₦airaland Forum

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* Delay travel to China, health minister advises
* Screening heightened at airports Govt shuts Chinese supermarket in Abuja
* NCDC, Agric Quarantine Service urge vigilance

There is growing panic among Nigerians over a possible outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country. This followed reports that Chinese nationals who travelled to China for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday will soon be returning to the country. This is coming as the federal government also advised Nigerians intending to travel to China to delay the trips in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the country except it was extremely essential for them to do so.

Dr Ehanire, while giving a new travel advisory yesterday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, also advised all airlines to report any case of a passenger falling sick on-board before the plane landed. The federal government is also putting measures in place to prevent an outbreak in the country. The Federal Ministry of Health through its Port Health Services department has commenced measures at international points of entry such as airports, seaports and land borders to forestall importation of the coronavirus to Nigeria.

The ministry has also set up a multi-sectoral committee to scale up surveillance and vigilance to detect suspicious cases and ensure containment at all points. “The committee shall comprise of critical stakeholders in the health, security, aviation and transport sectors and also include Development Partners.

Bearing in mind that air travelers, rather than land border crossers, are more likely carriers of this type of virus, attention will focus largely on our five international airports,” Dr Ehanire said. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are normally transmitted between animals and people. A novel Coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain of the virus that has not been previously identified in humans.

Some coronaviruses can be transmitted from person to person, usually after close contact with an infected patient, for example, in a household or health care setting. As at yesterday a total of 6065 Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded in 16 countries with China having the highest of 5, 997 cases. The virus has also spread to the United Arab Emirates with four confirmed cases recorded.

A suspected case of the virus is also being tested in Ivory Coast, the country’s health ministry announced. There is no confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on the African continent yet. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it was aware that many Chinese nationals were expected to return to Nigeria following the holiday, as well as Nigerian business travelers who travel to China regularly. It however said safety measures have been put in place to protect the health of Nigerians. The centre said the Chinese Government has extended the Lunar New Year holiday and put in place other measures to dissuade their citizens from traveling out of China.

It said passengers traveling from Wuhan, China were screened on exit to prevent the exportation of the virus and that the centre was coordinating a multi-sectoral technical group that is assessing and managing the risk of importation to Nigeria, as well as making preparations for early detection and response. NCDC also advised travelers from China who show no symptoms on arrival, but who have a fever and cough within 14 days of arrival in Nigeria, to report immediately to NCDC on 0800-970000-10.

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has also created various channels for reporting the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019 n-CoV). Dr Gozie Nwodo, the agency’s head of Media, Communications and Strategies, said the organsiation was collaborating with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to ensure that there is no gap or breach on the veterinary quarantine front at the airports. “

Chairman Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has also advised Nigerians living in China to stay indoors to avoid contracting the disease. She said in a statement that the Nigerian mission in Beijing is in touch with Nigerians in Wuhan, adding that the warning became imperative as medical experts said there was no specific medication or vaccine so far for the coronavirus.

Daily Trust reports that heightened screening continued yesterday at the nation’s international airports to prevent the outbreak of the virus in the country. Since the outbreak of the virus, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had activated the screening facilities deployed to contain the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) three years ago. Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and senior officials in the ministry were at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), International arrivals yesterday evening where he directed that hand sanitizers should be increased in the airports and that all arriving passengers should clean up their hands.

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in a speech on Wednesday called on Nigerians to assist the efforts of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) by taking basic sanitary precautions. “Avoid self-medication, avoid panic and report to the nearest medical facility if you or anyone you know has travelled to the affected regions within the last fourteen days,” Gbajabiamila urged.

Asked about Chinese nationals returning to the country, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to screen those coming to Nigeria through airports and other points of entry. He also said that it is very difficult to stop those with valid documents from coming into the country.

Also speaking, Sun Saixiong, Press Officer of the Chinese Embassy said they are working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to screen those coming in to ensure nobody comes in with the virus. FG quarantines section of Panda Supermarket over fear of spread The Federal Government yesterday quarantined a section of Panda Supermarket located at Jabi, Abuja over alleged illegal import of products that may spread the Cononavirus in Nigeria.

“Seafood and animals imported illegally from China discovered. Store closed in abundance of caution considering Coronavirus,” Barrister Irukera Director General, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) who led the inspection said in a statement posted on its official twitter handle. Panic among Nigerians A Nurse, Mrs Racheal Sunday said she got scared when she heard how the coronavirus outbreak was spreading.

She said medical officers were sometimes at the receiving end of the disease citing the case of Ebola outbreak. She advised the Federal Government to take serious preventive measures before it gets to the country. A receptionist at a five star hotel in Abuja, Uchena Paul said “It’s unfortunate we have not finished battling Lassa fever and this strange one has come in. It’s scary how all these viruses just keep coming in. All hands need to be on deck and we must be careful so that these viruses will not keep coming in year in and out.”

A health correspondent, Mrs Joyce Babayeju urged the federal government to fight it the way it fought Ebola. A banker, who gave her name as Gimbiya said, the outbreak of the disease was a dangerous development for Nigerians if the Chinese were allowed to import the virus into the country. She said, her fear is that the Chinese have a very secluded lifestyle and hide a lot. “So, if they come back, the government needs to plant Nigerian health workers in their hospitals to monitor them.

If not, they will wreck havoc. I panicked because our health system is not functioning properly and we lack facilities to handle emergencies.” A business man, Mallam Salihu said, since some countries have already suspended Chinese aircraft from entering their country, Nigerian government should take cue from them adding that the county’s health officials need to be proactive.

Lagos to quarantine Chinese returning over coronavirus

The Lagos State Government said yesterday it had reached an agreement with the China Embassy in Nigeria to quarantine all Chinese travelling back to Lagos from their country to prevent the outbreak of deadly coronavirus in the State. He disclosed that many people in China living in Lagos had travelled back to their country to celebrate the Chinese New Year and had not returned before the outbreak of coronavirus in their country.

Abayomi said the state government had met with the Chinese Embassy and that they agreed to send message to their people in China to stay back until the outbreak is curtailed before returning. The commissioner said if some of them returned in the next few days, the state government had the instruction of the China Embassy to quarantine them for 14 days.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/coronavirus-nigerians-panic-as-fg-issues-red-alert.html

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Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Hadiza Bala Usman, in this interview, explains how NPA has been able to protect investors’ interests in the country. Under your watch as Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, how has it been so far? It has been, I would say, an interesting period for NPA, in terms of challenges, status-quo and questions arising from some of the entrenched positions that we inherited which we met on ground on assumption of office and some of which were not in the interest of Nigeria

What are those challenges?

Well, we had instances of monopoly; we had monopoly within an industry that was matured enough to allow for healthy competition. We also looked at the concession agreement and how best to review them; how to institute penalty and compensation mechanism within the framework. We also worked and recovered certain funds that were paid to certain firms that had no power to perform their duties. All these are the reforms we did that are now the hallmark of my administration.

What have you done to drive cargo traffic to the Eastern Ports ?

We have given waivers. The harbour due waivers, granted to certain ports in the Eastern Ports are also one of the efforts to make the Eastern Ports more active.

We have also sought direct collaboration with shipping companies so that we can work with them to know exactly what they need so that we can provide them to enable vessels berth safely in the Eastern Ports. You referenced it in one of your articles. The berthing of ships at Onne Port in Rivers State was a product of a direct synergy we had with Maersk line. That was something done within 24 hours.

We were able to ask them what they needed and we provided it. The outcome is the berthing of the ship. What is the controversy between Samsung Heavy industries and LADOL over a portion of land owned by LADOL? Well we have a lot of court cases around that so any information on that will be subjudice.

There is a court case filed by Samsung and another by LADOL and we have been served for both court cases. However, related to the land, yes, NPA land within LADOL area and yes NPA took certain measures to enable a level plain field and to also ensure the protection of investment whereby if an entity invests in a country, the entity is given the relevant protection required so that it can reap the benefits of its investment. Those decisions were taken. But I will not be able to go into details because the case is in court.

What is NPA doing to connect Lekki deep seaport by rail in order to avoid the kind of chaotic gridlock witnessed daily in Apapa?

NPA has written to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), to ensure rail connection to the site. Dangote Refinery was also contacted to make provisions for pipelines for products evacuation to avoid trucks parking on the roads while trying to pick products from that axis. When we took over some years ago, there was no provision for rail connection out of Lekki, in the Deep Seaport plan, which I found quite strange, that you can have a deep seaport without the need for rail connection.

There is also a proposed Lekki by-pass in addition to the road that Lagos State is constructing linking Lekki to Shagamu. So, one, there must be pipelines for product evacuation; two, there must be rail connection; three, there must be additional means of road transportation, and the Lagos access road also needs to be prioritised.

If we do not deploy what is required now, in five to 10 years’ time, Lekki will be unmanageable. I am a believer in starting early; The Deep Seaport is primed to become one of the largest deepwater ports in sub-Saharan Africa as the promoters are targeting about 1.5 million 20ft equivalent units container capacity yearly, which is expected to grow to about 2.7 million and 4.7 million TEUs, when operations commence

What is the ongoing collaboration with the Navy in order to provide security around the waterways?

The present management is committed to improving the existing synergy with the Nigerian Navy and other relevant stakeholders in the maritime industry, particularly in the security of the waterways. Securing the nations’ waterways would impact positively on revenue generation for the country through effective monitoring of vessels vis-à-vis improved operational efficiency. NPA would ensure that the enhanced relationship with the Navy is sustained through information sharing. We have also ensured the maximum use of the Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (CCCI) of both organisations through the swift deployment of its personnel aimed at collaborating on information sharing towards operational security efficiency.

The security architecture put in place by the Ministry of Transportation along with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is geared towards ensuring that the nation’s waterways are safe for business. What has NPA done to ensure that containers are evacuated through the waterways? We have licensed some barge operations and over 30 have been licensed and we are also not charging for the service. In order to facilitate the ports’ decongestion, we are also not charging. We have received applications and we ensure that the barges are in good shape and we give certification to operate them. To encourage that, we are not charging for certification.

And we are allowing the utilization of our jetties at Ikorodu for them to berth where in certain instances they need that facility. It has facilitated the movement of certain cargoes. We are also looking at the proper utilisation of the inland waterways. We have signed an MoU with AP Mollap Capital which is an investment arm of APM Terminals.

They are housed in Dubai, they came and we signed an MoU. They said that are interested in barge operation and that they want to use the inland waterways for the evacuation of cargo and that they want to establish a terminal meant specifically for that The discussion also included how agricultural produce will be moved from rural communities to the port for export.

This is to meet with the competitive logistics needs of farmers and the role of local ports in supporting the efforts through leadership and infrastructure investment. It will also provide insight on the different business models currently being used or being proposed to grow container volume on this vital river corridor. The nation’s inland port system would clearly play a critical role in the supply chain.

With the new wave of larger ocean carrier container vessels, coupled with the projected growth in the container market, if nothing is done, the plan to decongest Lagos Ports might not be achieved. The emphasis here is to reduce truck traffic on the nation’s highway system, and NPA is working together with barge operators to provide container-on-barge.

How much did NPA generate as revenue in 2019?

We are yet to complete with the figures but by the time we are done, we will make the figure public.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/what-we-are-doing-to-decongest-the-ports-expand-ports-operations-npa-md.html

WhatsApp has said the messenger will stop working on millions of people’s phones from Saturday, February . WhatsApp has at least 1.5 billion users all over the world. The Facebook-owned app stopped supporting a number of devices on December 31. And on February 1, it will render lots more handsets out of date, Metro has said.

On December 31, 2019, WhatsApp said any phone running the Windows Mobile operating system will no longer be supported. From this Saturday, any iPhone running software older than iOS 7 will no longer be supported and neither will any Android device with version 2.3.7 installed.

Affected phones The last iPhones released running iOS 7 were the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C back in 2013. It was superseded by iOS 8 in 2014. So, if you bought an iPhone (or iPad) after that date you’re going to be fine, according to the report.

Similarly, Android 2.3.7 was known as ‘Gingerbread’ and was launched way back in 2010. By February of 2011, it had been supplanted by Android 3.0, also known as Honeycomb. Chances are, unless you are still rocking a Google Nexus S or a Samsung Galaxy S, you will probably be fine. Windows Mobile is even older – it was originally rolled out in 2003 and ran until 2010 on devices like the Motorola MPx200. When it became clear that iOS and Android were more superior, Microsoft re-engineered its mobile operating system into the tile-based Windows Phone OS – which didn’t fare much better.

WhatsApp says that anyone using these older phones can no longer create new accounts or reverify existing accounts. “Because we no longer actively develop for these operating systems, some features might stop functioning at any time,” the company said in a blog post announcing the cut-off dates.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-whatsapp-may-stop-working-on-your-phones-next-month.html

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Spreads to Enugu, Delta, Bauchi, others Hundreds on watch list The Lassa fever outbreak has spread to Delta, Enugu and seven other states since the beginning of the year, Daily Trust findings have shown. The disease has so far killed 16 people in Ondo, 3 in Kano, while Edo and Delta recorded one death each….

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/lassa-fever-death-toll-rises.html

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The Deputy National Chairman (North) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Suleiman Muhammad Nazif, has said the party would reclaim presidential power and win the majority of northern states in the 2023 polls. Nazif said Nigerians were disappointed with the “grave failure” of the ruling APC in the country, hence the resolve to dislodge the party in the next general elections.

He stated this on Wednesday in a congratulatory message to the Governors of Adamawa, (Alh. Ahmadu Fintiri), Taraba (Arc. Darius Ishaku), Bauchi (Senator Bala Mohammed), Benue (Samuel Ortom) and Sokoto (Rt Hon. Aminu Tambuwal) who emerged victorious at the just-concluded Supreme Court judgements. He said even though the party was allegedly robbed of its many victories in the last polls, it was able to recover some of the states it lost in 2015.

The two-time Senator and former member of the House of Representatives assured that the PDP would recapture more states in the north under his leadership come 2023, urging Nigerians to have faith in the party and work for its unity and progress. While lamenting the loss of the party in Gombe, Plateau and Kano states in the 2019 elections he called on all party supporters and admirers to put behind all differences and work for the unity and progress of the party for the needed change to take place in the country.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-will-reclaim-power-in-2023-senator-nazif.html

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Ondo state governor and chairman, South West Governors Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Tuesday said the Western Nigeria Security Network popularly called ‘Operation Amotekun’ has come to stay inspite of pressure by the federal government. Addressing members of the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) comprising of different pressure groups during a solidarity rally organised by the group in Akure, Governor Akeredolu said the six governors of the South West region have resolved not to bow to pressure from any quarter on the new security outfit. The governor, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Chief Gbenga Ale, said “we are not ready to abandon our people.

We shall stand by the people of the Yoruba race, notwithstanding the pressure.” He declared that no challenge from any individual or government agency would make the governors of the South West to succumb on Operation Amotekun. “I am assuring the entire Yoruba people and the whole world that Operation Amotekun has come to stay.

This is not an alternative to Police or any of the recognized security agencies in the country,” Akeredolu said. He assured that the Amotekun security outfit will collaborate with the police and other security agencies in the task of securing the people of the South West region.

Also speaking, YWC coordinator in the state, Mr Kola Ogunlakaka said police officers in the country are not enough to secure the people, hence the need for Operation Amotekun. He appealed to the Federal Government to allow the new security outfit to operate in the interest of peace and togetherness.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/amotekun-has-come-to-stay-akeredolu.html

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged relevant security agencies in the country to bring to account anyone attempting to cause chaos and inciting violence in the nation’s cities while hiding under ‘dubious’ political protest.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, urged her teeming members to remain calm but steadfast. Issa-Onilu, who said the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) lack of decorum in the political space was an abiding threat to the country’s nascent democracy, added that the APC found the “indecorous and contemptuous” actions and remarks by the PDP leadership worrisome.

He said the disgraceful and senseless protest embarked upon by the opposition party was being done with the sole purpose of dragging the apex court into odium and scorn before the international community, adding that the ruling party viewed the “irascible actions and irresponsible remarks” by the PDP as a calculated attempt to overheat the polity. The APC spokesperson said “the PDP has become a present threat to our peaceful coexistence with its current antics over the loss of the governorship position in Imo state.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-protest-apc-urges-security-agents-to-deal-with-trouble-makers.html

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