Nigeria Police seals APC secretariat

The Nigeria Police has again sealed off the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

Based on the order of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, the operatives stormed the premises on Tuesday.

Adamu will meet the two opposing camps of National Working Committee (NWC) at the Force Headquarters today, The Nation reports.

The IG order through the FCT Commissioner of Police, to the APC Chief Security Officer, directed the NWC members to stay away from their building.

A follow-up order is expected after Adamu’s meeting with the NWC camps.

JUST IN: 13 More Imo Lawmakers Test Positive For COVID-19

JUST IN: 13 More Imo Lawmakers Test Positive For COVID-19

Details later…

Plan to reopen schools by Oyo insensitive, says Fed Govt

OYO State government’s decision to reopen schools from June 29 is insensitive, the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba said on Monday.

He warned that such decision if taken could raise COVID-19 infection figures in the state.

As of 10pm on Monday, Oyo ranked fourth on the table with 621 active cases from the 912 infections figures, confirmed in the state by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The minister expressed concern over the Oyo government’s plan during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 Control in Abuja.

Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde had reeled out plans to reopen schools, worship centres and others against Federal Govenrment’s directive on closure of schools.

Nwajiuba, who said the Federal Ministry of Education did not give out any guideline to the state government to reopen schools, noted that governors have as their primary responsibility to secure the lives of their citizens, in the face of a pandemic.

He added that like all other sub-nationals, governors were under the Constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Stressing why government cannot reopen schools at this time, the minister noted that reopening of schools could lead to the exposure of teachers, pupils, drivers, cooks, vendors, their family members and friends to the dreaded virus.

The minister said: “Out of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria, there are actually few local governments with a lot of this burden and therefore it is easy to get the perception around the edges of the country that some things are not happening because they are not happening within our immediate locality.

“But we must appreciate that the primary purpose of governors is the security of his citizens. Public health is key and primary and in that primary security delivery, they (governors), are always extremely cautious in making any pronouncements around this because the education sector holds the largest number of infrastructure in the country; a good 138,000 primary schools around the country.

“There are clearly 600 all kinds of institutions awarding certificates all around Nigeria there are just lots of it. And at any given time in Nigeria, there are two million people attaining one form of education or the other.

“For you to even begin to decide to unleash this in the public in the face of a pandemic is to be a very bit insensitive.

“The least we can do at the moment is to keep our children, our most priced assets, the future of Nigeria under lock and key first. When we are sure that it’s safe to release them, gladly we will.”

Nwajiuba also said the ministry was in discussion with examination bodies on how final year students could sit for their exams.

He said similar meeting was held in the Gambia on Monday to decide the fate of students waiting to write the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

The minister also said the students would be expected to reconvene for a revision session ahead of the final decisions on WAEC.

He said: “We have finished meeting with WAEC; they are communicating in Gambia at the moment. When we get feedback from them we are struggling to see how we can bring the exit year children briefly to come to a revision session ahead if whatever these assembles have agreed.

“Parents should be rest assured that we will do this with utmost care and only in places where we can be able to institutionalise and be able to use the facilities to be able to help these children.”

On the outcry by parents on payment of school fees in private schools, the minister appealed to school proprietors to desist from doing so.

He urged them to approach the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for salary support.

(The Nation)

COVID-19: Nigeria records 675 new cases as total rises to 20,919

Nigeria’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 20, 919 on Monday as 675 new infections were announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Seven deaths were recorded from the virus on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the virus to 525.

This was announced by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control on its Twitter handle.

“On the 22nd of June 2020, 675 new confirmed cases and 7 deaths were recorded in Nigeria

No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours.”

Till date, 20,919 cases have been confirmed, 7109 cases have been discharged and 525 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The 675 new cases are reported from 21 states- Lagos(288), Oyo(76), Rivers(56), Delta(31), Ebonyi(30), Gombe(28), Ondo(20), Kaduna(20), Kwara(20), Ogun(17), FCT(16), Edo(13), Abia(10), Nasarawa(9), Imo(9),Bayelsa(8), Borno(8), Katsina(8), Sokoto(3), Bauchi(3), Plateau(2)

Court Stops Obaseki From Taking Part In PDP Primary

Governor Godwin Obaseki has been stopped by a Federal High Court from participating in the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The primary election is scheduled for 25 June.

The ban order was given 22 June by Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

It was based on a motion ex parte filed by a PDP member, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama.

Joined in the suit are Prince Uche Secondus, the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission, chairman of the party screening committee, Kingsley Chinda and other members of the committee.

Obaseki, an APC renegade, was named as the eighth defendant in the case.

The applicant is seeking a court order to restrain Secondus and the party from allowing Obaseki to buy the forms for the primary, other than those who bought the forms within the timetable initially published for the election.

Justice Obile granted the interim injunction as requested.

The PDP, mindful of the legal minefield announced a waiver for Obaseki, to enable him to participate in the primary election, even though he joined the party only on Friday 19 June last week.

The party also reconvened the Chinda screening committee which had ended its assignment on 5 June

The committee specially screened Obaseki on Saturday 20 June.

All the parties in the case were to be served via substituted means.

Substantive hearing in the case has been adjourned till Wednesday 24 June.

Fayemi signs revised Appropriation bill of N91.128bn into law

….as Ekiti reduces 2020 budget by 27 percent.

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Monday, signed the Revised/Supplementary Appropriation Bill of N91.128bn into law, in response to the prevailing economic challenges occasioned by the unprecedented fall in the price of crude oil and other prevailing economic indices.

Dr. Fayemi, assented to the revised/Supplementary Appropriation bill at the Conference Hall, Governor's office, in line with Covid-19 protocol, which permits very few numbers of attendees, with strict observance of physical distancing.

The bill, according to the Governor, reflected the downward review of the initial budget of N124.724,869,355.85k to N91,128,996,482.10k. 

This, he said, was made up of a recurrent expenditure of N59.63bn and capital expenditure of N32.65bn, representing a ratio of 55:35 percent, in response to the exigency of the State finances and the current economic realities.

Dr. Fayemi explained that the revised/supplementary budget becomes expedient, as a result of the outbreak of  Coronavirus, which "dealt a debilitating blow on our macroeconomic projections," making the initial budget which was prepared in the "underlying assumption of relative stability of major macroeconomic parameters", unrealistic.

He said: "The pandemic rendered our economy prostrate with an unprecedented fall in the price of crude oil in the global market. The volatility in the oil price coupled with the reduction in oil production, and devaluation of the Naira to the Dollar, made our revenue projections for the 2020 Budget unrealistic."

"To mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our economy, it becomes imperative to review our 2020 budget, and prepare a supplementary budget which would be responsive to our time and circumstances."

"Consequently, 2020 budget was put together to ensure that our meager resources was committed to critical areas of the economy as follows: Health and Environmental Response, interventions with a view to improving the standard of living of the people, ensuring food security in the Agricultural sector, improving the ease of doing business, and other multi-sectoral Responses."

Speaking further, the Governor disclosed that the budget was designed to also focus on critical legacy projects, after taking into cognisance the dwindling revenue accruing to the State from the federation account.

Revealing that the Revised/ Supplementary budget incorporated the guidelines for the State Fiscal Transparency and Accountability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Result, Dr Fayemi stressed that the current economic situation does not give room for "frivolities" but sacrifice, charging all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders to maintain budget discipline in the execution of the budget.

The Governor, commending Members of the House of Assembly for expediting action on the passage of the financial bill, revealed that the budget was the outcome of a wider community and public engagement.

The brief ceremony was witnessed by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye, Deputy Speaker, Hon. Hakeem Jamiu, members of the State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji, Head of Service, Mrs. Peju Babafemi, and other Stakeholders.

Earlier in his address, the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye, said the revised/supplementary budget was passed by members of the House of Assembly, following due consultation with relevant MDAs and other stakeholders, in cognisance of the current economic reality of the country as affected by the outbreak of Coronavirus.