President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate payment of the salaries of lecturers in federal universities who have not registered in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). The affected lecturers' salaries were withheld in February and March.  

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, made this disclosure in a statement signed by his new media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu.

READ ALSO, FG Postpones WASSCE, NECO Indefinitely

Ngige said the president also directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, and the Accountant General of the Federation to effect the payment urgently to cushion the deleterious effects of COVID 19 pandemic lockdown on lecturers and members of their family.

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The Labour Minister added that all the Vice Chancellors were asked to revalidate the affected lecturers Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and forward to the Accountant General of the Federation for the payments. 

Federal Government had directed all federal tertiary institutions in the country to enroll in the IPPIS from February 2020.

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IPPIS: Buhari Approves Immediate Payment of University Lecturers Withheld Salaries 

We Have Launched Radio And TV Learning Channels

The Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday announced the indefinite postponement of the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council slated for May and June.

The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who spoke at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, noted that 15 states had already commenced electronic learning for pupils on their local television and radio channels.

READ ALSO, Outrage as Lebanese Advertises Nigerian Woman for Sale on Facebook

Nwajiuba said, “We have announced that WAEC and NECO for the year have been postponed. This postponement is indefinite at the moment. We will also be looking at what we will do for schools to reopen. As you recall, we asked that schools be vacated in the last part of March 2020 as soon as this pandemic broke out.

 “We have made provisions available online. The Directorate of Information and Communication Technology in conjunction with the Universal Basic Education Commission, the coordinating agency, will anchor an alliance with State Universal Basic Education Boards in all the states so that they can key into our design.

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“About 15 states have already commenced learning via different channels that are available in their states, mostly local TV and radio. All the programmes they are running are approved by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Commission.”

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A Lebanese man identified as Wael Jerro, has sparked the outrage of Nigerians after he  advertised a Nigerian woman for sale on the social media.

Jerro, a resident of Beirut, Lebanon, put up the passport of the victim, Busari Peace, on a Facebook group with the caption, ‘Buy and Sell in Lebanon.’

Jerro wrote in Arabic, “Domestic worker from Nigeria for sale with new legal documents. She’s 30 years old, she’s very active and very clean. Price: $1,000.”

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The passport, which she acquired in May 2018, indicated that she is an indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Nigerians called out the Lebanese, describing his action as inhuman. They urged the Nigerian government to save the victim, adding that she might have been trafficked.

The reactions that the post garnered prompted Jerro to delete the Facebook page with which he put up the post. But this was not before some users took his snapshot and that of his family members.

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 The Chairman, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, while confirming the incident, said the Nigerian mission in Lebanon had reported the case to the “concerned authorities.”

She said, “A manhunt is on for the man and an all out search for the young girl. Let’s keep her in our prayers.”

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons also said it had started working to locate and return the victim to the country.

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“We will do everything possible to ensure that she is returned home safely and is reunited with her loved ones,” NAPTIP stated.

Social media users decried the dehumanisation of Nigerians, who travelled to foreign countries in search of greener pastures. They urged Nigerians to be wary of promises of fortune abroad as they were dangerous. 

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Outrage as Lebanese Advertises Nigerian Woman for Sale on Facebook

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said on Monday at least nine of out 10 COVID-19 patients would recover from the disease.

Ehanire, who addressed journalists at the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja, cautioned people against being apprehensive because of the high number of confirmed cases while forgetting that such infected persons would most likely recover from the disease.

READ ALSO, COVID-19 Corpses Are Not Infectious-Task Force

Responding to rumours that an ambulance was used to convey some COVID-19 patients from Bwari in Abuja, Ehanire said: “I would like to appeal to everybody not to see an ambulance as a sign of COVID-19 if that’s not what it is. An ambulance can do a large number of things, so the sign of an ambulance does not immediately translate to COVID-19. That is over the top apprehension.

“It can happen but in this case, I don’t believe so. There is no reason for apprehension because over 90 percent of those who have COVID-19 will recover.

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“Nine out 10 will recover, so there is no need to fear. The numbers are so large that we forget that people recover and only a few get very sick, that is just about four or five out of 100.”

He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would double its testing capacity from 1,500 to 3,000 persons daily.

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90 Percent of COVID-19 Patients Will Survive - Ehanire

 Presidential Team Apologises for Flouting Recommendation

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday said the bodies of persons, who died of coronavirus, were not infectious. The National Coordinator of the task force, Dr Sani Aliyu, stated this at a media briefing of the PTF in Abuja.

At the briefing, Aliyu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, apologised for some PTF members’ violation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s protocols at the burial of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, on Saturday.

Members of the task force, who attended the crowded burial, have been heavily criticised for disregarding the NCDC protocols for burial of corpses of people that die of COVID-19. Dignitaries at the burial included Boss Mustapha,  Dr Sani Aliyu; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

READ ALSO, Ex-AGF, Richard Akinjide Dies at 88

Kyari, who had been undergoing treatment at the First Cardiology Consultants Hospital, Lagos died of COVID-19 on Friday and was buried at Gudu cemetery, Abuja on Saturday.

On Monday, the National Coordinator of the PTF,  Aliyu,  assured the public that the task force would continue to follow its guidelines. He added that the NCDC guidelines for COVID-19 were reflective of the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.

Aliyu said, “I would like to further clarify the issue of COVID-19 and burial processes. Contrary to what is on social media, the late chief of staff’s body was properly prepared for burial, according to the NCDC guidelines and the Islamic faith.

“The bodies of persons with COVID-19,  as stated by the WHO guidelines and I quote, ‘Except in cases of viral haemorrhagic fever and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious.' To date, there is no evidence of persons having become infected from exposure to the bodies of persons who have died of  COVID-19.’”

The Chairman of the task force, Mustapha, said the PTF members’ violation of the NCDC’s protocols was regrettable. The NCDC, in its interim guidelines for the safe management of a dead body, states, “In the event, a ceremony is held, the number of attendees should be limited.

“The ceremony should be held in a well-ventilated structure, attendees should be advised on social distancing throughout the event, ensuring practice of hand and respiratory hygiene.”

Although most attendees at Kyari’s burial wore face masks, they stood less than two metres apart as prescribed by the NCDC protocols. Following the attendees’ disregard for social distancing rules,  the Presidency on Sunday ordered them to stay away from the Presidential Villa for 14 days. It also stated that journalists, who covered the event, should not come to the Villa in the next 14 days.

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Mustapha said the violation was “regrettable.”  He stated, “The PTF recognises regrettably the unintentional violation of the principles and protocols that form the core of our messaging to Nigerians at the funeral of the late chief of staff.

“These principles, for emphasis, include the guidelines provided on mass gatherings, social distancing, personal hygiene and restriction of movement. Lessons have been learnt and appropriate measures have been taken to close all gaps. We assure all Nigerians of their safety and the determination of the PTF to combat the pandemic.”

Aliyu also apologised, saying, “As stated by the chair of the PTF, we would like to acknowledge and apologise for the mistakes that were made regarding the burial of the late chief of staff. We realise that crowd control failed. We have learnt from this and we will ensure future events are adequately regulated and follow the task force protocols.”

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on his part, said that a new national policy would be released to address the increase in the number of confirmed cases for COVID-19.

The minister said that the body acknowledged the sharp increase in the number of infected persons in Nigeria in the last few days. He attributed the increase to a new testing strategy of reaching out to people in the communities.

He said, “Thirteen molecular laboratories nationwide have been activated so far by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the target this week is to double the current national testing capacity of 1,500 tests per day.”

The minister said masks should be used for all activities outside homes. “The use of masks, be they disposable or cloth masks or other face coverings, is advised for all activities outside the home, especially in hotspot states of Lagos and Kano, and the FCT. We encourage the mass production, donation and distribution of reusable washable masks.”

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While condoling with the families of health professional who lost their lives while on duty, the minister said that the Federal Government would compensate health workers at the forefront of the COVID-19 fight.

Ehanire noted that the challenge of testing people in the North-East and other conflict zones was enormous, stating that the exercise could only be done where security would be guaranteed.

“Testing in conflict areas is a challenge. You will remember that polio eradication initiative has lingered in the North-East until recently. That is because routine immunisation was hindered by the same conflict.

“We will do our best with the situation with testing but we can only operate within the areas that are safe.”

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COVID-19 Corpses Are Not Infectious-Task Force 

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide, is dead. Chief Akinjide passed on at the age of 88 in his Ibadan residence, the Oyo State capital, in the early hours of Tuesday. 

The legal icon was reported to have died of complications from a protracted age-related illness that he had battled for three years. 

The Public Relations Officer of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Mr Toye Akinrinlola, confirmed to newsmen that the former Attorney General was brought in dead at about 2 am on Tuesday.

Akinjide, an Ibadan high chief, was born in Ibadan, in the early 1930s to an influential family of warriors. He attended Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife in Osun State and passed out with a distinction (Aggregate 6). 

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria proceeded on his educational journey to the United Kingdom in 1951 and was called to the English Bar in 1955. He was later called to the Nigerian Bar and he established a legal firm, Akinjide and Co.

He was a Minister of Education in the first republic, under Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Minister of Justice in the second republic, during the administration of former President Shehu Shagari.

Akinjide was a member of the judicial systems sub-committee of the Constitutional Drafting Committee of 1975-1977 and later joined the National Party of Nigeria in 1978, and became the legal adviser to the party. While he was serving as the Attorney General of the Federation, Nigeria temporarily reversed the executions of armed robbers.

Bandits Killed 47 People in Weekend Attack

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest attacks by bandits in three local government areas of Katsina State, that left 47 persons dead.

Armed bandits had, over the weekend, reportedly unleashed mayhem and killed 47 residents of some villages in Katsina State. It was gathered that the bandits attacked some villages in Danmusa, Safana and Dutsin-ma local government areas, where they killed villagers observing lockdown imposed because of COVID-19.

The state’s police command spokesman, SP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident, said security agents were on the trail of the assailants.

READ ALSO, No Law Against Release of COVID-19 Corpses —Lagos Govt

He said during the attack, the bandits killed 14 persons in Kurecin Atai in Danmusa Local Government Area, while four persons were killed at Kurecin Giye and six in Kurecin Dutse in Dutsin-ma Local Government Area. Similarly, he further disclosed that 19 persons were killed in Makauwachi and four in Daule village.

Isah said a combined team of the police, army, DSS, Air Force and civil defence operatives are currently in the area to track down the assailants.

Reacting to the incident, the President said he was deeply saddened by the latest development, and called on Nigerians not to despair because, “this administration is ever determined to defeat and crush these criminal elements taking advantage of the lockdown to attack their victims.”

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari said he will not tolerate this large-scale killing of innocent people by the bandits, adding that “in line with my commitment to the security of the people, these attacks will be met with decisive force.”

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He directed the security agencies not to rest on their oars or lower their guard, which will create a vacuum for the bandits to strike.

While extending his sympathies to the families of the victims, he called on the people to show more vigilance by reporting the activities of criminal elements in their midst.

Katsina Killings: I Won’t Tolerate Killing of Innocent Citizens — Buhari

Burial Procedure Must Not Expose Family Members to Danger

The Lagos State government has declared that there is no existing law in the state that restricts the release of the bodies of COVID-19 dead patients to their relatives.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi said this while giving updates on the containment efforts of the virus in the state during a pressing conference.

He however, noted that the state government will soon issue a policy on the use of facemasks, adding that it has commenced mass production of local face masks. 

READ ALSO, Presidency Bars Attendees of Kyari’s burial from Villa

The commissioner said: “There are no existing laws that empowered us to deny the families of deceased bodies. The protocol for managing death from COVID-19 is that the body is decontaminated, and then placed in special body bags; sometimes you can double it then place it in a casket. And the coffin is sealed. Then the family will be allowed to come and collect the body and take him for burial.

“The only issue is that about the existing laws, the burial will have no more than 25 people including the grave-digger in attendance. So there is no current law that allows us to deny relatives the body of the person that died of COVID-19. It is just to be done in a procedure that doesn’t expose family members and relatives to danger.”

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On facemasks, Abayomi said: “There is some theoretical evidence that the wearing of masks may indeed reduce the number of droplets in the environment from the person that is infected with COVID-19 and that is the reason we are beginning to define the strategy of face masks for the general community.

“Tailors and seamstresses are empowered to produce and provide standard home-made face mask that the public can gain access to and wear without pulling on the limited stocks of professional face masks that health professional requires such that in a couple of weeks, we will be able to mass-produce locally made face masks, not the medical mask.”

Speaking on the Active Case Search in communities, the commissioner noted the rise in the number of confirmed cases.

He said: “Be reminded that there are some conditions that have similar symptoms. Out of 300 samples taken, we have only found three patients who have breathing difficulties and symptoms related to COVID19. More than 90 percent of these patients will have other COVID-19 related symptoms. The latest active case search in communities has reduced the number of community infections in the state. Our strategy is to achieve a reduced number of cases.

“We are making efforts to ensure that increase in the number of cases is reduced unlike what we see in the UK and other countries in Europe. With what we are seeing now it is showing that the graph is being flattened and it has shown that the multiplicity of the strategies is indeed working.”

On private hospitals, Abayomi said only one private hospital has been accredited to treat COVID-19 patients in the state.

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In addition, the commissioner announced the death of another COVID-19 patient in the state via his Twitter handle. “Lagos recorded 1 death, bringing total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Lagos to 14. The deceased is a female, aged 83 with underlying health issues.”

Giving update on the situation, Abayomi said: “Three patients were discharged from the Isolation facility at Yaba while the other one was discharged from Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH.

“They have all fully recovered and tested negative twice consecutively to COVID-19. With this, the number of patients successfully managed and discharged in Lagos is now 98.”

No Law Against Release of COVID-19 Corpses —Lagos Govt 

The Presidency on Sunday insisted on its decision not to allow those who attended the burial of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, access to the Presidential Villa for 14 days.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a series of tweets, said, “This (the directive) is in line with the standard rules put in place by the National Center for Disease Control and the Federal Ministry of Health. You do these things to stop the spread of Coronavirus. 

“For the most part, the Villa has operated digitally in the last few weeks, so there is really nothing new to this. There is nothing extraordinary about those of us who attended Abba Kyari’s funeral being advised to distance ourselves from the Villa. This is line with the standard rules put in place by the National Center for Disease Control @NCDCGov and the Federal Ministry of Health... to stop the spread of Coronavirus.” He added. 

READ ALSO, COVID-19: We Are on The Way to Recovery - Pastor Adeboye

The late Chief of Staff, who was buried on Saturday at the Gudu Cemetery in Abuja, died from complications related to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infection. Despite the Federal Government announcing that the bodies of COVID-19 victims would not be released to their relatives for burial, the late Chief of Staff, who died in a Lagos hospital on Friday, was flown to Abuja on Saturday for his final rites in accordance with Islamic rites. A number of presidency staff including Shehu, were in attendance.

Medical experts had attacked ministers and other dignitaries, who attended Kyari’s burial for not maintaining the social distancing rule. There was outrage particularly on the social media on Saturday, as pictures emerged of mourners thronging Kyari’s prayers and burial site without regard for social distancing to check the spread of coronavirus.

Those who attended the burial in Abuja on Saturday included National Coordinator COVID-19,  Dr Sani Aliyu; former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima; and Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika. Others are the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari; Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami and Garba Shehu.

Others were the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Mr. Ahmad Rufai, and Personal Assistant on New Media to President Buhari, Bashir Ahmed, among others. Their presence at the burial ceremonies was said to have violated the strict protocols established by the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, NCDC, for interring a COVID-19 victim.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has banned all condolence visits to the residence of the late Chief of Staff and even to the Presidency. The action was to contain the spread of the virus and ensure compliance with the social distancing protocol.

The Deputy Director, Information, State House, Attah Esa, in a statement titled ‘Advisory to State House Correspondents/Media Staff,’ said, “As a precautionary measure, all State House Correspondents and Media Office Staff who covered/attended the funeral prayer/burial ceremony of the late Chief of Staff, at Defence House and Gudu Cemetery Abuja, respectively, are strongly advised to work from home for the next 14 days.”

There are insinuations linking the alleged internal problems between some highly-placed members of the first family and the late Chief of Staff as the reason behind the action.

However, the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, debunked this by explaining  that stopping those that attended the burial rites from entering the State House was in line with the standard procedures to fight the spread of the dreaded pandemic.

Presidency Bars Attendees of Kyari’s Burial from Villa

Says, "Include Men of God in Committees" 

The General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, said on Sunday COVID-19 pandemic would soon come to an end.

The cleric made the prediction in a Sunday service telecast on Dove Television Station. He said, “I believe I have good news for us; I believe that the return journey to normalcy has started.

“I sincerely hope that we will remember to give all glory to God. We thank government; we thank God for efforts so far made. I believe they have done creditably well; it was a situation they had never seen before. But I would suggest that in the future, they should include in their committees men of God.

“I am not talking of small men like myself; I am talking of chief imams and archbishops so that they can help them with the spiritual aspect of this warfare. I sincerely do hope that we would not admit that it is not our wisdom, not our ability, not our planning that had given us whatever victory that we have already got.”

He added, “We need to return all the glory to God because as the elders would say, rain can send you to the same hut more than once. We need to really give all the glory to God because we don’t want the victory that we have won so far to be reversed. If you ask any doctor, he would tell you that the most difficult kind of cancer to handle is the one that relapses. We don’t want a relapse of this scourge.”

COVID-19: We Are on The Way to Recovery - Pastor Adeboye

Following new revelations regarding the reported maltreatment of Nigerians in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China, the Federal Government said it would immediately begin the process of evacuating affected persons.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the government would ensure compensation for about 100 Nigerians who were evicted from their homes and hotels by Chinese officials in Guangzhou.

READ ALSO, PHOTOS: Abba Kyari Laid to Rest in Abuja

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the minister said he had summoned the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Zhou Pingjian, for the second time in one week since the reports surfaced in the media to register Nigeria’s displeasure with the incident.

Onyeama stated that the Nigerian Ambassador to China, Ahmed Jidda, as well as other African ambassadors in China had met with the Chinese Foreign Ministry and expressed their concerns. He said they made a number of demands from the Chinese Government, including respecting the rights and dignity of Africans and Nigerians in Guangdong.

He added that the Chinese Government was committed to looking into the matter and ensuring no maltreatment of any Nigerian or African in China.

The minister stated, “After we had made a statement in the media, I have continued to receive information from Nigerians in China and I engaged directly with our officials in Guangzhou and people who were on the ground.

“And I must say that contrary to what we believed, that the situation had stabilised and was fully under control and there were no longer issues, it became apparent that there were still very distressing incidences and that it was almost as if it was an institutional attack on the rights and dignity of Nigerians and Africans there.”

Onyeama added, “So, as I said, with confirmation from people who were there, I again, invited today (Friday), the Chinese Ambassador and presented these facts to him. I said ‘look, contrary to what was agreed, promises made and guarantees given, the situation does not seem to have ameliorated and this is totally unacceptable.’

“That we have stories of Nigerians who had been evicted from their residences and were unable to get back in; that they had been moved from where they were into more expensive hotels and Nigerians not being served when they went to restaurants and shopping malls. I told him this was totally unacceptable and something needed to be done.”

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The remains of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, have been laid to rest in Abuja. His body was flown into  Abuja on Saturday morning for interment. It was received by senior officials of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He died in a Lagos hospital from complications related to COVID-19. His body was interred at the Gudu Cemetery, Abuja. 

READ ALSO, Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari Dies of Coronavirus

The remains arrived at the cemetery about 11.10 am in a white casket.

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The remains were lowered into the grave at about 11.20 am.

His interment took place shortly after an Islamic prayer was made for him at the Defence House, Maitama, Abuja.

Top government officials participated in the burial rites which were conducted under the supervision of the officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.

IPPIS: Buhari Approves Immediate Payment of University Lecturers Withheld Salaries

FG Postpones WASSCE, NECO Indefinitely