Author: Chief Editor

The Director General, Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni has appealed to heads of schools and administrators to promote a thorough hand washing culture that includes running water and soap as a way of preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The Public Affairs Officer, OEQA, Mr. Emmanuel Olaniran in a statement, said schools should install hand wash stands at strategic and accessible areas within the school premises for staff and students; provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers; ensure that keeping fingers away from the nose, eyes and mouth should be prioritised. According to the statement, “tissue…

As the Coronavirus epidemic otherwise known as COVID-19 hits over 60 countries, the World Bank Group is making available an initial package of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak. This financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19. Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease…

As part of efforts to protect and defend the rights of casual and permanent workers in the public and private sector, the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngigi, has expressed displeasure against oppressive terms of employment, stating that the federal government would discourage unfavourable workers’ conditions of service. He added that the law on employment provides that if an individual is offered temporary appointment, the person must be confirmed after a while, adding that in some establishments, the time frame is either six months or a year. “The law on employment says if you give an individual temporary…

*Niger PDP to distribute educative fliers Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, has called for extra vigilance and aggressive multi-sectoral collaboration in order to curb the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. This is coming as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State has said it would soon distribute hand fliers in major Nigerian languages to educate the people on how to prevent the dreaded Coronavirus disease. The minority leader, in a statement yesterday, also called for a multi-layered collaborative effort involving healthcare, transport and border control agencies, schools, faith-based and community organisations as well…

•No cause for alarm, Emefiele assures Investors President Muhammadu Buhari at the weekend expressed sadness over the index case of Coronavirus in Lagos, admonishing citizens not to panic. The president, in a statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, last night lamented the incident despite what he described as the level of preparation against it. According to the statement, the president commended the Federal Ministry of Health and other agencies whose efficiency, he said, helped in swift diagnosis, isolation and follow up on the matter. According to the statement, the president praised the governments of Ogun and Lagos States as…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why top politicians and civil servants allegedly involved in the alleged laundering of N35 billion meant for arms procurement in the last administration have not been arrested. A source in the anti-graft agency exclusively informed The Guardian yesterday that the commission had deployed some of its best investigators to wrap up the interrogation of the suspects before taking them in for arraignment in court. The source, who declined to be named, revealed that a chief of staff to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mike Aiyegbeni Oghiadomhe, and a former Minister of Defence,…

Twitter staff across the world were asked to work from home starting Monday in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly new coronavirus epidemic. The outbreak has spread across the world since emerging in central China late last year, killing more than 3,100 people, infecting over 90,000, and prompting a wave of travel restrictions. The social media platform’s decision to ask its staff to avoid the office follows similar requests by governments in virus hotspots. “We are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they’re able,” Twitter human resources chief Jennifer Christie said in a…

Azuka Onwuka Since the novel coronavirus disease began wreaking havoc in China in January, one wish many Nigerians had nursed was that it would not come into Nigeria. But because of the affinity between China and Nigeria, many knew it was a pipe dream. The interconnectivity within the world also worsened the situation. It was only a matter of time for coronavirus to enter Nigeria. Indeed, on Thursday, February 27, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced that the first case of coronavirus had been confirmed in Nigeria. Ironically, it did not come in through someone travelling to Nigeria…

Donald Ojogo We listened to the voices of our people in the course of our campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of the State. We heard them loud and clear though their votes. We witnessed, first hand, the deplorable conditions under which they exist. To those who cast their ballots in favour of our programmes, your trust is not misplaced. “We are determined to make the difference with the specific mandate of redemption liberally handed over to us. Those who expressed other preferences are no less patriotic. Before long, their anxieties will be addressed drastically. All of us will…

Abbas Umar The fight against corruption is gradually gaining momentum, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the helm of affairs. The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has on several occasions and at any given opportunity called on the ordinary citizens of this country to own the fight against corruption. The fight against corruption, no doubt, is a tough one from the process of petition to investigation, arraignment and in some instances, recovery, sentencing and conviction. The corrupt are also fighting back with every tool at their disposal. There is no doubt that corruption is greatest challenge…