Persons in Detention Are Particularly Vulnerable to C0VID-19

As part of the measures  to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ekiti State government has begun the move to decongest the Ado-Ekiti correctional Centre. 

The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda made this known today in Ado-Ekiti. According to him, “The governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has directed that the Ministry of Justice immediately convene a meeting of the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, with a view to identifying prisoners who may benefit from immediate release from the Ado Ekiti Correctional Center."

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He said that the governor was concerned about the possible impact of COVID-19 in Ado Ekiti  correctional centre and therefore directed that additional measures be taken to decongest the facility.”

According to Fapohunda, persons in detention are particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, these measures will not only help protect the prisoners, but also the staff of the correctional centre, lawyers and others who provide support to the facility.

“The Ministry of Justice will compile a list of identified prisoners for the consideration of the meeting of the  Advisory Council of the prerogative of Mercy slated for Wednesday, 15 April 2020.  We will focus on prisoners on pre-trial detention for minor or low-risk offences,” he said.

The Attorney General further stated that in order to ensure that no deserving prisoner is left behind, the Ministry of Justice will seek the collaboration of the three branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in the State, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Legal Aid Council as well as Civil Society organisations working on prisoners rights.

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COVID-19: Ekiti to Release 'Low Risk' Prisoners 

Following a heated episode of arguments on Twitter, on Sunday evening, Governor El-Rufai's son publicly threatened to gang rape a senior citizen. Bello El-Rufai, one of the sons of the Kaduna governor, issued the threat in a private message to a Twitter user following arguments about politics.

“Tell your mother I’m passing her to my friends tonight,” Mr El-Rufai said to his detractor, before adding an ethnic diatribe: “No Igbo sounds please!”

The message, which was sent at 10:21 a.m. Sunday, quickly sparked outrage after it was made public by its recipient about an hour later.

READ ALSO, IPOB Displeased over FG’s Coronavirus Palliatives for S-East, S-South

Many Nigerians on social media have expressed outrage at Mr El-Rufai, while anti-rape activists demanded a thorough investigation for probable violation of the Cybercrime Act.

Mr El-Rufai, however, dismissed calls, including those from ex-minister Oby Ezekwesili, for him to apologise throughout Sunday. He claimed, without evidence that he was returning an insult earlier lobbed at his father. His defiance continued even as his mother, Hadiza El-Rufai, was being prodded to denounce her son’s call to violence.

The said argument ensued after a Twitter user, @thanos_zer, criticised a tweet posted the previous night by Mr El-Rufai as hypocritical.

“There is nothing as radioactive as an incompetent leader during a time of crisis,” Mr El-Rufai tweeted after 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. “The United States of America is a case in point. A few states in Nigeria too.”

This prompted @thanos_zer to reply with a question about President Buhari who has been criticised as an “absentee” leader due to his infrequent public appearances.

“How about the absentee president in Nigeria?” @thanos_zer wrote.

Mr El-Rufai responded to this by saying he was sure that @thanos_zer would be from the South-east and his state governor would be grossly incompetent.

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Again, @thanos_zer responded, saying: “I don’t shield anyone who’s inept. I can’t say the same about you. You’re daddy’s boy and of course nobody attacks the finger that feeds them. Buhari’s ineptitude is mind-blowing. Yes I said it and you’re not going to make me disappear!”

Subsequently, Mr El-Rufai rained a barrage of insults at his detractor. In one tweet before 11:00 a.m. Sunday, he posted sexual innuendos against @thanos_zer’s mother, saying he was aware of her “mind blowing” sexual capabilities.

In another tirade laced with sexual vulgarity, Mr El-Rufai tweeted at 11:02 a.m. that he had also learnt of sexual exploits of @thanos_zer’s grandmother.

About an hour after the public disagreement ended, @thanos_zer posted a screenshot that contained a threat which Mr El-Rufai sent to him as a private message.

"This was what El Rufai's son sent before blocking me.

I'm not even Igbo and none of what he said got to me. He can't call Buhari out for his ineptitude yet he's calling trump names?

Did he vote Trump?@ayabie_ikem @MobilePunch @Alaye_100 @HAHayatu @AishaYesufu pic.twitter.com/jLsfCsw0Cz

— consigliere (@thanos_zer) April 12, 2020

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When tagged on Twitter concerning her son's posts, Mrs El-Rufai  declined to categorically denounce her son’s vulgar statements, brushing aside the torrent of social media admonition demanding for her to do so.

She replied, All you people talking about @B_ELRUFAI Don’t @ me. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. All is fair in love and war. My belief: Respect everyone, but take no shit from anyone. I didn't see any threats of rape. I would never condone that."

"Responding to insults on twitter is fair. I stand by that. I had not gone through the tweets because it’s really none of my business, so didn't know the details. He’s an adult not a child, after all."

Anti-rape campaigners have since expressed their displeasure at Mr El-Rufai’s comments, with claims that they were even more enraged that he dug his heels in.

“Bello El-Rufai should be thoroughly prosecuted if Nigeria is serious about stemming the tide of gender-based violence,” Ugo Ikeakor, an anti-rape activist in Lagos said. “He should be penalised to serve as a much-needed deterrence against unending attacks on our women.”

Mr Ikeakor said men, especially those from privileged backgrounds, should be sensitive to the protection of women.

“They should know they are there to protect women and children against violence so that they can set a lasting example, not to continue the cycle of violence that has kept us underdeveloped for decades,” he said.

According to other activists, the statements by Mr El-Rufai underscored an entrenched culture of women victimisation in Nigeria. The activists said Sundays incident would further bolster women’s determination to rid the Nigerian society of the spectre of gender-based violence. They also decried Mrs El-Rufai’s reluctance to take the matter seriously, saying she missed an opportunity to stand as a voice for women’s rights even in a tough or awkward situation.

El-Rufai's Son's Gangrape Threats on Twitter Spark Outrage

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has expressed its displeasure over the pattern of disbursement of federal government’s palliatives to poor Nigerians to cushion the effects of the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. The group pointed out lopsidedness in the exercise against the South East and South –South geopolitical zone.

IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful in a statement, regretted that the National Cash Transfer office handling the disbursement had concentrated on people from the Northern zones, adding that only few persons in one state in the South East were remembered in the largesse.

READ ALSO, Petrol Litre Price Predicted to Fall by N8

The statement read: “A critical analysis of the information on the data base of the NCT office on the number of beneficiaries from the largesse on zone by zone basis reveals that South East is at the bottom of the table, just after South- South, while Northern zones are on top. This is provocative and a blatant confirmation that Nigeria has incurable hatred for Ndigbo and indeed other Biafrans in the old Eastern region.

“This continued rejection and humiliation of the people of old Eastern region is a confirmation that the federal government does not see us as part of Nigeria. Nigeria and her agency are making it more open for those who don’t know that Biafrans are not part of Nigeria.

“It baffles IPOB why NCT office   limited the number of beneficiaries of the cash transfer from the federal government to mere 3,253 in South East and 10,429 to South South. This is more annoying when juxtaposed with the number of beneficiaries from Northern zones and the South West zone.

According to IPOB, records in the NCT office show that beneficiaries in the North West are 112,744 persons; North Central – 88,008; North East- 44,405; and South West – 39,134.

The  group added: “What other information does this discrimination show, other than open rejection for South East and South South zones? Can the world now see why we earnestly yell for Biafra?”

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IPOB Displeased over FG’s Coronavirus Palliatives for S-East, S-South

Crude Oil Crash Responsible for Falling Prices

According to operators in the downstream oil sector, the pump price of petrol could drop further by between N5 and N8 per litre. This, according to oil marketers, is due to the crash in crude oil price which warranted the recent slashes in petrol price by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.

They noted that the current PMS cost of N123.5/litre to N125/litre could drop further when other operators join the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to start importing products.

READ ALSO,Nigeria, Others Slash Output as Oil Slides to $31.48

Senior officials of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, however, noted that this would happen when every downstream petrol importer begins to access the dollar at the same rate with NNPC.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees, IPMAN, who doubles as Group Executive Director, Nipco Plc, Aminu Abdulkadir, said that the price band for petrol would go down as far as crude oil prices stayed low.

Abulkadir, who said this in a television interview monitored by our correspondent in Abuja, noted that PPPRA would always provide a band because the price of the commodity was not definite.

He said, “Dealing with pump products is something that is not definite and that is why the PPPRA provides a band. A band is a range.

“Today, as the price is at N123.5/litre, I believe that by the time the market is totally free for marketers to import on their own, the band could still come lower than what it is by at least N5 to N8.”

On whether PPPRA would still determine the price of petrol for all dealers, he stated that the agency would mainly be saddled with the duty of providing a price band.

The IPMAN boss observed that the fluctuation in global crude oil prices would cause changes in petrol price in Nigeria.

Abdulkadir said, “They (PPPRA) will always partake in determining a band and not to give a fixed price. As the price of crude oil increases, the price of petroleum products will also increase but not as sharply as in an under-deregulated market.

“Different filling stations will sell at different prices and that is the essence of freeing the market. Definitely you will not get a fixed price but as the deregulation matures, the difference in the prices of retail outlets will not be up to N1.

He added, “By the time the industry understands the deregulation very well, you will find out that the difference between one retail outlet and the other will not be more than 50k to 80k because efficiency will come to play.”

On his part, the National President, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, told our correspondent that marketers would also want to see policy stability as the downstream sector sets for full deregulation.

Gillis-Harry, who admitted that petrol price would drop in a fully deregulated market, canvassed the domestic refining of petroleum products as against the massive dependence on imports.

He added that it was important for marketers to have access to loans in order to ensure the availability of products in all geographical zones of Nigeria to drive economic development.

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Petrol Litre Price Predicted to Fall by N8

Following the discovery that traces of COVID-19 can be found in wastewater, researchers worldwide have begun analyzing wastewater as a way of estimating the total number of COVID-19 infections in a community and to serve as an early-warning sign if the virus returns. 

According to Nature, a peer-reviewed journal, given that it is impossible for everyone to be tested, this method could also be used to detect the virus if it returns to communities. So far, researchers have found traces of the virus in wastewater in the Netherlands, the United States and Sweden.

READ ALSO, Nigeria, Others Slash Output as Oil Slides to $31.48

Analysing wastewater, the journal reports, involves using water that goes through the drainage system to a treatment facility. This way, the researchers can track infectious diseases that are excreted in urine or faeces, such as SARS-CoV-2.

According to Gertjan Medema, a microbiologist at KWR Water Research Institute in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, one treatment plant can capture wastewater from more than one million people.

Monitoring influent at this scale could provide better estimates for how widespread the coronavirus is than testing, because wastewater surveillance can account for those who have not been tested and have only mild or no symptoms, says Medema, who has detected SARS-CoV-2 genetic material — viral RNA — in several treatment plants in the Netherlands.

“Health authorities are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,” she noted.

However, to quantify the scale of infection in a population from wastewater samples, researchers will need to find out how much viral RNA is excreted in faeces, and extrapolate the number of infected people in a population from concentrations of viral RNA in wastewater samples.

Researchers will also need to ensure that they are looking at a representative sample of what is being excreted by the population and not just one snapshot in time, and that their tests can detect the virus at low levels. This was according to scientists representing the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences in Australia, a research centre that advises the state government on environmental-health risks.

In support of the findings, an infectious-disease researcher at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health, Ana Maria de Roda Husman, said infection-control measures, such as social distancing, will probably suppress the current pandemic, noting that the virus could return once such measures are lifted.

Wastewater Can Indicate Presence of COVID-19 in Communities - Scientists 

Despite the meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other oil producing nations, Brent crude, the commodity against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, dropped in price on Sunday. 

Brent crude dropped to $31.48 per barrel, a fall of $1.36, as of 12.17pm Central Standard Time, while crude oil in OPEC Basket traded flat at $21.19. OPEC and non-OPEC members, jointly referred to as OPEC+, had a Declaration of Cooperation during their ministerial meeting on Sunday and concluded on the curtailment of crude oil production by 9.7 million barrels.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said Nigeria joined its counterparts to bring into effect the agreement to cut 9.7 million barrels of supply following the alignment of Mexico. He said the intervention of the United States resulted in Mexico agreeing to a cut of 100,000 barrels per day and to be complemented by an additional 300 KBOPD by the US producers.

“This will enable the rebalancing of the oil markets and the expected rebound of prices by $15 per barrel in the short term,” Sylva stated in a speech he signed on Sunday.

“This also promises an appropriate balancing of Nigeria’s 2020 budget that has been rebased at $30 per barrel,” he added

He noted that as agreed, Nigeria would join OPEC+ to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day between May and June 2020, eight million barrels per day between July and December 2020 and six million barrels per day from January 2021 to April 2022.

The minister stated that based on reference production of Nigeria of October 2018 of 1.829 million barrels per day of dry crude oil, Nigeria would be producing 1.412 million barrels per day, 1.495 million barrels per day and 1.579 million barrels per day respectively for the corresponding periods in the agreement.

According to him, this is in addition to condensate production of between 360 and 460 KBOPD, which are exempt from the OPEC curtailment.

Nigeria, Others Slash Output as Oil Slides to $31.48

The President Will Decide The Lockdown Extension

There are strong indications that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), may extend the lockdown order in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory. This came after the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, spoke at Friday’s edition of the committee’s daily media briefing.

On March 29, Buhari had ordered the lockdown for an initial period of 14 days to tackle the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. On the said date, Nigeria had 111 COVID-19 cases with one death, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The cases were recorded in 11 states and the FCT.

But as of Friday, April 10, coronavirus cases had increased to 305 in the country after fresh 17 cases were recorded in the country. While 58 patients had been discharged, seven had died as of Friday night. The new cases also brought the number of states affected to 18, excluding the FCT.

READ ALSO, Aiyegbeni Slams Racist French Doctors

Speaking at the media briefing, Mustapha said, “The PTF, a small committee of us, this afternoon, had the privilege of further briefing Mr President on the assessment of our response to COVID-19 and, at the appropriate moment, we will continue to adequately inform Nigerians of government decisions.

“The decision on whether to extend the lockdown or not is exclusively the decision or responsibility of the President. Ours (the PTF) is to provide him with first-hand information that would inform that decision. So, I cannot speculate on that now. But looking at what is happening in other climes, you would be able to deduce what might likely happen, but I’m not in a position to speculate on that.

“I believe strongly that the information required to make that decision would be made available to Mr President, who would look at the holistic picture. It is not only the information that comes from the Presidential Task Force that would inform his decision; there are other sources of information that come to him as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he would consider all of them in arriving at a decision.”

Earlier when the PTF met with the President on Friday to discuss its progress on the national response to the coronavirus pandemic, Mustapha had told journalists at the State House that Buhari appealed to Nigerians to exercise more patience and understanding as the government continued to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Although the meeting was held behind closed doors, it was gathered that Buhari expressed optimism that Nigeria would beat COVID-19, flatten the curve and aggressively respond to the crisis.

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The SGF said, “He (Buhari) was very satisfied; as a matter of fact, he wished us well and spoke openly as a father would about his compassion for the work that we are doing and the fact that he keeps seeing us going up and down, engaging with the public, engaging with the media and critical stakeholders.

“He appealed to the Nigerian public for patience and understanding, that we are dealing with an uncommon enemy, one that we can’t see or predict, all over the world. It’s called the novel coronavirus, which means it’s new and its characteristics are unknown; people are just trying to define it and find ways around it.

“His strong appeal was that, as much as possible, we should encourage people to observe the basic instructions that had been issued, in terms of keeping social distancing, washing of hands, maintaining cleanliness and staying at home, which is very critical and scientifically, it’s been proven that staying at home can prevent the spread by about 45 per cent.”

Mustapha expressed gratitude to Nigerian health workers, especially those who have been on the front line since the COVID-19 pandemic started. He assured them that government was working out incentives to further motivate them.

He said, “Let me use this opportunity to commend and thank our front-line health care workers for their commitment and sacrifices. The government is working on the issue of your incentives, medical and life insurance as you battle to save lives.”

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FG may extend lockdown as COVID-19 cases rise to 305

Racism Is Getting Worse Everyday - Aiyegbeni 

Following their proposition that COVID-19 vaccines be tested in Africa, former Everton and Nigerian star, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has labelled the French doctors in the African racism row as “ignorant”.

Professors Camille Locht and Jean-Paul Mira have been heavily criticised for their disparaging remarks which suggested vaccines against COVID-19 should first be tested in Africa. Echoing the sentiments of Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba and Joseph Yobo, ex-Liverpool player Mohamed Sissoko labelled the doctors’ comments as “a scandal” while calling for action to be taken against the Frenchmen.

For ‘the Yak’, severe action should be taken against the duo while emphasising education as a panacea to curbing such racist remarks in the future.

READ ALSO, Africans Target of Discrimination in China COVID-19 Crackdown

“The doctors are just being stupid and very ignorant thinking the test should be conducted in Africa,” Aiyegbeni told Goal.

“We are trying to kick away discrimination but it’s still there. What can we do? It is getting worse every day. Some people pretend they like black people while some are another way around. I just hope this kind of thing ends very soon but I doubt.

“This is not just only in France or Italy, it is everywhere but we will try and speak about it all the time and lecture the young kids so that hopefully, one day there will be no room for it. It is sad that year after year, we keep talking about this issue and that is not good for the game and sports in general.

“Suing the doctors to court wouldn’t yield any result because there are some people who do crazier things than this quietly and they are not seen. Taking them to jail will be good but that doesn’t stop them from doing it, but I believe harder measures should be taken on this issue to send a signal to others.”

Meanwhile, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesus, also expressed his discontent with the remarks.

“To be honest, I was so appalled. And it was a time when I said when we needed solidarity – this kind of racist remarks actually would not help, it goes against the solidarity,” Tedros said during a WHO media briefing.

The BCG tuberculosis vaccine, seen as a probable treatment for the pandemic, is undergoing clinical trials for that purpose in the Netherlands and Australia.

Africans in southern China’s largest city claim that they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections.

China says it has largely curbed its COVID-19 outbreak but a recent cluster of cases linked to the Nigerian community in Guangzhou sparked the alleged discrimination by locals and virus prevention officials.

Local authorities in the industrial centre of 15 million said at least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city’s Yuexiu district, known as “Little Africa”. Five were Nigerian nationals who faced widespread anger after reports surfaced that they had broken a mandatory quarantine and been to eight restaurants and other public places instead of staying home.

READ ALSO, We Won't Condone Maltreatment of Nigerians- Gbajabiamila to Chinese Ambassador

As a result, nearly 2,000 people they came into contact with had to be tested for COVID-19 or undergo quarantine, state media said. Guangzhou had confirmed 114 imported coronavirus cases as of Thursday — 16 of which were Africans. The rest were returning Chinese nationals. This has led to Africans becoming targets of suspicion, distrust and racism in China.

Several Africans claimed that they had been forcibly evicted from their homes and turned away by hotels. Many have been left with no housing, and have resorted to sleeping under bridges with no food to eat. They report that they cannot buy food anywhere as no shops or restaurants attend to them. 

Others claim that police gave them no information about testing or quarantine but instead told them “to go to another city”. Police in Guangzhou declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Other Africans said the community had been subjected to mass COVID-19 testing even though many had not left China recently, and placed under arbitrary quarantine at home or in hotels.

China has banned foreign nationals from entering the country and many travellers are being sent into 14-day quarantines either in their own accommodation or at centralised facilities.

Thiam, an exchange student from Guinea, said police ordered him to stay home on Tuesday even after he tested negative for COVID-19 and told officers he had not left China in almost four years. He believes the measures are specifically and unfairly targeting Africans.

The infections in Guangzhou have sparked a torrent of abuse online, with many Chinese internet users posting racist comments and calling for all Africans to be deported. Last week a controversial cartoon depicting foreigners as different types of trash to be sorted through went viral on social media.

China’s foreign ministry acknowledged this week that there had been some “misunderstandings” with the African community.

“I want to emphasise that the Chinese government treats all foreigners in China equally,” said spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday, urging local officials to “improve their working mechanisms”.

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However, the complaints in Guangzhou contrast with a welcome reception to Chinese efforts in battling the coronavirus across the African continent, where Beijing this week donated medical supplies to 18 countries.

“When China engages Africa it’s the central government that does that, but when it comes to immigration enforcement that happens at the local level,” said Eric Olander, managing editor of the China Africa Project.

“That explains why there’s an inconsistency in the more upbeat messaging we hear about Chinese diplomacy on the continent and the increasingly difficult realities that African traders, students and other expatriates face in their day-to-day lives in China.”

Africans Target of Discrimination in China COVID-19 Crackdown 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has demanded an end to the inhumane treatment of Nigerians living in China. This came following the reported maltreatment of some Nigerians living in China. He said this when the leadership of the House met with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian on Friday.

Gbajabiamila asked the Chinese envoy to look into viral media reports and videos from Beijing showing Nigerians being forced out of their houses and hotels. The videos further detailed how Nigerians were rounded up and their passports seized by the Chinese police.

Gbajabiamila told the ambassador, according to a release on Friday, that there should be an official explanation for treating Nigerians in such a manner.

READ ALSO,COVID-19: Inviting Chinese Doctors Is Suicidal-NARD

The meeting was also attended by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, and the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu.

The viral videos on Wednesday and Thursday showed some Nigerians in China being forced into another 14-day quarantine after the initial 14 days they spent for same purpose over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gbajabiamila said, “If the diplomatic relationship between our two countries are for the mutual benefits of our citizens, then there must be respect for our citizens and we should not compromise it.

“As a government, we will not allow Chinese or other nationals to be maltreated just as we will not allow Nigerians to be maltreated in other countries. The way you treat your citizens, we expect that’s how you’ll treat others.

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“We will not tolerate our citizens breaking your laws, but the crime of one citizen cannot be used to stigmatise the whole country. It appears that was what happened in this case. You can’t use one brush to smear the whole wall. Whatever the reason, it cannot be used and taken out on the entire (Nigerian) community in China.”

The ambassador, Pingjian, said he had not been officially informed of the details of the incident but that he would take it up with the government.

He said, “We take our relationship with Nigeria very seriously. Until we receive a full report back home, I cannot act, but I can assure you it is not a policy issue. We treat everyone equally, but during the implementation of the COVID-19 measures in China, it is possible for some incidents; all I do is to take it back home.”

The Speaker gave the Chinese envoy till Tuesday to get back to the legislature, adding that he hoped the Chinese medical team that arrived Nigeria on Wednesday were in quarantine.

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We Won't Condone Maltreatment of Nigerians- Gbajabiamila to Chinese Ambassador 

The Final Decision Rests with Mr President- Boss Mustapha

The Federal Government on Thursday has announced that it has no plan to suspend the lockdown order even  as Christians celebrate Easter from Friday, April 10 to Monday, April 13, 2020.

Mr Boss Mustapha, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 made this announcement this during an interactive session with the leadership of the National Assembly, co-chaired by the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila. Also present at the meeting were other principal officers who expressed their concern over the negative effects of the lockdown on the socio-economic well-being of the  citizens.

The principal officers who attended the meeting are: Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase; Majority Leader, Hon. Ado Doguwa; Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu; Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Monguno and Deputy Chief Whip, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha. Also in attendance were the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator Omoworare; among others.

Mr Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), explained that there was a need to evaluate the effectiveness of the 14 days lockdown on the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of the disease across the country.

According to him, the Presidential Task Force Committee is expected to look at the efficiency of the lockdown and hopefully, by the end of tomorrow, "assess the outcome of the effectiveness of the lockdown and advise Mr President.” He maintained that the responsibility of the PTF was to recommend while the final decision rests with Mr President.

READ ALSO,Easter Message: Buhari Emphasizes The Need for Social Distancing

Mustapha who stated that the Easter holiday falls within the 14-days lockdown declared by the Federal Government, said he was uncertain whether the lockdown would be extended or not.

In his earlier presentation, the PTF chairman disclosed that as of 9 am on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, there were 276 recorded cases with six deaths in Nigeria, with the spread reaching nearly half of the states of the federation.

“Lagos, our economic heartbeat is the epicentre with 145 cases – more than half of the total. Globally, countries with more advanced and sophisticated health systems than ours are struggling to deal with the cases in their own lands.

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“We can be under no illusion that this case affects all of us, and it is on all of us to play our part in solving this,” he urged.

According to him, with particular reference to the restrictions, the number of cases recorded showed that Lagos and Abuja have become the high burden areas in Nigeria and that drastic measures were required as part of the containment strategy to prevent community transmission.

“The reason for the prevalence was attributable to the fact that both cities are major points of entry. Also, records showed that a higher percentage of the cases, including the index case were imported.”

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While affirming that the pandemic has greatly exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s health system given the way more established health systems in Europe and America collapsed under pressure, Mr Mustapha assured that “the plan therefore is to lay a legacy foundation for the immediate, medium- and long-term development of the health system.

“To this end, the PTF has proposed to utilize the resources being mobilized in the following strategic manner: Direct development and delivery of critical infrastructure to States by donors; direct procurement and delivery of PPEs and other critical equipment by donors; deployment of rapid response teams to states for capacity building and support and expansion of the testing capacity in the country.”

COVID-19: FG Sustains Lockdown Order as Christians Celebrate Easter

After testing positive to COVID-19 infection and receiving treatment for about three weeks, Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, has been discharged and given a clean bill of health by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Speaking shortly after he was discharged on Thursday night at about 9 pm, an elated Bala Mohammed declared that, “I went through hell while in isolation for treatment. I felt like I was alone. But the love, affection and prayers shown to me by the people of Bauchi State really kept me going.”

READ ALSO, Easter Message: Buhari Emphasizes The Need for Social Distancing

The governor who thanked the people of Bauchi State for standing by him all through the trying period said that, “I cannot hide my health status, but if by doing so I have offended anyone, I apologize for that. It was really a trying time for me. Glory to God that I was able to pass the test.”

He also said that, “the situation was made worse with the kidnap of my elder brother but we thank God for his release. I have learnt a great lesson during this period and it has further strengthened me and souring me to do more for the people of Bauchi State.”

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Bala Mohammed, however, called on people of the state not to come to his office or Government House for sympathy visit saying, “Because of the social distancing practice directive, I appeal to our supporters to stay at home and continue to pray for divine intervention on the situation.”

It will be recalled that the second and final sample test of the governor came out negative on Thursday, a development that was received with excitement by people of the state.

COVID-19: Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed Discharged 

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.