Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 25th April 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 25/04/20
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Nine Nigerians, Not 72, Tested Positive For Coronavirus In China, Says Foreign Affairs Minister, Onyeama
Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama speaks at the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region in Oslo, Norway February 24, 2017
Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama
Reuters
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, on Friday said that nine Nigerians tested positive for Coronavirus in China against the 72 earlier claimed in a report.
He made this known at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
Onyeama said, “The media report mentioned that there were apparently 72 Nigerians who have tested positive to COVID-19 in China. We have a Consulate in Guangzhou, which is the epicentre of all the things that are happening in China regarding COVID-19.
“The official figure that was given was nine Nigerians and as I understand it, our Consulate added that a number of Nigerians were asymptomatic but the figures that we had was nine.
“The Chinese ambassador talked about a plane that came into the country in which there were some Nigerian passengers who subsequently tested positive within that range of nine, 12.
“So where the figure 72 came from, I really have no idea whatsoever.”
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COVID-19: Instead Of Protecting Us, Security Agents Are Destroying Our Only Sources Of Livelihood, Nigerian Petty Traders Cry Out
Petty traders in Nigeria have cried out after being harassed by security operatives put in place to enforce the lockdown order instituted by government to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
In many parts of the country, security operatives enforcing the lockdown have taken laws into their hands by violently harassing and destroying items belonging to traders, some of whom are categorised as essential services providers as a result of the purpose they serve.
For example, at the start of the lockdown in March, policemen attached to the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit stormed a yet-to-be identified area and shattered many crates of beer, pulling down doors and other items in the process of chasing traders out of their shops.
Shortly after the video of that incident went viral, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammad Adamu, directed that the case be investigated and all policemen involved arrested.
While sharing his own experience, Abdulateef Arowojobe, a wholesale vegetable seller at the Mile 12 market in Lagos, said that the display of the policemen in the viral video was similar to what he experienced in his stall on April 4, 2020.
He said, “Usually the task force in this area do ask us for money almost on a daily basis and so that day I came to the market and was selling as usual. Around 1:30pm, I started to clear the front of my stall to go home when the task force came.
“They started throwing things on the ground and people started running in panic. They entered came to my stall and took two baskets of tomatoes.
“That incident set me back and now I am in debt and just managing myself.”
A trader Alice Akhide, who sells soup ingredients at the Garri Market in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was bundled from her makeshift shop by the roadside shop on April 11 for offences, which was never disclosed to her.
Speaking in Pidgin English, she told SaharaReporterson Friday that, “I was just sitting down and counting money from my apron when they came.
“The task force officials said Governor Wike said everybody should stay at home.
“People started running but I couldn’t run, so they put me at the back of their car drove off. When we got to King Jaja Street, they stopped and asked me to give them something.
“I told them they were like my children and that I didn’t have anything but they said something must drop.
“At the end, they collected N5000 from me before releasing me to go for committing no offence.
“I had to beg money from our women’s cooperative to open shop two days later. I want Wike and everybody to help me so that hunger will not kill me. The small thing I am managing, they have collected it from me.”
The brutality of law enforcement agents enforcing the lockdown against petty traders perhaps became more pronounced on Thursday evening in Port Harcourt when a policewoman trying to stop the COVID-19 Task Force team from destroying wares belonging to petty traders was shot and killed by a policeman attached to the team.
The incident was said to have happened at Eneka Town under Obio-Akpo Local Government Area of the state at about 5pm on Thursday.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Joseph Mukan, who confirmed the development, said the policeman attached to the task force team misused his weapon.
He said, “A policeman attached to the task force did the shooting.
“He was shooting anyhow and in the process killed another policewoman. The policewoman was hit by a stray bullet.”
Mukan said the policeman was immediately arrested, disarmed and subjected to orderly room trial.
Other petty traders, who spoke with SaharaReporters all expressed concerns on how law enforcement agents were destroying their sources of livelihoods in the name of restricting movement as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
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EXCLUSIVE: N5bn COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment Fraud Uncovered In Niger Delta Development Commission
Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio
Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio
The Niger Delta Development Commission is currently reeking of a multi-billion naira fraud involving the board and top management members of the agency over the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment and sanitizers to tackle Coronavirus in the nine states making up the region.
In a letter dated April 6, 2019 with a Ref number NDDC/MD/HPU/20/4/EHSS/05 seen by SaharaReporters, it was revealed how the commission approved N5,474,647,125.00 for procurement of Personal Protective Equipment for health workers and provision of community-based sensitisation campaign against the spread of COVID-19 to a company named Signora Concept Services Limited.
The letter reads, “This is to notify you that based on your tender for emergency procurement of specialized medical Personal Protective Equipment for health workers and provision of community based sensitization campaign against the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases in the nine state of the Niger Delta region, the contract has been awarded to you at the total cost of N5,474,647,125.00 only inclusive of 7.5 VAT as corrected and modified in accordance with the instruction to tenderers by the Niger Delta Development Commission.”
The letter was signed by Alex Ndudi Enebeli, Head of Procurement Unit for the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC.
Even though the company was given 15 days to deliver all items stated in the letter, findings by SaharaReporters showed that Signora Concept Services Limited was yet to deliver any equipment to a single state in the Niger Delta region 18 days after the contracted was awarded and payment made.
“Apart from N70m donation made by the NDDC about a month ago, we are yet to receive any single health equipment from the commission.
“Though we were promised ventilators, we got a letter later from them that it won’t be possible again.
“I’m surprised hearing now from you that over N5bn was budgeted for PPEs to be distributed to Niger Delta states,” a task force member of one of the Niger Delta states told SaharaReporters on Friday.
Checks by SaharaReporters also revealed that the NDDC had in January 2020 released the sum of N4,096,798,332.50 for the supply of Lassa Fever equipment that were never delivered.
Infuriated by the level of fraud going on in the agency, a Niger Delta socio-political organisation, the Ijaw Intellectual Advocates, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio.
National Coordinator of the group, Salaco Yerinmene, said the fresh contract approved by the NDDC interim management committee was done to defraud the people of the region under the guise of purchasing COVID-19 PPEs and sanitizers that will never be delivered to any community under the nine states making up the oil-rich region.
He said, “We have clearly realised that the IMC Akpabio constituted and placed under his supervision was to jeopardise the commission and continually pillage the treasury of the Niger Delta people which must be resisted by any means necessary.
“While we leave the reading public to guess as to the motive behind this contract, we will like to ask some questions begging for answers.
“Why should Akpabio and IMC give priority to projects that are not bothering the Niger Delta people?
“How many communities in the Niger Delta region were sensitised through this medium over the spread of Coronavirus since the outbreak of the disease?
“If the affirmative to question 2, then where did the money go into?
“Why not use the money to construct major roads across the coastal communities or use the fund to provide potable water to the various communities?
“Mr Akpabio should know that as young intellectuals, we are aware of the game he is playing in looting the commonwealth of the people and he should also be aware that his days are numbered.
“It is in Akpabio’s best interest to resign and summit himself to the EFCC, else we shall have no other option than to fight to the latter.
“We are again reiterating our stand that Akpabio must and should be suspended and be investigated by the EFCC and the forensic audit should commence immediately, otherwise the crude oil from all Ijaw territories shall never be used to fund the present corruption going on at the NDDC.”
It is not the first time fraud of this magnitude would be uncovered in the NDDC, it is in fact among a long list of similar cases.
In January this year, the interim management committee of the commission announced the discovery of fraudulent contracts worth N1rn.
According to the committee, at least 1,921 ‘emergency contracts’ were sanction by the former management of the agency despite its annual budget being only around N400bn.
A prominent activist in the region, who asked not to be named, told SaharaReporters on Friday that the NDDC had always been used as conduit by powerful persons in government to siphon huge public funds and deprive the people of developmental projects that could have changed their lives for the better.
He said, “The NDDC has been more of a curse for the people of Niger Delta than a blessing. All the big politicians do is to use the agency to milk people of the region by stealing funds meant for development of the region and thereby deny them of the basic infrastructure and amenities that could have raised the quality of their lives. It is a cesspool of corruption.”
So far, the Niger Delta region has 42 reported cases of Coronavirus spread across Delta (six), Akwa Ibom (11), Edo (17), Ondo (three), Rivers (three), and Abia (two).
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E2%80%98infested-and-unhealthy%E2%80%99-bags-rice-donated-nigerian-government Oyo Rejects 1800 ‘Infested And Unhealthy’ Bags Of Rice Donated By Nigerian Government
The Oyo State Government has rejected about 1800 bags of rice donated by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Customs Service to the state as part of COVID-19 relief material.
The government said the rice is infected and unhealthy for consumption.
Executive Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Agribusiness, Dr Debo Akande, made this known on Friday shortly after the state committee on distribution of relief materials and palliatives paid an inspection visit to the warehouse were the grains were kept.
Akande stressed that after taking delivery of the donated rice, a quality control inspection was carried out repeatedly and the donation has now been rejected.
He however, noted that the donated rice would be returned to the Nigeria Customs Service with the hope that it would be replaced with good quality ones.
The Federal Government had on Monday donated 6,000 bags of rice to Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states as palliatives to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people.
Mrs Helen Ngozi, area controller of Oyo and Osun Command, who delivered the 6,000 bags of rice on behalf of the NCS to representatives of the four states at the service’s zonal headquarters in Ibadan, said the gesture was in fulfilment of the promise by the management of the customs to send palliatives to states.
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BREAKING: Lagos Discharges 10 More COVID-19 Patients Including Three Foreigners
The Lagos State Government has discharged 10 COVID-19 patients after making full recoveries from the disease.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made this known on Friday, adding that three of those discharged were foreigners.
He said, “Even with the number of cases rising, we are happy to celebrate our success stories because they show that a positive #COVID19 case isn’t necessarily a case of doom and gloom.
“Today, 10 patients; three females and seven males including three foreigners have been discharged from our facilities. Even with the number of cases rising, we are happy to celebrate our success stories because they show that a positive #COVID19 case isn’t necessarily a case of doom and gloom.Today,10 patients; 3 females & 7 males including 3 foreigners have been discharged from our facilities pic.twitter.com/y58Yu2VEkM— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) April 24, 2020
“We are encouraged by these discharged cases and the support we have received from the citizens of the state in the battle against #COVID19 but I urge us all not to relent because it is imperative that we win.”
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E2%80%94-executive-secretary How To Develop Local Capacity To Produce Testing Kits For Coronavirus — Executive Secretary Of Nigerian Academy Of Science, Dr Odubanjo
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Academy of Science and former Chairman, Lagos chapter of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Dr Doyin Odubanjo, in this chat with SaharaTV explains how local capacity should be developed for testing kits and protective gears in the fight against Coronavirus
How do you assess the fight against Coronavirus by the Nigerian Government?
I’ll describe it as chaotic. Nigeria is quite a large country and what we have seen is chaotic responses largely by state governments; some state not waiting for coordination, taking the laws into their own hands and making rules and guidelines as they wish. Many of them are being done as knee-jack responses for which one will sometimes wonder where some of the evidence is coming from as they respond.
You go from good examples like Lagos to not-so-good examples in many other places. Ultimately, what we need is greater synergy and coordination because the virus doesn’t know international borders not to talk of local borders, so we need a lot more coordination and cooperation.
How severe do you think Coronavirus will become in Nigeria?
That’s difficult to predict actually. There are many factors that you really can’t say much about and things can change very rapidly. Things can look bad now and may start looking good, or they look good and start looking bad. It can be bad if we don’t take the right actions. One of the right actions is to ensure that we better coordinate what is going on nationally than to just allow things to be happening state by state.
For instance, when the Federal Government paid attention to FCT, Lagos and Ogun and decided to lock them down, that is by saying those were the epicentres of the outbreak in Nigeria. However, since that time, we have gone from about five or six states with cases over 20 in fact, almost 25 states now.
That tells you that the spread is going to be national and one of the things that people don’t get is that when there is a case in Abia or Borno, it doesn’t mean that there was no case in Borno before; it just means that you have only just made a diagnosis in those states. Borno might even have more cases than in Lagos but you have only diagnosed now, so we should have a better national response.
In terms of better national response, are we taking enough precautions this time?
It’s difficult to say across the board. We are taking precautions but are we taking enough precautions, even in Lagos that is doing the best work possible? The precautions we take are going to be equivalent to the enlightenment of the people. So, we know the things to do to reduce the spread of the disease, however, all of them depend on people doing those things.
No matter what you say, people have to do them and they will do them when they know what they are up against and they are committed to fighting against the virus themselves. So, the real point will be how educated or enlightened are the people across the board. The better we can get that to happen, the better it’s going to be for all of us.
What’s your best or worst-case scenario at this point in terms of our response?
The best-case scenario is to ensure that a lot of public enlightenment happens. People are always talking about testing and I always tell them to take into consideration that in this case, you are testing for a disease in which a very significant majority of the people are not going to show any symptoms or show mild symptoms and the mild symptoms they may show are similar to other things they experience when they have common cold.
That means that your chances of finding every single case even with available testing are still quite slim. Testing alone will not solve the problem, however, if we all keep social distance or wash our hands, or adopt some hygienic practices when we sneeze and then ultimately know that when we see certain symptoms and signs, then the person should go and be tested, then we are going to win that fight.
The best-case scenario is when we have a very enlightened population. If we ask the people in the village, can they tell you what is going on? Can they explain how to avoid it and show they understand it and are committed to stopping its spread? That is the best-case scenario. Second best case scenario is when we have testing centres available. Testing is not enough now and testing is challenged now on many grounds.
I’ll put it also this way because a lot of people like to bash the government to say they are not doing this or that. I agree that a lot more needs to have been done even in terms of testing.
However, I think one of the problems we have is that we came to the party late. So, in testing, there are lots of issues globally. A lot of countries are using rapid test kits and there are many reports about issues with the rapid test kits, for example on the accuracy of the result. You don’t want to get into something that gives you the inaccurate result, so, whatever test kit we are going to use, we must do a lot of work to ensure their quality and that they give us correct result otherwise, they complicate what is going on very terribly.
The one we are using, the PCR testing, again, there is a global competition for the testing reagents. While the virus is ravaging Europe, Asia, America and Africa are coming to the market looking for the same reagents. The reagents have become difficult to get just like when PPEs are difficult to get. Masks are also difficult to get because we are coming to the party late. Everybody is facing the same problem and they all need the same tools.
Even though there are a lot of efforts to increase the testing but the best-case scenario is when we can do testing across the nation. Many public facilities actually can do PCR testing. I know that some of them would be challenged because they do not have reagents to do that. You also have to ensure that all the staff in those places are trained and you have to be sure that when this person diagnosis the particular virus for you, you know that you can test the result they are sending from that lab.
So, all of that is a process and it takes time but I think that part of the challenge we are facing is because we came into the party late, so we are struggling because we did not prepare on time.
Could you help us demystify this moment and explain what the next few weeks of the pandemic might look like in terms of containing the virus as more cases are being recorded?
Life will not be normal, as we know it. It’s a new challenge for every world leader. They have to make decisions they never dreamt of making. Those decisions are very complex. They are facing issues around a pandemic where you know that people are going to die and you are looking at your economy in a state that you have never dreamt that it would ever be.
In the next few weeks, we have to find a balance between that health challenge and the socio-economic challenge because we cannot choose one over the other. We cannot go for solving the health and ignore the socio-economic challenge.
We have to allow enough socio-economic activities to keep the society going while we increase our surveillance and we increase our ability to find anybody who might have COVID-19 in the society and get them treated also quite effectively.
What could be done by the authorities concerning the shortage of reagents and PPE?
I think the answer ultimately lies in the development of local capacity because if we are struggling at the same market and there is not enough in the market, the best bet would be to be able to produce ours within Nigeria.
The truth is that if we look at it, this is not rocket science. The solutions are not completely out of this world. We have manufacturers and everybody sitting together can determine what the underlining principles of this particular protective gear that we need, and once that is defined, we have material scientists and they can sit with the manufacturers to look at local raw materials that can be used to produce all of these things.
Even beyond the present, if we struggle to buy it now, the truth is that in preparing for the future, we have to look into local production quite quickly both for them now because it’s difficult to get. After all, it is scarce. The logistics for getting it is pretty difficult and also when we realise how difficult this has been this time around, it should not happen to us again. Many countries around the world are beginning to motivate their companies to get back to work. We need to use this opportunity to start producing local things that we need.
There are palpable fears that this could eventually become a full-blown public health crisis?
The potential is always there, we are quite hopeful because what we thought we would have seen by now, we have not seen.
However, there is a potential that it can still escalate and it can particularly escalate if everybody doesn’t see this as their own responsibility.
It’s not just going to be what about the government does. That is very important because the government has to lead and coordinate that. But it’s going to be about what we all do at the end of the day. So, if people don’t take it seriously or do their part we would be facing a major public health tragedy eventually but we sure hope it won’t get to that.
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COVID-19: FCT Risks Surge In Cases As Residents Flout Social Distancing Rule In Markets
The movement restriction imposed by the Nigerian Government to stem the spread of COVID-19 may turn out an exercise in futility considering the non-adherence to the social distancing guideline at most markets in the Federal Capital Territory.
Residents have deliberately thrown caution to the wind by mingling freely without paying attention to the danger posed by such gatherings to their health and safety at this period.
The World Health Organisation had advised all countries to observe and “maintain social distancing” and stay at home as one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of the virus.
In the FCT, markets are allowed to open for business two days within each week (Wednesday and Saturday) in order to allow residents stock up food items.
Many residents have now taken advantage of the two-day window to throng markets within the city even when most do not have genuine reasons to do so.
During a visit to Kubwa Modern Market on Friday, our correspondent observed how traders ignored the most basic of the safety rules by failing to wash their hands with soap and water and also apply sanitisers.
Many traders were seen relating with customers of all kinds without face masks and hand gloves as well, thereby exposing themselves and others to the risk of contracting Coronavirus.
It was the same story at Dutse, Nyaya, Mararaba, Lugbe, Mpape, Gwarinpa and Garki markets when our correspondent visited those places to see the level of compliance with the safety guidelines put in place by health officials.
Though policemen were seen around the road leading to the market, there was no form of enforcement of these guidelines in those place.
A trader named Fatima Salihu, who spoke with our correspondent, said she was aware of the social distancing guideline but stated that it was difficult to observe it because of the large crowd at the market.
She said, “It will be difficult to tell customers to line up before selling pepper to them, nobody will listen to me.
“If there are security operatives that will force people not no come too close to each other, that will be fine.”
A resident of the city, who asked not to be named, told SaharaReporters that many people were defying the rules because two days was not enough for them to buy foodstuffs and essential items to withstand the lockdown.
He called on the FCT authority to review the market days back to three days in a week to enable people have enough time to buy and sell under a relaxed atmosphere.
He said, “You cannot expect people who are trying to beat 2:00pm deadline when the market will close to observe social distancing. It is not possible.”
Chairman of Kubwa Market Traders Association could not be reached for comments when our correspondent got across to him.
Following the rise in cases of Coronavirus in the Abuja, there are now fears among residents that the disregard for social distancing guidelines in markets could further increase spread of the pandemic.
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E2%80%93prof-tomori Why There Is Surge In COVID-19 Cases In Nigeria –Prof Tomori
A professor of Virology and former Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Oyewale Tomori, in a chat with SaharaReporters said the surge in COVID-19 cases is a clear evidence of active community transmission and spread of the disease. He also said it showed that the lockdown had failed to achieve its aim
What is your reaction to government’s response to the spread of Coronavirus?
The initial preparation for the arrival of COVID-19 in Nigeria was fine until we got our first case on February 27, 2020. On that day, we should have sealed and closed our borders to all travellers from COVID-19 affected countries.
But no, we waited until March 23, almost a month later and by which time we had had at least 40 cases. Since then, even with a COVID-19 Presidential Task Force, we have not seen a national cohesion on COVID-19 control. It is as if the devil of concurrency on health issues is throwing spanners from the 36 states into the national COVID-19 control wheel in Nigeria.
There were initial disarray and lack of collaboration among the states and federal government. Each state was trying to outshine the other as different decrees and promulgation were issued with little regard to the efforts and activities of the federal government.
In recent days, it would appear that our governments have realised that the fight against COVID-19 is a national war which we must prosecute in unity as we combine our efforts against the relentless enemy.
Do you think the lockdown has been effective in curbing the spread of the virus?
No way. It has not been effective. At the beginning of the first lockdown, on March 30, 2020, we had 131 cases; two weeks later, at the end of the lockdown, the number of cases went up to 343, a two-and-a-half-fold increase.
The ineffectiveness of the partial lockdown is further brought to play with Nigeria reporting a total of 638 cases during the last 10 days of the second lockdown, that is, an average of more than 60 cases per day. This surge in several cases is evidence of active community transmission and spread of the disease. It is a failure of the lockdown.
The problem may not be with the lockdown itself, but more with the disregard of the guidelines and non-compliance with the rules by many people (wash your hands with soap and water, use sanitizer to disinfect the hand, maintain a social distance of at least 6 feet).
We certainly did not fully anticipate the complications for the lockdown and the serious effect on the majority of Nigerian who are daily workers and who must work daily to get money for their subsistence. The disease has brought our everyday life to a standstill as we watch our economy slide into recession and acquire more debt to shore up the shortfall from the price of oil, the mainstay of our economy.
What do you think government should do moving forward?
As we ask what more the government should do, we should also ask what we as a people must do. First, we must have unity over this COVID-19 issue. We cannot afford the past discordance between the states and federal government. We must act with one voice.
We have seen that cases are occurring in the states that are not under lockdown. If we continue with the haphazard way of controlling COVID-19 with each state deciding what action it would take, sometimes, at variance with what the federal government is doing, then we are in for a terrible and very long time under COVID-19 curfew. It does not make sense to lock up one state, while the next or contiguous state is left wide open. We must seriously and truly obey and comply with the guidelines and rules of personal hygiene and social separation.
It is a matter of a short time when cases will be reported in large numbers from many states, in free-flow mode.
The other issue concerns us the people and citizens of Nigeria. First thing, we must realize that COVID-19 is after us, to make sick, and to kill, COVID-19 cannot kill the government. Getting COVID-19 and dying from it is a decision for the individual. So, let us behave to be safe. Let us religiously comply with the guidelines and rules of the game of preventing COVID-19 disease.
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Group Asks Akeredolu To Probe Destruction Of Medicine Store In Ondo By Naval Personnel
A group, the Ilaje Advancement Forum, has called on the Ondo State Government to investigate the activities of some Nigerian Navy personnel at the Forward Operating Base in the Ilaje area of the state.
The group said the atrocities of the naval personnel mostly in the Igbokoda area of Ilaje, which led to the deliberate burning down of a medicine store belonging to Mrs Taiwo Menukoro, called for urgent attention by the authorities.
In a statement by its moderators, Olajuwon Daodu and Fadesola Ojamoni, the IAF asked the state government to set up a judicial committee of enquiry to investigate the destruction of the medicine store.
The statement reads, “We plead with Ondo State Government to set up an independent judicial committee of enquiry to look into this matter and ascertain the veracity of the claims of the poor woman with a view to mitigating the economic hardship imposed on her family by the alleged arson.
“It is not correct that Mrs Taiwo sells petrol or diesel in the pharmacy/provision shop, neither was she cooking at that time.
“We can confirm that Mrs Taiwo uses that shop as both accommodation and business after she lost her residence to the flood that overwhelmed Igbokoda in April 2019.
“We wish to clarify that the statement credited to Major General John Enenche, Defence Media Operations, is not only wrong but an attempt to cheat Mrs Menukoro.
“We visited the scene, took video recordings of the remnants of the burnt shop and can confirm the shop had no back door.
“We are at an austere period where government is giving palliatives to citizens, we do not expect the Nigerian Navy officials to be complicit in the destruction of properties in the midst of a ravaging COVID-19 menace.
“In the spirit of fairness, we believe Mrs Taiwo Menukuro deserves a fair hearing on this matter.”
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E2%80%99s-education-minister-adamu-loses-mother Nigeria’s Education Minister, Adamu, Loses Mother
Nigeria Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu
Nigeria Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu
Fatima, mother of Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has passed away.
She died in the early hours of Friday according to a statement by spokesperson for the ministry, Ben Gooong.
Gooong said the burial is now taking place at Azare in Bauchi State in accordance with Islamic rights.
“Other details will come your way in the course of proceedings,” Mr Gooong said.
Adamu, one of the closest persons to President Muhammadu Buhari, is being tipped to replace late Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff to PMB.
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