Late Max FM Radio Presenter, Emmanuella Pobeni Adepoju.
The management of TVC Communications, owners of TVC, TVC News and Max FM Lagos and Abuja Friday announced the passing of radio presenter, Emmanuella Pobeni Adepoju, popularly known as Iya Jogbo, who died as a result of brief illness from Bronchitis and an enlarged heart.
Announcing the unfortunate incident on behalf of the staff and management of TVC and Max FM, the Chief Executive Officer of TVC Communications, Andrew Hanlon, said the sad news of Emmanuella’s passing has sent a shock wave of grief and sorrow throughout the TVC and Max FM family.
“Whilst we struggle to come to terms with her untimely passing, our hearts and minds are focussed solely on her beloved children and her immediate and extended family and friends.
“Emmanuella’s presence will be with us forever as she leaves a legacy of enormous talent and spirit from the almost 10 years she spent with the company as a key member of the much loved Wetin Dey radio show on Max FM.
“She will be deeply missed by us all and by her many thousands of fans who tuned in to hear her unique broadcasts every day,” Hanlon said.
Screengrabs from a viral video in which a police officer was seen ‘dehumanising’ a woman. Credit: Channels TV
Nigeria Police Force Friday said it has arrested the remaining two persons involved in the dehumanising treatment of a female citizen in a viral video making the rounds since Wednesday (July 22), bringing the total number of persons now in police custody to four.
“The two additional persons arrested are CPL Aiyedun Akeem and one Ope Owoeye – the civilian accomplice popularly known as ‘Wyclef.’
“Recall that ASP Tijani Olatunji and Inspr Gboyega were earlier arrested for their involvement in the case.
“Investigation is still ongoing after which the Force internal disciplinary procedures will commence for the officers,” said a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba.
Meanwhile, Mba explained that Police Detectives from the State CID, Panti, Yaba in Lagos have established contact with the victim with assurances that justice would not only be done but would be seen to have been manifestly done.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, flanked by Governor of Yobe State and Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Committee of the APC and Honourable Yakubu Dogara at the State House, Abuja.
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has again decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Dogara along with Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja on Friday.
Dogara, a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) served as the 14th Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He currently represents Bogoro/Dass, Nigeria/Tafawa Balewa, Federal constituency of Bauchi State since 2007.
He was led to Buhari’s office by Buni, who is also Chairman of APC Caretaker/National Planning Committee, and intimated the President of the latest development in the party.
Dogara did not speak when requested by State House correspondents, but Buni confirmed that he has become a member of APC.
The former speaker left APC for PDP in 2018, saying the ruling party had allegedly failed to “keep to promises it made to Nigerians.”
Dogara, who stated this shortly after he submitted his nomination forms at the PDP secretariat in Abuja, said he and his associates were “treated as strangers” in APC.
ECOWAS delegate of Heads of State in Mali, July 24, 2020.
The Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African Sstates (ECOWAS), President Mahamadou Issoufou says the sub-regional organisation will do all it takes to mitigate the political crisis in Mali.
This assurance came after many hours of consultations in the nation’s capital, Bamako, on Thursday.
At the meeting, ECOWAS Special Envoy, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and leader of the opposition, Imam Mahmoud Dicko and representatives of opposition alliance, M5 and Civil Society Organisations briefed the high power delegate that include President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Machy Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
The host President also briefed the Heads of State and government on the socio-political situation in the country, especially the disagreements that spiraled into protests and violence.
While briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, President Issoufou of Niger Republic, said an extra-ordinary virtual meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State and government will be held on Monday 26 July, 2020.
This he said is to further deliberate on the issues raised, with a view to finding lasting solution to the crisis and restore peace to the country.
He disclosed that the sub-regional leaders had already agreed there would be a need for a compromise to protect the peace and integrity of the nation.
He stated that allowing a political crisis in Mali would affect the security situation in West Africa, especially neighboring countries.
The ECOWAS Chairman commended Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, for accepting to lead an initial mission to the country to broker peace, and make findings, while appreciating all the West African leaders who attended the meeting.
Earlier, Ghanaian President said that the ECOWAS protocol would be followed, explaining that the democratic tenet adopted by the sub-regional body clearly spells out that a President can only be voted into power, and voted out by election, except he completes his tenure.
File Photo: Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari flanked by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as he signs into law revised N10.8 trillion 2020 budget.
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says President Muhammadu Buhari should resign over what it described as failure to tackle insecurity and attempting to turn a blind eye to allegations of corruption.
The call for Buhari’s resignation was made by the National Chairman of the Party, Mr Uche Secondus at a news briefing held in Abuja Friday.
The party Chief in his remark titled, ‘Nigeria on a Free Fall as Corruption, Insecurity Engulfs Our Nation,’ said rising insecurity across the country has exposed the poor leadership in the military and ruling class.
He said, “What we are witnessing in our country today is a total collapse of the nation, the country is on a ventilator gasping for air, under such circumstance. President Buhari should do the honourable thing required of an elder statesman in situations like this, throw in the towel and save the country from ruins.”
Read the full statement by Mr Secondus below:
Being Address of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus at a media briefing on the state of the Nation at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata, House, Abuja. On July 24, 2020.
“Nigeria in a free fall, as corruption, insecurity engulfs the Nation”
Preamble. Gentlemen of the press, I have had to call you again to discuss the frightening developments in our country. As an opposition party, the PDP has screamed endlessly to high heavens but it’s becoming very clear to all that the ears we are targeting are deaf as nothing on ground shows that there is a government in this country. No attempt is being made from any corner to stem the freighting tide in our land. No effort is being made from any angle to halt the on-going free fall being witnessed in all fronts in the country. Nigerians have become helpless and have come to accept and live like citizens of nations without leader and with no direction. Where do we start looking at the state of the nation when all segments of governance have collapsed.
Insecurity. Nothing establishes the fact that there is no governance in the country more than the worsening state of insecurity. Having exhausted their propaganda of winning the war on terrorism only in their press releases, as reality endowed on all, both the military and political leaders are now helpless and confused. What the Nigerian Senate did on Tuesday when it asked the service chiefs to resign was to show to the World that there is no executive arm of government in place. Having few months back advised the executive to sack the service chiefs for having outlived their relevance and re-engineer the military for the emerging challenges, and having watched the security situation in the country grow from worse to worse, the legislators have limited option but to do what they did at least to show the people they represent that they are sensitive to their plights. Not even during the three-year brutal civil war did we witness as much as over 300 soldiers absconding their duties and pouring abuses on their commander. Only poor leadership from the military and the polity can drag down morale of soldiers to such a pitiable level. The Presidency rising immediately to challenge the Senate shows also the level of confusion in the system.
Corruption. Since transparency International said few years ago that the worst corruption was going-on in Nigeria under this regime, the situation has continued to worsen. It has now become a bazar with no pretense about it with all critical agencies of government including the anti-graft body themselves grossly engulfed in it.
The nation’s economy is walking to depression because we are least in recession and it’s being fast-tracked by the widening scope of corruption involving operatives at the high places.
The free for all corruption going on all over the place leaves us with the impression that the country is dying and there has been a scramble for what one can get out of it before the final demise.
It’s very disheartening that as the looting and the re-looting of the nation’s resources are going on under the watch of the acclaimed anti-corruption President no serious reactions is coming from government that prides itself to be fighting corruption.
Rather than confront the already exposed corruption cases, the government deliberately takes cautious steps to play it down with a view to protecting their members who are neck-deep in the growing sleaze.
“After providence decided to expose the massive fraud going on in the nation’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the last five years, rather than bring it to the fore, the Presidency in the great cover-up decided to take the investigation including the interrogation of suspects to Aso Rock Villa behind camera where all the exposed issues are kept away from the public glare.
We are aware that after the massive fraud exposition involving critical members of the administration, subtle moves are on behind the scene to free culprits and save the face of the government at the expense of the nation.
This has been the case since this administration came in 2015 disguising as an anti-corruption regime while in reality looting the country dry.
“After their double speak on fuel subsidy and prizing, they have recorded the highest amount of subsidy in the petroleum sector while running the show in utmost secrecy with the President presiding as both the President and the Petroleum Minister.
As we speak, the big corruption cover-up is on-going in critical sectors, the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, the Maritime Sector, the Customs, the Federal inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Nigeria Social Insurance a Trust Fund, NSITF, North East Development Commission, NNPC crude Oil sale to China, etc.
Nothing brings out the exact character of President Buhari’s administration to corruption than the on-going free for all fraud at the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, where the so-called forensic auditors sent in by the President to unearth a fraud are themselves becoming visible accomplice to the crime. The Senate has already indicted the Interim Management Committee, IMC, and the supervising Minister Senator Godswill Akpabio. A commission set up to helping the suffering people of Niger Delta has become a bank for APC members.
Fraud at a glance.
100mb crude oil sales to China by Sahara energy as reported over 2.5b dollars
Over N1.3 trillion spent between 2015 and 2019 with N4.923b of NDDC spent outside the budget.
NSITF N3.4b fraud
The growing fresh fuel Subsidy fraud
Unaccounted for N100b for North East commission.
Not to talk of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in the name of covid-19 palliatives
Fraudulent acquisition of banks, telecom companies amounting to billions of dollars by cabals in this administration.
Efcc blockage of N100b tax laundering petition involving a high profile person in APC
Gentlemen of the press, the state of our nation today requires that all hands must be on deck especially you media practitioners who should not relent in holding public officers accountable.
Nigerians should not be distracted by the drama playing out at the various fraud case hearings whether in Aso Villa with Ibrahim Magu or at the National Assembly with two Ministers Akpabio and Chris Ngige, entertaining Nigerians, they are designs to remove public attention to the real issue. In this country under the watch of President Buhari and his APC, we have found ourselves in the environment as the French economist, Federico Bastiat said that “when plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it” .This regime has found a code for corruption and they now glorify it and make fun of it.
Finally, gentlemen of the press what we are witnessing in our country today is a total collapse of the nation, the country is on ventilator gasping for air, under such circumstance, President Buhari should do the honourable thing required of an elder statesman in situations like this, THROW IN THE TOWEL because Nigeria is on and save the country from ruins. Thanks for your attention and God bless.
A view of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, Nigeria.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has spoken ahead of today’s partial closure of Third Mainland Bridge for the next six months.
This was coming as Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said 250 operatives would be deployed to work with 650 personnel of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to maintain traffic on Third Mainland Bridge and alternative routes.
The governor appealed to residents of the state to exercise patience and bear the discomfort that would be experienced from the six-month partial closure, explaining that the partial closure of the 11.8km bridge – the busiest in the state – was inevitable, following physical deterioration observed on the structure after an integrity test conducted by the Federal Government.
The closure of the bridge, Sanwo-Olu said, would bring about pain, but noted that the development was necessary to prevent disaster that may result from the total collapse of the infrastructure.
He promised that LASTMA officials would constantly be on the road with their federal counterparts to ensure seamless movement of vehicles during the period.
Sanwo-Olu stated this on Thursday while receiving the new FRSC Sector Commander in Lagos, Olusegun Ogungbemide, during a courtesy visit at the State House in Marina.
Ogungbemide was accompanied on the visit by Lagos State Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Adeyinka Ayinla.
Sanwo-Olu said his administration has carried out improvement work on alternative routes mapped out for diversions, while observing that 25 per cent of vehicular movements on the Third Mainland Bridge would be disrupted during the closure.
According to him, “The partial closure of Third Mainland Bridge is not something that everybody should worry about, because this is an exercise that had been done before.
“For emphasis, the traffic disruption is only about 25 per cent of the regular traffic on the bridge. The 75 per cent of vehicles that normally ply the route will still have access to move on the bridge during the period of repair.
“We have furnished and improved the design of the alternative routes, and we are still working on other arterial routes so that our people can have seamless journey times to and from their places of work.
“So, there is nothing commuters should worry about in this period. We will ensure the repair work on Third Mainland Bridge does not overburden them. We will be deploying over 650 LASTMA officers on the road to control the traffic.”
In the period of closure, the governor said a lane of the bridge would be opened to traffic for vehicles driving inward Lagos Island in the morning, while other lane would be shut. The reverse would be done for vehicle driving inward Mainland in the afternoon, while other would be closed.
To further assuage the discomfort that may be experienced by commuters and ease the roads of gridlock, Sanwo-Olu said his administration has strengthened the state-owned Lagos Ferry Service (LAGFERRY) by doubling its capacity for mass movement, thereby giving the residents an alternative through water transportation.
“We are also urging the commuters to explore the option of waterways in their journey. The jetty built in Ilaje area of Bariga has been activated and we are deploying more speed boats to raise the capacity of our ferry service. This is to ensure that many people are not on road at the same time,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor said his administration remained committed to improving transportation in the state, noting that delivering efficiently run intermodal transportation system was an important component of his Government’s deliverables.
In his remarks, Ogungbemide said FRSC plays prominent roles in the smooth running of Lagos security architecture, pleading with the governor to integrate the agency into the state’s Security Council.
The FRSC boss assured Lagos residents of his readiness to introduce activities that would give road users pleasant experience, adding that 250 FRSC operatives would be deployed to work with LASTMA to maintain traffic on Third Mainland Bridge and alternative routes.
The complete repair work on the bridge is expected to take two years, out of which the carriageway would be closed to vehicles for six months.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has released alternative waterways routes for the commuting public due to the planned partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge from today.
LASWA, in a statement by its General Manager, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, noted that the agency has mapped out alternative routes through the waterways across Lagos metropolis.
He listed the waterways routes that would be available at peak periods (6:30-9am and 4:30-6pm) to include Ikorodu Terminal – Ebute-Ero, Addax Jetty (Sandfill), Five Cowries Terminal (Falomo); Ilaje Terminal – Ebute Ero – Five Cowries6 Terminal (Falomo), Addax Jetty (Sandfill) and Ilaje Terminal – Badore, Oke Ira Nla.
Others, according to him, are: Badore (Ajah) – Ijede (Ikorodu); CMS Marina – Apapa (Flour Mills, Liverpool); Ajah (Badore, Oke Ira Nla) – Addax Jetty (Sandfill) and Five Cowries Terminal (Falomo) among others.
While imploring Lagosians to take advantage of the opportunity provided by LASWA with the creation of alternative routes for commuters, he assured all passengers of their safety, noting that the modern passengers boats are built and equipped with new technology and monitored in real-time to ensure passenger safety at all times.
File Photo: Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government Thursday explained how it’s spending between N100,000 and N1 million daily on each of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) patient in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, speaking through his Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, at a media briefing, disclosed that for mild and moderate cases, Lagos State Government spends averagely about N100,000 daily.
He added that it costs the Sanwo-Olu administration between N500,000 and N1 million to manage a patient with a serious case.
While the commissioner explained that it would be extremely difficult to calculate the exact amount expends on each COVID-19 patient by the Sanwo-Olu administration to manage the deadly virus, he noted that what he provided was a rough estimate.
He said the estimated cost factored in treatment, cost of feeding, accommodation and the services provided by the healthcare givers, among others.
Meanwhile, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has disclosed that it would disburse N100 million each to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to boost their response against COVID-19.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
The minister explained that the funds would be made available to the states through the Regional Diseases Surveillance Enhancement (REDISSE) Project, saying REDISSE Project was initiated by the World Bank to cover all countries in the ECOWAS sub-region as a consequence of the 2014‒2015 West Africa Ebola crisis.
Lagos State Government also revealed that about 2,036 COVID-19 patients have not been picked from the community in the last two weeks, due to preference for home treatment, logistic issues, wrong information provided in their forms and inability to reach such patients because their phones were switched off.
The Sanwo-Olu administration has also reiterated that the use of Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) kits for COVID-19 testing in Lagos remains illegal until the state could validate that the kits actually work.
Abayomi explained that RDT kits have a very high risk of giving false positive or negative results which could be traumatising for citizens.
“In the event that a false-positive result is given, a potentially negative person will be subjected to trauma, isolation and treatment like a positive patient. And in the event that a false negative is given, a potentially positive person is allowed to continue to roam freely in the community regardless of his positive status and as a result, the use of RDT kits is illegal until Lagos State can validate RDT kits that actually work,” the commissioner said.
He explained that the Sanwo-Olu administration had considered the use of RDT kits as part of the strategies to expand its testing capacity, but noted, however, that none of RDT kits submitted for validation passed the required test.
“In order to expand our testing capacity, we considered the use of RDT kits and to facilitate the quick validation of the RDT kits and reduce the barrier of entry for proposed manufacturers and suppliers of RDT kits, Mr. Governor paid the validation fees for the RDT kits.
“However, upon review of several RDT kits that were submitted for validation, we can report that none of the RDT kits passed the validation exercise,” Abayomi disclosed.
While noting that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not declared any RDT kit useful for public use, Abayomi added that it’s also illegal for private health facilities to test or manage COVID-19 cases without proper accreditation and validation by the regulatory authorities.
“It has come to our attention that several laboratories and health facilities are testing and managing COVID patients without proper accreditation and validation by the regulatory authorities. Two laboratories were sealed as a result of this. We will continue to closely monitor all facilities that partake in these illegal activities and endanger the lives of all residents of Lagos State and instigate punitive measures to ensure they desist from such activities,” the commissioner said.
Disclosing that only seven private laboratories were already accredited by the Sanwo-Olu administration, he maintained that the second phase of accreditation and validation of laboratories would be conducted when the demand arises.
Abayomi added that Lagos State Government has also only accredited three private facilities and is currently in the process of accrediting more, including general practitioners and small clinics, that are interested in partaking in the soon to be launched community-based and home-based care programme.
“It is important to reiterate that the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency and Lagos State Government has adopted a central planning approach to managing its response,” he noted.
Assuring that plans are in top gear by the Sanwo-Olu administration to scale up sample collection at the 20 local government areas to include the 37 local council development areas in order to improve the efficiency of sample collection in the community, Abayomi disclosed that residents would have access to free oxygen therapy at some of the centres, if required, while arrangements would be made to transfer such a person to a COVID-19 centre.
Abayomi hinted that Lagos State Government would in the next couple of days transition to the next phase of the COVID-19 response, which he referred to as the community-based care.
“Under the community-based care arrangement, we provide the opportunity for mild-to-moderate cases being managed and isolated at home in situations where this is allowed.
“However, our critical-to-severe cases will be continually managed in our COVID-19 isolation centres, where they will have the opportunity of the best treatment available,” the commissioner assured.
Stating that a date for the commencement of home-based care would be formally announced soon, Abayomi observed that vulnerable, elderly and severe-to-critically ill patients would be managed at the isolation centres to ensure that they receive the best possible care available.
Giving epidemiology statistics on COVID-19 cases in Lagos State, the commissioner said over 56,276 COVID-19 tests have been conducted so far, while the total number of positive cases stands at 13,543, pointing out that of the 2,476 COVID-19 patients admitted so far, 2,075 have been discharged to reunite with society after recovery.
Abayomi added that no fewer than 9,066 confirmed COVID-19 cases monitored in the communities by the COVID-19 Lagos response teams have either recovered or are positively responding to treatments, noting that 192 COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in Lagos.
He disclosed that Eti-Osa Local Government has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases with Eti-Osa, Alimosho, Kosofe, Ikeja and Oshodi accounting for 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases in Lagos State.
File Photo: Executive Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun in the Governor's Office, State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta
Ogun state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has approved appointments into seven state statutory agencies and commissions.
The appointments was disclosed on Thursday in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, who stated that the exercise “was in order to strengthen the machinery of Government and deliver on his “Building Our Future Together” Agenda”.
According to the statement, the list is the first batch of appointees into statutory agencies, Boards and commission in the State, while other appointments will be made in due course.
The commissions whose boards were named include those of the State Civil Service Commission, Local Government Service Commission and Teaching Service Commission.
The rest are those of the Housing Corporation, Health Management Board, State Agro Services and that of the State Bulk Purchase Corporations
“Governor Abiodun enjoins the appointees to see their appointments as call to service for the development of the State and its people. He also challenged them to see their appointment as an opportunity to improve the lives and conditions of those who need it most”, the statement read.
Somorin stated further that the appointees were drawn from major political blocks in the State in consonance with the inclusive governance philosophy of the Government which emphasises a leadership paradigm shift, to a focused and qualitative governance and to create the enabling environment for a public-private sector partnership, that is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun.
Official data reveals that Coronavirus death toll in India has now surpass number of fatalities in France on Friday with 30,601 deaths and nearly 50,000 new cases overnight.
According to AFP tally, the figure of coronavirus death in India is the sixth-biggest behind the US, Brazil, Britain, Mexico and Italy.
Having the third-highest caseload with almost 1.3 million infections, the country has in the past 24 hours recorded 740 new deaths from the virus and 49,310 fresh infections, health ministry revealed.
But many experts say that with testing levels low, the extent of the pandemic across the world’s second-most populous country may be far worse than officially reported.
A antibody study commissioned by the government showed this week that almost a quarter of people in the capital New Delhi have had the virus — almost 40 times the official number.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in late March, but it has been steadily eased to lessen the devastating economic impact of the pandemic.
State governments have brought in fresh restrictions as cases soar in Bangalore and away from the big cities in Bihar, West Bengal, Kashmir and parts of Tamil Nadu.
Southern Kerala state, earlier hailed as a success story and which has already imposed partial restrictions, may decide on Monday to impose a full statewide lockdown, reports said.
In the United States the coronavirus pandemic hit grim new milestones on Thursday as cases topped four million and in Europe, three million, as fresh spikes from Belgium to Tokyo to Melbourne forced new restrictions on citizens.
While EU lawmakers combed through a huge aid package for their economies, the UN called for a basic income for the world’s poorest to help slow the spread of the pandemic, and the Red Cross warned of “massive” new migration caused by the economic devastation.
The United States, the hardest-hit country in the pandemic, added one million new cases in just over two weeks, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 143,000 US deaths overall.
The country has seen a coronavirus surge, particularly in southern and western states, as Texas, California, Alabama, Idaho and Florida all announced record one-day death tolls.
Meanwhile, the European continent now accounts for a fifth of the world’s more than 15 million cases and remains the hardest hit in terms of deaths, with 206,633 out of 627,307 worldwide.
A 750-billion-euro post-coronavirus recovery plan was hammered out at an EU summit this week, where fiscally rigid nations butted heads with hard-hit countries like Spain and Italy that have called for huge aid grants.
File Photo: Nigeria's Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire.
The Federal Government says it will boost the financial capacity of states with N100million to promptly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was made known on Thursday by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja.
The Minister noted that once the Basic Health Care Provisional Fund (BHCPF) is activated, states will also get access to it to beef up their health response apparatus.
According to Ehanire, “all states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are receiving support from the COVID-19 response through the Regional Diseases Surveillance Enhancement (REDISSE) Project.
“With this support, they will receive N100 million to enhance high impact priority response activities. The soon to be reactivated BHCPF will join the funding pool”, he said.
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