The Federal Government has said that Lagos, FCT, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kano states have enrolled on the World Health Organisation (WHO) treatment regimen on solidarity drug trials. The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said this on Monday in Abuja, at the 29th joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Daily Trust reports that the WHO announced that Nigeria expressed interest to be part of the global solidarity drug trial to tackle COVID-19 pandemic and that the process would soon start in the country. The Officer in charge, WHO Nigeria and member of the PTF on COVID-19, Dr. Fiona Braka, told Daily Trust in an exclusive interview in Abuja that what Nigeria signed up for was drug trial and not vaccine trial, as there was yet no vaccine for the COVID-19.

According to her, the four drugs that will be monitored in the solidarity trial are Remdesivir; Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine; Lopinavir, and Ritonavir. However, Ehanire said at the briefing that the Federal Government is cooperating with the WHO on treatment regimen Solidarity trial with the aforementioned states. He also said that as at Sunday the country has ramped up testing by additional 1,127 to make a total of 27,078 tests, which yielded 4,399 cases in 35 States, with a gender ratio of 70 to 30 percent for men and women.

The minister said 778 persons have been discharged and that the nation sadly recorded 143 deaths, giving a case fatality rate of three percent.

“The new cases breakdown are Lagos 81, Jigawa 35, Bornu 26, Kano 26, Bauchi 20, FCT 13, Edo 12, Sokoto 10, Zamfara seven, Kwara seven, Kebbi four, Gombe two, Taraba two, Ekiti two, Ogun two, Osun and Bayelsa one each.

“Kogi and Cross River states have not reported any cases, but we are optimistic that we can work with the State Health Ministry to validate this in due course, when we engage the state authorities. A team from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), made up of experts from various specialties, including NCDC, is on standby to proceed to Calabar (Cross River) as soon as travel arrangements can be made, taking with them, resource to support the health system,” Ehanire said.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has told investors not to panic, saying the CBN has enough foreign exchange to meet repatriation. He also assured them of the security of their investments in the country despite dwindling revenue from the sale of crude oil globally.

A statement on Sunday from the CBN quoted Emefiele as saying that “investors interested in repatriating their funds from the country were guaranteed to get their money, notwithstanding the drop in the revenue from crude oil.” He said the CBN had put in place policies to ensure an orderly exit for those that might be interested in doing so.

He, however, urged investors to be patient as such repatriations were processed owing to the CBN’s policy of orderly exit of investments. Recalling a similar situation that occurred in 2015 over declining revenue, Emefiele said the CBN was able to settle all commitments in an orderly manner.

He said the foreign exchange available would be devoted to strategic importation or service obligations that were priorities. On the plans of the apex bank to tackle the economic impact of the COVID-19, he said the CBN, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, was committed to galvanizing the manufacturing sector in a bid to reset the economy.

While disclosing that the CBN had met with the banks, manufacturers in the health sector and the larger manufacturing group, he said the challenge posed by the pandemic necessitated that the fiscal and monetary authorities must work together to moderate the health and economic impact of the COVID-19.

He said the COVID-19 presented Nigeria with an opportunity to reset the economy and as such, there was need for the country to prepare itself to get the manufacturing sector to work, while the banking sector supports the economy.

With the revenue drop from crude, Emefiele said Nigeria had no choice but to diversify its economic base.

According to him, the time has come for Nigerians to produce what can be produced in the country and consume what is produced in the country.

Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf is a renowned economist and also a private sector advocate. In this interview, he spoke on the potential roles and impact of Dangote Refinery and Fertilizer plants on Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery agenda

The management of Dangote Industries Limited recently announced the completion of one of the biggest fertiliser plants in the world. The company is also on the verge of completing the world’s biggest single train refinery in Nigeria. How would the coming on stream of the two plants help in the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recession crisis?

The Dangote Refinery is one of the best things that have happened to this country. Annually, we spend billions of dollars on the importation of petroleum products. In fact, the importation of petroleum product is the largest single product that puts the greatest pressure on our foreign reserves and also on government revenue. Therefore, the coming on stream of the Dangote refinery will save the Nigerian economy the trouble and agony of spending billions of dollars on the importation of petroleum products. The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is a leading proponent of self-reliance, economic diversification and backward integration. And he has demonstrated this conviction severally in practical terms. To build an economy that is sustainable and resilient, this is the way to go. Our current experience with this COVID-19 pandemic illustrates this fact even more graphically. We also commit huge foreign exchange to the importation of fertiliser annually. As a country with strong comparative advantage in agriculture, the setting up of this fertilizer plant will help to reposition the agricultural sector, enhance agricultural productivity, reduce the cost of fertilizer, as well as conserve foreign exchange. It is therefore a very important investment, which all Nigerians should be very proud of.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote is leading private sector leaders, under the auspices of Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) to raise funds to tackle the spread of Coronavirus. How do you assess the importance of this coalition to the country?

The intervention of the private sector under the hospices of the Nigeria Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 is a laudable idea. It is a reflection of the commitment of the private sector to the ideals of business sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Businesses operate in a society, and the well-being of a business is dependent, to some extent, on the well-being of the society in which it operates. A business can only be as good and as stable as the community in which it is operating. Social stability is crucial for business sustainability. This private sector intervention is also significant because the federal government has serious funding limitations at this time. The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to humanity and demands that all hands must be on deck. I must also commend the leadership demonstrated by Alhaji Aliko Dangote in mobilising the private sector for this historic intervention.

The coalition has so far raised over N25 billion to support the Federal Government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19. What are the best ways to utilise this fund?

The spending priorities of the money raised should be guided by a robust needs assessment as established by medical teams in the frontline of managing this pandemic. They know better what the gaps are and this should guide the targeting of expenditure. This approach will also make it possible to get better outcomes from these donations. It is not advisable, in my view, to hand over cash to the government or its agencies. It is much better to identify the critical needs and provide resources directly for the acquisition of the needed items -medications, food items and personal protective equipment (PPE). Delivery and execution of the intervention projects are much faster and efficient.

There are many companies that are yet to signify interest in contributing to the private sector’s COVID-19 funding. What is your message to these companies?

I will appeal to companies that have not joined the coalition train to please do so. They should take a cue from the private sector coalition led by Aliko Dangote. Any socially responsible organisation should be part of this fight against COVID-19. This is not just a philanthropic gesture; it is a matter that borders on business sustainability. The success of a business is not measured only in terms of the returns to shareholders; it is also assessed by the impact that the business makes on other stakeholders. One of these stakeholders is the society and the environment in which the business operates. We also need to understand and embrace the principle of total stakeholder management – recognising the importance of all stakeholders in a business.

There has been a steady drop in the global crude oil prices. However, Nigeria depends on the revenue from crude oil to fund its 2020 budget. What role do you think the private sector can play in the post-COVID-19 economic recession?

The role of the private sector in the economy is to commit quality resources into the process of wealth and value creation. This typically takes the form of making sustainable investments. Most of the socio-economic objectives of government are achieved through private sector contribution to government revenue [via the payment of taxes and import duty], job creation, poverty reduction and many more. All of these are key drivers of economic progress. The private sector also has a responsibility to offer advice to guide policy formulation in order to ensure quality outcomes from policy makers. The investors are in the best position to advise policy-makers on the appropriateness or otherwise of economic policies, from an empirical perspective. This could be in the area of monetary policy, trade policy, tariff policy, tax policy, energy policy and investment policy. The impact on policy outcomes would depend on how receptive the policy-makers are to public-private dialogue.

Much of the focus in churches is filling the pews. That's good; one of the church's primary duties is to reach the lost. The church is here to spread its message and to save souls. To evangelize.

The next step, often neglected, is discipleship. After we get them in the pews, we don't teach them what it means to be a Christian. Fortunately, almost two centuries ago, Brownlow North, a bishop of the Anglican Church from 1770-1821, wrote down six steps for new Christians to help them grow in the faith. I think that every Christian, be he on milk or meat, can benefit from applying the steps on this list.

1. Never neglect daily private prayer; and when you pray, remember that God is present, and that he hears your prayers (Heb 11:6).

Being omnipresent in our reality, God is present during your prayers and he hears your request. This doesn't obligate him to answer affirmatively, but he is present and he does hear you. That's simple, yet very deep. I've heard it said that it is impossible to stumble while on your knees.

2. Never neglect daily private Bible reading; and when you read remember that God is speaking to you, and that you are to believe and act upon what he says. I believe all backsliding begins with the neglect of these two rules (Jn 5:39).

Daily prayer and daily Bible reading are the most important factors of becoming a Christian. The necessity of God for the universe is an awesome, if abstract, idea to think of and discuss. However, the necessity of God for one's own life is more interesting, making the discussion less abstract and much more personal.

We're called "friends of God." In biblical society, serfs probably never saw the sovereign. But, through the power of prayer, we get to talk to the sovereign, confess our deepest fears and desires, and God hears them!

In Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham is able to strike a conditional bargain with God -- if 10 righteous people can be found in the city of Sodom, then God will spare it. God took into consideration what Abraham had said, and did as was befitting a truly righteous judge.

Remember, neglecting the first two rules will cause more backsliding in your life than anything else. So get to praying and reading that Bible!

3. Never let a day pass without trying to do something for Jesus. Every night reflect on what Jesus has done for you, and then ask yourself, "What am I going to do for him?" (Mt 5:13-16).

I once told an atheist, "God created the universe, you, gives you life and sustains your existence, and sent his Son to die for your sins."

He responded by asking what else has God done, really?

God has done a lot for humanity, even though we don't deserve it. Most of the time, we're just not grateful. We never pause to think that this wondrous universe, beautiful planet, and the next breath we will take all come from God. So, let's ask what we can do for God instead of always the other way around. He's done plenty already.

4. If you are in doubt as to a thing being right or wrong, go to your room and kneel down and ask God's blessing on it (Col 3:17). If you cannot do this, it is wrong.

This touches on the instinctual nature of moral duties. Normal people know the difference between right and wrong. My three-year-old, for example, knows that she has to listen to mommy and daddy when we tell her to do things. When she doesn't, she admits that she knows and understands that it was wrong.

But this instinct alone (call it conscience) isn't enough. It's a great start, and this "prayer test" is simple and awesome. It presupposes a generally good nature, and since we are made in the image of God we have enough goodness to know the difference between right and wrong.

5. Never take your Christianity from Christians, or argue that because such and such people do so and so, therefore, you may (2 Cor 10:12). You are to ask yourself, "How would Christ act in my place?" and strive to follow him (Jn 10:27).

Because other people do it, that doesn't make it okay. As a manager for over a decade and a half in the fast food industry, every single time I dealt with someone's tardiness the first thing I always got to hear was an angry litany of names of other people who are "always late."

That's what North is talking about. Using another's behavior to justify your own is not acceptable. Take responsibility for yourself.

We cannot justify our actions by comparing them to what others do. The yardstick for comparison is the instinctual moral standard (see rule #4). It doesn't matter what our peers do.

North might be the first to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?" If we follow rule #1 and rule #2, we're on our way to having a good sense of the correct answer.

6. Never believe what you feel, if it contradicts God's Word. Ask yourself, "Can what I feel be true if God's Word is true?" And if both cannot be true, believe God's Word and make your own heart the liar (Rom 3:4; 1 Jn 5:10-11).

Susan B. Anthony once said, "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." She's right, and we need an objective measure of truth -- not our "feelings."

Knowing and doing are totally different. Everyone knows it's wrong to steal, yet people are in jail for everything from petty theft to the Enron scandal. Everyone knows its wrong to cheat on your spouse, yet that is one of the main reason couples divorce.

While the conscience is effective at blowing the whistle, we are equally as effective at ignoring the noise. More troubling, we can often delude ourselves into believing that God is on our side.

Look at liberal theologians like Rob Bell. They are very good at redefining God, rendering eternal judgment unnecessary or evil. Suddenly, our choices lose eternal significance. Now, people can be comfortable as they are instead of embracing the life-changing effects of the gospel. Instead of "Go, and sin no more" we are being told "Sin boldly, all will be forgiven." That's quite different than what Jesus would say, and the total opposite of Paul's salvation by grace through faith.
No wonder Susan B. made the statement she did.

The Bible states "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9). Though the conscience can be an excellent guide, we can ignore it in favor of pursuing our own passions. Let Scripture stand as the objective measure by which we know what is right and wrong. Don't trust your gut.
Applying North's six short rules to our walk with Christ, every day, will ensure that the gospel message changes us. God, if he is really God, won't conform to our expectations. He will, however, give us the strength and tools to conform to his expectations -- the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

The Federal Government has said the evacuation of Nigerians from different parts of the world originally scheduled to commence today Monday May 4, will now begin from Wednesday May 7, following adequate arrangements made by the government to provide isolation centres for the over 4,000 Nigerians who have indicated interest to return to the country. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said this on Monday in Abuja, at the 25th joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Those waiting to be evacuated are mainly in China, which recorded maltreatment of Nigerians in the city of Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province; while other include; United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Canada and Middle East countries among others. According to him, the change in date was caused by the constraints in resources but assured that Emirates airline will commence the evacuation from Dubai on Wednesday.

“So, by God’s Grace on Wednesday we would start the process of repatriating our nations from outside the country. There are about 4, 000 Nigerians wishing to come back home. If we had our way, we will bring them all back immediately and all at once, but there are various constraints and the biggest constraints is where to quarantine them.

“We have done everything we can to get beds here in Abuja and in Lagos. In Lagos we have almost 300 beds available, and I would like to take some time out to again express our gratitude to the governor of Lagos state because without his personal engagement it would have been more difficult for us.

So, the first flight (Emirates) on Wednesday will be to Lagos,” Onyeama said. The minister said that the country is also making another arrangement with the British Airline flight that is coming to Nigeria on Friday to evacuate some British nationals in Nigeria. He said that that since the plane would be coming empty, the government has negotiated with the British Government to bring back Nigerians from the United Kingdom (UK) on Friday.

He, however, regretted that the plane would not be coming to Abuja, where the government has made available over 1,000 hotel rooms for the evacuees. He said, “So, we are hoping that on Friday we will be able to evacuate from the UK anything up to 300 Nigerians from the UK. Ideally, we would have liked that flight to be coming to Abuja because we have been able to secure more hotel rooms (almost 1,000) in Abuja than we have in Lagos but unfortunately that plane cannot come to Abuja but only Lagos.

“So it is going to put quite a strain on our capacity in Lagos because in addition to just getting the rooms, the Port health authority, the NCDC will have to monitor every one of the evacuees on regular basis and of course the security elements have to be in place and all the other support services have to be in place and they are not all available for the evacuees because the numbers are going up in the country and resources, both human and material are the real challenges that we are facing.”

The minister said that the Nigerian missions in New York, Washington and Atlanta are trying to strike a deal with the American authorities for any flight available to bring back Nigerians. He said that the government is making arrangement with an Ethiopian Airline that does regular commercial operations in US to bring back Nigerians on Monday next week.

He said that Nigerian Air Peace plane chartered for a medical evacuation of a Nigerian couple to take a family member to London will also be engaged to evacuate Nigerians since the plane will be coming back from London empty, thus the government hope to strike a deal with Air Peace on Saturday to bring the citizens. Speaking on Nigerians in China, the Minister said “China is a huge crisis and we are trying to see if we can get a plane quickly to go and evacuate our people who are in large numbers in China, who also have additional challenges.

We are trying to source funds to also support these compatriots of ours, but there are capacity issues. “It has not been easy sourcing a plane but we are making arrangement with one of the carriers and we are hoping that within two weeks we will be able to move to China and bring back our people and those who are in South Africa, India and France,”

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, has said that the continuous relocation of almajiri pupils from one state to another, up till Sunday is not in alignment with the guidelines issued by President Muhammadu Buhari banning inter-state movement amidst COVID-19 crisis in the country.

The President had banned interstate movement from Monday May 4 as part of measures to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Mustapha, who made the complaint on Monday in Abuja at the 25th joint national briefing of the committee, assured that the PTF will engage with the respective state governments on how to achieve their objectives. “​The PTF has also received reports on the level of compliance with the nationwide ban on inter-state movement.

“The objective of the ban is to slow down the spread of virus across state boundaries. “The determination of government to enforce this policy is not in doubt and as we progress, we believe that proper alignment with the directives of Mr. President would be pursued. “​There has been very noticeable relocation of Almajiris from one state to another, up until yesterday. With the ban on interstate movement, the continuation of this exercise will not be in alignment with the guidelines issued.

“The PTF shall engage with the respective state governments on how to achieve their objectives,” the SGF said. Most norther states have been relocating Almajiri pupils to their respective States since the past weeks. They claimed the move was to help in containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, yesterday announced the commencement of a three-day warning strike effective from today over poor welfare package. The association said the strike action followed the alleged refusal of the state government to yield to agitations on the need for improved welfare package for its members.

The decision was contained in a letter jointly signed by the ARD OOUTH President and the General Secretary, Dr. Popoola Mutiu and Dr. Osundara Tope respectively to the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Abeokuta yesterday, regretting the lack of response to the doctor’s plight by the government. The association noted that the attitude of the government to previous strike warning letters showed it was not concerned about their welfare and condemned the increase in hazard allowance from N5,000 to N10,000 as a mere charade.

The doctors, however, said their members working at the COVID-19 isolation centre will be excused from the strike action. The letter partly reads: “There has been no commitment whatsoever from the government on the issue of appropriate remuneration, entry level, new minimum wage, hazard allowance and life insurance for our members. “Despite the inadequate response of Ogun State government to the health risks confronted by our members during this COVID-19 pandemic, our members went ahead to continue their work diligently in their various departments and at the isolation centre.

“We were taken aback by the arbitrary change in only hazard allowance to be given as COVID-19 Special Hazard Allowance to all health workers,” the association lamented.