 

answer the demand 

for food, we risk a 

deep economic 

contraction that will 

prove difficult to 

cure 

that increased demand cannot 

translate into actual sales 

because of the drop in aggregate 

income suffered by the urban 

population. This loss of demand, 

coupled with restrictions on 

movement and on public 

marketplace hours, creates 

great uncertainty for farmers. 

Additionally, farmers 

engaged in non-food crop 

production will suffer much 

greater uncertainty as well as 

greater lost demand for their 

products than those who 

cultivate staple foods. The 

farmer is burdened with too 

much uncertainty for any good 

to come of it. Government can 

do a lot to diminish the 

uncertainty by assuring farmers 

a minimum price for select 

staples. This can be done 

through reestablishment of 

commodity boards. See 

Recommendation 3 below for 

more detail. 

The urban work force is 

mostly engaged in the service 

sector with a minority of workers 

involved in industrial 

manufacturing. Much of the 

urban labour force has been 

made idle. Hiring of services 

such as hair care, taxi driving, 

artisanal crafts, tailoring, etc., 

will be substantially deferred at 

this moment. These people work 

in businesses that are mostly 

small and medium-sized. The 

firms do not have ample cash 

reserves nor can they borrow 

funds given the high interest 

rates. 

Unemployment has quickly 

skyrocketed to levels only 

witnessed in economic 

depressions. Many families 

have no money at all. Other 

families have very little money, 

perhaps enough to last a few 

more days. Yet, real life is not 

some abstract economics book 

where a person can immediately 

adjust his demand for goods that 

strictly correspond with his 

supply of money. Despite the 

paucity of money, demand for 

life’s essentials cannot fall below 

the minimum required to 

survive. The money-less family 

still needs food, water, shelter and, 

to a lesser degree, utilities. In a 

compassionate society, they 

should not be made to do without. 

Most families need relief. If relief 

is not forthcoming, these families 

risk hunger and its attendant 

suffering and woes. 

Situation with businesses: 

Most businesses are small, 

service-sector oriented ones that 

have been roughly battered by 

the crisis. Without relief, many 

of these small businesses will 

permanently close even when 

things begin their return to 

normal. The financial sector too 

has suffered. Foreign investment 

has shrunk as has domestic 

borrowing. Large businesses also 

struggle because aggregate 

demand for their products and 

services has fallen. Yet, help to 

banks and large business is 

relatively simple. Such aid can 

be rapidly provided by the CBN. 

The CBN can lend large 

amounts of virtually non interest 

loans to these firms with the 

proviso that the companies 

maintain their existing payrolls. 

If we must hold to the restrictive 

public health measures, the 

people will need economic relief. 

Activating Trader-moni and 

other programmes will help 

many small-scale traders but not 

the average wage earner who 

just lost his job. Resort to the 

strategic grain reserves will blunt 

hunger but the finite reserve 

cannot cover all who are in 

danger. If we do not take 

additional steps to stimulate the 

economy and answer the 

demand for food, we risk a deep 

economic contraction that will 

prove difficult to cure. The worst 

of this dark potential can be 

avoided if government is 

prepared to act in ways that not 

only feeds people but protects the 

basic contours of our privatesector 

economy so that it can 

more quickly revive once normal 

conditions return. 

Policy recommendations: 

Recessionary forces outweigh 

inflationary ones at this time. The 

agricultural sector mostly intact 

but hurt in part. The service and 

manufacturing sectors have 

been weakened and urban 

employment severely battered. 

The economy will suffer 

palpable contraction unless 

government enacts 

countervailing measures. 

1. Suspend/amend five 

percent deficit limit of the fiscal 

responsibility law: 

The Fiscal Responsibility Act 

prohibits fiscal deficit of more 

than five percent of Gross 

Domestic Product, GDP. This 

provision was fashioned after 

the Maastricht Treaty governing 

membership in the Eurozone. 

Eurozone members never 

honoured the deficit ceiling even 

in normal times; it was too 

impracticable and deflationary 

to abide. Given the exigencies of 

the current moment, the 

Eurozone has completely 

ignored the Maastricht limits. 

The fiscal responsibility limit, 

while perhaps well intentioned, 

is, to say the least, inapt for a 

nation in our economic 

situation. The provision is based 

on two inaccurate assumptions. 

The first myth is the belief that 

national government fiscal 

deficits are always harmful. 

Continues 

online:www.vanguardngr.com 

•Asiwaju Tinubu, former 

governor of Lagos State, is also 

national leader of the ruling 

All Progressives Congress 

The emergence of the 

never-anticipated, 

never-prepared-for 

Coronavirus pandemic took 

the world by bewildering 

storm. Nobody could affirm 

the source and neither could 

the treatment be proffered. 

The pandemic brought 

pandemonium to the social, 

political, economic, cultural 

and religious lives of the 

entire nations of the world. 

No one ever envisaged 

that the Kaabah in Mecca 

and the Prophet’s mosque 

in Medina could be closed 

to worshipers. No one 

could have ever 

contemplated that the 

Church of England could 

have postponed service 

indefinitely, or that the Pope 

will hold the Easter Mass 

in an empty church, with 

the service streamed online! 

While the social media 

came in handy in spreading 

the sad news of the 

coronavirus, its associated 

dangers across the world, 

and necessary steps to be 

taken to avoid the virus and 

curb the dangerous spread; 

so also came the sad effects 

and negative usage of the 

social media. 

Fake news were bandied, 

fake cures advertised, and 

unverified claims and 

predictions became the 

order of the day. Of course, 

different claims were made 

as to the origin of the 

disease, including the 

controversial attribution to 

5G. One could remember 

how bathing with salt was 

widely circulated as cure for 

the equally dreaded Ebola, 

before it turned out to be 

ridiculously false. 

Condemnation of 5G 

In this ‘coro-confusion’ 

even the high, mighty and 

knowledgeable were caught 

napping and found to be 

helping to express, expand 

and share ignorance and 

misinformation. While a 

popular Pastor with about 

one million followers on his 

verified twitter account had 

to stylishly “explain” his 

previously harsh 

condemnation of 5G, a 

renowned international 

finance figure, who is also 

Nigeria’s former Minister of 

Finance and Coordinating 

Minister for the Economy 

under President Goodluck 

Jonathan, Dr. Ngozi 

Okonjo-Iweala, 

embarrassed herself and 

her one million, one 

hundred thousand 

followers on her verified 

twitter handle when she 

made a false claim on issues 

of social distancing and 

food-aid distribution during 

coronavirus pandemic. 

She presented a purported 

example from Rwanda and 

attached a photo to back it 

up: 

“Responsible food 

distribution with social 

distancing to assist lower 

income households in the 

#COVID19 era! A great 

example from #Rwanda 

where community workers 

also distribute food and 

other necessities door-todoor 

@PaulKagame”. 

The photo turned out to be 

wrong and the reference to 

Rwanda was also false. The 

photo and event she 

mentioned happened in The 

Gambia in 2019 during the 

Muslims’ fasting month of 

Ramadan. The woman of 

substance displayed courage 

as she found a way to 

Coronavirus, Social Media and 

imperative of responsibility 

BY TUNDE 

OLADUNJOYE 

apologize after her attention 

was drawn: 

“Thanks to those who 

have drawn my attention to 

the food distribution picture 

I tweeted earlier today. A 

friend sent it to me that it’s 

from Rwanda. Whether 

Gambia or Rwanda, the 

point I want us to focus on 

is that it is a safe way of 

handling food distribution.” 

That retraction got 973 

retweets and 5,287 likes. 

That is the power of the 

Social Media. 

Back home in Nigeria, 

some desperate opposition 

politicians chose the period 

of the ravaging coronavirus 

to play bad politics; as their 

opinions and posts largely 

depended on which side of 

the divides they were. 

In Ogun State , the State 

Government had to 

severally and repeatedly 

inform the general public 

that its stimulus packages 

were not distributed on CDA/ 

CDC basis. All those 

packages being shown on 

social media in Ogun 

In this ‘coroconfusion’ 

even the 

high, mighty and 

knowledgeable 

were caught 

napping and found 

to be helping to 

express, expand and 

share ignorance and 

misinformation 

Central Senatorial District 

were not those shared by the 

officials of the state 

government. It got to a point 

that the state government 

had to do and share a video 

recording of the contents of 

its package before the noise 

died down. 

It was very strategic for the 

Dapo Abiodun-led 

Administration not to have 

started the stimulus 

distribution simultaneously 

in the three senatorial 

districts of the State. So, 

when the distribution moved 

to Ogun East, there was no 

issue of fake videos of 

contents. And the 

government seemed to have 

heaved a sigh of relief. 

But wait for it, a more 

sinister video crept out of 

Ijebu Ode and immediately 

went viral. The video made 

a child’s play of the fake 

ones shared earlier during 

the distribution of stimulus 

packages in Ogun 

Central. The face of the 

young lady in the video was 

hidden and she presented 

rice and beans in two separate 

plastic basins purportedly 

distributed by the Ogun 

State Government. Not only 

that, she rained curses on 

the Governor and the 

Chairman of the Ijebu Ode 

Local Government Transition 

Committee. She said the food 

items purportedly given by 

the government would cause 

“Covid-25”! Interestingly, she 

was the only one with those 

types of food items. 

Any discerning person, 

not blinded by political 

subterfuge, will know from 

the first glance that no sane 

government will distribute 

such low quality food items. 

The security men went to 

work, and immediately 

arrested the young lady who 

claimed in a confessional 

video that she was “merely 

playing”. She was seen in 

another video appealing to be 

sober and begging for mercy 

along with an elderly woman 

and a quarter-head 

(Oloritun). The Oloritun in 

his appeal, unwittingly, 

revealed that they in their 

quarters were not members 

of Governor Abiodun’s party, 

the All Progressives Congress 

(APC), though he claimed 

they voted for the governor 

at the last governorship 

election. A claim that could 

not be verified. The Oloritun 

then, solicitously said they 

were now ready to join APC! 

At least, if that would save the 

mischievous lady from 

prosecution. 

False posting allegation 

Another man was also 

arrested and charged to court 

in Osun State for allegation of 

falsely posting that the Osun 

State Government imported 

coronavirus positive people 

into Osun in order to get more 

funding from the Federal 

Government. 

The man with a Facebook 

name of Akinloye Zirhid, was 

found out to be Akinloye 

Saheed, and he could not 

provide evidence for his wild 

claim. The magistrate court has 

not only remanded him in 

custody, the state government 

has said it is very interested in 

the case. 

Unlike the print media with 

gate keepers, all you need to 

be a ‘social media journalist’ is 

just a phone with internet 

connection. Even if you have 

no data, you can use the “free 

mode” offered by some of the 

service providers to freely 

spread false information and 

instill fear in the mind of the 

people while ridiculing political 

opponents in the court of public 

opinion. 

These are the sets of quacks 

‘journalists’ and ‘analysts’ 

publishing fake news and 

arming proponents of social 

media regulations with 

supporting examples. Some of 

them even go ahead to publish 

blogs or so-called online media 

for blackmailing and extortionist 

purposes. And when they 

realise evidently, that their ragtag 

publications have scanty or 

no readership , they still resort 

to posting their unethical and 

mischievous publications on 

popular sites. 

The consolation now, 

however, is that law 

enforcement agents are going 

after these harbingers of 

falsehood. It is no longer 

“publish and be damned”, it is 

“publish fake news and go to 

jail”. 

It is true that there is freedom 

of the press and expression. It 

is equally true that it is where 

your rights end that the rights 

of other people and 

governments begin. Social 

Media publishing requires 

responsibility.


08152060944 

COVID19, Force Majeure and the 

Doctrine of Frustration 

By Beverley 

Agbakoba-Onyejianya 

Continued from 

yesterday. 

Parties are also at liberty 

to state the 

consequences of a Force 

Majeure. This could include 

suspension of Contractual 

obligations, renegotiation of 

terms, non-liability, 

extension of time to fulfill 

obligations, mitigation of 

losses, and termination of 

contracts amongst others. 

Considering the effect of 

Covid-19 on Sports and 

Entertainment events, 

where there is a Force 

Majeure Clause in the 

contract, parties may trigger 

the same. Sports 

broadcasting companies 

which would normally 

broadcast a wide array of 

pre-arranged sporting 

events in West Africa could 

reach out to the organisers 

and reach a favorable 

decision on the strength of 

a Force Majeure clause. 

Fans who have bought 

season tickets could rightly 

demand a refund from 

organisers and athletes 

signed up to sports clubs 

who may have to rely on the 

Force Majeure clause to 

justify why it was impossible 

for them to attend trainings 

or partake in games for their 

teams which would 

ordinarily represent failure 

to meet their side of the 

bargain. Recently, Nigeria’s 

ex-Skipper, Mikel Obi 

ended his contract with his 

former club, Trabzonspor of 

Turkey by mutual 

termination days after he 

criticised the Turkish FA for 

allowing games to go on 

given the pandemic. While 

the specific details of 

termination are not yet 

public, one may infer from 

the situation that he would 

only have been able to walk 

away from his contract 

without incurring heavy 

cost for breach if there were 

relevant Force Majeure 

provisions in the player 

contract to that effect. 

However, in the absence of 

express Force Majeure 

provisions in a contract, 

parties in Common Law 

jurisdictions have an 

alternative which is the 

reliance on the common law 

doctrine of Frustration. 

Doctrine of Frustration 

The doctrine of Frustration 

is based on the English 

common law doctrine which 

seeks to set aside the 

obligation of parties under 

a contract due to unforeseen 

events and it can apply in 

the following circumstances 

where there is no 

underlying provision for 

Force Majeure. The 

doctrine of frustration was 

well propagated in the case 

of Taylor v Caldwell From 

the decision in this case; the 

following elements of 

Frustration may be gleaned 

*Beverley Agbakoba- 

Onyejianya 

where: 

• External events not 

contemplated by the 

parties arise which are 

beyond their control. 

• The event was 

unforeseeable and it 

occurred post-formation of 

the contract. 

• The unforeseeable 

events make the contract 

impossible to perform. 

Thus where a force 

majeure clause has not 

been included in a contract 

and no risk has been 

allocated by such a clause 

in the occurrence of stated 

mishaps, where an 

It is evident that in 

one form or another, 

individuals and 

businesses will be 

affected not only 

directly by COVID19 

but also by the 

disruption emanating 

from it. 

unforeseeable event occurs 

which may render the 

contract impossible to 

perform, parties may rely on 

the doctrine of frustration to 

bring an end to the contract 

or obtain remedy from the 

court where due. An 

example of such an event 

would be where the subject 

matter or the crux or the 

main condition of the 

contract ceases to exist. This 

was established in the 

celebrated case of Henry v 

Krell, where the Coronation 

event, which was the 

foundation of the contract 

between the parties, was 

cancelled due to the 

unexpected sickness of the 

incoming king; the Courts 

deemed the contract as 

impossible to perform due 

to the non-existence of the 

subject matter of the 

contract. Thus, parties were 

excluded from any future 

obligations arising from the 

contract. 

Frustration could also 

occur where there is a delay 

or interruption which 

duration is indeterminate 

and was unforeseen by 

contracting parties. This 

was the decision of the 

Court in The Sea Angel 

Case. Thus, when applied 

to sporting and 

entertainment events that 

have been postponed 

indefinitely for now, this 

could constitute an act of 

frustration of the contract. 

Fans could get refunds; 

Insurance policies for 

players could be terminated 

with future obligations 

cancelled. Footballers who 

are in their last few months 

of contracts with their clubs 

— especially clubs in the top 

five leagues where the 

season ends in the summercould 

exercise the option of 

canceling their contracts to 

the club where the season is 

resumed and the matches 

drag beyond June 30, the 

final day of contracts for most 

players. Event planners of 

concerts may have to refund 

all or a part of the funds 

received from artists and 

their managements due to 

cancellation of events. The 

fallouts are endless. 

A change of law can also 

qualify as an unforeseeable 

event can also act as an 

additional layer to another 

unforeseeable event such as 

a medical pandemic, a 

change of law may be 

temporary or long lasting 

and can be passed such as 

the temporary imposition of 

travel restrictions, selfisolation 

measures and 

quarantine to name a few 

which can further make the 

contract impossible to 

perform; resulting in 

termination of the contract. 

The consequence of 

invoking the doctrine of 

frustration is that it brings the 

contract automatically to an 

end and either maintains the 

status quo or restores the 

parties to the status quo ante 

bellum as the justice of the 

case demands. In the event 

a contract is frustrated, one 

party will be relieved of the 

obligation to perform and 

another who would have 

relied on service or goods 

emanating from the contract 

will be left disappointed. It is 

ideal that both parties reach 

a mutual agreement and fair 

conclusion however the law 

of damages which is 

normally applicable in 

contract will not be applicable 

under frustration due to its 

strict Common law 

background. 

Conclusions 

The instance of COVID-19 

gives rise to a series of 

unpredictable and 

unfortunately dynamic 

events. So far, we have 

witnessed industries come 

under enormous pressure to 

be discharged from its 

obligations notably the global 

aviation and sports industry 

which has had to take 

initiatives to secure the health 

and safety of millions first due 

to the enormous patronage 

usually enjoyed by these 

industries. Organisations in 

other industries are not 

exempt and will be required 

to be extremely cautious 

entering into any contracts 

from this point onwards until 

the threat abates, obtaining 

full legal clearance on new 

contracts will be highly 

advisable at this point. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

24 Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020, 

By Theodore Opara 

COVID-19: Auto firms pull resources to save lives 

WITH hardship biting 

harder by the day on 

account of the coronavirus 

pandemic and the attendant 

lockdown ordered by the 

Federal Government, some 

auto companies in the country 

have pulled resources to 

ameliorate its effects and 

donating to save lives. 

As at the last count, no less 

than eight auto companies 

have contributed millions of 

naira in cash and relief 

material to states and the 

federal government to help 

save the lives of Nigerians 

infected with the deadly virus. 

They include: Toyota Nigeria 

Ltd, Elizade Nigeria Ltd, 

Mandilas Group, Stallion 

Group, Weststar Associates Ltd 

and Massilia Motors. 

Although Nigeria is not 

major auto manufacturing 

country, some franchise 

holders have also made 

donations worth millions of 

naira in the fight against the 

pandemic. Leading the pack 

is Toyota Nigeria Limited and 

Elizade Nigeria Limited, who 

jointly donated three brand 

new Toyota Hiace 

ambulances to the Lagos State 

government, Weststar 

Associates Ltd representative 

of Mercedes Benz in Nigeria 

donated a brand new 

Mercedes Benz Axor 1823 

waste management truck to 

the Lagos State government 

while Massilia Motors, 

representatives of Mitsubishi 

motors supported the fight by 

giving food items to 1000 

families in Ijora, Lagos State, 

where the company's 

headquarters is located. The 

food items include bags of rice, 

beans, sugar, salt, vegetable 

oil, pasta tomatoe paste, etc. 

Vicious 

virus 

Deputy Managing Director 

of the company, Mr. Kunle 

Jaiyesimi while making the 

donation, commended the 

government's efforts at 

checking the menace of the 

deadly disease. He said the 

donation was a way of 

alleviating the hardship the 

lockdown may have on the 

people in the neighbourhood 

community. 

Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, 

Chairman of Toyota Nigeria 

Limited and Founder, Elizade 

Nigeria Ltd in his remark 

described COVID-19 as a 

vicious virus that is presently 

ravaging people all over the 

world. He stressed that 

everything humanly possible 

must be done to quickly 

contain the pandemic. 

According to him, the 

government needs the support 

of all well-meaning Nigerians 

and corporate organisations 

to fight the evil scourge and 

all hands must be on deck. 

In his remark, the 

managing director of Toyota 

Limited, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, 

stated: "The gesture is in 

recognition and 

commendation of the 

continuous efforts of Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos 

State and his indefatigable 

team to contain the spread of 

the virus." 

Stallion Group, a frontline 

auto distribution and 

manufacturing company also 

lent their support by supplying 

food items such as rice and 

fish as well as vehicles to 

support the logistics. Stallion 

had through its 

empowerment initiative, 

pledged to support local 

governments in all states in the 

country with the food items to 

run hospitals dedicated to 

COVID-19 for three months. 

Anant Badjatya, CEO of the 

company said: “These are 

exceptionally difficult times 

and urgent emergency 

resources have been deployed 

to cope with the needs of 

affected states and support 

their healthcare system." 

Also in support of the fight 

against the pandemic, 

Mandilas Group, foremost 

auto distributing company 

and representative of Carrier 

air-conditioner, donated some 

units of air-conditioners to the 

National Centre for Disease 

Control, NCDC to make the 

isolation centre in Lagos more 

conducive for the occupants. 

While making the donation 

of the waste truck on behalf of 

Weststar Associates Nigeria 

Kia extends vehicle warranties over COVID-19 

KIA Motors 

Corporation has 

announced the launch of the 

‘Kia Promise’ today, a global 

warranty extension 

programme for its vehicles. 

The Kia Promise is designed 

to support Kia customers 

whose movements may be 

limited because of the 

COVID-19 pandemic. It 

covers 142 countries and all 

vehicles with original Kia 

warranties that expire 

between February 1 and 

April 30, 2020. The 

programme extends the 

warranty of all eligible 

vehicles to June 30, 2020. 

IT is 7.00 p.m at Lagos, but 

the peace and quiet all 

around suggests that it could 

very well have been midnight. 

There's no traffic, no incessant 

whirring and clunking. We 

have set out to deliver free rice 

and fish to the COVID-19 

hospitals in Lagos State with 

the Stallion Group team. The 

selfless people working in the 

frontline have risked their 

lives to ensure that aid reaches 

where its required the most. 

Some 77 state hospitals in 

Nigeria are already registered 

as a part of this programme. 

Apart from pledging free 

rice and fish for three months 

to all COVID-19 Hospitals, 

the group has deployed staff 

buses to ferry health care 

workers to hospitals dedicated 

to COVID- 19 treatment in 

Lagos. Frontline health 

workers will have a dedicated 

pick up and drop services 

during the Federal 

Kia Motors believes that 

more than 500,000 

customers worldwide could 

benefit from the Kia 

Promise warranty extension. 

With many countries and 

businesses taking 

precautionary measures to 

counteract the COVID-19 

pandemic, the Kia Promise 

aims to help customers who 

may be unable to visit a 

workshop during this time. 

The programme also helps 

customers who are not able 

to bring in their cars for free 

servicing during the 

lockdown. 

Sangdae Kim, Senior 

Vice President and Head of 

Global Customer 

Experience Division at Kia 

Motors Corporation 

commented: “By extending 

Kia’s comprehensive 

warranty cover to customers 

who may be affected by the 

pandemic, Kia Motors 

hopes they have one less 

thing to worry about during 

this time. Our goal is to help 

to alleviate any concerns our 

customers have about 

vehicle maintenance during 

periods 

of 

social distancing.” 

Kia Motors Nigeria will 

contact all affected 

Limited, Umoh Ekanem said 

that the organisation was 

proud to be associated with 

Lagos through Lagos State 

Waste Management 

Authority, LAWMA, who 

received the 18-tonne Axor 

1823 truck on behalf of 

Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu. It should be recalled that 

the Nigeria auto sector has so 

far made more number of 

donations despite the 

challenges facing the sector in 

recent years. 

customers via emails and 

phone numbers in the 

coming days, with more 

details on the Kia Promise 

programme. 

Prioritizing the safety, health 

and the well-being of its 

customers, business partners, 

and employees, Kia Motors 

continues to closely monitor 

COVID-19 developments in 

communities where it does 

business. The company 

continuously strives to prevent 

infections at its facilities while 

working with federal, state and 

local authorities, complying 

with all standards set by those 

entities. 

Stallion shares experience of distributing COVID-19 palliatives 

Government’s directives on 

enhanced community 

quarantine. The buses will be 

attached to the COVID-19 

dedicated hospitals for the 

next three months to ensure 

safer and comfortable 

transportation of the 

healthcare providers who are 

in the frontline in this fight 

against the virus. 

The free staff bus service 

along with a dedicated driver 

and fuelling is implemented 

in cooperation and close 

coordination with the Lagos 

State government. Mr.Sunil 

Vaswani, Chairman of 

Stallion group stated that 

“These are exceptionally 

difficult times and urgent 

emergency resources have to 

be deployed to cope with the 

needs of affected states and 

support their health care 

systems. At Stallion group, our 

top priority is the health and 

safety of our employees, 

•KIA K900 luxury sedan set to 

hit the market 

customers and our 

community”. As the country 

grapples with the COVID- 

19 pandemic, kindness 

seems to be the only bright spot 

that many corporates have 

•The free staff bus service for 

health workers from Stallion 

pledged in these dark times. 

We salute the heart-warming 

stories of altruism that are 

surfacing across the country 

every day, feeding us with hope 

and strength. 

COVID-19: 

FRSC boss 

tasks 

officers on 

enforcement 

F OLLOWING 

P r e s i d e n t 

Muhammadu Buhari's 

extension of the current 

lockdown in Lagos, Ogun 

states, and the Federal Capital 

Territory, Abuja, for another 

14 days, effective April 13, 

2020; the Corps Marshal 

Federal Road Safety Corps, 

FRSC, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi 

has ordered commanding 

officers across the country to 

step up ongoing enforcement 

on restrictions and physical 

distancing amongst vehicle 

occupants. The corps 

marshall directed his officers 

to ensure strict enforcement of 

the presidential directives 

holistically by impounding 

any vehicle found violating the 

orders. 

According to Bisi Kazeem, 

the Corps Public Education 

Officer, the corps marshal's 

directive is to reiterate the 

commitment of the Federal 

Road Safety Corps towards 

sustaining existing 

collaborations with the 

Federal and State 

Governments in the fight 

against the ravaging 

Coronavirus, and further 

ensure that the order on 

restrictions are diligently 

and effectively enforced with 

all sense of professionalism, 

civility and resilience. 

He added that 

the alarming upsurge in 

deaths and spread of the virus 

across the globe which the 

Federal Government is 

working round the clock to 

subdue in Nigeria, is not an 

operation the corps is ready 

to treat with kids gloves. As 

such, the corps marshal's 

order to commanding 

officers is to ensure the full 

utilisation of the work force 

through effective deployment 

of personnel to arrest without 

hesitation, any motorist who 

contravenes the national 

order on stay at home. 

Oyeyemi also ordered that 

except the vehicles and 

occupants were accredited 

essential workers with proof 

of identification, 

commanding officers must 

ensure that the vehicles are 

impounded . 

•Stallion official (r), delivering the palliatives to health official in Lagos


CHANGE OF NAME 

COVID-19: Stakeholders bicker over N900m 

deduction from councils in C/River 

•Why we approved deduction – Lawmakers 

•There’s no crisis, war against plague collective – State govt 

•APC, Efa Oka kick, threaten litigation 

By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor 

THE decision of the Cross River State 

Government to deduct N50 million each from 

the 18 local councils totalling N900 million is 

raising dust in the state. 

The main opposition All Progressives Congress, 

APC, and a Public Affairs Commentator, Efa Oka, 

pooh-poohed the move, which they said is 

calculated to hijack local councils’ funds and stifle 

development in the third tier of government. 

Cross State has been without the third tier of 

government since December 2016 and January 

2017 for Bakassi Local Government Area. The 

Cross River State Independent Electoral 

Commission, CROSIEC, had announced March 

28, 2020 as date for the election but the exercise 

has been hampered by the raging COVID-19 

pandemic. 

Although, the state is yet to record any COVID- 

19 case, the Executive Council on April 6 

approached the House of Assembly to approve 

the N50 million contribution from each of the local 

councils to combat deadly plague. 

In a letter to the House by the Secretary to the 

State Government, SSG,, Barr. Barr. Tina Agbor, 

the government said desires “to effectively pursue 

the implementation of measures that will curb the 

spread of Coronavirus. The main focus of 

Government is to apply precautionary measures 

Why we approved 

deduction – Lawmakers 

After deliberating on the 

request at a plenary, the 

assembly approved the 

deductions as its corporate 

support to boost the 

government’s prosecution of 

the COVID-19 fight. 

Members applauded the 

State Governor, Professor 

Ben Ayade for being proactive 

in the fight against COVID 

19 pandemic currently 

ravaging the world adding 

that Ayade has taken 

proactive steps to prevent the 

pandemic from spreading to 


They, however, called for 

the creation of isolation 

centres in other parts of the 

state to effectively cater for any 

emergency that may occur. 

There is no crisis in Cross 

River – state govt 

Speaking on the brewing 

crisis over the issue, Mr. 

Christian Ita, Special Adviser 

Media & Publicity to the 

Governor Ayade, said: 

‘’There is no brewing crisis 

as it exists only in the 

imagination of the purveyors 

of the fake news. The House 

of Assembly has since 

approved the request. It is 

important to state that the 

fight against COVID-19 is a 

collective one, and as such 

local councils contributing to 

fight the pandemic should 

not even be an issue for 

wrong embellishments. 

‘’No state can fight it alone. 

With all its wealth, Lagos 

State got N10 billion from the 

Federal Government. Cross 

River is a poor state given its 

second to the last position on 

the revenue sharing table. So, 

pooling resources to fight this 

scourge to keep the people 

safe is a sensible thing to 

do.’’ 

APC kick, says it’s not in 

masses’ interest 

However, the APC kicked 

against the move and the 

approval by the House of 

Assembly. In a statement by 

its Publicity Secretary, Mr 

Bassey Ita, the party said: “It 

is ridiculous that with 

whooping provisions in the 

previous and recent budgets 

for healthcare in the state, the 

government is still going cap 

in hand to councils for funds 

to tackle the COVID-19 

epidemic.’’ 

The APC said it is irked by 

the decision of the state 

government to tamper with 

council funds because it is not 

in the best interest of the 

masses. 

“Our consideration on this 

is that the COVID-19 

outbreak has further exposed 

the false impression always 

given by the PDP-led 

government of Senator Ben 

Ayade about the financial 

strength of the state as 

expressed in its budgetary 

provisions,’’ which it said are 

enough to take care of such 

emergencies. 

The party continued: “The 

implication of this 

development is that some 

hawks within the PDP-led 

government are only 

interested in siphoning and 

hijacking council funds for 

their selfish gains. The State 

House of Assembly has in the 

light of this reality 

demonstrated that it is a 

rubber stamp of the State 

Governor and does not truly 

represent the interest of the 

masses. 

“The passage or 

endorsement of such an 

unnecessary request by 

implication is to the effect that 

local government 

administration will continue to 

•Governor Ayade 

suffer under the jackboot of the 

state government even as a 

separate arm of government. 

It means also that the 

independent or autonomy 

status projected of the local 

governments by the President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

administration is a farce 

altogether. 

“If allowed to stay, this 

scenario will be replicated at 

all times the state government 

is embarking on any 

programme of interest 

meaning that councils will 

become Automated Teller 

Machines, ATM, of the state 

government.” 

The fight against 

COVID-19 is a 

collective one, and as 

such local councils 

contributing to fight 

the pandemic should 

not even be an issue 

for wrong 

embellishments. 

Oka vows to sue State 

Exco, assembly, councils if 

money is disbursed 

Speaking in like manner, 

Oka wondered what the state 

government had done with 

the N500 million it said had 

earlier released to fight 

COVID-19 before seeking 

N900 million from local 

councils and vowed to 

challenge the matter in court 

if the funds are disbursed. 

His words: ‘’Cross Riverians 

have not been told what that 

money was spent on, that is if 

the money has been released, 

or seen what the money is 

being used for. The release of 

another N900 million will 

bring the total amount to N1.4 

Billion and I ask is that the 

money required to maintain 

the five-bed isolation centre 

at the Teaching Hospital or 

the isolation space at the 

Ogoja General Hospital? 

What exactly are we doing? 

‘’The Cross River State 

Executive Council, as headed 

by Senator Ayade Benedict, 

and the Cross River State 

House of Assembly do not 

have such powers to by a 

CRSEXCO approval and a 

resolution by the House of 

Assembly approve the 

disbursement of money by 

another tier of government. 

It is the Local Government 

Executive Council that can 

recommend to the Local 

Government Legislative 

Council who will debate and 

approve such expenditure 

and send notice of same to 

the House of Assembly for 

their information only. The 

State EXCO has no business 

whatsoever with how the 

Local Governments are to 

spend their money or what 

they want to spend same on. 

‘’I can assure the Heads of 

Local Government 

Administration (HOLGAs) 

that any of them that signs 

for such monies to be released 

to the Cross River State 

Government from the Local 

Governments which they 

head, will go to jail. I can also 

assure them that they cannot 

rely on the Resolution of 

Cross River State House of 

Assembly as a defence when 

they are charged to court for 

a criminal offence as provided 

for in our laws because you 

cannot by a Resolution 

change the clear provisions 

of the law. NFIU had in 2019 

sent out regulations to the 

Local Government Councils 

drawing the attention of civil 

servants to the risk of going 

to prison if they are found 

aiding political office holders 

to launder money from Local 

Government Councils 

particularly those that do not 

have elected Local 

Government Councils as is 

the case with Cross River 

State. 

‘’Now, Section 2(2) of the 

Local Government Law of 

Cross River State states as 

follows: It shall be the duty of 

Local Governments within the 

state to manage the human 

and material resources of the 

local government in providing 

a range of basic and essential 

services to the residents of the 

Local Government and to 

participate in Economic 

Planning and Development of 

the Local Government Area as 

provided for in the 

Constitution.’ 

‘’The Cross River State 

Governor has for about five 

years now refused, until 

recently, to conduct Local 

Government elections to fill 

vacancies in the councils. 

‘’Section 3(2)(b) of the same 

law provides as follows that 

the function of the Local 

Government Legislative 

Council shall include ‘to 

Debate, Amend and Approve 

an Annual estimate of revenue 

and Expenditure for Local 

Government; provided 

however that the said 

Estimate is laid before the 


Assembly for its information 

and consequent monitoring by 

the appropriate committees of 

the House.’ 

‘’Thus from the clear 

provisions of the law, it is only 

the Local Government 

Legislative Council that has 

the right and power to debate, 

amend and approve how 

monies due to the council are 

spent and not the State EXCO 

or the State House of Assembly 

and so what the Governor is 

attempting to do using the Cross 

River State House of Assembly, 

contrary to the provisions of the 

Local Government Law of Cross 

River State is illegal and borders 

on criminality if same is read 

with the clear provisions of the 

Money Laundering Act and 

other Financial Acts as passed 

by the National Assembly. 

There is nowhere in that law 

that gives the Governor of Cross 

River State or the Executive 

Council power to seek approval 

of the Cross River State House 

of Assembly for the 

disbursement of Monies in the 

coffers of or due to the Local 

Government Councils in Cross 

River State. The only power the 


Assembly has in relations to the 

expenditure of the Local 

Government Councils is that of 

her relevant Committee 

monitoring the expenditure after 

the budget estimate has been 

laid before the House, in fact the 

Law does not give the House 

the power to look into the 

estimate or even debate on the 

estimate, their duties end with 

only the monitoring of the 

implementation of the budgets 

through the relevant Committee 

of the House. 

‘’To this end I will take the 

government of Cross River State 

and the State House of Assembly 

to Court if they go ahead to 

approve and disburse by a 

resolution the payment of the 

sum N900 million from the 

accounts of the Local 

Government Councils in Cross 

River State.’’ 

OJIKO 

I, formerly known as Ojiko 

Cynthia, now wish to be 

known as Uduagbamen 

Cynthia. All former 

documents remains valid. 

General public take note. 

USENI 

I, formerly known as Useni 

Istifanus, now wish to be 

known as Useni Istifanus 

Kwejande. All former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

ENEH 

This is to certify that the name Eneh 

Henrietta Ifeoma and Eneh 

Henrietta Ekpeluchi refer to one and 

the same person and now wish to 

be known as Eneh Henrietta Ifeoma. 

All former documents remain valid. 

General public please take note. 

AKANJI 

I, Akanji Anuoluwapo Bunmi owner of the 

certificate erroneously issued by the Ekiti 

State University as Akanji Aanuoluwapo 

Bunmi, now wish to be addressed as 

Famurewa Anuoluwapo Akanji. This 

clarification and correction is made for future 

reference. All former documents remains 

valid. Ekiti State University, and general 

public take note. 

WHYTE 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Blessed Whyte, now wish to be 

known as Mrs. Blessed Osaro. 

All former documents remains 

valid, general public and all 

relevant Authorities please take 

note. 

IMUDJE 

I, formerly known as Miss Imudje 

Rose Eseoghene, now wish to be 

known as Mrs. Enahoro Rose 

Eseoghene. All former 

documents remains valid. General 

public take note. 

EDOKPAYI 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Edokpayi Nomamidobo Sandra, 

now wish to be known as Mrs 

Nomamidobo Sandra Leziga 

Kinanen. All former documents 

remains valid. General public take 

note. 

AGHAEZE 

I, formerly known as Christian 

Chibueze Aghaeze, now wish to 

be known as Christian Chibueze 

Uzowulu. Former documents 

remain valid. General public take 

note. 

FOLARIN 

I, formerly known as Folarin 

Abosede Regina, now wish to be 

known as Osi Regina Abosede. 

All former documents remain 

valid. General public please take 

note. 

ACCRA 

I, formerly known as Mokorlay 

Florence Accra, now wish to be 

known as Mrs Omorogbe 

Florence. All former documents 

remains valid, any authority it 

may concern and general public 

to take note. 

SPACE FOR 

SALE

26 — Vanguard, FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020 

08052202308 (sms only) 

COVID-19: IndustriALL Global Union seeks 

stakeholders' synergy to save lives, wages 

Stories by Victor 

Young 

AS 

employers, 

Organised Labour and 

even ordinary workers 

continue to ponder over the 

consequences of 

rampaging CoronaVirus, 

COVID-19, pandemic, to 

the lives of workers, their 

jobs and even wages, 

IndustriALL Global Union, 

IGU, is calling for a 

synergy by stakeholders in 

the Labour sector for 

ILO warns 

point cannot be overstated 

that the cases are still 

increasing. This historic 

battle cannot be for 

governments alone. 

Organized labour, civil 

societies and organized 

businesses must 

compliment the efforts of 

governments to tame the 

spread. Employers must 

invest in particular on the 

protection of essential 

health workers on 

prevention awareness and 

control of the disease. The 

Federal Government must 

urgently revive NLAC with 

proactive coordinated and 

strategic interventions to 

minimize the impact of the 

Virus. 

“All labour market 

institutions such as 

negotiating councils must 

be reactivated in both 

public and private sectors 

for innovative, problemsolving 

agreements to 

ensure that workers don’t 

suffer loss of lives and 

earnings, wages and 

pensions during the 

ongoing lock down. NLAC 

should urgently establish a 

tests. 

“There is certainly a 

considerable room for a 

robust bipartisan 

collaboration in Nigeria 

and in Africa as a whole to 

prevent worsening Virus 

spread against the 

background of the existing 

daunting health 

challenges of Malaria 

and Lassa fever, even 

though with cure, had 

killed more than a Corona 

Virus.” 

While commending the 

Governor of Central Bank 

of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin 

Emefiele for his proactive 

6-point new measures to 

ameliorate the impact of 

COVID-19, he contended 

that “the current crisis has 

exposed the underbelly of 

innovative, problemsolving 

agreements to 

ensure that workers don’t 

suffer loss of lives and 

earnings, wages and 

pensions during the 

ongoing lock down. 

Speaking through its Vice 

President, African Region, 

Issa Aremu, IGU called on 

poor governance 

the Federal Government of 

characterized by endemic 

Nigeria to urgently revive 

complacency, sheer 

the tripartite National 

indifference and 

Labour Advisory Council, 

unnecessary competition 

NLAC, made up of 

among government 

workers, employers and 

agencies. It is remarkable 

government with proactive 

that the Federal House 

coordinated and strategic 

had also passed the 

interventions to minimize 

Emergency Economic 

the impact of the Virus. 

Stimulus Bill, 2020 to 

According to him “it is situation room/forum/ complement the plans of 

time for all compatriots to platform. Nigeria the Executive arm. We 

heed the advice by the reportedly had only above must operate collectively 

government and public 2000 tested cases and make sure that 

health authorities in compared to South Africa Coronavirus being an 

general to observe which had reportedly opportunistic disease 

preventive measures, “stay carried out over 20,000 would not defeat us 

home and stay alive”. The 

separately. “ 

...It 'll worsen poverty, “ unemployment, 

INTERNATIONAL Labour 

Organisation, ILO, has 

warned that the ongoing 

CoronaVirus, COVID-19 

pandemic will worsen poverty, 

inequality and employment 

crisis globally. 

ILO’s Chief Economist 

Patrick Belser, in a document 

released in Geneva, 

Switzerland, noted that in 

many countries, income 

inequality had risen steeply 

since the 1980s, with adverse 

social and economic 

consequences. 

According to him, “The 

COVID-19 pandemic now 

cruelly highlights those 

inequalities – from catching 

the virus, to staying alive, to 

coping with its dramatic 

economic consequences. 

Some groups, such as migrant 

workers and workers in the 

informal economy, are 

particularly affected by the 

economic consequences of the 

virus. And women, who are 

over-represented in the public 

health sector, are particularly 

exposed. 

“High levels of poverty, 

informality and unprotected 

jobs also make it more difficult 

to contain the virus. Policy 

responses must ensure that 

support reaches the workers 

and enterprises who need it 

most, including low-wage 

workers, small and medium 

enterprises, the self-employed 

and the many other vulnerable 

people. 

Everyone at risk 

“While some workers can 

reduce their exposure to the 

risk of contagion by 

teleworking from home, or 

benefitting from preventive 

measures, many cannot 

because of pre-existing 

inequalities. Across the 

world, two billion workers (61.2 

per cent of the world’s 

employed population) are in 

informal employment. They 

are more likely to face higher 

exposure to health and safety 

risks without appropriate 

protection, such as masks or 

hand disinfectants. Many also 

live in cramped housing, 

sometimes without running 

water. This not only exposes 

these workers to health risks, 

it also makes preventive 

measures for the wider 

population less effective. 

“Inequalities also play out 

cruelly in what happens to 

people when they catch the 

virus. For some it means going 

on sick leave, accessing health 

services and continuing to 

receive a salary. But for those 

at the bottom of the income 

chain it’s a catastrophic 

scenario. Many are not 

covered by health insurance 

and face a higher risk of 

mortality. They may not even 

have access to health 

services. Even if they 

ultimately recover, the absence 

of income replacement benefits 

means that they can become 

even poorer. Every 

year, an estimated 100 million 

people fall into poverty as a 

result of catastrophic health 

expenses. 

“Governments and central 

banks have adopted largescale 

measures to save jobs 

and enterprises, and provide 

workers with income support. 

Unfortunately, not all workers 

or enterprises benefit from 

these measures. For 

informal economy workers, 

reduced hours, due to the 

pandemic, means loss of 

income with no possibility of 

receiving unemployment 

benefits. 

“Informal micro and small 

enterprises that constitute 80 

per cent of enterprises 

worldwide are generally out 

of reach of public policies. 

Part-time workers, many of who 

are women, temporary 

workers, or workers under 

short-term contracts and in the 

digital gig economy are 

frequently not eligible for 

unemployment benefit or 

income support. 

“Many of them face the same 

“work or lose your income” 

dilemma as informal economy 

workers". 

To pay their food and other 

basic expenses they often 

continue to work until forced 

to stop by measures to limit 

contagion by the virus. This 

compounds the economic 

insecurity they already face. 

Blame dep gov for Arogbo-Ijaw 

marginalisation not Akeredolu— Ojogo 

By Dayo Johnson 

AHEAD of the October 

10 governorship 

election in Ondo State, 

politicking has commenced 

across the state. In this 

interview, the state 

Information and 

Orientation Commissioner, 

Donald Ojogo, defends his 

principal, Governor Rotimi 

Akeredolu, SAN, on the 

alleged marginalisation of 

Ijaws in the state. 

Excerpts: 

There is this allegation by 

the APC lawmaker 

representing Ese-Odo 

State Constituency that the 

minority Ijaws in the state 

are being marginalized by 

the Akeredolu-led 

government. 

As a representative of the 

people, he is entitled to his 

own opinion, he is entitled 

to his own views. I’m also 

from the area. When I read 

through the interview, three 

things came to my mind, 

either he was inspired by 

lack of adequate 

information or he was 

misquoted or he acted out 

of emotions. 

These are pardonable 

instances, very pardonable 

but the truth of the matter is 

that it will be wrong for him 

to say that this is the only 

government, unlike 

previous governments that 

has marginalized the Ijaws. 

Yes, I want more 

development for my people; 

you cannot but stop 

lobbying for projects to be 

taken to your area. But 

again, we must be able to 

differentiate between proper 

representation and activism. 

What I’ve seen is not proper 

representation, it is 

blackmail at play. 

When he said less than 

N50 million worth of 

projects have been attracted 

to the area, well I don’t 

know if he was informed of 

the cost of the Sabome/ 

Igbotu road that was 

constructed by this current 

administration. 

It was constructed at a cost 

of over N600m and was 

indeed handled by the 

source I suspect inspired 

the lawmaker to be that 

frivolous. Ask him who 

owns ITDC, the contractor 

that executed the job; a 

high-ranking official of the 

government from that area. 

I wouldn’t know if he also 

has information about the 

road 

linking 

Agadagbaobon and 

Amapere that is almost 50% 

completed. 

Then what do you think 

is the missing link? 

We are all Ijaws from Ese- 

Odo. I’m a full-blooded 

Arogbo-Ijaw man. My 

mother, my father are all 

Arogbo, so nobody can 

claim to love Arogbo more 

than me. 

When you talk about the 

Governor not liking Ijaw 

people, I laugh because this 

•Ojogo 

is a governor whose mother 

is also an Ijaw woman and 

deputy from Ese-Odo. That 

was the reason the governor 

handed over everything 

concerning Ese-Odo to his 

deputy to handle. 

Nobody can claim to be 

more Ijaw than Governor 

Akeredolu who is from Ese- 

Odo. His mother is from 

Igbotu, so what are people 

trying to insinuate? The 

truth over the matter is that 

from what I have seen, it is 

a proxy battle and it is 

unfortunate that my brother 

will make himself available 

to start this rehearsal which 

I feel enriches some selfdelusions. 

If he was properly 

informed maybe he would 

have known that this is the 

first time Ijaws will properly 

represent themselves on 

the board of OSOPADEC 

on the basis of oil 

production status. Previous 

governments have never 

done it before, it had 

always been on the basis of 

senatorial representation 

but this time around, this 

is the first time someone for 

Ese-Odo will be Secretary 

of OSOPADEC board. 

Perhaps, he may have 

forgotten that this is the 

only Governor, the first and 

only Governor who stood 

his grounds and insisted 

that enough of this 

marginalization of the 

Arogbo Ijaws and that it is 

time they must to go to the 

National Assembly even 

when he knew that they 

were powerful forces who 

didn’t want the Ijaws to get 

the ticket of the House of 

Representatives. 

He insisted that the Ijaws 

have not had a fair share 

and that for the first time, a 

Governor provided the 

platform for the Ijaws by 

ensuring the House of 

Representatives ticket of 

our party, the APC was 

given to them. But we 

should now ask ourselves, 

what happened to that 

laudable platform that was 

provided by the Governor 

who they claimed does not 

like the Ijaw people; the 

same Ijaws of Ese-0do who 

are inspiring the lawmaker 

to be careless and tactless 

sabotaged the great efforts 

of the governor because of 

their primordial interests. 

So, who is blaming who? 

The cry of 

marginalization is not 

peculiar to the Ijaw people, 

yes, we will continue to cry 

for even development and 

equitable representation 

but it didn’t start today so, 

it is out of the desire to 

blackmail a sitting 

Governor that he has come 

out to make the statement 

that, this is the only 

Governor who has 

marginalized the Ijaws, 

unlike the previous 

governments. 

Are you saying the 

lawmaker knows all these 

but decide to be 

economical with the truth 

about the governor and 

the party? 

He even knows more 

than these. If he is talking 

about the marginalization 

of the Ijaws, I expected him 

to ask a pertinent question. 

Why did we not have at 

least one of the big 

OSOPADEC projects out of 

three that were given to 

Ese-Odo, in Arogbo? 

OSOPADEC earmarked to 

embark on seven major 

projects, very good projects 

that won’t be less than N100 

million each; four in Ilaje 

and three in Ese-Odo. In 

the whole of Arogbo none 

was considered. 

The three that came to 

Ese-Odo the deputy 

governor out of hatred for 

the Arogbo people, ignored 

us; not even one was given 

to us because he decided 

the citing of the three 

projects. I can tell you that 

rather than blame the 

governor, we should ask the 

deputy governor, how fair has 

he been in the exercise of the 

privilege given to him by 

Governor Akeredolu? The 

deputy governor has been 

most unfair to Arogbo-Ijaws, 

blame not Akeredolu. 

The lawmaker threw 

another salvo that the 

governor has not reflected the 

minority status of the Ijaws in 

appointments and 

employments; is that true? 

When we come to 

employment, the answer to 

that is too close and very 

recent. Just two months ago, 

the State Ministry of Justice 

recruited 22 young lawyers. 

Out of these, four are from 

Arogbo. The honourable in 

question even had a slot. In 

OSOPADEC, he influenced 

the empIoyment of his sibling 

only recently. That is laudable. 

But then, I expect the 

lawmaker to ask how many of 

our Arogbo people were 

employed when the governor 

entrusted the employment of 

staff at the Igbekebo General 

Hospital in the hands of the 

deputy governor? I can tell 

you that out of the over two 

hundred, we have less than 16. 

The man should ask his 

sponsor who got the rest.


vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 



Continues from Page 5 

duration of lockdown. 

Many people were 

seen trouping to the 

commercial banks to 

make withdrawals to buy 

food stuff and other basic 

needs. 

While the banks 

witnessed long queues 

of customers, the 

markets were crowded 

by people making last 

minute purchases. 

Lagos records 

three more 

deaths 

The Lagos State also, 

yesterday, recorded 

three more deaths to 

bring the total number to 

10. 

The Commissioner for 

Health, Professor Akin 

Abayomi, disclosed this, 

even as the state 

discharged five new 

patients from isolation 

centre. 

Abayomi, who 

announced this on his 

Twitter handle- 

@ProfAkinAbayomi, 

explained that two 

patients, all male, died 

from the disease in the 

state on Wednesday. 

According to him, the 

two deaths bring the 

number of COVID-19 

deaths in the state to 10, 

while 90 patients have 

also been discharged. 

He explained that the 

two persons had no 

travel history or contact 

with an infected person. 

Also on his twitter 

handle; the governor of 

state, Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu, explained that 

three females and two 

males were discharged 

yesterday after testing 

negative twice to the 

virus. 

“Dear Lagosians, 

today (yesterday), 5 

more patients; 3 females 

and 2 males, have been 

discharged from the 

Mainland Infectious 

Diseases Hospital to 

reunite with the society. 

“They were 

discharged, having 

recovered fully and 

tested negative twice 

consecutively to 

#COVID19. This brings 

to 90, the number of 

recoveries in Lagos,’’ the 

governor said. 

90 persons test 

negative in 

Abuja 

In a related 

development, the 

Federal Capital Territory 

Administration, FCTA, 

said yesterday that 90 

persons who showed 

COVID-19 symptoms 

have tested negative for 

the disease. 

The FCTA broke the 

news via its Twitter 

handle, explaining that 

those tested were from 

the Mpape community in 

Abuja Municipal 

Council, AMAC. 

It said during 

community active case 

search, its department of 

public health detected 

and tested the persons 

whose test came back 

negative. 

As FCTA Continues 

Community Active Case 

Search in various 

communities of Abuja, 

results of 90 clients from 

Mpape community 

testing, have all 

returned negative to 

#COVID19,” it wrote. 

It added that in the 

course of the case 

search, “everyone with 

a history of cough, 

fever, catarrh, chest 

pain and difficulty in 

breathing will be 

screened. 

“This is to detect 

everyone with COVID- 

19 and get them treated 

promptly to break the 

chain of transmission in 

FCT, ” the FCTA said. 

On Wednesday, 

Osagie Ehanire, 

Minister of Health, said 

the majority of confirmed 

coronavirus cases in the 

FCT were from AMAC. 

“The grand majority of 

positive cases in Abuja 

are in AMAC region, 

perhaps with a few 

scattered in other 

places,” the minister had 

said. 

The nation’s capital has 

58 of Nigeria’s 407 

coronavirus cases; 23 of 

those cases have been 

discharged, while two 

have died. 

NSCDC arrests 

patient trying to 

escape 

Also yesterday, 

operatives of Kaduna 

State Command National 

Security and Civil 

Defence Corps, NSCDC, 

arrested a coronavirus 

patient who attempted 

to escape from isolation 

centre in the state. 

It was gathered that 

the patient attempted to 

leave the center for 

morning prayers 

without the permission 

of doctors. 

He was said to have 

been apprehended by 

NSCDC operatives, led 

by Corps Assistant 

Joshua Philip who was 

posted to Infectious 

Disease Control Center, 

Down Quarters, 

Kaduna South to 

provide security 

services in and around 

the isolation centre 

Confirming the arrest, 

Media Assistant to the 

Commandant-General, 

Ekunola Gbenga, in a 

statement, said: “The 

suspected COVlD-l9 

patient tried to leave 

the center for morning 

prayers without the 

permission of doctors. 

‘’A confrontation 

ensued between our 

personnel and the 

patient who forcibly 

picked the keys of the 

gate of the center and 

tried to open the gate to 

escape. 

“The patient was 

arrested by Corps 

Assistant Joshua Philip 

who was among the 

officers on duty at the 

isolation center. The 

COVID-19 patient is 

said to have engaged 

the Civil Defence 

Officer Joshua Philip in 

serious fracas after he 

stopped him from 

leaving his quarantine 

ward at the isolation 

center, this exposed the 

officer to the patient. 

‘’The keys were 

disinfected, and despite 

that, the doctor gave the 

personnel some drugs; 

he was instructed to 

self-Isolate for two 

weeks and to call the 

center if he develops 

any symptoms. The 

Corps has since 

strengthened its 

security measures in the 

internal isolation 

centre.” 

Meanwhile, Kwara 

State government has 

discharged two of its 

four COVID-19 patients 

after they both tested 

negative twice. 

They were discharged 

alongside five members 

of their families who 

were also at the state’s 

isolation centre who 

equally twice tested 

negative, according to 

Governor Abdulrahman 

Abdulrazaq. 

A b d u l R a z a q 

ENFORCING LOCKDOWN IN ABUJA — Lockdown on 

Kubwa expressroad to enforce the sit at home order by the FCT Ministerial 

Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

reiterated that testing 

positive for the virus 

was not a crime as 

anyone could contract 

it, but warned against 

stigmatisation of 

patients or their 

families. 

“I’m glad to announce 

to you that we are 

discharging a total of 

seven persons from our 

isolation facility,” 

AbdulRazaq told 

journalists. 

“Among these are our 

first two (index) cases 

(a male and a female) 

who have twice tested 

negative for COVID-19. 

“The remaining five 

are members of their 

families who were on 

quarantine and have 

also twice tested 

negative to the virus. 

“With the exit of the 

seven persons, we have 

11 persons left in the 

facility. Two of these 11 

are COVID-19 patients 

while the remaining 

nine are people with 

varying contacts with 

them. 

“We commend our 

health workers for their 

professionalism and 

commitment. We assure 

them of our support 

now and always. We are 

working out incentives 

for every health worker 

at this facility to deepen 

their confidence in the 

system that we will 

always look after them. 

“Our two remaining 

patients are in the best 

spirit and are doing 

pretty good. We wish 

them quick recovery. 

“Government restates 

that COVID-19 is not a 

death sentence. 

Government will 

punish anyone who 

stigmatises any of our 

patients or members of 

their families. 

“The government is 

proud of all the people 

of Kwara State for their 

support 

and 

understanding at this 

time of lockdown. It is to 

flatten the curve of 

transmission and save 

all of us from this 

pandemic,’’ the governor 

said. 

As at yesterday 

morning, Kwara State 

has just two cases, while 

test results are awaited 

for 43 samples. 

Skewed 


palliatives 

Meanwhile, for some 

days now, the polity has 

been awash with 

complaints over skewed 


palliatives including 

the 

Federal 

Government’s N20,000 

conditional cash 

transfer scheme to the 

poorest and vulnerable 

households in the 

country to cushion the 

effects of the COVID-19 

plague. 

According to a data 

from the National Cash 

Transfer Office, NCTO, 

Abuja as of April 9, five 

states – Lagos, Delta, 

Borno, Ogun, and 

Ebonyi were yet to 

benefit from the cash 

transfer. 

And among the 31 

benefiting states 

including the Federal 

capital Territory, FCT, 

Abuja, the South-East 

and South-West states 

were the worse off with 

North-West states being 

the most favoured (see 

chart). 

The data so far 1, 126, 

211 households are 

currently benefiting 

from the conditional 

cash transfer 

programme. The most 

favoured states include 

Katsina (133,227 

households), Zamfara 

(130,764), Jigawa 

(99,044), Kano (84,148), 

Plateau (78,439), and 

Kebbi (76,026). The 

least favoured include 

Sokoto (3,165), Enugu 

(3,305), Ondo (3,812), 

and Ekiti (4,709). 

Taken on zonal basis, 

the North-West has 

561,758 households 

receiving N20,000 cash 

transfers each totalling 

N11.235 billion. North- 

Central has 321,434 

households (N6.429 

billion); North-East, 


(N2.189 billion); South- 

South, 68,324 


billion); South-West, 


(N758.080 million); and 

South-East, 27,977 


million). 

The cash transfer 

scheme, which is part of 

the Social Investment 

Programme (SIP) of the 

current administration 

is under the newlycreated 

Ministry of 

Humanitarian Affairs, 

Disaster Management 

and 

Social 

Development and being 

superintended by the 

Minister, Sadiya Umar 

Farouq. 

Lagos is the epicentre 

of the COVID-19 

pandemic in Nigeria 

and is one of the states 

that no household has 

benefited. 

Farouq had approved 

the immediate 

termination of the 

contract of two Payment 

Service Providers 

(PSPs) following their 

inability to meet the 

contractual agreement 

to commence 

Conditional Cash 

Transfer to beneficiaries 

in four states, namely 

Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, 

Abia and Zamfara. She 

said that that the 

Federal Government 

cannot accept delays in 

the current payment 

round of N20,000 

stipends to beneficiaries 

under any excuses in 

the four states or any 

other state of the 

country.


Lockdown: A radical view 

THE government did not extend 

the lockdown by two weeks to 

punish us. But the unintended 

consequence of the extension for a 

poor country such as ours will be just 

that: hardship beyond description, 

misery by default. Yet, that might not 

even be the worst thing. It appears 

that on top of the hardship, a good 

number of people would also have 

to endure the indescribable feeling 

that they’re being ripped off by 

people who are claiming to bring 

them relief. 

Politicians are feathering their 

nests using COVID-19 as excuse; a 

few security men deployed to enforce 

the lockdown are exploiting it. 

Increasingly, the losers are citizens 

that the lockdown is supposed to save 

and protect. I hope I’m wrong. But 

the way things are going, we may 

spend the next two weeks quibbling 

about relief, especially relief 

involving public funds and 

resources, while making very little 

progress, if at all, on how to contain 

COVID-19 and keep the virus from 

spreading. 

Our data is notoriously unreliable 

and if a professor can conceal the 

report of an infected patient under 

his care as we saw in Ilorin recently, 

while leaving many others exposed, 

then you’ll be entitled to worry 

genuinely about just how much we 

know and is being reported. 

Until a few days ago, I was a big 

fan of testing, testing, testing. I still 

believe testing is important because 

data, reliable data, ought to direct 

action. But considering where we are 

at today (about 6,000 tests so far, and 

at an official figure of 500 daily), it 

will take 

3,600 days or 

10 years to 

test one 

percent, that 

is 1.8 million 

of our 

population or 

five years, if 

we double the 

testing 

rate. Therefore, 

instead of 

locking 

people down 

The idea that 

any African 

government 

can feed 

people is a 

pathetic joke; it 

gets curiouser 

as you go up 

the food chain 

for another 

two weeks hoping that they’ll be 

looked after by the head of a 

presidential task force who didn’t 

know our hospitals were in a 

shambles till now, we should take 

the COVID-19 bull by the horns. 

What is working? 

And that was what I was hoping 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

would address in his speech on 

Monday. We may not have the best 

hospitals or the best healthcare 

system, but on COVID-19, we have 

a few things going for us which we 

need to focus on instead of locking 

ourselves away in fear and despair, 

while exploiters take advantage. A 

few of the best authorities and 

studies on epidemics suggest that 

“high temperature and high relative 

humidity” tend to impede the spread 

of the virus. 

Also, though only anecdotal 

evidence exists for now, acquired 

immunity and resilience among 

populations in flu or fever endemic 

areas such as ours have served as 

defences of sorts, with allowance, of 

course, for pre-existing conditions. 

If you consider the numbers that 

are being discharged daily, 

especially in Lagos where 61 (out of 

189 who tested positive) had been 

discharged as at Monday night, the 

question is: what are the survivors 

being treated with that can be of use, 

under medical advice, to a much 

larger symptomatic population? 

Why are we not being told, by 

verified channels, what the survivors 

are using and what efforts are being 

made to extend their use, instead of 

this obsession with copying and 

pasting what is happening in Europe 

and the US, where the prevailing 

conditions are not exactly the same 

as ours? 

COVID-19 survivor and chief 

medical director of the University 

College Hospital, Ibadan, Professor 

Jesse Otegbayo, said that he used a 

combination of hydroxychloroquine 

and Vitamin C, which he had been 

using early on (possibly combined 

with paracetamol), under medical 

advice, for treatment. 

A registered family doctor in 

Monroe, New York, Vladimir 

Zelenko, said he successfully treated 

699 patients who presented with 

COVID-19 symptoms with “a 

cocktail of drugs including the antimalarial 

drug, 

hydroxychloroquine.” 

Self-help as medicine 

My gut feeling - and this is mine 

alone - is that there are hundreds of 

Nigerians who have COVID-19 

symptoms, but who either out of 

shame, fear, ignorance, poverty or a 

combination of all of these, have 

decided to treat themselves with 

whatever herbs they can find and not 

a few will survive without knowing 

how, but happy and relieved to 

survive anyway. 

Instead of locking people down 

and forcing them to choose between 

breaking the law to survive and 

staying at home for hunger to further 

erode their immunity, we should take 

the fight to the virus. In addition to 

shedding more light on the 

treatments that have been successful 

and finding ways of making such 

treatments more widely available 

under medical advice, the Federal 

Government can also follow the lead 

of the Ekiti State government by 

insisting that going forward, all 

Nigerians must wear face masks 

outdoors, at this time. 

That is not difficult or expensive 

to make and security men can be 

deployed in major crowd-prone 

areas to enforce compliance instead 

of leaving them to roam as 

emergency commercial bus drivers. 

Also, instead of concentrating test 

kits in a few locations, some private 

hospitals can be encouraged to open 

test centres, while the Federal 

Government focuses on expanding 

laboratories from the present 12 and 

helping states set up Coronavirus 

wards in more public hospitals. 

Fear factor 

Buhari’s promise to expand the 

social safety register by one million 

is commendable, but fraught and 

daunting. It is also significant that 

Buhari addressed the country twice 

in two weeks, to underscore the 

emergency of the moment and a 

break from the president’s character 

in his five-year presidency. Yet, his 

speech could have gone much 

farther. 

What is the point in extending 

lockdown when desperate 

transporters are paying armed 

policemen to carry loads of 

passengers, who may or may not be 

carrying the virus, from one state to 

another? And by the way, a number 

of states, driven by fear, ignorance 

or indifference, are doing their own 

thing. How did we arrive at 14 days 

extension, instead of one week or even 

three? And what exactly is the plan 

after the extension? 

Government may already have an 

idea what it intends to do. It has said 

it won’t fire public servants, but 

would do all it can to help farmers 

and start-ups. But with a recent 

forecast by Agusto Consulting that 

the post-COVID-19 economy could 

recess more than in 2016 and oil 

prices at $30 per barrel, where is the 

money coming from? 

Private sector employers are 

watching closely, asking themselves 

why in the perilous and uncertain 

days ahead they should go back to 

the number of staff they had pre- 

COVID-19 lockdown, knowing 

what they now know technology can 

do. There’ll be very painful tradeoffs. 

Public anger and resentment 

about the extension is not because 

people do not value their lives. Or 

because they want to harm others. 

It’s largely because they think some 

people are using the lockdown to 

make money and enrich themselves 

while preventing the mass of the 

population who live from hand-tomouth, 

from going out to help 

themselves. 

I know a hair dresser who provides 

only home service because she 

cannot afford the cost of renting a 

shop. Her husband is a conductor 

who barely gets enough daily to 

make ends meet. How will the couple 

cope with their three children when 

the woman cannot go out to make 

customers’ hair and the man cannot 

leave home because commercial 

buses are grounded for four weeks? 

The man does not need to tell me. 

Like millions of Nigerians in his 

shoes, he will go out, even if it kills 

him. Every single avoidable death is 

sad. But who says that at the end of 

this extension, even by current data, 

there’ll be fewer deaths from the virus 

than there would be from malaria, 

Lassa fever or armed robbery over 

the same period? 

Scamming COVID-19 

How do we save people from 

COVID-19 and save COVID-19 

from becoming another 

scam? Take, for example, the 

announcement by the Federal 

Government that it would distribute 

as palliatives, 150 trailer-loads of 

rice seized by Customs. If the 150 

trailer-loads of rice were shared 

equally across the 36 states - from 

Lagos with over 20 million people 

to Bayelsa with 1.7 million - each 

will get about 2,500 bags, since each 

trailer contains roughly 600 bags. 

But ten days after the 

announcement, nothing has been 

seen or heard yet. The intention may 

be great, but the sheer cost of the 

logistics would make the exercise 

prone to abuse. 

The idea that any African 

government can feed people is a 

pathetic joke. It gets curiouser as you 

go up the food chain. While there is 

already a petition that Governor 

Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State 

diverted 23 trailer loads of relief 

materials sent to the state for 

COVID-19, the Northern Governors' 

Forum is asking for money to fight 

the virus. 

The Forum did not say what the 

money would be used for - PPE, 

ventilators, test centres and kits, 

allowances for medical personnel, 

palliatives - or what? Yet, we’re told, 

in the name of COVID-19, that the 

states need money - money that may 

not reach the millions of people in 

lockdown at home, money that will 

not be accounted for or deployed 

even remotely for the benefit of 

citizens. And we must accept more 

restriction as reward for this hubris? 

In the end, it would be every man 

for himself. The earlier people are 

allowed to go out and begin to put 

their lives back together again, the 

better for everyone before the cure 

gets more deadly than the disease. 

UK extends lockdown by 

three weeks 

Lockdown restrictions in 

the UK will continue for “at least” 

another three weeks as it tackles the 

coronavirus outbreak, Dominic Raab 

has said. 

The foreign secretary told the daily 

No 10 briefing that a review had 

concluded relaxing the measures 

now would risk harming public health 

and the economy. “We still don’t have 

the infection rate down as far as we 

need to,” he said. 

It comes as the UK recorded another 

861 coronavirus deaths in hospital, 

taking the total to 13,729. Strick limit 

on daily life - such as requiring 

people to stay at home, shutting many 

businesses and preventing 

gatherings of more than two people - 

were introduced on 23 March, as the 

government tried to limit the spread 

of coronavirus. 

Ministers are required by law to 

assess whether the rules are working, 

based on expert advice, every three 

weeks. 

Mr Raab, deputising for Prime 

Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers 

from the illness, said: “There is light 

at the end of the tunnel but we are 

now at both a delicate and a 

dangerous stage in this pandemic. 

“If we rush to relax the measures 

that we have in place we would risk 

wasting all the sacrifices and all the 

progress that has been made. 

“That would risk a quick return to 

another lockdown with all the threat 

to life that a second peak to the virus 

would bring and all the economic 

damage that a second lockdown 

would carry.” 

Mr Raab said the review 

concluded that the measures were 

working, but there was evidence the 

infection was spreading in hospitals 

and care homes. 

Saro-Wiwa’s son dies of COVID-19 in UK 

Menegian Saro-Wiwa, 

son of the late 

playwright and Ogoni activist 

Ken Saro-Wiwa, has died from 

complications of COVID-19. 

The announcement was made 

by Noo Saro-Wiwa, his sister, 

via an Instagram post on 

Thursday. 

According to the post, 

‘Gian’, as Menegian was 

referred to, who also had 

underlying health conditions, 

died on Monday after testing 

positive for coronavirus. 

“We said goodbye to my 

brother, Gian, on Monday. He 

had Covid-19 combined with 

underlying health conditions. 

Gian was the smartest and 

most talented out of all of us: 

a champion sprinter at school, 

a poet, an artist, budding 

engineer, a self-taught 

guitarist and pianist. But 

mental health issues limited 

his life from age 16 onwards,” 

the post read. 

“I took this photo of him a 

few months ago before he was 

hospitalised. We were singing 

Hysteria by Def Leppard, a 

song we both love. Although 

the side-effects of medication 

altered his athletic physique, 

this photo still captures Gian’s 

essence: a kind and beautiful 

soul, always wanting the best 

for his family, always praying 

for our future success while 

being eternally optimistic 

about his own. And, of course, 

always loving his music. He 

leaves a wonderful son, Louis. 

(Menegian Saro-Wiwa, 1970- 

2020)” 

Menegian’s death comes 

almost four years after the 

death of Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, 

eldest son to the late activist. 

Saudi princess ‘appeals to king 

for release from detention’ 

An appeal has been posted 

on a prominent Saudi 

princess’s verified Twitter 

account, asking her uncle King 

Salman to free her from 

detention. 

One tweet apparently from 

Princess Basma bint Saud 

says she is “being arbitrarily 

held at al-Hair prison” and 

that her “health is 

deteriorating”. 

Another asks the king and 

his son Crown Prince 

Mohammed to “review my 

case, and to release me as I 

have done no wrong”. 

There was no immediate 

comment from the Saudi 

authorities. However, a 

number of high-profile Saudi 

royals have been detained in 

recent years. Princess Basma, 

56, is the youngest daughter 

of King Saud, who ruled Saudi 

Arabia between 1953 and 1964. 

She has established herself 

over the years as a prominent 

advocate within the Saudi 

royal family for humanitarian 

issues and constitutional 

reform. 

Last year, there were 

unconfirmed reports that she 

had been placed under house 

arrest along with one of 

daughters. German 

broadcaster Deutsche Welle 

cited a source close to her as 

saying she had been held on 

suspicion of trying to flee the 

country. 

The princess has also not 

been seen or heard from in 

many months. “As you may be 

aware (?) I am currently being 

arbitrarily held at Al-Ha’ir 

prison without criminal, or 

otherwise any charges against 

my person,” said one of the 

tweets addressed to the king 

that were posted on her 

account late on Wednesday. 

“My health is deteriorating 

to an extent that is severe, 

and that could lead to my 

death. I have not received 

medical care or even 

response to the letters I 

dispatched from jail to the 

Royal Court. I was abducted 

without an explanation 

together with one my 

daughters, and thrown into 

prison.” 

The appeal was retweeted 

by the princess’s verified 

media office account, along 

with links to several articles 

about her alleged detention 

last year.

SPECIAL 

News Bits 

Covid-19: Why smartphones, other devices 

need regular disinfection 

•Average user fiddles with phone over 2,600 times per day 

By Juliet Umeh 

AS the Coronavirus, 

COVID-19’s threat 

looms large all over the world, 

disrupting daily lives and activities; 

experts have warned 

that smartphone is one of the 

easiest means of transmitting 

the virus. Unfortunately, while 

most people have been focusing 

on sanitising and washing 

their hands countless 

times a day, a lot of people 

have forgotten their smartphones. 

A study conducted by a research 

firm Dscout found 

that, in a group of 94 people, 

the average person touched 

their phone over 2,600 times 

per day. Also another report 

by Seattle Times said an 

average phone is covered in 

germs- 25,127 bacteria per 

square inch. 

At the same time, report by 

the Quartz cites experts on 

the subject who claim the virus 

can live on smartphone’s 

screen for up to 96 hours and 

thereby pose a risk to not just 

one’s health, but even spread 

on to any surface it touches in 

the duration of its existence on 

a smartphone’s screen. While 

another study revealed that 

people touch their faces about 

23 times per hour or 368 times 

during a day. 

An immunologist from the 

University of Tennessee 

Health Science Center, Rudra 

Channappanavar, revealed 

that Covid-19 can live on the 

surfaces for multiple days. 

He said: “Smartphone 

glasses, in particular, can host 

live coronaviruses for up to 96 

hours or four days depending 

on the room temperature.” 

A Global Research and 

Analysis Team, Kaspersky, recently 

provided a few tips on 

keeping mobile devices virusfree. 

The Senior Security Researcher 

for the team, Maher 

Yamout, said even before the 

COVID-19 pandemic, it is 

frightening to think how much 

bacteria live on our personal 

mobile devices. 

He said: “And with the Coronavirus 

able to survive at 

room temperature and remain 

infectious on metal, 

glass, ceramic, and plastic for 

several days, it becomes essential 

to follow effective disinfection 

protocol.The virus can 

get onto a phone or tablet in 

two ways: either in tiny droplets 

when an infected person 

coughs nearby, or from your 

own hands after touching 

door handles, ATM buttons, 

and the like. 

By Juliet Umeh 

THE Special Adviser to 

Enugu State Governor, 

on Information and Communications 

Technology 

(ICT), Mr. Nnaemeka Ani, 

has advised Nigerian 

youths to arm themselves 

with requisite skills that will 

help assume leadership of 

tomorrow 

He said the aphorism 


Lockdown: Ugwuanyi’s Aide tasks youths on 

digital skills 

Lockdown: Konga offers 

laptops, tablets for e-learning, 

work at home 

By Prince Osuagwu 

WITH the Federal 

Government declaring 

on Monday an extension 

of two-week lockdown 

in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun 

COVID-19: Visa Foundation doles out $210m 

for women empowerment, SMB growth 

By Prince Osuagwu 

THE Visa Foundation 

has announced two programs 

totalling $210 million 

to support small and micro 

businesses and empower 

women entrepreneurs. 

The first program of $10 

million is for immediate emergency 

relief to support charitable 

organizations on the 

frontlines responding to the 

COVID-19 pandemic, such 

as public health and food relief, 

in each of the five geographic 

regions in which Visa 

operates: North America; 

Latin America and the Caribbean; 

Europe; Asia Pacific; 

and Central Europe, Middle 

East and Africa. 

CEO and chairman of Visa, 

Al Kelly, said: “As COVID-19 

continues to unfold, communities 

are feeling the effects 

and need our immediate support. 

As a global company that 

operates a very local business, 

we recognize this need. We’re 

also committed to the longterm 

recovery and will continue 

to explore ways we can 

accelerate economic activity 

in line with our mission to help 

individuals, businesses and 

economies thrive.” 

The second program is a 

five-year, strategic $200 million 

commitment to support 

small and micro businesses 

around the world, with a focus 

on fostering women’s economic 

advancement. This 

action expands the Visa Foundation’s 

long-standing support 

for small and micro businesses 

globally. The funds 

from the Visa Foundation will 

provide capital to non-government 

organizations 

(NGOs) and investment partners 

supporting small and 

micro businesses. 

Small and micro businesses 

are the backbone of the global 

economy, accounting for 

more than 90 percent of 

worldwide businesses and 

contributing 50 to 60 percent 

of global employment. 

‘leaders of tomorrow’ may 

not materialize if the youths 

did not invest their time on 

entrepreneurship and digital 

skills to remain relevant 

in the emerging digital revolution. 

He however challenged 

the government to 

create an enabling environment 

to prepare the youths 

towards the digital economy 

and future of work. 

Ani said that with 60 percent 

of the country’s population 

identified as young 

state coupled with the ongoing 

restrictions in other 

states, composite e-commerce 

giant Konga has 

rolled out a special deal on 

laptops, tablets and other 

devices to enable stay-athome 

Nigerians carry on e- 

learning and virtual work. 

The discount sales commence 

on Wednesday, 

April 15, 2020. The massive 

discount is on a highly limited 

number of devices 

which Konga is putting up 

for sale to support the efforts 

of the Federal and 

State governments in providing 

succour to Nigerians 

during these challenging 

times. 

The devices – including 

a variety of laptops/netbooks, 

PCs, Ultrabooks, 

Macbooks, All-in-ones, tablets, 

notepads by HP, Dell, 

Lenovo, Zinox, among others 

are all sourced directly 

from the Original Equipment 

Manufacturers 

(OEMs) and are available 

exclusively at Konga.com. 

people and the labour market 

of the future tilting towards 

digital skill sets such 

as digital fluency, creative 

thinking, problem-solving, 

collaboration, empathy and 

adaptability, Nigeria would 

do better to refocus its 

youths to that direction. 

He said: “The future 

economy demands that 

Governments at all levels 

wear their thinking cap. In 

Enugu State, we are fortunate 

to have an administration 

that is given to creating 

responsive education 

systems. This entails serious 

reviewing and updating 

of the education apparatuses 

at primary, secondary 

and tertiary levels. 

“Equipping our young 

people with technical skills 

like digital fluency will 

empower them to assume 

responsibilities like coding 

and virtual designing, 

which will be in demand in 

the digital economy. 

“Also, formulating policies 

for the digital economy is 

critical subject matter here. 

If you consider the uncertainties 

of the technological 

revolution and the consequent 

susceptibility of 

the digital economy to cyber-crime 

and monopolies, 

the State Government is 

guided by regulatory policies 

that keep stakeholders 

in check. Such policies are 

helping to create an environment 

in which young 

people’s digital enterprises 

can grow, and in which 

appropriate education and 

employment opportunities 

will be accessible to all people 

irrespective of position 

in the society”.

30 — Vanguard, FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

TAURUS: Your creativity quotient is enhanced today 

and if you demonstrate this within your working arena, 

you’ll earn success and consolidate on your recent 

progress. 

GEMINI: As mercury goes on backward motion today, 

it is important you don’t take things for granted. 

Watch carefully what you agree to do. But this is a good 

day for lovers. 

CANCER: Better than yesterday. Others will be willing 

to give you the needed co-operation both at home 

and within your working arena. This is a good day for 

lovers. 

LEO: Those of you who are more enterprising will 

have much to show for your efforts. The more co-operative 

you are, the better for you. Don’t neglect love. 

VIRGO: Mercury starts going on backward motion 

today; therefore, you will need to re-examine both your 

personal ideas and advice given to you by other people. 

Be family minded. 

LIBRA: Provided you don’t allow others to mislead 

you, things will not go wrong. The more willing you are 

to take the initiative, the better for you. Take your love 

life more seriously. 

SCORPIO: This is your day. Although you will need 

to be as secretive as you can, your success will attract 

others’ attention to you to the betterment of your cause. 

Be ambitious. 

SAGITTARIUS: People who more influential than you 

will be willing to support your cause but you will need 

to make the necessary move. The more self assertive 

you are, the better. 

CAPRICORN: Challenges of yesterday will, today, 

bring you good opportunities along your career/business 

lines to the betterment of your finances. Seek supports 

of powerful ones. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

“Listening is an art that requires attention over 

talent, spirit over ego, others over self.” 

— Dean Jackson- 

When friends or people we barely know wants a listening 

ear from us, it is best to just listen and let 

them experience the attention of being heard. 

Perhaps, many other people around them may not 

be listening and what they are looking for is an open 

heart who is willing. — Ella Randle- 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

Between true 

friends even 

water drunk 

together is 

sweet 

enough. 

~ African 

prover 

By Kola Fayemi 

AQUARIUS: Think of the best way to improve on your 

working pattern in order to enhance your career prospects. 

If you listeen to your creative self, things’ll work 

out fine for you. Be more loving. 

PISCES: Success is boldly printed on your cards today. 

Think of both immediate and far future while you 

are savouring goodies offered you by mother nature. 

ARIES: You should not have it tough while trying to 

win the needed supports of others. Take good advice 

from some of your friends who are creatively gifted. 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” 

“HOT” 

By A.O.OLAIDE 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

ASTROLOGICAL our date e and place of COUNSELLING 

birth th to the Astr 

tr 

Send your dat 

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

What June has for me? 

Dear Joshua, 

I have an important transaction to be carried out come 

June 2020. Kindly look into my horoscope and tell me 

what to expect in June. 

Adedayo, Ogun, 

VIRGINIA 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

Dear Adedayo, 

You have three important periods ahead of you between 

now and August 2020. Thus you are advised to 

study them and make good plans accordingly. 

MAY 16 TO JUNE 14, 2020 

This is a positive period for you. Your luck will shine. 

Major or good progress will be made, especially through 

MONEY The major challenge here is some people may 

be willing to move you out of where you are now to 

plant their stooge on one hand, on the other hand you 

may be forced or voluntarily embark on short distance 

journey capable to bring you disappointment. The last 

two weeks will bring more challenges at the same time 

they will make you VICTORIOUS in many ways. 

JUNE 15 TO JULY 13, 2020 

This is a period that will prove both lucky and peaceful. 

Genuine LOVE, satisfaction over youngster and real 

good luck will be yours. Here is a period one can win 

something like love or LOTTERY . Major warning here 

is you must learn to put some money away for raining 

days coming in your immediate future 

JULY 14 TO AUGUST 12, 2020 

Yes the raining days are here. HEALTH and LAW related 

challenges indicated. Family issues are making 

you uncomfortable. Practical approach to health, your 

being SPIRITUAL and willingness to play ball with those 

who want high bribery games are important here or 

else they will want to place higher degree of restrictions 

on you, financially especially. Yes you have to be more 

hard working and exhibit maturity. After all your efforts 

if they prove difficult, then you have to leave them to 

their conscience; as they will eventually fail, but you 

must show maturity first. 

HOME & ABROAD 

By Lawrence Akapa

Coronavirus: EPL clubs 

meet to chart a new course 

Premier League clubs are 

expected to meet today to 

discuss the option of putting a 30 

June deadline on the 2019-20 

season. 

Not all clubs have been involved in 

informal discussions at this stage but, 

with a hoped-for May resumption to 

the season unlikely, club owners are 

looking at how to avoid potentially 

difficult contractual situations. 

Numerous players’ present deals 

expire on 30 June, notably Chelsea 

midfielder Willian and Tottenham 

defender Jan Vertonghen. 

In addition, Liverpool are due to 

change shirt manufacturers from 

New Balance to Nike, while Watford 

and Newcastle are also changing kit 

suppliers. 

World governing body FIFA are 

aware of the problem and are 

looking at alternatives, like rolling 

contract extensions, with the season 

currently suspended indefinitely 

because of the coronavirus 

pandemic. 

Sheffield United boss 

Chris Wilder though does 

not expect a deadline to be 

set for the end of the 

Matuidi, Rugani 

make full 

coronavirus 

recovery 

J players 

uventus 

Daniele Rugani 

and Blaise 

Matuidi have 

fully recovered 

from COVID- 

19, the 

respiratory 

disease 

caused by 

the new 

coronavirus, 

and will 

n o 

longer 

need to 

s e l f - 

isolate, the 

Italian side 

have said. 

Rugani and Matuidi 

are two of three Juventus players 

who last month tested positive for 

the virus. The duo were 

asymptomatic, but the third player, 

forward Paulo Dybala, showed 

strong symptoms. 

“Daniele Rugani and Blaise 

Matuidi underwent, as per 

protocol, a double check with 

diagnostic tests (swabs) for the 

Coronavirus-COVID-19,” 

Juventus said on their website 

here 

Lille striker Victor Osimhen 

has opened the door to a move 

to Manchester United in the future 

by admitting he wants to play for 

a “big club in England”. 

Osimhen has emerged as a man 

in demand after bagging 13 goals 

in 25 starts in Ligue 1 this season. 

The Nigerian striker, 21, failed to 

make the grade at Wolfsburg 

when he first moved to Europe but 

impressed at Charleroi before his 

breakthrough in France this 

season. 

He is now being heavily linked 

with a host of top clubs - including 

the Red Devils - and international 

team-mate Odion Ighalo recently 

revealed he advises him on his 

future. 

Osimhen has now lifted the lid 

on his talks with Ighalo, labelling 

the on-loan United striker “like a 

brother” and hinting he could one 

day head to Old Trafford. 

campaign. 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today 

programme: “I’m sure that we will 

adjust accordingly. I think for the 

integrity of the competition and 

competitions, especially the top end 

of English football and European 

football, they’ll want to finish the 

season.” 

Rugani 

&Matuidi 

Quadri 

Aubameyang 

Dennis worth more than 

$25m, Brugge tell 

Dortmund, others 

Nigerian striker Emmanuel Dennis is being 

chased by several European clubs and his 

Belgian side, Club Brugge has told prospective buyers 

that only an offer starting from $25m will be 

considered. 

This is just as Brugge turned down a $10.5m bid by 

Borussia Dortmund for Dennis who came into the 

limelight after scoring two goals against Real Madrid 

in a champions’ league group game. 

Dennis, 22, according to reports is being watched 

by Dortmund, Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Sheffield 

United, Newcastle United, Southampton, Napoli and 

AS Monaco. 

Barca, Real 

Madrid to battle 

f o r Aubameyang 

Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to go 

head-to-head for the signature of 

Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

The Gunners captain is out of 

contract at the Emirates next 

summer, and has been 

persistently linked with a 

move to La Liga in recent 

months. 

Aubameyang registered 

17 goals in the Premier 

League prior to the 

coronavirus suspension, but a 

potential lack of European football in north London 

could leave the Gabon international seeking pastures 

new elsewhere. 

According to Sport, Real could swoop for the 30-yearold 

should Barcelona prioritise the signing of Lautaro 

Martinez from Inter Milan, with Aubameyang 

supposedly keen to make a decision on his future this 

summer. 

The report also claims that Arsenal are willing to sell 

in order to alleviate any financial problems arising from 

the coronavirus pandemic, and Los Blancos could sign 

Aubameyang for a fee of €50m (£43.5m). 

Aubameyang has netted 61 times in 97 games for 

Mikel Arteta’s side since arriving from Borussia 

Dortmund in 2018. 

Quadri, Omotayo drop in 

ITTF ranking • Edem remains 

best ranked Nigerian female star 

The rating of Nigeria’s duo of 

Aruna Quadri and Olajide 

Omotayo in the April 2020 ranking 

released by the International Table 

Tennis Federation (ITTF) has 

dropped but Quadri still maintains 

his status as the highest rated African 

player in the world. 

Quadri who is still recuperating 

from the thigh injury he sustained 

during the African Olympic 

Qualifying Tournament in Tunis last 

February, dropped by two steps to 

occupy the 20th place in the men’s 

Osimhen opens door to Man Utd transfer 

For the time being, however, he 

insists he is happy at Lille and will 

only join a top club if he is assured 

of regular action. 

Speaking to the Independent, 

Osimhen said: ‘Of course, one day 

I’d like to play for a big club in 

England. 

Robinho grew up liking Okocha — Okechukwu 

stanbul Basaksehir midfielder Azubuike 

IOkechukwu has stated that his 

teammate Robinho revealed to him he grew 

up liking former Nigeria international, Jay- 

Jay Okocha. 

Okocha, famous for his dribbling skills 

during his playing years, featured for Paris 

Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers 

among others. 

Okechukwu explained that the former 

Manchester City forward learnt a lot from 

the mercurial midfielder. 

“He [Robinho] told me he grew up liking 

Nigerian players like Jay-Jay Okocha and 

has learned a few things from his tricks and 

dribbles,” Okechukwu told ChannelTV . 

“When I came to the club, he told me: 

‘you’re Jay-Jay’s brother. We have been 

close since then.” 

The ex-Nigeria U23 captain, who is on 

loan from Pyramids FC, has stated his 

delight at playing along with the 

Brazilian. 

“Watching Robinho on television as I 

did some years ago is different from 

playing with him as teammates. It’s been 

fantastic playing with Robinho,” he 

added. 

The 22-year-old also lifted the lid on the 

failure of the Nigeria U23 team to qualify 

for the Olympics while hoping to play for 

the Super Eagles on future. 

“Unlike the previous U23 team that won 

bronze at the 2016 Olympics, we were 

not together in camp for long and that 

affected us,” he continued. 


rating, while Omotayo who is the 

only Nigeria male athlete to have 

secured his place at Tokyo 2020 

Olympic Games also slide to 79 in 

the world rating. 

Quadri who is yet to taste action 

since the injury he sustained on 

February 28, is yet to resume full 

training in his base in Lisbon, 

Portugal, following the COVID-19 

pandemic that has forced the 

Portuguese Government to lockdown 

major cities in the European 

nation. 

From 18 in March, Quadri has 

dropped to 20 and the Oyo Stateborn 

athlete has however, started 

lighting training indoor, which he 

said would aid his quick return when 

life returns to normal in Portugal. 

Like Quadri, Omotayo who has 

been stranded in Italy 

since the pandemic 

dropped down the 

ladder by one step to be 

rated 92 in the world. 

In the women’s rating, 

Egypt’s Dina Meshref 

maintains her position 

as the African champion 

still occupies 32nd place 

in the world. Despite 

dropping by eight steps 

to 120 in the world 

rating, Offiong Edem 

remains the highest 

ranked Nigeria female 

player in the world. 

Olufunke Oshonaike 

occupies 174th place in 

the rating. 

Dennis 

… As Newcastle 

Utd eye him 

English Premier League side 

Newcastle United have set the 

wheels in motion to sign Nigeria 

national-teamer Emmanuel Dennis, 

according to reports. 

The Magpies, owned by Mike 

Ashley since 2007, are close to being 

acquired by Saudi investors, and the 

potential new owners have already 

started planning for next season in 

terms of reinforcements. 

According to Eurosport journalist, 

Manu Lonjon via Twitter, the future 

owners of Newcastle United have 

sent emissaries to inquire about the 

situations of Emmanuel Dennis 

(Club Brugge) and Dries Mertens 

(Napoli). 

However, Newcastle United might 

face competition for the services of 

Dennis, with at least eight other 

Premier League clubs credited with 

an interest in the Super Eagles star. 

The 22-year-old is also on the radar 

of French Ligue 1, German 

Bundesliga and La Liga clubs. 

It has been claimed that any club 

interested in signing the Nigerian 

would have to meet Club Brugge’s 

asking price, set at 25 million euros. 

Dennis joined Club Brugge from 

Ukrainian outfit Zorya Lugansk in 

July 2017 and has tallied 28 goals in 

103 matches while producing ten 

assists. 

Come-fight-me, 

Anthony Joshua 

tells Fury 

Reigning WBA, WBO, IBF 

heavyweight champion 

Anthony Joshua has challenged the 

undefeated WBC champion Tyson 

Fury to a fight. Both boxers are in 

possession of all the titles in their 

division, following the Gypsy King’s 

emphatic victory over Deontay Wilder 

in February. 

Fury stunned the Bronze Bomber, 

Deontay Wilder at the MGM Grand 

Arena two months back after making 

him kiss the canvass in the seventh 

round of their fight. 

Talks are ongoing with fans and 

stakeholders alike hoping to have a 

unified heavyweight bout anytime 

soon, despite Wilder planning to 

trigger the trilogy clause in their 

contract. 

All things being equal, both Fury 

and the Bronze Bomber are expected 

to meet for the third time before any 

other fight. 

But Anthony Joshua, who is of 

Nigerian descent has now sent his 

compatriot a message, asking him for 

a dance in the rings. He told Sky 

Sport: “Come fight me (Tyson Fury), 

If you really want to say you are 

number one, come and fight me. 

Let’s get it on, I’ve got the rest of the 

belts so it only makes sense. 

Joshua & Fury

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

THURSDAY’S ANSWER 

ACROSS 

1 Australian wilderness (7) 

5 Brown pigment (5) 

8 Copious (5) 

9 Begun (7) 

10 Relevant (7) 

11 Attracted (5) 

12 Flabbergasted (6) 

14 Fine parchment (6) 

18 Broad prospect (5) 

20 Irritated (7) 

22 Warlike (7) 

23 Bicker (5) 

24 Unfortunately (5) 

25 Starlet (anag) (7) 

DOWN 

1 Earache (7) 

2 Become narrower (5) 

3 Run-of-the-mill (7) 

4 Fate (6) 

5 Sedate (5) 

6 Unforeseen or unexpected difficulty (7) 

7 Accessory (3-2) 

13 Confident and poised (7) 

15 Take out (7) 

16 Insanity (7) 

17 Fisherman (6) 

18 Seductive women (5) 

19 Friendship (5) 

21 Within the law (5) 

How to Play Sudoku 

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have 

two of the same number). 

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine 

lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block 

(nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means 

that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row. 

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or 

multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

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17042020 - COVID-19 will get to every state — NCDC BOSS WARNS

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