Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi
News
FG establishing oxygen plants in 36 states – NEC
The National Economic Council (NEC) says the Ministry of Health is establishing oxygen plants across the 36 states of the federation.
Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi made this known to State House correspondents after a virtual NEC meeting on Friday presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Umahi said that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, who chaired the NEC Ad hoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to ease the lockdown of the economy, presented a report to the council.
“The Federal Ministry of Health is establishing oxygen plants across the 36 states in the country, but currently six states have been provided with oxygen cylinders so far.
“The Federal Government has paid for 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines coming in batches and therefore a considerable amount of the vaccines will come into the country between now and January 2022. Nigeria is now classified among the 50 countries in the green zones.”
Umahi said that NEC also received states’ performance report on COVID-19 from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
He said that the council was also updated on the global situation of COVID-19.
He said, “Over 237 million confirmed cases and over 4.8 million deaths due to COVID-19. There are now over 6.3 billion vaccine doses administered. Nigeria is still in the first wave of vaccination and vaccination tools will improve as the country receives additional vaccines. COVID-19 cases have declined by 7.5 per cent over the last week.”
Umahi said that states were urged to continue to push testing activities in order to detect new cases before the situation worsened.
According to him, an update on travel restrictions on certain countries expected to be announced soon by the Federal Government.
The governor said that the council also received an update on the situation regarding Cholera outbreak.
“Current Cholera situation in the country; suspected number of cases is 88,704. Number of states is 31 and the FCT. Number of deaths is 3,208.
“Multi-sectoral emergency operation centres activated at level 2 continues to coordinate the national response,” he said.
He listed the challenges to include difficulty in accessing some communities due to insecurity, open defecation and lack of potable drinking water.
Umahi said other challenges were lack of basic health primary healthcare infrastructure, inadequate health facility and cholera commodities for case management.
Umahi said that NEC commended the insightful presentations and congratulated the outgoing Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, on his new appointment at the WHO and also welcomed the incoming Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Morayo Adetifa.
News
Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi
Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, with a high population of Nigerian immigrants.
News
Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure
Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has asserted that despite the political turmoil in the state, his administration remains steadfast in providing focused leadership and governance.
During a recent meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, led by Chairman Hon. Mike Etaba, at the government house in Port Harcourt, Fubara emphasized that, as far as his administration and the people of Rivers State are concerned, there are no significant political issues to address.
Reflecting on the challenges posed by the political crisis, Fubara drew inspiration from a movie he watched, “Devil’s Advocate,” where he cited a quote by Al Pacino.
He said, “As far as we are concerned, there are no political issues. I saw a movie many years ago, entitled, ‘Devil’s Advocate.’ I believe some of you must have seen that movie too.
READ ALSO:
- FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners
- Man confesses killing cousin, friend, body parts sold to ritualists
- Atiku alleges conflict of interest in Lagos-Calabar coastal highway contract
“One of the starring characters, Al Pacino, said that pressure makes some people retreat or fail, and to others, it makes them focus on succeeding. We have chosen to be focused under this pressure.
“That is why we are moving ahead, making a positive impact on the lives of our people. Governance is about the people, not about self.
“Governance is about touching the core needs of those we are leading, and by the special grace of God, we are doing it.”
“Yesterday, by the special grace of God, we observed the credit line of over 3,066 persons empowered. You can imagine what that will do for the economy of the masses and the state. That is touching the lives of our people. It does not support them for selfish reasons. It does not give a contract because I want somebody to fight somebody in my community. No. This is empowering the economy of the masses and the state.
“Our focus is that, no matter what anybody is doing anywhere, we will not lose focus. We want to leave here better than we met it. And we want to also leave here without fear of anything.”
Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure
News
FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners
FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners
The Federal Government, FG, says it has started disbursement of N50,000 grants to nano business entrepreneurs.
Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, verified this over the weekend, stating that no fewer than 200,000 small business owners have received the payment.
According to her, 800,000 others will receive their incentives before the program ends on May 31.
This will raise the total number of beneficiaries to 1,000,000 Nigerians, split across 774 local government areas.
She explained that about 3.6 million applications were received out of which the beneficiaries were selected randomly from among those who met the conditions.
The minister said N50 billion is available in the 2024 budget for disbursement.
The programme is one of the palliative measures announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a broadcast on July 31, last year to cushion the pains of petrol subsidy removal.
The President, in the broadcast, said: “Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector.”
READ ALSO:
- Presidency silent over Tinubu’s whereabouts after official trips abroad
- Shettima away to Texas for US-Africa Business Summit
- We’ve arrested seven suspected cultists, armed robbers in Anambra – Police
In the broadcast, the President also announced that 75 manufacturing firms will be given N1 billion single-digit interest loans each to reflate their businesses.
Dr. Uzoka-Anite, in response to enquiries by our reporter, said: “The application portal was closed at midnight on April 17. The portal had to be closed due to an overwhelming number of applications totalling over 3.6 million.
“The Bank of Industry is ensuring transparency and accountability in the N50 billion disbursement using NIN, BVN and bank account details for verification to prevent duplication.
“They will also perform physical enumeration to re-verify information, including taking photographs of beneficiaries.
“The time frame for disbursement is the end of May 2024. The requirement for determining the beneficiaries is not based on particular criteria. The goal is to reach 1,290 beneficiaries per local government area across the country totalling one million people.”
On why many of the beneficiaries have not been reached, she explained: “We acknowledge that some of the beneficiaries are getting alert while others are not.
“The disbursement is subject to verification of NIN, which became mandatory after the initial application phase which required only BVN.
“The selection is random and without human intervention from those who have passed their NIN and BVN verification.
FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners
Business6 hours ago
Ikeja Electric cuts tariff for Band A customers
News10 hours ago
Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi
Sports11 hours ago
Boniface scores as Leverkusen continue unbeaten season with 5 -1 win at Frankfurt
-
metro1 day agoDSS seals Plateau clinic over patient’s death
-
Entertainment1 day agoNollywood veteran Shan George weeps as fraudster clears ₦3.6m from her account (VIDEO)
-
News2 days agoDon’t host US, French military bases in Nigeria, northern leaders warn Tinubu
-
International1 day agoGaza: Thousands rally for hostage deal as ceasefire talks continue
-
Sports1 day agoRonaldo’s hat-trick leads Al Nassr to 6-0 victory over Al Wehda
-
Business3 days agoFinally, NERC unbundles TCN, creates new system operator
-
Politics1 day agoPDP: Sule Lamido blames court for mass resignation from party
-
News2 days agoUpdated: NNPC blames fuel scarcity on panic buying, hoarding, marketers disagree