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ABUJA—VICE President Yemi Osinbajo and governors who are members of the National Economic Council, NEC, yesterday met to discuss on more palliatives to cushion the effect of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic
The Special NEC committee, which was held via videoconference anchored from the Presidential Villa, urged members to increase public enlightment because of the ravaging COVID-19.

The Committee received the report of its Technical Working Group, which proposed an array of policy options and recommendations on how federal, state and local governments could bring relief to the people and take other adequate measures in containing and responding to the adverse economic effects of the pandemic.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, stated that the Special Committee of the National Economic Council on COVID-19 was working hard to develop additional measures to alleviate the challenges faced by Nigerians because of the implications of the global pandemic in the country.
According to him, the Committee, which is chaired by Vice President Osinbajo, held its second meeting yesterday, adding that the committee was saddled with the task of coordinating the federal and state governments’ responses to the impact of the disease.
Akande in the statement said: “The NEC Committee received the report of its Technical Working Group, which proposed an array of policy options and recommendations on how federal, state and local governments can bring relief to the people and take other adequate measures in containing and responding to the adverse economic effects of the pandemic.”
Speaking at the meeting, the Vice President emphasised the importance of the assignment and the urgency required, asking that public enlightenment and sensitisation on the seriousness of the pandemic should be further intensified at all government levels so that more Nigerians would become aware of the compelling and critical dimensions of the situation.
He assured the governors that “The Federal Government was already packaging further resources for a comprehensive economic response to alleviate the challenges of the pandemic, support the states and provide succour to Nigerians in a timely and effective manner.”
He disclosed that the newly-created Economic Sustainability Committee, ESW, constituted by the President will also be meeting this week to start its work and respond to the situation appropriately. Participants at the meeting were governors Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti; Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna; Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa; Mohammed Abubakar, Jigawa; Godwin Obaseki, Edo; David Umahi, Ebonyi; Dapo Abiodun, Ogun and Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi.
Others were the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, among several other top officials.

A spokesman for the Nigerian Government Femi Adesina has said President Muhammadu Buhari and vice president Yemi Osinbajo have been earning only 50% of their salaries since they were sworn in for their first term in office in 2015.

Nigeria is battling the outbreak of coronavirus which has infected over 830, 000 and killed more than 41,000 persons worldwide.

In support of curbing the spread of the virus in Nigeria, politicians, philanthropists, companies have announced donations to the Nigerian Government. Ministers in the government last week said they were donating 50% of their March salaries to curb the global pandemic.

When asked if Buhari and Osinbajo were donating to Nigeria’s fight against coronavirus, Adesina said there was no need for them to do so.

“Already, the President and the Vice President are earning 50 per cent of their salaries, they are not earning 100 per cent,” Adesina said during the Channels Television political programme Politics Today on Tuesday.

Adesina stated that both Nigerian leaders chose to be paid half of their salaries since the inception of the present administration in 2015. The presidential spokesperson, however, did not state the president and vice president’s salary

In July 2015, Buhari and Osinbajo indicated to take a 50% pay cut of their salary barely two months after their swearing-in into office.

The permanent secretary of the State House, Nebolisa Emodi, at the time wrote to the then secretary of the government Babachir Lawal on Buhari’s decision to take a pay cut.

“I write to forward the completed IPPIS registration form of Mr. President and to draw your kind attention to Mr. President’s directive that only 50% of his salary be paid to him,” Emodi said in the letter.

One of the presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu disclosed that Osinbajo will be receiving 50% of his salary too.

The current annual remuneration of the President of Nigeria as published by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission is N14, 058,820.00.

Five years after, Adesina, insisted that “right from the beginning of the administration (the first term), they had elected to earn half of the salaries they should earn.”

An American citizen diagnosed of COVID-19 in Lagos state has been evacuated to the US.

Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health, broke the news in a tweet on Wednesday.

He said the state has recorded 82 coronavirus cases, which is the highest toll recorded by any state in the country.

Abayomi said eight patients have recovered from the disease in the state and have been discharged.

“Total #COVID19 Lagos cases is now 82. 8 patients have so far been discharged following their full recovery. One of the confirmed case who is an American citizen has been evacuated to USA,” the tweet read.



Nigeria has recorded 151 coronavirus cases.

Of the 151 confirmed cases, Lagos has 82; FCT 28, and Osun 14.

Oyo has eight cases, while Ogun and Edo states have four cases each.

Kaduna has three, while Ekiti, Enugu, and Bauchi states have two cases each.

Rivers and Benue states have recorded one case each.

A total of nine persons have recovered from the disease in the country.

Nigeria has recorded only two deaths from the disease so far.

Suleiman Achimugu, a former managing director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), died of the disease and was Nigeria’s first fatality.

https://149366101.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-hospital-during-the-Spanish-influenza-pandemic-in-1918-e1585700793237.jpg
Another pandemic 102 years ago: Volunteer nurses from the American Red Cross tend to influenza patients in the Oakland Municipal Auditorium

By Abankula

In 1918, a pandemic virus, called the Spanish flu blew across the world like the current coronavirus and killed at least 50 million people. In Nigeria, then under colonial rule, an estimated 500,000 died.

There is a striking similarity between the two pandemics in the way they affected Nigeria: both were brought in by travellers.

A little over a century ago, the old killer virus was brought in by travellers arriving by ship from England. Fast forward to the present; travellers arriving by planes from Europe and United States are the chief vectors of the new virus.

Don C. Ohadike, a historian and one of the leading scholars on Igbo history wrote about the 1918 pandemic in the Social Science and Medicine Journal in 1991.

In the article titled, Diffusion and physiological responses to the influenza pandemic of 1918–19 in Nigeria, he wrote:

“The disease was introduced into Nigeria by passengers and crews who arrived via ship from overseas. Thus, coastal ports were the primary focus of the diffusion of the disease.

Its spread to the hinterland was facilitated by improvements in transportation technology. Neither maritime quarantine, nor the isolation of patients checked the spread of the disease.

“About 500,000 Nigerians, out of a population of 18 million, died in less than 6 months, and between 50 and 80% of the population was stricken.

‘The over-crowded urban centre were the hardest hit and, even though the pandemic declined almost as suddenly as it began, morbidity, mortality, and panic adversely affected the productive capacity of the country”.

Jan-Bart Gewald of the African Studies Centre Leiden, The Netherlands, who wrote about the Spanish flu in 2007, relied on Ohadike’s paper, about how the virus impacted Nigeria. But he went further to lament the dearth of global data on victims in many African countries, suggesting that the 500,000 quoted by Ohadike, even for Nigeria could have been a guesstimate.

In Gewald’s account, the virus travelled from England to Sierra Leone, then to Gold Coast, now Ghana before landing in Nigeria, the same way travellers move around today, going to high risk areas, only to bring the virus home with them.

Gewald gave a pan-African perspective about the Spanish virus, how it decimated African population in South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and reinforced the evil ideology of racial separation and supremacy. The virus affected the colonialists as well. But Africans living in cramped environment were bigger victims. South Africa lost 300,000 people, 6 per cent of its population to the virus.

In Ghana, then the Gold Coast, the virus affected more women than men and altered gender role in the northern part of the country. In the desolate village of Lorha, so many women were sick that, contrary to custom, men had to grind grain and prepare meals.

Ohadike similarly wrote about how the virus forced dietary change in southern Nigeria, making people to adopt cassava as a staple food.

“The attractiveness of Cassava to so many people is the fact that it requires comparatively less agricultural labour to produce. In periods of stress, where labour may be short, it becomes the crop of choice.”

Gewald catalogued how the Spanish virus caused economic crisis all over Africa, how it affected mining, migrant labourers who fled from endemic centres.

In Namibia, the pandemic was christened as Kaapitohanga, a disease that did not distinguish between white or black.

We quote Gewald again: As in the rest of the world Kaapitohanga, the disease which passes through like a bullet and gave its name to the year 1918, did not respect class, creed or status, and least of all race. It struck German settler, Afrikaner soldier, Herero townsman, and South African administrator with equal vehemence. In its path shops, businesses, administration and daily life ground to a standstill. Like the silver bullet and wooden stake of Stokerian fantasy the disease brought settlers, missionaries and administrators to their knees and obliterated any form of superhuman condition that might possibly have been attributed to the colonisers of Namibia. In the sights of Kaapitohanga all humans were fair game.

West Africa

According to Gewald, the material available suggests that “Spanish Influenza” was introduced into Sierra Leone by the warship H.M.S. Mantua, which arrived in Freetown, capital and harbour of the British colony of Sierra Leone, on 15 August 1918, whilst escorting two passenger ships from Plymouth.

Captain of the Mantua, A. Dawson, later reported that on 31 July, “influenza was epidemic at Plymouth when Mantua and ships of her convoy left port”.

“In turn the Governor of Sierra Leone later reported to the Secretary of State that “the sanitary affairs of warships lie outside civil control and influenza is not a notifiable disease” consequently “no report was made”. On the day of its arrival, and contrary to the explicit warnings of “medical men” the Mantua was coaled by local labour. In “the week following the coaling … the number of labourers absent from work at the coaling station kept increasing” and by “the 27th August some five hundred out of six hundred were absent from work”.

In the disbelieving and shocked words of the Governor:
“The disease spread with devastating rapidity, disorganizing everything. Everybody was attacked almost at once. Of my own household of twenty servants not one escaped; and on one day I had to attend to their work myself. It can be easily understood what such a state of affairs would mean to others less fortunately situated“.

The disease spread so fast in Sierra Leone and by the time it was over, over a thousand people died.

Another ship S.S. Prah that had sailed from Freetown in August of 1918 took the disease to The Gambia. Before the ship reached Bathurst, now known as Banjul, Sierra Leone shipping authorities had warned via telegraph that the ship’s crew might bring influenza with them.

The account of Gambia’s response to the alert was so similar to the response of Nigeria’s health officials today to coronavirus.

Here is Gewald’s account:

“Upon arrival on 29th August, following telegraphic communication from Freetown warning of the outbreak of the pandemic in Sierra Leone, all passengers were “placed under surveillance, and instructed to report at the Colonial Hospital each morning for a period of four days after arrival”.

“On the day following the arrival of the S.S. Prah in Gambia one of the passengers developed symptoms of influenza and became severely sick, but not before passing the disease “on to every other inmate of the house, his medical attendant, etc”.

Containment failed. An estimated 387 people were killed by the virus out of a population of 8,000.

Gewald also described how the influenza pandemic reached Lagos that year:

Following telegraphic communication from Sierra Leone stating that there was a serious epidemic of influenza at Freetown, “and advising that all ships from the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone should be considered infected”, influenza was declared a notifiable infectious disease on 3 September 1918.

“Shortly after, on 14th September the S.S. Ashanti arrived from Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast “with a history of much sickness on board”. The body of a man who had died on board before arrival was taken ashore; “a post-mortem examination showed that he died from influenza”.

“On the same day S.S. Bida put in from the Gold Coast with no less than 239 people on board. It was later reported that: These passengers landed at Lagos and dispersed in all directions before the sanitary authorities were aware of the fact. These passengers were undoubtedly the primary cause of spreading influenza so rapidly and so intensely throughout Nigeria, and of the many thousands of deaths which followed. It was quite impossible to trace these passengers. In the days following, those who had been in contact with the passengers of the Bida, be they customs clerks or medical officers, spread the disease ever further, and on 25 September Lagos was declared infected under the Public Health Ordinance. Throughout the month of October the disease raged through Lagos

An estimated 1,200 people died from the influenza out of the Lagos population of 80,000 plus. Even much more deaths were recorded in the hinterland that led Ohadike to give an estimate of 500,000 dying in Nigeria of the pandemic disease.

It is certain the Nigerian authorities want to avoid a repeat of history, which led to the various containment strategies being deployed against coronavirus: tracing, tracking possible vectors and their contacts, curfews, shutdowns and statewide lockdowns. Not to forget, enlightenment campaigns stressing social distancing, hand washing and so on.

The police in Imo state have arrested a housewife, Mrs. Ada Amuzie, for killing a commercial sex worker, identified simply as Hapiness.

The police said Amuzie had accused Happiness of dating her husband, Ejike Lambert Amuzie.

It was gathered that Happiness, in order to get even with Amuzie went to her house at Imika Obiti in Ohaji Egbema local government area of Imo state armed with a knife.

However Happiness was unlucky as Ada Amuzie over powered and stabbed her with the knife.

Police Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikeokwu, in a statement said, “On 28/3/2020 at about 11:45 pm, in Imika Obiti in Ohaji Egbema local government area, operatives of the Divisional Police headquarters Ohaji, acting on a report arrested one Ada Amuzie, 26 years old, for the murder of one Happiness, a commercial sex worker.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the said Ada Amuzie had accused Happiness of dating her husband(Ejike Lambert). On that faithful day she went and engaged Ada Amuzie in a fight in her matrimonial home, she took along a knife, and during the fight, the suspect overpowered her(Happiness), collected the knife and stabbed her below her breast, thus leading to her death.”

Ikeokwu said that the corpse has been deposited in a morgue, while the suspect was arrested and would be charged to court accordingly.

In a related development, Ikeokwu said that on the 28/3/2020 operatives of the Divisional Police headquarters in Okigwe, acting on a report arrested one Chinelo Joseph for the murder of one Okenna Ekwebelem.

Ikeokwu said that both of them had been in a relationship for sometime, and on this day Chinelo Joseph visited the deceased and after spending time with him, she decided to leave.

Ikeokwu added that the deceased refused and Chinelo insisted on leaving, and as soon as she left, the late Okenna ran and blocked her and directed her to go back to his house.

The police spokesman said that the girl refused and this led to altercation and in response he began to beat her.

In retaliation, the girl was said to have picked up a piece of iron and hit him on the chest and he fell down and died instantly.

Ikeokwu said the case is being investigated and the suspect will be prosecuted as soon as investigations were concluded.

Keynesian:
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John Adams, Minna



Another crisis is brewing in the Minna Emirate Council, the seat of one of the first class traditional rulers in Niger State with a group demanding that the current structure of the emirate be balkanized.

A group of stakeholders, made up of princes from the Emirate have request through a petition letter to the state House of Assembly for the balkanisation of the emirate into five autonomous emirates.

The petition dated 17th March 2020 and signed by 13 of the stakeholders some of them district heads is titled: “Request for the creation of additional emirates in Minna Emirate of Niger state,” saying that the current structure of the emirate comprising five local government areas with Minna as the Emirate headquarters is no longer acceptable.

“It is, therefore, against the above background that we passionately request Mr Governor to as a matter of urgency approve the immediate creation of Kuta Emirate, Paiko Emirate, Galadimankogo Emirate, Bosso/Minna Emirate and Kafinkoro Emirate and a new emir of Bosso/Minna extraction be appointed as Emir of Minna.”

The petition which is already before the House committee on public petitions if it sails through, Minna will become the second in the North in the last one year after that will witnessed the balkanization of its emirate.

The petitioners also hinged their demand on “the failure of the Minna Emirate Council not to “concede to the government directive which has dragged for too long and has caused a lot of concerns to the generality of the people of the emirate.

“Consequently, if Minna Emirate cannot sustain the marriage of convenience between five component districts, then separation becomes inevitable,” the petition further submits.

While commending the governor for what they described as “his foresight, fairness and the need to maintain the history of the emirate without any distortion,” the petitioners said the efforts made by some of the elders to resolve the impasse “appear not to be good enough.”

This is the second time within two years that the emirate will be facing an uprising from princes and major stakeholders in the state.

It would be recalled that in 2018, the stakeholders vehemently raised objection to the creation and appointments of about 250 district and village heads by the incumbent traditional ruler, Dr Umar Farouq Bahago, on the grounds that the exercise was undemocratic and skewed in his favour to the detriment of other princes, ruling houses and stakeholders.

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had to intervene by canceling the turbaning of the district and the village heads, and setting up a committee to look into the dispute before getting out of hand.

However, despite the fact that the government committee had submitted its report and a white paper issued, the governor has not constituted a “White Paper Implementation Committee.”

This and other reasons may have forced the group to request for the balkanisation of the emirate into five autonomous emirates according to a petition submitted to the Niger State House of Assembly, a copy which was also sent to the governor.

There has been no reaction to the petition from the emirate council secretariat.

The explosion that rocked Akure, Ondo state capital, on Saturday, was caused by a giant rock from space known as meteors, a team of experts have concluded.

A meteor is what happens when a meteoroid – a small piece of an asteroid – burns up upon entering earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky.

The experts led by Adepelumi Adekunle, a professor of geophysics and earthquake engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, said the meteors impacted the location from “an angle of 43 degrees”.

TheCable obtained a copy of their report findings on the explosion on Sunday.

TheCable had reported how the blast, which occurred on Saturday morning, injured some residents and destroyed a lot of houses in the area.

The explosion also caused a deep crater on the site it occurred, cutting off the road and hindering vehicular movement.

Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of the state, had told journalists the blast occurred after a truck conveying explosives to a quarry exploded.

“I have been briefed by the security chiefs that in the early hours of Saturday March 28th, a vehicle in a convoy transporting explosives to a storage facility in a neighbouring state developed a fault while in transit along the Akure Owo Road about 2km from the Akure Airport,” the governor had said.

But Adekunle said findings by his team suggest the explosion was caused by a natural phenomena, thereby contradicting the governor.

He added there was no evidence of a buried vehicle, buried ordinance or explosives from the site, and that “foreign rocks and strange metallic objects” were found within the crater crated.

His report read: “My Research group carried out a detailed analysis of the impact site. A circular impact crater with 21m diameter and 7.8m depth was found which suggest a natural phenomenal.

“Water was found oozing out from the edges of the crater. A preliminary insitu vibration, noise, seismicity, water analysis, radioactivity studies, rock and soil investigation were carried out.

“Our findings suggest that the impact of the blasting covers 1km radius of the surroundings of the crater. No evidence of fire or Burning of anything was found within the vicinity.

“No evidence of radioactivity radiation was found within the crater and immediate vicinity. The field evidence point to a conclusion that a meteoric from an asteroid belt that travels at a great speed from space impacted the location at an angle of 43 degrees created an ejecta at South-Western part.”

He also said a crack opening that vary in thickness from 3mm to 4 metres occurred on the wall of most of the buildings in the area, “but not at the base of the buildings”.


ARE WE SAFE? FIRST OCCURRENCE IN NIGERIA? HOW DANGEROUS?

The meteoroids, as explained earlier, are particles formed when two asteroids smash into another, causing their pieces to break off. An asteroid in itself is a small rocky body that orbits the sun.

This kind of explosions happen elsewhere — and not the first that Nigeria has suffered.

In 1962, a farmer was almost struck by a big meteorite when it came crashing down in Zagami, Katsina state.

One of the most recent of meteor explosions was in March, 2019, which the US detected.

It was the second largest of its kind in 30 years, and the biggest since the fireball over Chelyabinsk in Russia six years ago, in which about 1,000 persons were injured.

Any way to avoid them? The best we could do is to act upon warnings which comes years earlier than such occurrences from the space, The Guardian reports.

“An asteroid threat is a natural hazard that we could probably do something about now with the technology we already have. All we need to do is make it miss Earth, but in such a way that it doesn’t then come back some years later and collide with the Earth,” it adds.

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to address Nigerians by 7 pm.

This is the second time the President will be addressing the nation in the last one week as confirmed cases of COVID-19 spike in Nigeria.
Here are things Nigeria will want to hear from their President:

1. Capability over COVID-19: Nigerians are itching to receive words of assurance from President Buhari that the country, especially the health sector is capable of beating the curve on the coronavirus pandemic spread.

This may become very necessary to dissolve as Lagos Commissioner of Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the megacity may see up to 39,000 cases except social distancing is well practised.

2. Disbursement of donations: Aside this reality check, Nigerians will be curious to know a bit on how and when the several donations incoming to the fight this pandemic would be disbursed.

3. Nationwide lockdown: There is tension across different states of the country. Some states have declared curfews and total border closure. Some Nigerians are calling for a total lockdown nationwide. Nigerians want to hear from Buhari the possibility of such.

4. ‘COVID-19 or COVIK one-nine’?: One thing that certainly caused a media buzz was the pronunciation of the ravaging virus by Buhari during his last pre-recorded address last Sunday. While some argued that the pronunciation was only reflective of his local dialect, some others believe that he was not sincerely mistaken.

No matter how brief the address is this evening, it is a sure bet that he would pronounce the virus at least once. The citizens will have another opportunity to clear the doubt and probably end controversy.

Coronavirus: With Buhari absent from frontline, governors exercise presidential powers

In Kano, Governor Umar Ganduje closed all land boundaries and the state’s airport. In Delta, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa shut all routes leading in and out of the state. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State halted all land, sea and air traffic.

As the coronavirus pandemic makes rapid inroads into Nigeria’s vast population and President Muhammadu Buhari’s whereabouts become increasingly fuzzy, Nigerian governors are stepping up with what they deem necessary to keep their people safe. In doing so, they are also brazenly exerting presidential authority, filling up for a clear lack of political leadership in Abuja.

As of March 28, with 81 cases confirmed, Mr Buhari has not declared an emergency to restrict all or some forms of human movement — amongst other drastic initiatives as may be necessary to contain the virus — across the country, despite calls for him to do so before it becomes too late.

The Nigerian Constitution accords the federal government absolute authority on land, air and water transportation under items three, 36 and 63 of the exclusive legislative list — a glossary of constitutional authorities that could only be codified by the National Assembly for presidential implementation.

Yet, at least four Nigerian states have now instituted far-reaching restrictions on human and economic activities within their respective domains, with additional states predicted to take similar cues in the coming days.

With confirmed coronavirus cases projected to rise in the coming weeks, the emergency measures so far adopted by governors to combat the pandemic has varied from state to state. But, they all share a common flaw: the lack of coordination from a central authority.

‘Drastic measures’

Mr Wike, who has led Rivers since 2015, appeared the first of Nigeria’s 36 governors to impose a ban on road and water traffic within his domain, thereby crippling interstate commerce.

“All land and sea borders will be closed. Vehicular movements in an out of the state have been banned. In essence no vehicle will leave Rivers State for any other state and no vehicle will be allowed to enter the state,” the governor said in a statewide broadcast on March 25.

The governor said the directive, which took effect on March 26, was issued after a meeting of the state security council, which includes representatives of the police, military and other federal authorities that fall under the control of the president.

“Security agencies have been empowered to strictly enforce this directive,” he said. “There will be no room for sacred cows because the virus is no respecter of persons.”

Although Mr Wike acknowledged he lacked powers to prohibit air traffic, he maintained that passengers who fly into Port Harcourt would not be allowed to leave the airport.

“The situation we are facing requires drastic measures because coronavirus has ravaged many countries,” Mr Wike said.

Shortly after Mr Wike’s announcement on Wednesday morning, Mr Ganduje imposed similar measures in Kano. Even though Kano has yet to confirm any COVID-19 infection, the governor, nonetheless, banned all transport buses from entering the state, citing the disease.

“The council also note that while the state is yet to record any single case of an outbreak, the resolution became necessary to ensure that the virus does not find its way to Kano State,” he said.

On March 26, Mr Okowa, in a statewide broadcast to Delta residents, said he had ordered the closure of all land routes across the state.

From March 27, the airport in Asaba, the state capital, will be “closed to traffic,” Mr Okowa said, while “all land borders into and out of Delta State are to be shut” effective March 29.

The governor said the decision “was not taken lightly” but only came after a “thorough consultations with experts,” the governor said, urging citizens to “adjust to the new normal.”

Ebonyi, Anambra, Jigawa and Akwa Ibom have also instituted one form of restriction on land transportation or another within the past two days.


‘Sensible but scary’

Nigeria has recorded a few number of disease outbreaks in the past, but, like most of the world, has never been assailed with anything as disruptive as the raging COVID-19, which was first reported in China last November.

Besides Lassa fever and monkey pox, the most recent nationwide outbreak was the Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever that devastated West Africa in 2014. The disease was reported in Nigeria, but was quickly traced and arrested with negligible disruption to social and economic wellbeing of the citizens.

“With coronavirus pandemic, state and federal authorities have a sensible reason to panic and impose draconian measures deemed critical to keeping everyone from being infected,” a lawyer, Abdul Mahmud, told PREMIUM TIMES. “But the pronouncements coming from the Nigerian governors, most of them without any deference to the president or existing laws, are scary.”

Mr Mahmud said Nigeria has had a quarantine statute in place for decades, and governors are refusing to invoke it because they wanted to circumvent its responsibility.

“The Quarantine Act of 1926 permits governors to take necessary measures to keep residents safe in the absence of any presidential pronouncement,” Mr Mahmud said. “But it also required that residents who are locked at home must be fed by the government, which many state governors are reluctant to do.”

Amongst the governors who have announced measures to keep people at home to enforce the highly recommended social distancing approach against coronavirus, only Governor Nasir El-Rufai has invoked the Quarantine Act in Kaduna State.

Mr El-Rufai in his order said all residents must stay at home and state officials would make food available. Rather than shut all routes in and out of Kaduna, the governor allowed vehicular movement of vehicles on federal trunk roads, but said drivers would be checked to ensure they’re not bringing virus to the state.

“The approach by the Kaduna governor is the most commendable implementation of the provisions of the Quarantine Act because it was carried out without usurpation of presidential powers,” Mr Mahmud said, adding that all governors should immediately take a cue.

“You cannot take such painful measures without legal instruments that would define how law enforcement officers must behave,” Mr Mahmud said. “It would be counterproductive.”

Mr Mahmud said although the Quarantine Act allowed governors to lock down their state boundaries, it cannot override the Constitution.

“The Quarantine Act must be exercised within the confines of the Constitution,” he said. “What the governors are doing is clearly unconstitutional powers. They are irresponsible and dangerous.”

Inibehe Effiong, another rights activist and legal expert in Lagos, said the governors should have issued their directives based on the Quarantine Act or pass a new law as it was done in the United Kingdom with the Coronavirus Act of 2020.

“No responsible or serious country disregards the rule of law,” Mr Effiong said.

“Survival of mankind”

Media aides to some of the governors told PREMIUM TIMES that legal niceties did not weigh heavily on their action.

“These are tough times that require tough measures so that the virus does not transmit,” Simeon Nwakaudu, a spokesperson for Mr Wike, told PREMIUM TIMES. “These things are done for the health of Rivers State and other Nigerians.”

Mr Nwakaudu said the legality of the governor’s action should not be a serious thing because other governors have taken similar measures.

“It is not only Rivers State that has done this,” he said. “Anambra, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Delta and many others have done it.” He declined to respond when told that Kaduna followed the quarantine laws and did not issue outright ban on vehicular movement from other states.

Norbert Chiazor, a spokesperson for Mr Okowa, echoed similar sentiment that public interest was at the core of the decision to ban movement in and out of Delta.

“For overriding public interest, the Delta State governor can do that,” Mr Chiazor said when asked why the governor took the decision to regulate interstate travel.

“The governor can take decision for the wellbeing of Deltans,” he said. “It is a very, very critical decision that he has taken as a medical professional himself.” He emphasises the battle against coronavirus was “about the survival of mankind.”


Missing in Action

Despite concerns around the governors’ decision, federal authorities have shown no interest in checkmating the apparent duplication of presidential powers across the country. No minister or other senior member of the cabinet has spoken publicly on the legal consequences of the directives.

Mr Buhari himself has not been seen in public since March 19 when he made a brief appearance at a gathering to commission federal emergency telephone lines in Abuja. His failure to publicly address a nation in crisis has fuelled rumours about his health.

His media aides have, however, continued to issue statements attesting to his firmness, saying his silence at a time leaders across the world are vigorously providing leadership and guiding their people was deliberate.

On March 22, a 23-second video purporting to show the president talking about the coronavirus was abruptly deleted after exposing him as being unable to pronounce COVID-19, one of the most used words in the world.

In the last one week, Nigerians online have increasingly asked questions about the president’s whereabouts, using multiple trending hashtags on Twitter and Facebook to seek answers.

On Thursday, after the hashtag, #WhereisBuhari, trended for hours, the presidency released two statements within hours, in what appeared a quick attempt to damp the uproar.

The statements by spokesperson Garba Shehu quoted Mr Buhari as praising the efforts of health workers and other Nigerians in responding to the pandemic, and outlined steps taken by the government.

On Friday, another statement quoted the president as urging national unity to defeat the virus, saying together, that can be achieved.

In the absence of a federal directive, security agencies have said they would enforce the governors’ orders.

“Right now, we have a situation at hand,” Onome Onovwakpoyeya, Delta police spokesperson, said. Delta has not recorded any confirmed case as of March 28.

The police spokesperson said she did not know that only the president could issue directives on closure of federal roads.

“You are just educating me on that now,” she said.

In Kano, the police also said they took part in deliberations to impose a lockdown and would ensure its implementation.

“The governor has issued a directive and the job of the police is to enforce it,” Kano police spokesperson, Haruna Abdulahi, said, brushing aside constitutional questions around the state’s decision.

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The joy heralding the birth of a child is usually indescribable let alone arrival of twins . That was the feeling seven years ago when Chiagozie and Chidalu Agwunobi, were welcomed to the Oliseh clan in Oko Ogbele Community , Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State . They were a bundle of joy to their parents as they grew up happily in months and years .

Few days ago , that joy was blown away like a candle in the wind when they went missing and their dismembered bodies later found in a bush . They were cruelly killed by their uncle , Onuwa Oliseh , who is still at large .

Onuwa reportedly lured the seven -year -old male twins to the bush within the neighbourhood on Friday , March 6 , after they returned from school and butchered them . He was said to have removed some of their body parts for money rituals and dumped the remains .

Investigation by operatives of the Inspector -General of Police Intelligence Response Team in the state led to the arrest of Onuwa ’s accomplice, Kelvin Uzor , who is also a relation of the twins .

“ Police got information that on March 6 , the twins were missing from their parents’ house . Their bodies were later found in the bush on March 8 with some parts of their bodies mutilated . Their eyes, hands and private parts were missing . Police began investigation and generated enough intelligence that led to the arrest of Uzor . He confessed that they were a three - man gang and wanted to do money ritual with the body parts ,” a senior officer told Saturday PUNCH.

Our correspondent learnt that Onuwa ’s younger brother , Iweka , who attended the same school with the twins , told the police that the suspect asked him to lure the deceased from the school.

“ I am a primary four pupil of Ekeanya Primary School. On March 6 , at about 6 .30 am, my elder brother Onuwa Ajei Oliseh , asked me if I would go to school and I told him yes. He asked if I can help him bring out the twins from the school before the school closes that day and I told him no because their teacher would not agree.

“ That day when I came back from school, I saw my brother place a cutlass on the table where he was eating while I went to the backyard . It was later I heard that the twins were missing and their dead bodies were found in the bush, ” he told detectives .

The twins ’ father, Agwunobi Oliseh , stated that Onuwa visited his house that Friday in the morning and asked him if they ( the twins ) would go to school. He said he responded in affirmative, unknown that Onuwa was plotting to kill his beloved kids.

The 52 -year - old farmer said when his children returned from school , Onuwa came back and asked them to follow him to the stream in the community .

He said, “ I am a traditionalist and a farmer . I ’m married with seven kids . My twins were seven years old . On March 6 in the early morning , Onuwa came to my house and inquired if my late children would go to school and I said yes. I later learnt he told his younger brother , Iweka , to help him take my children out of the school premises . He said he wanted to go somewhere with them .

“ Later in the day , he went to their school and tried to take them out but he was chased away by their teacher . As soon as they came back , he came to my house and asked them to follow him to the stream . I think they were on their way when he brought out a cutlass and killed them .”

The distraught father , who noted that he and his wife were not around when Onuwa took the twins away , said he was told the suspect ran home with bloodstains .

“ According to his brother , he ran back home with his hands stained with blood. He then asked the brother to pour water on his hands while he washed the machete with which he killed the twins . He left for Uzor ’s house and both of them went to one Anam .

“ It was when I came back later in the day with my wife that I realised the twins were missing. While I was running around , Iweka told me that it was Onuwa who took my children . Onuwa ran away but we were able to find Uzor who told us where their bodies were dumped . We went there and found their mutilated bodies. Their eyes, tongues and hands were removed, ” he added.
Uzor , in his statement , admitted the twins were killed for rituals but denied partaking in their murder.

He said one of his friends, called Chukwudi, told him of a traditionalist in Anambra who could help them to perform money rituals with children not above age 12 .

The 18 -year - old primary school leaver stated that he informed Onuwa, who agreed to the plan .
He said, “ I stopped schooling after my primary school education because my parents did not have money. I worked for a farmer called Egwiyo . I served him for many years and he promised to give me money this year . Chukwudi told me there was a place where we could do money rituals in Anambra and he asked if I was interested .

“ We later told Onuwa who agreed to do it . I told them I was not interested but if they want to do it , they could go ahead . I told them I would be happy if they succeeded. I was sleeping when Onuwa called me and said he had killed the twins . He said he took their bodies to one native doctor in Delta but the man told him he wasn’t into money rituals.

“ He later called me when the heat was much and told me where he dumped the bodies. Now, police said I was the one who killed the twins . Onuwa took the body parts to a herbalist in Aguleri , Anambra .’’

Uzor said immediately he learnt about the twin’s murder, he ran to Anambra where he was tracked down by the police . He added that he gave tacit support for the crime in the hope that he would be given money to buy a car and build a house if it worked out .

He said, “ I wanted to become a young chief because most of the young men I know did not work as hard as I did and now they are millionaires . I am a farmer and hardworking but I was not making enough money . I have no savings. That was why I somehow agreed to be part of the plan .

“ Onuwa convinced me it was the fastest way to make money and that most of our colleagues made money through that means . My greatest mistake was that I did not inform my family when Onuwa suggested that we should use the twins
.
“ I love the twins so much and their parents are nice. I cautioned him but I don ’t know that he would still go ahead to kill them . They normally went to his house to play; so it was easy for him to take them out without anyone being suspicious . I was not in the bush when he killed them .”

Uzor revealed further that the initial plan was to use an elderly woman in the community for the money ritual but he prevailed on the gang to spare the woman because she was generous .

“ Initially , they wanted to use one old woman known as Nne Amaka , but I pleaded with them to leave her because she is nice . If I passed by and begged her for water , she would give me water and even food.

“ I feel bad because he betrayed me . I am appealing to young men that money ritual does not pay . I am a hard working man and well known . Even when my name was mentioned in the crime , a lot of people came out to defend me . I am sorry . I want the family to forgive me , ” he added .

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the remains of the twins had been deposited at the General Hospital , Igbuzor while IRT detectives led by DCP Abba Kyari had launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.

US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria says it is preparing emergency flights to evacuate its citizens in Nigeria despite airport closures , The PUNCH reports .

This is not unconnected to the exploding coronavirus cases in Nigeria which stand at 81 on Saturday morning according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control .

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had closed all international airports in the country including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja to prevent further importation of COVID -19 .

But the Consulate on Friday , in a notice entitled ‘ Health Alert: US Mission in Nigeria ’ sighted by The PUNCH , advised American citizens to be in Abuja and Lagos “ as soon as possible ” to join the arranged flights back to the US .

It also advised nationals not in Abuja and Lagos to work with local airlines to make travel arrangements while flights are still available .

It stated , “ At present , there are no scheduled flights to the United States . However, we are actively exploring options and attempting to secure flights despite global airport closures and travel restrictions .

“We will email US citizens immediately once we have flight details, routes , and costs .

“ US citizens who are considering returning to the United States are urged to travel to Abuja or Lagos as soon as possible .

“ The Embassy and Consulate are unable to assist with lodging , food, or transportation costs , and some hotels have closed or are closing .

“ To disseminate important information and alerts for US Citizens including possible evacuation flights, the State Department uses the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program as its primary messaging system . US Citizens in Nigeria who want to be informed about emergency flights and receive other alerts should enroll in STEP immediately .”

As of Saturday morning , according to World Health Organisation statistics , the US has 68 , 334 confirmed cases of COVID - 19 with 991 attendant deaths.

Troubled by the figures , President Donald Trump on Friday had ordered General Motors , Ford amongst other production giants to start the mass production of ventilators.

The federal government has deployed Nigerian science researchers to search for cure for COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking exclusively with THISDAY, the Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu said three federal government agencies are working hard to contribute to scientific knowledge and solutions for COVID-19.

The three agencies are the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Chikwe said: “Nigeria’s research agencies have announced that they are working hard, to contribute to scientific knowledge and solutions for COVID-19.”

He said on the international scene, the global community was also working very hard to identify treatment for the disease.

He said: “The World Health Organisation (WHO) is leading the efforts on clinical trials in some countries. This will enable us validate the safety and efficacy of drugs for COVID-19.

“There have been early promising results and we look forward to final validation. In addition, clinical trials began March 17 for a potential vaccine. This effort is coordinated by THE Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) which is one of our close partners at NCDC.

“We are involved in these discussions, especially to ensure equitable access when solutions such as vaccines and drugs for treatment are available,” he added.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has announced that he is taking an 80 percent salary cut alongside the vice-president to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Kenyatta also announced members of the federal cabinet would have their salaries slashed by 30 percent.

He added that salaries of chief administrative secretaries and principal secretaries would also be reduced by 30 percent and 20 percent respectively.

He said the salary cut was voluntarily agreed upon by him and the officials, and that the measure is aimed at making more funds available to help Kenya manage the pandemic.

The country has 28 confirmed cases of the virus as of Wednesday.

Kenyatta further announced a raft of other measures meant to cushion the effect of the pandemic, including a 100 percent tax relief for all Kenyans earning below Ksh24,000.

He said his administration also decided on a 25 percent tax relief for other workers, as well as a reduction of the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent.

As of Wednesday, there were 2,475 cases of the coronavirus across 46 African countries, with 64 deaths recorded.

Nigeria has so far recorded 46 cases of the infection while one person have died.

A 40-year-old electrician, Victor Edem, has committed suicide over alleged weak erectile challenges and his inability to impregnate women.

Mr Edem, a resident of Okpanam Community, near Asaba, Delta State, was found dead on Monday night inside his room where he had been living with his wife and son before they separated last year, as a result of the erectile challenges.

According to family sources, Mr Edem, who was a native of Calabar, Cross River State, had confided in one of his friends about the challenge, threatening to take his own life if he could not find a cure to the ailment.

It was also gathered that Mr Edem had been spending so much money on the ailment until he got frustrated along the line and decided to commit suicide.

Speaking to newsmen on condition of anonymity, one of the residents of the quarters where Mr Edem lived, said the deceased went through “pathetic and inhuman torture” in the hands of his ex-wife as a result of the sickness, before packing out of his house.

According to the resident, it became clear that Mr Edem’s Instruments was demobilized after his repeated efforts to stay with a couple of women proved difficult.

When contacted, the state Police Commissioner, Hafiz Inuwah confirmed the incident, saying that it was clear that the victim intentionally decided to take his own life as he didn’t leave any suicide note.

Mr Inuwah, however, said that two telephone numbers were found inside the room where Mr Edem’s body was dangling from the ceiling.

One of the elders in Okpanam Community, who spoke to Journalists, Ogbueshi Osakwe, disclosed that Mr Edem had committed an abomination by taking his own life over his alleged erectile malfunctioning, stressing that the deceased might face “dire consequences” in the heaven.

According to Mr Osakwe, the curse of Okpanam Community is upon him as it remained a taboo for anyone to commit suicide in the community.

Investigations by this reporter revealed that in the last few months, no fewer than six persons had committed suicide in Okpanam, Asaba and Ibusa communities over alleged joblessness, health, and financial challenges.

The speaker of the Edo state House of Assembly, Frank Okiye, has tested positive to Coronavirus. Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, disclosed this Wednesday while briefing journalists.

He said the state is taking measures to tackle further spread of the virus in the state.

While the world is still grappling with COVID-19, which has claimed lives in thousands, another virus broke out in the Asian country, killing its first victim in the already embattled nation.

Coronavirus had hit the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. But what had only infected a handful of stallholders in a seafood market gradually became a pandemic, ravaging more than 170 countries; infecting nearly 400,000 people; and killing over 17,000 patients in a global emergency.

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, hantavirus, a rodent-borne disease, had on Monday claimed a man’s life in China’s Yunnan province. This prompted health officials to place 32 others on scrutiny as they had ridden on the same bus with him.

Unlike COVID-19, however, health sources have stated that person-to-person spread of hantavirus is extremely rare as the disease can mostly be transmitted on condition of close contact with an infected patient.

From symptoms to how it spreads, here’s what you need to know about the hantavirus.


What is hantavirus?

Hantavirus is a family of virus spread mainly by rodents — just like Lassa fever. However, they can cause varied disease syndromes worldwide. Hantavirus in the some parts of the world are known as new world hantavirus and may cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).

HPS is marked by flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, myalgia, headache, lethargy and shortness of breath, which rapidly deteriorates into acute respiratory failure. It is characterized by the sudden onset of shortness of breath with rapidly evolving pulmonary edema. It’s often fatal!

While some other types of hantaviruses have not been associated with any known human disease, another group — known as old-world hantaviruses — are found mostly in Europe and Asia and may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).


How does it spread?

Hantavirus normally infects rodents but don’t cause illnesses in them. However, humans may become infected with the virus through contact with rodent urine, saliva, or feces.

“Rodent infestation in and around the home remains the primary risk for hantavirus exposure. Even healthy individuals are at risk for Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) infection if exposed to the virus,” the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote on its website.

The virus is mainly transmitted to people when they breathe in air contaminated with the virus.

“When fresh rodent urine, droppings, or nesting materials are stirred up, tiny droplets containing the virus get into the air. This process is known as ‘airborne transmission’,” CDC added.


What are the symptoms of hantavirus?

Early symptoms of the virus include fever, muscle ache, abdominal pain, dizziness, headache and other stomach problems such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Like COVID-19, late symptoms of the virus are lung congestion due to fluid accumulation and shortness of breath as well.

According to the CDC, the incubation time for the hantavirus is not really known. But, on the basis of limited information, it appears symptoms tend to develop between one and eight weeks after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, or saliva from infected rodents.

While half of HPS patients experience these symptoms, CDC puts the mortality rate of hantavirus at 38 percent as it can be fatal. Note that diagnosing HPS in the first few days of being infected can be difficult as the disease can often be confused with influenza due to the similarities in symptoms.


Is there treatment for the virus?

CDC states that there’s no specific treatment option, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus but patients have often done better when they are diagnosed early and admitted for medical care in an intensive care unit, where they’re given oxygen therapy to help them through respiratory distress.

“However, we do know that if infected individuals are recognised early and receive medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better. In intensive care, patients are intubated and given oxygen therapy to help them through the period of severe respiratory distress,” CDC said.

Other sources have recommended that patients seek immediate medical attention when they report symptoms that are consistent with this disease — especially deep muscle aches, severe shortness of breath, and fever. This is strongly advised if the individual has a history of being around rodents.

Because one may not be able to tell what rodent is infected and which isn’t, the best approach is to keep all rodents out. Disinfect and clean surfaces smeared with rodent urine or droppings while wearing gloves. You should also properly wash your hands thereafter.

The Federal Government has begun the process for the appointment of 16 new permanent secretaries.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said this in a statement signed by the Director, Communications Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Mrs. Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, on Tuesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the commencement of the processes for the appointment of 16 new Permanent Secretaries to replace outgoing Permanent Secretaries in 14 states and to fill two existing vacancies in two other states.

The 24 state whose tenure of permanent secretaries would soon elapse are Kwara, Kebbi, Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe and Jigawa states who will retire in 2020, while the existing vacancies are in Zamfara and Kogi states.

The President has also given approval for the commencement of the process for the selection of eligible Directors to fill the vacancies.

“Consequently, officers in the main stream of the Federal Civil Service, who attained the substantive rank of Director, on Salary Grade level 17 on or before 1st January, 2018, who had updated their records on the IPPIS Verification Portal and are from Kwara, Kebbi, Abia, Anambra, Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Jigawa, Zamfara and Kogi States; and are not retiring from the service earlier than, or on 31st December, 2021, are eligible to participate.

“Accordingly, Ministries/Offices are requested to forward the list of all eligible Directors on SGL 17 in their Ministry/Office; their confidential and personal files; 20 copies of their Curriculum Vitae; brief on each of the directors in the attached format, to be produced in Microsoft word and submitted in both hard (20) copies and soft copies.

“The soft copies are to be sent in a flash drive and also forwarded to ohcsfemd@ohcsf.gov.ng.

Evidence of State of Origin which, in the case of female directors, is not acquired by marriage is also to be produced,” the statement read. It said the documents must reach the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office (CMO), OHCSF, Federal Secretariat Phase II on or before 4pm on Friday, 24th April, 2020.

Candidates were also advised to note that the selection process would involve three stages of sitting for a written examination; test on ICT competency in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power point; and interactive session with a broad-based panel of experts and practitioner.

Lagos-based preacher, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has asked the Presidency to address the rumours surrounding Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Bakare, who is the Serving Overseer, Dominion Hall, Citadel Global Community Church (formerly Latter Rain Assembly) said this while delivering a sermon on Sunday.

There have been reports in the last couple of months about a strained relationship between Osinbajo and the cabal at the Presidency which culminated in the sacking and redeployment of some of the Vice-President’s aides.

Osinbajo was also relieved of some duties such as overseeing the Social Investment Programme and the economic advisory team.

Bakare, however, said there was a need for the Presidency to speak up.

He said, “It is my considered opinion that all the rumour mills and things going around the Vice-President in this nation, the government must address this country and tell the plain truth about what is going on instead of letting people to continue to make guesses that are unprofitable for our nation or anybody.

“And if they don’t want to say anything, then let them not say but stop this nonsense that is going on. You have a moral responsibility to account for the mess that is going on if you don’t stop it.”

Bakare, who was running mate to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2011, said he never begged to be Buhari’s running mate.

He said no one could relegate him having “gained access” to the mountain.

The cleric added, “I didn’t apply to be running mate. I was minding my business when I was called. They gave me access into the mountain and you can’t check me out of the place. No.

Bakare said the Bible “is replete with examples of persons who were nowhere but God elevated them.”

He said characters like Joseph and David received accelerated promotion and ensured that they utilised the opportunity to the full.

The cleric compared that to the case of Osinbajo.

Bakare stated, “I am not sure Osinbajo was a party man. I am not sure he was there when the APC was being formed. I moved the motion for the merger of the CPC and the ACN at the Eagle Square. He was not anywhere around there that day. In fact, I can tell you that he went to the Supreme Court to argue a case on that day when they were looking for him… one day I will tell you the story of what transpired that night.

“Until the kings of the mountain give you access, you cannot do anything on that mountain. But when they give you access, you must know how to carry yourself upon the mountain.”

MTN Nigeria on Sunday said its team would start working from home as part of the precautionary measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 Mr Funso Aina, the telcos Senior Manager, External Relations, said in a statement that from March 23, workers are expected to perform their duties from home.

Aina said that the telcos operations would continue to run at full scale with essential staff working limited hours on-site. “We also plan to announce the temporary closure of some of our stores.Those that remain open, will operate reduced hours and maintain strict and social distances measures.

“ The situation unfolding around the world is unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes and is a reminder that we are all more connected than we ever know. “To get through this, we need each other with patience, understanding, compassion, and to do the right thing for each other,” he said.

Aina noted that the company had been closely monitoring the situation and “believe it is crucial that companies do two things, which was helping to contain the escalating outbreak and safeguard operations so that economies keep moving.

He said that for MTN in particular, they understood the vital role the network and services play in supporting people, organisations and institutions nationwide. “Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by COVID-19, especially those diagnosed with the virus, their family and friends, and all those whose jobs, education, and way of life have been affected.

“We have also complemented the government’s sensitisation drive, introduced rigorous cleaning measures and equipped team members with additional sanitation and safety products. “As part of our response plan, in the coming days, we will introduce our Y’ello care package, several new measures as part of a concerted effort to support our customers.

“These include further amplifying governments sensitisation efforts, using more channels to deliver health and safety information, and suspending fees for all money transfers using our Momo Agent network,” he said.

Authorities in Nigerian megacity Lagos said that hospitals had seen cases of chloroquine poisoning after US President Donald Trump touted the drug as a treatment against the new coronavirus.

Trump on Thursday said the anti-malarial drug had been “approved” to treat COVID-19 by America’s Food and Drug Administration, only for the head of the agency to row back and say it had not yet been given a definitive green light.

The drug has recently been used to treat coronavirus patients in China and in France, where some researchers said it showed great promise, though scientists agree that only more trials would determine if it really works and is safe.


Health officials in Lagos said there had already been claims online pushing chloroquine as a treatment and that Trump’s message had seen interest surge.

“In the last few days, we’ve seen a lot of messages going around on social media about chloroquine being a cure for coronavirus and in some parts of Lagos, it was no longer available,” Ore Awokoya, senior special assistant to the Lagos state governor on health, told AFP.

“But after Donald Trump’s statement it took another dimension, people were massively queueing in front of the pharmacies to buy chloroquine.”

She described the rush to take the drug as “worrying” given that people were “self-medicating without any sort of guidance”.

“We’ve already registered two cases of poisoning — the patients have been hospitalised in Lagos — but we will probably see more and more cases in the coming days,” she said.


Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has so far recorded 12 confirmed cases of new coronavirus infections, but testing has been limited.

The nation of some 200 million people is seen as highly vulnerable to the global pandemic given its weak health system and high population density.

Health authorities in Lagos on Thursday said that there were now cases of “local transmission” of the virus in the city.

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly fined major banks and bureau de change operators hundreds of millions for committing all forms of infraction including selling foreign exchange to unauthorized persons, The Nation has learnt.

Speaking with some informed sources from two new generation banks, they confided in our correspondent that some banks were penalised recently for a forms of infractions bordering on forex racketeering.

Specifically, the sources said, “At issue is that some of the deposit money banks were involved in all forms of infractions, chief among which include selling forex to customers who otherwise were not allowed under the extant CBN guidelines to access same. What some of the banks did was to get forex at official rate and later resell to those illegal channels. When the CBN found out, the banks concerned were promptly fined. The same penalty applied to bureau de change operators.”

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr. Aminu Gwadabe, who confirmed the development in a phone interview with our correspondent, said his members who were fingered in the forex racketeering saga had pledged to cooperate with the government.

Gwadabe recalled that his members held a meeting with the CBN last November in collaboration with the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on the need for the BDCs to adhere to the rules governing foreign exchange transactions.

According to ABCON boss, “At a meeting with the CBN November last year, the apex bank wanted outright revocation of 100 BDCs licenses but we settled for the N5million fine. A lot of banks were also fined hundreds of millions for similar infractions, so it’s not only BDC operators alone that are culpable.”

“We were told to follow the rules and make sure we cooperate with them. We have agreed to carry our members along on that, in ensuring that compliance is strictly observed. We have been sensitising our members and we have been holding meetings.

It may be recalled that the CBN had in 2015 released an import prohibition list for items banned from accessing forex exchange from commercial banks.

Nigeria’s economy, already taking a lot of heat from global oil shocks may slide into another recession in no time if the coronavirus crisis gets out of hand.

A cross-section of experts who have monitored the turn of events in the last few weeks gave this damning verdict.

Signs of imminent recession are self-evident – what with some of the measures and actions being enforced by different tiers of government as well as businesses ostensibly to stem the debilitating trend.

Last week, panic selling on a large scale not only caused the market capitalisation of the Nigerian equity market to go slimmer but led to a total loss of N1.081 trillion in two days in what observers say is the biggest consecutive loss on the Exchange so far this year.

Among the top losers include Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest businessman and President of Dangote Group, which has the largest capitalised firm on the Exchange losing a whopping N240billion in the last couple of days.

The market has been at the mercy of the free fall in the global oil prices lately since the new price war between Saudi and Russia in the aftermath of the refusal of the latter to agree to an oil output cut.

This is even as there have been myriad sweeping effects of Covid-19 on several stock markets across the globe from Dow Jones to Nikkei 225 and the implacable epidemic is having its moment too on the Nigerian bourse.

The tourism and hospitality industry which is the second biggest employer of labour after agriculture is the worst heat.

The Lagos Hoteliers Association (LHA) on Friday decried low patronage in hotels, attributing it to people’s reaction to the spread of COVID-19.

The Association’s President, Mr Adekunle Akilo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that a good number of hoteliers lamented over the low patronage during their recent meeting in Lagos.

According to him, the low patronage can also be attributed to government’s recent directives to minimise social gatherings.

He noted that visits from neighboring towns had reduced as people were trying to be careful and guide against contacting the viral disease.

“Business in hotels is now at a standstill; personally I don’t even have one customer in my hotel presently. It is that bad.

“We had a meeting yesterday with members and the major issue discussed was on how to tackle this issue of low patronage, it is the same story across board.

“We observed that visits from neighboring towns have reduced and hotel businesses cannot thrive when there are restrictions on travels,” he said.

The president urged the Federal Government to put into consideration the economic implications of restricting some gatherings.

He said government should rather intensify efforts in sensitising Nigerians on the precautionary measures for guidance and not stop people’s activities.

“Government is only compounding issues by stopping people from attending religious gatherings and schools; this will have adverse effect on the economy. We hope things will take the right shape soon anyway,” he said.

Some of the existing turnkey projects by the federal government like the 150km major railway project linking Lagos to Ibadan may be delayed by the as workers from China had not returned to the country.

The railway line is being developed by the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, reported South China Morning Post.

Nigeria’s Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi said: “Most of the Chinese workers who went on their New Year holiday have not yet returned due to the coronavirus and this has delayed the work.”

Expected to be completed in May, the $1.5bn project has been repeatedly facing delays since it was first agreed in 2012.

China has since invested billions of dollars in constructing infrastructure across Africa, building its influence in the region.


Review of 2020 budget

Meanwhile the federal government has disclosed plans to reduce the 2020 budget by as much as N1.5 trillion.

The disclosure was made by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ahmed said that there will be a cut of 20% from the capital expenditure of the 2020 budget while recurrent expenditure will be reduced by as much as 25%.

Recall that she had earlier in the month hinted at the possibility of reducing the 2020 budget due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Ahmed, Buhari had approved other far-reaching measures in the face of the current economic realities occasioned by COVID-19. One of those measures is the cut in crude oil benchmark from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel in the revised budget. The global crude oil prices are now less than $30 per barrel.

“We should cut down on the size of the federally funded upstream projects of the Petroleum sector. The reason being that we want to be able to receive more revenue by less reduction from NNPC,” the minister said, adding: “The reduction of the crude oil price from $57 per barrel to $30 means that we are going to get so much less revenue, almost 45 percent loss as we planned. And because of that, we have to amend a number of projections in the budget as well as in the MTEF to reflect our current reality.”

Speaking further, Ahmed said the government would continue to pay salaries and would not sack workers, but would not be recruiting or increasing its workforce size for the time being.

On concerns of the economy slipping back into recession, Ahmed said the budget cut would result in about 40 to 45% reduction and also it will affect states because it means FAAC will be significantly reduced.

“FAAC is just a pool of funds and we share what is realised, so it will affect the states as well. So we are expecting the states to take similar measures to amend the plans that we have made and bring them down to current realities.

“On plans to scale back VAT and excise duty, I am not making any commitment on that right now because these are provisions in the law in the Finance Act and as you know, we will, even in the amendment to the MTEF and the budget, have to engage with the National Assembly. The fiscal authorities are working with the fiscal authority team and we will get the President’s approval before we come up with what we will announce to the public,” Ahmed added.


Fear of recession

Firing the first salvo, Prof. Pat Utomi, renowned political economist said, the fear of imminent recession is indeed founded.

While noting that recession is indeed a reality, Utomi however said, “It can either become a huge threat that is converted to opportunity, and therefore the restructuring of the Nigerian economy for good or it can just become devastation as we plunge yet into another recession which would perhaps be prolonged.”

Waxing philosophical, Utomi who noted that, “The nature of Nigerian politics makes it impossible for Nigerians to make money at home and those who find money at home quickly move it out of the country for safety. The way they behave is making it impossible for investors to come from abroad to invest. Nigeria is a classic perfect case that unravels very quickly into a prolonged recession. But it is possible that what happened in India to happen in Nigeria.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, lawyer and banker, said Nigeria is not immune to happenings around it as such, the citizens should braze up for the worst.

While noting that Italy has locked down totally because of the coronavirus as well as Denmark, the United States and more sophisticated countries, including China, which Nigeria relies upon for a number of supplies, there is a crisis at hand.

“We have a problem because most of the shops in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Aba, and Onitsha depend on China for their supplies. China now has locked down since nothing is coming from there,” Unegbu said.

On the likely impact of the continuous spread of coronavirus on the economy, Unegbu, who sits atop as the Maxifund Investment and Securities Plc, said recession is indeed imminent. “They said Nigeria has come out of recession but I assure you now we are going to see the real recession.”

Unegbu, who once held sway as the President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), however impressed on the nation’s economic mangers the need to review the Finance Bill.

“What I will advise is that we should get all the factors of production that we have, get the very good things in Nigeria and see how we can manage without depending on other economies. Remember that our border is closed and our neighbours are complaining. When the border was closed I did say that when you close a border and there is no free movement of trade what is going to happen is that our inflation rate will spike up but people didn’t believe me. At the time the border was closed the inflation rate was about 9-10 percent but after the closure of the border it increased to about 12-15%.”

At a time the world’s economy is imperiled on account of the cut in crude oil price caused by the spread of coronavirus, Olabode Agusto, Director, Agusto & Co. Limited has impressed on the federal government, the need to diversify the nation’s economy away from oil.

At a time the world’s economy is imperiled on account of the cut in crude oil price caused by the spread of coronavirus, Olabode Agusto, Director, Agusto & Co. Limited has impressed on the federal government, the need to diversify the nation’s economy away from oil.

The diversification of the economy becomes inevitable in view of the credit crunch the country contends with during oil crisis at the global market.

According to Agusto who was guest speaker at the 17th annual Aret Adams memorial lecture in Lagos, organised by the Aret Adams Foundation recently, where he presented a paper entitled: ‘Nigeria’s Economy after Oil: How should we prepare?’ while noting that crude oil has provided Nigeria with a sizeable amount of USD revenues which the country has used to trade with the rest of the world, however lamented that in periods of high crude oil prices, Nigeria uses her forex earnings to support the exchange rate but in periods of weak prices she allows sharp currency depreciations.

Agusto, the former Director General, Budget Office said, “Severe devaluation of the NGN is usually accompanied by a banking crisis. This is because weak crude oil price drives the economy into recession, devaluation increases the financing needs of businesses and those who owe hard currencies suffer large exchange losses. All these weaken the ability of businesses in the real sector to repay their loans resulting in large credit losses that erode banking industry capital.”

Government, he stressed, ”should then use these three sectors – external trade and investment, tax revenues and the financial sector to help businesses and households to thrive. What happens in Nigeria is that we experience economic booms in periods of high oil prices and recession when prices fall.”

Members of the organised private (OPS), who have also raised their voices above the din were unanimous in calling for decisive measures to fight the scourge in order to prevent the economy from dire consequences.

In separate statements issued by the Dr. Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and his counterpart at the Nigerian Association Of Chamber Of Commerce Industry Mines And Agriculture (NACCIMA) National President Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu has called on government to take steps through a clear plan of action to mitigate the negative economic impact of COVID-19 which the WHO has now declared as a global pandemic.

According to Yusuf, the outbreak of the coronavirus has profound implications for the Nigeria economy. “It poses a major threat to Nigeria’s macroeconomic fundamentals, the impact of which may be systemic and far reaching. The looming price war contemplated by Saudi Arabia, the largest crude oil exporter, portends even more ominous signs for Nigeria’s economy. This is on the back of the collapse of the OPEC– Russia alliance. Saudi Arabia is offering significant discounts to its customers and also increasing output.”

The LCCI boss, who noted that there is also the revenue effect of the coronavirus which is related to the drop in oil price, stressed that oil revenue currently accounts for about 50% of government revenue and about 85% of foreign exchange earnings. “With the current scenario of tumbling oil price, a drastic reduction in the revenue of government becomes inevitable in the near time. This has implications for the level of fiscal deficit in the budget; budget implementation will be constrained; infrastructure financing will be affected; borrowing may increase, and the capacity to fund capital project will be severely constricted. With this scenario, the outlook for oil dependent economies looks rather gloomy.”

Oil revenue accounts for about 85% of foreign exchange earnings and is the major driver of accretion to the foreign reserves. The slump in oil price and the associated adverse expectations will put fresh pressures on the reserves. Currently, is at all-time low of $36.2 billion as at 3rd March 2020. This outlook has the following implications.

“The global supply chain has been deeply disrupted as China, which is the second largest economy in the world, is a major supplier of inputs for manufacturing companies around the world, Nigeria inclusive. Many manufacturers and service providers in the country are already experiencing acute shortage of raw materials and intermediate inputs. This has implications for capacity utilisation, employment generation [and retention] and adequacy of products’ supply to the domestic market. There is also an implication for inflation.”

On impact on events, conferences and workshops, Yusuf said, “Many events and conferences in Nigeria and around the world have been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus scare. For most of these events, huge sum of money and resources have been committed to the organisation, planning and logistics. These translate into huge loses to the promoters of these events.”

By Ann Godwin,
The Federal Government may dip hands into part of the N9tr pension fund to finance infrastructure, especially road projects.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Mohammed Adamu Aliero, said this, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, while inspecting the ongoing Port Harcourt/Aba Road construction with his committee members.


He said: “There is a proposal, which is now before the Economic Council that part of the pension fund of N9tr should be used in funding some of the infrastructures, particularly road projects. When the proposal is approved by the government, it will be sent to the National Assembly for immediate approval.

” If we rely on annual budgeting, the money will not be enough to rehabilitate this infrastructure. We need extra funds, either by raising a bond or using pension funds. We will not use up 30 percent of the pension fund. The pension fund has been kept over a period of time and when we use about 30 per cent, we will generate it back by constructing toll gates. From the money realised from the tolls, we will pay it back.”

A mild drama played out Friday afternoon at the Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, office of the Nigerian Immigration Service, when a Chinese lady fell down in one of the offices and started vomiting.

It was learnt that the Chinese lady was among the numerous passport seekers. Daily Trust gathered that those who were present at the open office when the incident occurred included policemen and military personnel.

Our reporter learnt that the Nigerian passport seekers took to their heels on sighting the woman vomitting.

One of the personnel of the Immigration Service, who do not wish to be named as he was not authorised to speak with the press, said the hall became empty few minutes after the news of the incident occurred as the passport seekers took to their heels.

“The lady came to the operations department for some visa issues. She was on mask when she came on Thursday but she could not finish with what she came to do.

She came back today (Friday), but this time around, she did not mask her face. “As she was being attended to, she started feeling dizzy, fell down and started coughing and vomiting. “My brother, everybody took to his or her heels.

“The worst of it all was that her relations wanted to take her away but our officers prevented them. We were able to kit ourselves and took her to a room. But those who were not courageous enough closed work while so many people who came for one transaction or the other abandoned whatever they came to do.”

A visitor to the office, John Madu, said: “I only came to make enquiry when I saw people running helter skelter and I joined in the rat race. I was later told that a Chinese woman fell down and started vomiting.

My fear is that they said she was also there the previous day. If she test positive to the virus, how will the government locate those that she would have had contacts with. “We are lucky because people were not as many as they used to be in the office because of the travels ban to certain routes.

Before now, people used to be in their hundreds but there were not up to 100 people at the scene. “The government should do something about the Chinese nationals that are almost everywhere in Lagos” Health personnel not available The Immigration personnel expressed regrets that health officials did not respond promptly to emergency calls.

“The worst thing is that we have been calling health emergency numbers and they have been promising that they were coming. We are yet to see them but we are keeping vigil until they will come. “We won’t let her go though, she has been trying to convince us that nothing is wrong with her, but she must be certified free from the virus.

We are not saying that she has it but with the symptoms we were told, she is already having some so we won’t let her go till medical experts clear her.” As at late Friday, the emergency health workers have not arrive at the Immigration office while heavily armed Immigration officers were guiding her.

David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi

A 20-year old girl has allegedly attempted suicide over disappointment by her lover boy, simply identified as Chinedu in Awada, near Onitsha, Anambra state.

The victim, whose name was given as Oluchi Akabilo, a native of Obosi, allegedly drank a liquid substance suspected to be insect killer in a bid to take her own life following abandonment by her boyfriend.

It was gathered that the suspect, after impregnating her victim, had given her the sum of N10,000 to abort the pregnancy.

Family sources said she was compelled to drink the poisonous substance which she bought with the money for the abortion after discovering the suspect was married.

Confirming the incident, Police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed said efforts were on to apprehend the fleeing boyfriend.

He said: “On the 19/3/2020 at about 4pm, there was a report at Awada police station that a young girl later identified as one Oluchi Akabilo ‘f’ aged 20years of Azia Street, Ngbuka-Obosi allegedly drank a liquid substance suspected to be insecticide in a bid to take her own life.

“The young girl allegedly got pregnant in a relationship with one Chinedu ‘m’ surname yet unknown who unknown to her is married with children. She became devastated upon the discovery of the marital status of her boyfriend.

“To make matters worse, she was jilted and abandoned by the same man. Victim decided to buy a poison to kill herself with part of the N10,000 allegedly given to her by the boyfriend to abort the pregnancy. She was rushed to the Hospital in Onitsha by the Police for medical attention and doctors are making frantic efforts to save her life.”

Mohammed added that investigation had commenced to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident.

From Bolaji Ogundele,



The daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, who returned from the United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday, has gone into self-isolation.

First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, revealed this in a thread of tweets on her verified Tweeter handle, @aishambuhari.

The First Lady clarified that her daughter’s self-isolation was not because she had displayed any symptom identifiable with Coronavirus (COVID-19), but a safeguard measure.

The First Lady, who used the tweets to encourage Nigerians to be self-conscious and avoid exposure to the spiraling pandemic, said she had already shut her office down for two weeks.

The tweets read: “Good afternoon Nigerians, early today (Thursday) my daughter returned from the UK being among the high burden-listed countries of COVID-19.

“Based on the advice of the Hon. Minister of Health , Presidential Task force on COVID – 19 and that of NCDC (National Center for Disease Control), she is on self Isolation, not because she displayed any symptoms of COVID-19..

“Please, I urge all parents to do the same if possible as prevention is better than cure .

“Similarly, I have shut down my office for two weeks with immediate effect while essential staff can work from home as a result of some staff who recently returned from the UK .

“I commend the Northwest governors, Niger and Kwara state governments on preventive measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 at their security meeting yesterday in Kaduna.

“Let’s keep following the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and the NCDC, which encourages maintaining social distancing and high hygiene culture through regular washing of hands with soaps and sanitisers.

“Let’s adopt preventive measures and ensure the safety of our families and that of general public.

“We will overcome the Covid-19 pandemic if we all take the necessary precautions at the same time.”

Private fuel marketers have yet to reduce the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit ( petrol ) , while retail stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have started selling at N 125 per litre .

The PUNCH correspondent, who visited several filling stations including Oando, Mobil and Capital Oil and Gas on the Lagos - Ibadan Expressway as well as Total at Ikosi -Ketu , on Thursday morning , observed that the private marketers were selling at N 145 per litre of petrol.

“ What we are asking the government is that : who is going to pay us between the old price and the new price on our old stock? And without them verifying our old stock and telling us what they will pay us and when they will pay us, we will not load, ” a top official of one of the fuel marketers’ associations told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.

He said marketers would continue to sell the product at the old rate pending when the issues would be resolved.

“ Marketers are holding their strategy session . We will have a common front . The GMD ( of NNPC ) has invited us for a stakeholders ’ meeting , which should have been done before the announcement of the new price . By the end of today, we will have a clearer picture of how they are going to involve us,” he added.

The Federal Government had noted on Wednesday that the drop in crude oil prices had lowered the expected open market price of imported petrol below the official pump price of N 145 per litre .

“ Therefore, Mr President has approved that Nigerians should benefit from the reduction in the price of PMS which is a direct effect of the crash in global crude oil prices ,” the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources , Chief Timipre Sylva, said in a statement .

He said the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency would subsequently issue a monthly guide to the NNPC and marketers on the appropriate pricing regime .

The NNPC , on Wednesday , directed all its retail station to change the retail pump price to N 125 per litre from N 145.

The Group Managing Director , NNPC , Mallam Mele Kyari , said the corporation had reviewed its ex -coastal , ex- depot and NNPC retail pump prices in compliance with the directives of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources , Chief Timipre Sylva, on the pricing of PMS.

He said , “ Effective March 19 , 2020 , NNPC ex -coastal price for PMS has been reviewed downwards from N 117. 6 /litre to N 99 .44 / litre while the ex -depot price is reduced from N 133 .28 / litre to N 113. 28 / litre.

“ These reductions will , therefore , translate to N 125 / litre retail pump price . Despite the obvious cost implication of this immediate adjustment to the corporation , NNPC is delighted to effect this massive reduction of N 20 / litre for the benefit of all Nigerians .”

Residents of Awada area of Onitsha, Anambra State were thrown into mourning following the sudden death of an 85-year old woman, identified as Llione Victoria.

The deceased reportedly jumped to her death from the balcony of the third floor of a four-storey building located at No 18 Ilodibe Street, Awada.

The Nation gathered that the octogenarian, suspected to be mentally challenged, lived with her daughter and a nanny, who was said to be around when the incident happened.

A family source said the development came to them as a surprise as nobody expected that from a woman at that age.

The Police Spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed confirmed the incident.

He said: “At about 5:20pm of today 17/03/2020, there was a distress call at Awada Police Station that one Ilione Victoria ‘f’ aged about 85yrs allegedly jumped to her death from the balcony of an apartment on the 3rd floor in a four storey building where she stayed with her daughter at No 18 Ilodibe Street, Awada.

“The octogenarian victim reported to be having some mental challenges had her movement restricted and was at home with her caregiver, one Judith Amumuche ‘f’ age 32yrs at the time of the alleged incident.

“However, before the arrival of the police to the scene, one Ikediaso Benedicta ‘f’ of 3-3 Housing Estate, Onitsha, who is said to be victim’s daughter reportedly took the corpse away to an unknown destination but blood stains were observed at the scene.”

Mohammed added that the care giver and other witnesses at the scene were assisting police investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The power tussle in one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) states in southern part of the country between a deputy governor and the Chief of Staff to the state governor has become a source of concern in the government and party.

Politricks gathered that the relationship between the duo in question has not been rosy like it used to be, as both of them now operate a cat and mouse relationship especially in the last few weeks.

Politricks gathered that the essence of the bickering between the two is about who gets prominent attention and influence before their principal, the governor.

Already, some chieftains of the party are trying to reconcile them but there is no middle ground yet. The CoS claim is that he was literarily involved in the emergence of the governor at the elections through his huge financial contribution, but the deputy averred that he is the second in command and wont renege his role to anyone. Time will surely address the issue.