Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Tuesday 28th April 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 28/04/20
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Nigeria Records 64 New Coronavirus Cases
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has announced 64 new cases of Coronavirus in the country.
In a Twitter post of Monday night, the agency said, “64 new cases of #COVID19 reported.
“34 Lagos, 15 FCT, 11 Borno, two Taraba, two Gombe.
“As at 11:20pm 27th April, 1337 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.
“Discharged: 255, deaths: 40.”64 new cases of #COVID19 reported;34-Lagos15-FCT11-Borno2-Taraba2-GombeAs at 11:20pm 27th April- 1337 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.Discharged: 255Deaths: 40 pic.twitter.com/52JZFejvG8— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 27, 2020
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Missing Ondo Toddler: Absence Of Attorney-General Stalls Ongoing Trial Of Suspects
The ongoing trial of Founder of Sotitobire Miracle Centre Akure, Ondo State, Alfa Babatunde, over the disappearance of one-year-old boy, Gold Kolawole, in his church was on Monday stalled.
The case was stalled following the absence of the state’s Attorney-General, Adekola Olawoye, in court.
The cleric is standing trial with six other members of his church on three counts including conspiracy to and abetting kidnap.
Babatunde Falodun, one of the representatives of the prosecution counsel, informed the court that the inability of the Attorney-General to be present in court was due to an urgent state assignment.
However, counsel to the defendants, Olusola Oke, didn’t oppose the application of the prosecution.
The presiding judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, thereafter adjourned the case until June 2, 2020.
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COVID-19: Council Chairman Escapes Death As FCT Residents Attack Palliative Committee
Residents of Byazhin Kubwa in Abuja waiting for palliative
Pandemonium broke out on Monday in Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory, as angry residents attacked a council chairman and palliative committee members over plans to divert relief items meant to help them cushion the effects of the Coronavirus lockdown.
SaharaReporters gathered that the relief items was scheduled to have been brought and shared on Sunday but arrived on Monday.
Findings revealed that a councillor at Bwari Area, Mallam Musa Yusuf, attempted to conspire with the FCT Palliative Monitoring Team to divert the items.
The situation got many of the residents infuriated and eventually led to chaos.
Residents of Byazhin Kubwa in Abuja waiting for palliative
Trouble started when the security agents tried to control the crowd that thronged L.E.A Primary School Byazhin, venue of the event, which later turned violent.
The angry mob pelted and hurled stones and dangerous objects at Chairman of Bwari Area Council, Dr John Gadaya, and other officials.
The mob also descended on his car and smashed the windshield in the process.
It took the intervention of armed policemen, who fired gunshots into the air to disperse the crowd.
A policeman was said to have sustained injuries and rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The trucks that brought the food items were later taken away on the orders of the council chairman.
SaharaReporters had earlier told the story of how officials of FCT Administration distributed ‘dirty’ rice to the Dutse residents as palliative.
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Analysis: Experts Forecast Bleak Economic Outlook For Nigeria After COVID-19 Crisis Eases
With oil prices slipping and Coronavirus taking its toll on Nigerians, the Nigerian economy has been squeezed into a dollar crunch.
Experts have predicted a bleak future for the country’s economy when the crisis eases.
Last week Tuesday, Nigeria’s most tradable oil grade, Bonny Light, which sells higher than the benchmark Brent Crude, was selling lower at $14.75, while Brent was still in the $20 range.
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On Wednesday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of 13 oil grades was at a low of $12.27.
The World Bank topped up the negative prospects on Wednesday, saying it expected remittances coming into low and middle-income countries like Nigeria to drop by historic deep of 19.7 per cent. The Head of Research at United Capital, Wale Olusi, told SaharaReporters that the free fall had plunged the Central Bank of Nigeria and by extension the Nigerian economy into a dollar crisis.
He said, “There is already a dollar crisis in my opinion. The CBN stopped selling dollars to BDC’s and they are forced to devalue the naira, now they are placing restrictions on what you can spend. It’s clear there is a dollar crisis already.”
As of March 30, Nigeria’s foreign reserve stood at $35.26bn. Olusi estimates that 30 per cent of the total is Foreign Portfolio Investment – monies that belong to foreign investors who own Nigerian stocks and securities.
This would imply that the CBN has just $20bn to cover the country’s importation bills, assuming trade restrictions have not limited imports into the country.
Here is a breakdown of how it will further impact the economy.
Shrinking revenue inflows
This depressing revenue reality will affect states, especially those whose internally generated earnings are less than half of their debt.
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, only seven states had increased their internal earnings.
The National Bureau of Statistics said that between January and September 2019, the 36 states of the federation earned N986.29bn in revenues.
This is more than N3trn less than the external debt the Debt Management Office said they had accumulated as of December 31 2019.
Added to that is another N4.10trn worth of domestic debts.
With dollar already scarce, these states will still have to part with monthly deductions from their already shrinking allocation from the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee to meet with their combined foreign borrowings of more than $12bn.
Yet, they have to make lots of social investments in the lives of citizens, who have been herded into their houses.
A research analyst at Afrinvest, Adedayo Bakare, feels concerned for Nigerian governors right now.
“Before this virus, a lot of states still relied on FAAC allocation which was mainly oil to meet their obligations,” he says.
Bakare analysed the sources of income to the states and concluded that the Nigerian Government would have to borrow them some more money to keep functioning, even though they are still haggling on how to settle the budget support fund they received from the Federal Government in 2016.
Banks might not fund public revival
Bakare reckons the depressed revenue state will persist deep into 2021 and the banks may not provide much succour.
“Banks will be very careful to lend to any sector at all,” he says. “They will rather conserve their cash and put their money in investment securities.”
Bakare feels even the CBN’s law that all banks must loan 65 per cent of their deposit or forfeit half the sum of the unborrowed ratio, will not force them to give out credit at this time.
The CBN, on the other hand, might be pressed to force banks to borrow more, seeing as their policy caused lending to increase from N15.13trn in 2018 to N17.19trn in 2019.
The banks achieved this while reducing bad loans to N1.05trn in 2019 from 1.79trn in 2018, according to the NBS banking sector data for the fourth quarter of 2019.
Thankfully, the country’s financial institution was smart enough to reduce borrowing to the oil and gas sector – unlike the federal government, after the oil price shock that started in the second half of 2014.
A bleak outlook for oil
Amidst the almost zero demand for oil worldwide, energy analyst, Zira Quaghe, told SaharaReporters that offshore fields in Nigeria are likely to continue producing despite low oil prices because it is very expensive to restart shut offshore wells.
“However, across both offshore and onshore projects, companies are already cutting down on operational costs and significantly reducing capital spending,” Quaghe reveals.
The oil and gas industry has a loan book of N3.42trn with Nigerian banks. This implies that 19 per cent of the banks’ total credit portfolio might need readjustment.
Since the Nigerian Government has been unable to broaden its economy, Bakare believes it would be impossible for it to extend any grants to the private sector as persons in the aviation and other industries have requested.
He said, “We’ve been borrowing money to pay salaries, government does not have enough money to say they want to start subsidising salaries for companies. They don’t, they don’t even have that capacity to do it.”
He has suggested that the strategy on lockdown be revisited to help the country function moving on.
Shale producers in the USA, which is now at the peak of global oil production, have started shutting wells.
Research consultancy firm, BW, told Bloomberg that in March, 51,000 jobs were lost in the drilling and refining classes of the industry.
Another 15,000 were shed off in ancillary sectors to the petroleum field.
“We are looking at anywhere between five and seven years of job growth wiped out in a month,” the firm’s Vice President, Philip Jordan, said.
“What makes it sought of scary is this is just the beginning. April is not looking good for oil and gas,” he lamented.
The country used data from the US Labour Department, combined with its survey of some 30,000 oil companies.
Whether the reality of Nigeria’s situation was captured in the survey is unknown but the country’s many contract staff will be the first branches to drop off the falling petroleum tree.
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Group Urges Buhari To Disband NDDC Interim Management Committee Over Corruption
The Transparency and Accountability Advancement Group has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately disband the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission over scandal and ongoing corrupt activities.
National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Godknows Sotonye, stated that following the revelation of corruption allegations against the Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, and his involvement in corrupt activities in the commission, the President must as a matter of urgency bring order to the NDDC by disbanding the IMC.
Sotonye added that the corrupt activities rocking the NDDC had revealed that the IMC was illegally set-up by Akpabio to conceal his corrupt deals.
Sotonye said, “Ojugboh’s testimony of lies and half-truths extends to the contract awarded to Signoria Concept Services Limited.
“The letter to the company dated April 6, 2020, read ‘Award of Contract for the Emergency Procurement of Specialised Medical Personal Protective Equipment for Health Workers and Provision of Community Based Sensitisation Campaign Against the Spread of Covid-19 and other Communicable Diseases in the nine states of the Niger Delta region’ and signed by Head, Procurement Unit on the instruction of the IMC.
“What has happened is that Akpabio and the IMC are trying to walk away from scandal because it has been busted and they are presently destroying all evidence of the award of the contract to Signoria Concept Services Limited, which was made on April 6, 2020. Signoria Concept Services Limited was also paid N357m for maternal delivery kits on February 22, 2020.
“Clearly the IMC was illegally put in place by Akpabio to enable him fleece the commission and line up his pockets. In making these questionable payments, Akpabio and the IMC have depleted the NDDC bank balances, which was a total of over N50bn earlier this year to a little over N10bn as at today.
“These evidences of large scale larceny by the IMC of the NDDC and Akpabio, make a mockery of the anti-corruption mantra of President Buhari and is an insult to Niger Deltans and Nigerians who are destitute, especially at a time when resources are limited and far between.
“President Buhari has an official duty and a moral responsibility to Nigerians to put an end to these grand heists which are happening under his watch.
“He should as a matter of urgency bring order to the NDDC by disbanding the IMC which has clearly shown itself to be a tool for fleecing the Niger Delta people of their resources.
“He should also ensure that all funds looted by the IMC are recovered and ploughed back into the development of the Niger Delta.”
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E2%80%99s-speech-give-hope-masses-%E2%80%93aac Nothing In Buhari’s Speech To Give Hope To Masses –AAC
The African Action Congress has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari over his nationwide broadcast on Monday, saying there was nothing in his speech to give hope to the masses, who are already being weighed down by hunger as a result of the lockdown occasioned by the spread of Coronavirus.
The party in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Oshioks Philips, described the President’s speech as a rehearsal of obvious irresponsibility.
Phillips said the speech was a register of promises of nothing tangible and a mirror of the confused state of the government.
The statement reads, “President Buhari and the APC only delayed us to listen to a speech that says nothing new; correctly analyse pertinent challenges; nor resolves the bloody problems afflicting the people.
“Buhari has nothing to say specifically about palliatives neither did he have anything to say or do about the fact that hunger virus and military bullets kills more than Coronavirus.
“The speech is a register of promises of nothing tangible. It is a mirror of the confused state of the government and the fact that no lessons are being learnt.
“This government is consciously deaf and dumb to the fact that many Nigerians are tired of dying of mass hunger under a pandemic.
“AAC calls on Nigerians to continue the #PotPanProtest to peacefully and resiliently reject the wickedness of this fascist set up.
“Our demands are clear and we will restate it despite the continued theatre of impunity by the Buhari/APC government.
“We say no palliatives, no lockdown. Pay N100,000 cost of living allowance to all adult Nigerians in Lagos, Ogun, FCT, and Kano. Pay at least N150,000 hazard allowances to all health workers now.”
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Lawyer Files Criminal Complaint Against SGF, Garba Shehu, Others For Violating Safety Guidelines During Kyari’s Burial
Tope Akinyode, human rights lawyer and National President of Revolutionary Lawyers’ Forum, has commenced criminal proceedings against some senior government officials for violating social distancing and restriction of movement during the burial of late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari.
Akinyode, who filed the criminal complaint as a private prosecutor, said he does not require a fiat of the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute the case.
The criminal charge was filed at the Magistrate Court, Wuse 2, Abuja, against Shehu (Presidential spokesperson), Babagana Monguno (National Security Adviser), Ambassador Lawal Kazaure (Chief Protocol Officer), Yusuf Sabiu (Special Assistant to the President), Musa Haro Daura (a nephew to the President), Mr Ahmad Rufai (Director-General of National Intelligence Agency), Bashir Ahmed (Personal Assistant on New Media to President Buhari), Boss Mustapha (SGF and Chairman of the PTF), Senator Hadi Sirika (Minister of Aviation), Mr Geoffrey Onyeama (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Dr Aliyu Sani (National Coordinator of the PTF) and Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq (Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development).
The case will be assigned and given a date for hearing on Tuesday.
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COVID-19: Ondo Governor Accuses Security Agencies Of Complicity In Enforcing Movement Restriction
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has accused security agencies of complicity in the enforcement of movement restriction put in place to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in the city.
Akeredolu said that entry points into the state had become porous, allowing people to come in and go out of Ondo despite the presence of law enforcement personnel in those places.
The governor said this during a broadcast in Akure, the state capital, on Monday.
He said, “Our borders are still porous and heavily compromised. Our security agents, who ought to enforce government’s restriction order are themselves accomplices who abuse the trust placed in them at this critical time.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
“Members of the public, upon witnessing this massive compromise by law enforcement agents and other government officials, are thereby encouraged to defy the safety regulations and persist in error. In any and all of these scenarios, we are the losers.
“The level of threat and risk to our lives and those of our loved ones are heightened. We must do something to prevent these unfortunate and absolutely avoidable experiences.
“In this regard, I therefore wish to call on the Inspector-General of Police, the service chiefs of the Nigerian Armed Forces as well as the authorities of other security agencies to streamline and monitor the movement and operations of their men at this time to prevent needless, avoidable and unfortunate occurrences like this in the future.
“I also challenge them to enforce stricter compliance of their agents to their operational orders and the same regulations they are enforcing on all Nigerians.”
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Government Must Commit To More Palliatives, Odumakin Tells Buhari
Yinka Odumakin
Secretary General of Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yinka Odumakin, has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to provide more palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effect of the lockdown put in place to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
Buhari, in his latest address to Nigerians on Monday night, urged Nigerians to exercise patience as his administration continued to fine-tune the logistical and distribution processes of palliatives.
Odumakin noted that the country was in a difficult situation and social safety measures have to be put in place to reduce the effect of the lockdown on the people.
Yinka Odumakin
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He added that the gradual easing of the lockdown should be combined with more palliatives for the people.
Odumakin said, “We are in a difficult situation that tasks health workers and leaders across the world. They have no solutions to what we face and they are just making efforts.
“The gradual easing on lockdowns to keep productivity on should be combined with enforcement of social safety measures to keep the rate of affliction as low as possible.
“The government has to commit to more palliatives by giving edibles that are good to the people and not spoilt ones as we have seen lately.”
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UPDATE: President Buhari Extends Lockdown In Lagos, Ogun, FCT By One Week, Curfew To Begin After Then
President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Federal Capital Territory until May 4.
He said a dusk to dawn curfew will take effect after that day as a way of further curtailing the spread of Coronavirus.
He made the announcement during a nationwide broadcast on Monday.
He said, “In line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum, I have approved a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States effective from Monday, 4th May, 2020.
“However, this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.
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BREAKING: President Buhari Extends Lockdown In Lagos, Ogun, FCT Until May 4, Curfew To Begin After Then
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“Furthermore, new nationwide measures are to be introduced as follows.
“There will be an overnight curfew from 8pm to 6am. This means all movements will be prohibited during this period except for essential services.
“There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travel until further notice.
“Partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services will be allowed for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers.
“We will strictly ensure the mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene.
“Furthermore, the restrictions on social and religious gatherings shall remain in place. State Governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States shall remain in place until these new ones come into effect on Monday, 4th May 2020.”
Video of (Full Speech) Buhari Extends Lockdown In Lagos, Ogun, FCT Until May 4, Curfew To Begin After Then
(Full Speech) Buhari Extends Lockdown In Lagos, Ogun, FCT Until May 4, Curfew To Begin After Then
(Full Speech) Buhari Extends Lockdown In Lagos, Ogun, FCT Until May 4, Curfew To Begin After Then
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