Giant stride

Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, says President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the engagement of 774,000 Nigerians on Special Public Works programme in the country to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. Mrs Ahmed disclosed this at a press conference on fiscal stimulus measures in response to COVID-19 pandemic and oil prices fiscal shock, on Monday in Abuja. She explained that 1, 000 people were expected to be recruited from each of the 774 local government areas in the country. According to her, the sum of N60 billion for allowances and operational cost has been earmarked from the COVID-19 crisis intervention fund for the initiative. She disclosed that President Buhari had previously approved a pilot special public works programme in eight states to be implemented by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). She added that Buhari had now approved that this programme be extended to all 36 States and the FCT from October to Decem...

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the COVID-19 Regulations, 2020, which declared COVID-19 a dangerous infectious disease on Monday. This according to Femi Adesina the special adviser to the President, is in line with the exercising of the powers conferred on Buhari by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act (CAP Q2 LFN 2004), and all other powers enabling him in that behalf. In his statement on Monday, the presidential spokesman noted that the regulations, effective March 30, 2020, also gave legal backing to the various measures outlined in the President’s National Broadcast on  March 29, 2020, such as Restriction/Cessation of Movement in Lagos, FCT and Ogun State and others toward containing the spread of the pandemic in the country. He added that to ensure that Nigerians can still perform on-line transactions and use ATMs whilst observing these restrictions, exemption is granted financial system and money markets to allow very skeletal operations in order to keep th...

As of 11:00 am on Sunday, 22nd of March there are now 27 confirmed cases of the Covid19 Coronavirus in Nigeria. The new case was reported in the federal capital territory, Abuja and was also confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) via their twitter account.

The Federal Government on Sunday confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 in the country which brings the total number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease in Nigeria to 26. The new cases were confirmed early Sunday morning by the centre for disease control (NCDC). The agency on its Twitter handle said of the 26 confirmed cases, two have fully recovered and have been discharged. No death has been recorded in Nigeria from the disease which has killed thousands of people globally. "Three cases were reported in Lagos State and One in Oyo State, and have travel history to high-risk countries in the last seven days” “We’re working closely with Lagos State Ministry Of Health to identify and follow up with contacts,” the NCDC said of the new cases.

Due to the increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in Nigeria from 12 on Thursday to 22 on Saturday, the FG, through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, said on Saturday it would close Abuja and Lagos airports on Monday. The Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, in a circular to airline operators on Saturday, said only emergency and essential flights would be exempted from the restrictions. He however, said domestic airlines would continue normal flight operations. The NCAA’s directive came barely 48 hours after it announced the closure of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano,  Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, and Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa. The NCAA’s circular read in part, “Further to our earlier letter on restrictions of international flights to Nigeria, we wish to inform you that effective March 23 to April 23,  the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will be clo...

As a precautionary measure to control the spread of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus, the Federal Government of Nigeria has placed a travel ban on thirteen (13) countries with very serious cases of the Coronavirus. The countries are China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu updated President Muhammadu Buhari on developments arising from Sunday’s explosion at Abule Ado. The governor briefed State House correspondents after the closed-door meeting with the president in Abuja on Monday. Sanwo-Olu and President Buhari  “I briefed Mr. President about the very unfortunate gas/pipeline explosion in Lagos State yesterday. “Mr President was very gracious to receive me and to ask me about where we are and what had happened. “I was able to show him pictorially the extent and the level of destruction of what happened yesterday”, he said. “It is a very unfortunate incident, is not something that anyone could have imagined, you needed to be there to see the level of destruction. “I also briefed Mr President how the combined efforts of the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army and of course the Nigerian Police Force and other first respondents of Lagos State were able to manage the situation,’’ he said. The gover...