Coronavirus

By Ishaq Zaki

The Zamfara Government on Tuesday said that the state had not recorded any new case of Coronavirus in the last 14 days.

The Chairman of the State COVID-19 Taskforce, who is also the Speaker of the state Assembly, Alhaji Nasiru Magarya, said that the feat was achieved due to the collective efforts of all stakeholders.

A statement issued by the Secretary, Publicity Sub Committee of State COVID-19 Taskforce, Malam Mustafa Jafaru-Kaura, said Magarya made the disclosure in Gusau when he received the donation of 36,000 pieces of handwashing soap donated by Sightsavers International.

This is a welcome development, considering the collective efforts from stakeholders who have contributed in fighting the menace.

I am using this medium to state that as of yesterday, Monday the state marked 14 days without new COVID-19 case.

The two COVID-19 isolation centres established by the state government remained closed, Magarya said.

He however said that despite the successes recorded, the state government will not rest until all traces linked to the disease in the state are eliminated.

Magarya thanked the organisation for the donation and promised judicious utilisation of the items.

He expressed satisfaction with the prompt response of some donor agencies in the state to the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the Country Director of the NGO, Dr Sunday Isiyaku, said the donation was part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities, to complement the state governments efforts in the fight against spread of Coronavirus in the state.

Isiyaku represented by state team leader of the NGO, Mr Ahmad Ibrahim, said Sightsevers is working in all the 14 local government councils in the state fighting neglected tropical diseases such as Trycoma and Elephatiases.

Meanwhile, the management of the State School of Nursing and Midwifery has also donated 400 face masks and hand sanitisers to the taskforce as part of its contributions to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

face mask

By Victor Asije

Amb. Vincent Yang, the Representative of Taiwan in Nigeria, on Tuesday donated another consignment of 100,000 medical masks to Nigeria.

Yang, who made the donation in Lagos, said that the Taiwanese government had recently donated 50,000 medical masks to the NCDC as well as 10,000 masks to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The Taiwanese representative said that the masks were meant to support Nigeria in meeting the urgent needs of the frontline health workers and other stakeholders.

Today, Taiwan is making another donation of medical masks to the Nigeria Ministry of Health. This donation is to support Nigerias effort in containing COVID-19.

Taiwan is also willing to share her experiences in diseases control with Nigeria. Taiwan has been able to contain the pandemic and minimise its impact on peoples lives and daily activities.

We know that a strong defence against the virus can only be achieved globally through joint effort, he said.

According to him, Taiwan has only reported 443 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the outbreak of the virus.

Yang said that Taiwan had been able to contain the spread of the virus due to her regulations and strict border control measures, adding that the country never introduced stay-at-home orders.

He disclosed that Taiwan had since April donated over 20 million medical masks and medical equipment to U.S. Europe and other countries.

Prof. Chris Bode, Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, who received the consignment on behalf of the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, thanked the Taiwanese government.

On behalf of the Federal Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, we must thank the Taiwanese government for this gesture.

We have received the masks for the Minister of Health, and we would let him know that. We must thank you for your support, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

GOv. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State,

Source: NAN News

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

Harvest

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that post harvest losses due to poor storage facilities for the agriculture produce would soon be a thing of the past.

Osinbajo said that improving the working and trading environment for small and medium sized businesses through shared facilities, MSMES clinics and other government interventions were critical parts of the Federal Governments drive towards supporting MSMES in the country.

Osinbajos spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the Vice President, made the remark while performing the virtual inauguration and handing over of the 200,000-capacity Yam Storage Facility at the Zaki Biam International Yam Market in Benue State.

Osinbajo said that post harvest losses due to poor storage facilities for the nations agriculture produce would be a thing of the past if more storage and processing facilities like the new storage facility in Benue State were established around the country.

The 200,000-capacity Yam Storage Facility is part of the National MSMEs Shared Facility Scheme being implemented by the federal government under the National MSMEs Clinics put in place by the Buhari administration.

The Zaki Biam Yam market is said to account for about 70 per cent of yams cultivated in the country, with over 200 trucks loading 2 million tubers of yams weekly from the state renowned as the nations food basket.

The market has had very little storage capacity and its infrastructural facilities are way behind its capacity and the size of commerce that goes on here daily.

Besides, post harvest losses have been the bane of agricultural production in Nigeria: Nigeria produces 17 million tons of yam annually, but loses up to 40 per cent on account of inadequate storage and processing facilities

Following discussions between the federal hovernments MSME Clinics project, the Benue State Government and market stakeholders, it was unanimously agreed that this 200,000 capacity Yam Storage Facility should be located right here in Zaki Biam, Benue State.

The Vice President said that President Muhammadu Buhari was excited about the inauguration of the facility.

A major concern for him has been that the COVID-19 crisis does not in any way disturb agriculture and the food supply chain.

That we are able to commission this project in the midst of the pandemic is especially heart-warming for him.

The vice president explained the role of the federal government in the Shared Facilities project under the National MSMEs Clinics.

According to him, in 2016, the president asked him to chair an initiative called the MSME Clinics.

The idea was to provide a meeting point in every state between regulatory or approving authorities (such as NAFDAC, SON, CAC, BOI, FIRS and small and medium scale businesses in every sstate.

So, at such an event the MSMEs bring their problems and challenges to the regulatory authorities, and the authorities can offer on the spot services and advice to MSMEs.

This includes advice on how to access credit facilities through the Bank of Industry (BOI).
One of the initiatives of the clinics was the idea of building Shared Facilities for the benefit of small businesses operating within clusters.

This is because most individual businesses cannot on their own afford equipment necessary for their businesses.

Aside from the 2-units of warehouses with a combined capacity to store 200,000 tubers of yam in the Shared Facility in Benue, Osinbajo said that there was re-construction works going on.

He cited the reconstruction of 660 units of stalls/sheds, construction of a police/market administrative building.

Moreso, construction of eight units of public toilets, provision of solar-powered borehole with an overhead tank, construction of internal roads with drainage and installation of solar street lights.

Osinbajo commended the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, for his leadership and the solid support he had given to the project and congratulated him on the commissioning of the game changing project.

I also commend and congratulate our MSME Clinic partners and everyone that has worked to make this possible, he said.

The vice president added that that there were functioning shared facilities in Oyo and Bauchi States.

Virtually present at the commissioning from the National Assembly were Senator Gabriel Suswan and the Representative, Richard Gbande.

Also, in attendance were the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Sabo Nanono; Special Duties Minister, Senator George Akume, among others.

Source: NAN News

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 updates by NCDC

he Nigeria Center For Disease Control (NCDC), said on Tuesday.

This brings the total number of infections in the country to 13,464.

Source: NAN News

UN-Secretary-General-Antnio-Guterres

death was confirmed by the countrys government on its official Twitter page.

The tweet reads, The Government of the Republic of Burundi announces with great sadness the unexpected death of His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, following heart failure on June 8, 2020.

The deceased was due to be replaced in August by political ally Evariste Ndayishimiye, who won the May 20, 2020 Presidential election.

A statement by the Burundian authority said Nkurunziza had attended a volleyball match on Saturday afternoon and was taken to the hospital that evening after falling ill.

Although he appeared to recover on Sunday and spoke to those around him, his condition suddenly deteriorated on Monday morning.

He then suffered a heart attack and despite an immediate resuscitation attempt, doctors were unable to revive him.

Nkurunzizadied at a hospital in Karuzi, eastern Burundi.

The government said there would be a period of national mourning for seven days from Tuesday and that flags would be flown at half-mast.

In May, Burundi expelled the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) amid criticism of the governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has carried out very few coronavirus tests and held large rallies in the lead-up to the countrys May 20 election.

Source: NAN News

Gov, Babagana Zulum

By Yakubu Uba

Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has revoked the allocation of all residential quarters not yet occupied in Bama town in the past one year.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the quarters known as Indimi Estate comprise 100 two-bedroom houses.

They were constructed by a businessman in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, as his contribution in complementing governments efforts in resettling returnees in the town affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Malam Isa Gusau, Spokesman fo the governor, in a statement, said Zulum who was on a visit to Bama had re-allocated the houses to some displaced and homeless persons.

He quoted the governor as saying that those earlier allocated the quarters showed that they did not need them.

Borno State Government has revoked all allocations of houses at Indimi Estate.

We cannot tolerate a situation where people claim ownership of those houses while they are living in Maiduguri, Gusau quoted the governor as saying.

While in Bama, the governor paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Bama, and supervised the distribution of foodstuffs jointly provided by the state and Federal Government to 25,000 displaced persons.

The governor also announced plans to reopen some schools in the area as well as plan to return people from refugee camps in Cameroon. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

The Federal Ministery of Environment has inaugurated a 15-man Project Steering Committee, to ensure sound management of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).

The committee is to ensure sound disposal of PCBs in Nigeria.

The Minister of Environment, Dr Muhammad Abubakar, inaugurated the committees on Tuesday in Abuja.

Abubakar tasked members of the committee to demonstrate a high sense of national patriotism, integrity and responsibility toward actualising the elimination of PCBs and associated burdens of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria

PCBs are classes of chlorinated organic chemicals that are used for a variety of industrial and commercial purposes. PCBs are not single chemical, but a group of related chemicals.

The ban on PCBs under Toxic Substances Control Act was primarily due to mounting scientific evidence that it accumulate in the environment and can adversely impact on human and other biota.

The minister said bodies of scientific evidences had revealed for over 50 years that these characteristics that made PCBs popular additives also represent humongous threats to human and environment well being, irrespective of creed or caste.

Apart from being associated with burdens of diseases such as damage to the immune system, liver, skin and reproductive system, the International Agency for Research Cancer (IARC-WHO) has clarified some PCBs as Class 1 carcinogens.

Nigeria joined the global community in negotiating, adopting and ratifying the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2001, which listed PCBs in the initial register of 12 POPs also known as dirty dozen

The convention bans the production and new uses of PCBs and requires parties to eliminate the use of PCBs in equipment by 2025.

The convention also wants environmentally sound management of liquids containing PCBs and equipment contaminated with PCBs by 2028, he said.

He said the ministry had accessed incremental supports of Global Environmental Facility(GEF) and the UNDP for the implantation of the environmentally sound management and disposal of PCBs in Nigeria which has five different components.

He said the components include institutional capacity and training on PCBs, inventory of PCBs in 22 states of Nigeria not previously covered by other inventories.

Others are establishment of PCB collection and treatment centre, environmentally sound disposal of identified PCBs and monitoring, learning, adaptive feedback and evaluation.

Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, the Minister of State for Environment said no doubt the expertise and resources on board pooled together would achieve smooth and result oriented project implementation.

Mr Charles Ikeah, the Chairman of the committee said the project which had a time frame of five years started in 2018 and to end in 2023.

The project started in 2018 but the committee is being inaugurated today by the minister due to some hiccups which have been addressed, he said.

He promised that the committee would work assiduously to ensure the success of the project.

Source: NAN News

who

By Cecilia Ologunagba

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa is now over 187,800 while the global cases hit over seven million.

The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on Tuesday on its official twitter handle @WHOAFRO.

There are over 187,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent with more than 82,400 recoveries and 5,100 deaths, it said.

WHO said that South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria had the highest reported cases on the continent.

According to the organisation, South Africa has 48,285 cases and 998 deaths, followed by Nigeria with 12, 486 confirmed cases and 354 deaths, while Algeria has 10,154 confirmed cases and 707 deaths.

WHO said that Lesotho, Seychelles and Gambia were countries currently with the lowest confirmed cases in the region.

It said Lesotho had only four confirmed cases with zero death, Seychelles had 11 reported cases and zero death, while Gambia recorded 26 confirmed cases also with no death.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said almost seven million cases of COVID-19 had been reported to WHO, and almost 400,000 deaths.

He said contact tracing remained an essential element of the response for COVID-19, polio and Ebola.

In some countries, there is already a strong network of health workers for polio who are now being deployed for COVID-19.

Last week we published guidance that describes how existing polio surveillance networks can be used in the COVID-19 response.

We outlined the measures that should be put in place to maintain an effective level of surveillance for polio, Ghebreyesus said in statement posted on the agencys website,

According to him, WHO has also published new guidelines on the use of digital tools for contact tracing; many digital tools have been developed to assist with contact tracing and case identification.

Some are designed for use by public health personnel, like WHOs Go.Data application, which has been used successfully to trace contacts during the ongoing Ebola outbreak in DRC.

Others use GPS or Bluetooth technology to identify those who may have been exposed to an infected person.

And still others can be used by people to self-report signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

As part of a comprehensive approach, digital contact-tracing tools offer the opportunity to trace larger numbers of contacts in a shorter period of time, and to provide a real-time picture of the spread of the virus.

But they can also pose challenges to privacy, lead to incorrect medical advice based on self-reported symptoms, and can exclude those who do not have access to modern digital technologies.

The director general said more evidence was needed about the effectiveness of these tools for contact tracing.

We encourage countries to gather this evidence as they roll out these tools, and to contribute that evidence to the global knowledge base.

We also emphasise that digital tools do not replace the human capacity needed to do contact tracing, he said.

Source: NAN News

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State

The Delta House of Assembly, on Tuesday, approved the sum of N1.7 billion for the construction of a diagnostic medical complex in the state.

The project sited at Owa-Alero in Ika North East Local Government area of the state.

The request for the approval of the money by Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa was contained in a letter read during plenary by the Speaker, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, in Asaba.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor had, in the letter, said that the request was in line with his administrations drive towards providing world-class health service delivery for the people of the state.

NAN also reports that the State Executive Council (SEC) had, at its 14th meeting, held on Nov. 1, 2019, considered and approved the construction of the centre at a total cost of N1.7 billion.

Okowa said that the state Ministry of Health, having secured the approval, later realised that the project might not be achieved within the life span of this administration due to paucity of funds.

Being a flagship project, the ministry opted for alternative source of funding to ensure early completion through a contractor-financing model.

It was noted that quotations received from tenders were significantly higher than the official reserved sum of the project, and in that regard, the company with the lowest bid was considered.

Based on this, the state Tenders Board recommended to the SEC an upward review of the initial contact sum of the project.

Consequently, SEC, at its first meeting held on Jan. 21, considered and approved the recommended sum of N1.7 billion for the execution of the project, with 30 percent down payment in favour of NJZC International Construction Limited/Sinoma Investment International Limited, the contractor handling the project, he said.

According to the governor, the contractor will finance up to 70 percent project cost, while 12 percent interest rate would be charged annually on the 70 percent project cost.

The state government, in turn, is expected to issue an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) in favour of NJZC International Construction Limited/Sinoma Investment International Limited.

The duration of the ISPO shall be 24 months, plus six months moratorium, making it a total of 30 months for completion of the repayment plan.

The purpose of this letter is to seek the authorisation of the assembly in support of the financing arrangement, with respect to the construction of the project, Okowa said.

Consequently, the Majority Leader of the assembly, Mr Tim Owhefere, moved a motion for the House to consider and adopt the governors request.

The motion, which was unanimously adopted by the assembly when put to a voice vote by the speaker, was seconded by the member representing Ndokwa West constituency, Mr Charles Emetulu.

Source: NAN News

NSE

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) key market indices improved further by 0.34 per cent on Tuesday due to sustained interest in BUA Cement.

Specifically, the All-Share Index which opened at 25,249.96, rose by 85.19 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 25,335.15.

Also, the market capitalisation appreciated by N45 billion or 0.34 per cent to close at N13.216 trillion compared with N13.171 trillion achieved on Monday.

The uptrend was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are; BUA Cement, BOC Gases, Dangote Sugar, Neimeth International and Prestige Assurance.

Analysts at Afrinvest Limited stated : We expect to see gains in the next trading session as investors continue to seek bargain hunting opportunities.

BOC Gases, Mutual Benefits Assurance and Royal Exchange led the gainers table in percentage terms, gaining10 per cent each, to close at N4.51, 22k and 22k per share, respectively.

Neimeth International followed with 9.79 per cent to close at N2.13, while Prestige Assurance rose by 9.38 per cent to close at 70k, per share.

Linkage Assurance increased 4.17 per cent to close at 50k, while BUA Cement appreciated by 4.10 per cent to close at N43.20, per share.

On the other hand, Mobil Nigeria led the laggards chart in percentage terms, declining by 9.96 per cent, to close at N192.60, per share.

Fidson Healthcare followed with a 7.69 per cent loss to close at N3, while Japaul Oil lost 7.41 per cent to close at 25k, per share.

Red Star lost 6.56 per cent to close at N3.56, while Jaiz Bank shed 5.63 per cent each to close at 67k, per share.

An analysis of the activity chart indicates that Mutual Benefits emerged investors delight, exchanging 99.45 million shares valued at N20.87 million.

FCMB Group followed with 21.89 million shares worth N37.66 million, while FBN Holdings traded 17.92 million shares valued at N96.59 million.

United Bank of Africa sold 12.14 million shares worth N82.22 million, while Caverton transacted 10.60 million shares worth N26.09 million.

In all, investors bought and sold 268.74 million shares, valued at N1.12 billion exchanged in 4,137 deals, representing an increase of 16.60 per cent.

This was against a turnover of 230.49 million shares worth N2.17 billion transacted in 4,621 deals on Monday.

Source: NAN News

By Isaiah Eka

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has approved the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) laboratory for testing of COVID-19 samples in Akwa Ibom.

The approval followed the validation visit by the agency to the Akwa Ibom Isolation Centre with inbuilt Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory situated at the Disease Control Unit of the General Hospital in Ituk Mbang.

The leader of the NCDC delegation, Mr Bamidele Oluwafemi made this known at a courtesy visit to the Chairman of COVID-19 Management Committee and Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem on Tuesday.

Oluwafemi described the isolation centre with the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory as one of the best in the country.

He said that everything at the centre was up to the expected standard of NCDC.

The team leader said the state owned PCR laboratory has been fully activated by the NCDC for testing.

Oluwafemi lauded the state government for building the facility, adding that it would not only serve the purpose of containing the spread of COVID-19, but other viral diseases in the state.

Responding, Ekuwem expressed appreciation to the NCDC team for activating and approving the PCR laboratory.

On behalf of His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, I express our heartfelt gratitude to the team from the NCDC for visiting our state to painstakingly inspect and evaluate the kind of facility we have in the premises of General Hospital, Ituk Mbang, he said.

He expressed gratitude to Gov. Emmanuel Udom for the huge investment in the health sector as exemplified in the upgrading of healthcare facilities across the state.

Ekuwem informed the NCDC officials that the Udom-led administration had procured various medical equipment for the state before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking, the State Incident Manager and Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong, said that with the approval of the laboratory, the challenges faced by the state in taking COVID-19 samples to other states for testing would be history.

He said the laboratory, would also be used in carrying out tests for other infectious diseases.

He said that it would also help in increasing the testing of persons suspected of the coronavirus, thereby helping the state to contain further spread of the virus.

Source: NAN News

![I didnt instruct any agency to probe Minister Omo-Agege]

Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege

By Kingsley Okoye

The Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, has denied asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to probe the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

Omo-Agege, said a letter in circulation said to have emanated from the Clerk of the Senate, requesting the Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ibrahim Magu, to investigate the Minister did not come from him.

Omo-Agege made the clarification in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yomi Odunuga, in Abuja on Sunday.

Describing the document as fake, the Deputy President of the Senate insisted that he never instructed the Clerk or any other person to contact the EFCC to investigate any individual.

The attention of the Office of Deputy President of the Senate has been drawn to a letter dated May 7.

The letter was said to have purportedly been written by the Clerk of the Senate acting on behalf of the Office of Deputy President of the Senate requesting Chairman of EFCC to investigate and monitor the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and one other.

This Office hereby states that the said letter is false, fake, malicious, mischievous and vexatious.

This office never instructed the Clerk of the Senate, or in fact any person, to write to or contact the EFCC in relation to any person.

In the light of the foregoing, we wish to urge the public to disregard the fake letter, same being the handiwork of a person or persons with criminal intents, the statement said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

![13 vessels expected at Delta ports- NPA]
By Edeki Igafe

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says 13 ships laden with various products are expected at Delta ports.

The NPA made this known in its daily publication Shipping Position, a copy of which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Warri.

The authority said the ships were laden with petrol, bitumen, wheat, diesel and general cargo.

It listed some of the vessels to include: Matrix Asa, Ihem, MT San Biagio, MT Halima, MV Asian Enterprise and MT Tornado, among others.

NPA also stated that it made declaration on four vessels laden with butane gas and petrol on Friday.

NPA made declaration on four vessels: LPG Laperouse, LPG Lubersac laden with butane gas and MT Sea Horse and MT SL Aremu laden with petrol, the authority stated.

It said that four vessels were awaiting at anchorage in Koko Midstream, Bennett and Koko anchorage.

Four vessels: AS Pioneer are awaiting at Koko Midstream to load 4520 tons of Containers.

MT Mosunmola, MT Viveka and MT Safe Sea Neha 111, are also awaiting at Koko Midstream, Koko anchorage and Bennett to discharge inward diesel, bitumen and petrol respectively, NPA said.

It said that two vessels: MT Ozichukwu and Abiola were awaiting at Fairway Buoy to load 12,000 metric tons of crude oil each. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

![Berger paints unveils smoother, quicker paint product]

Berger Paints

By Chinyere Joel -Nwokeoma

A leading paint manufacturing company in Nigeria says it has unveiled a premium painting solution Berger Swift Painting (BSP) to tackle incidences of prolonged painting and dusty environment.

Mr Anjan Sircar, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc (BPN), Managing Director, said in a statement on Saturday in Lagos, that the product was introduced to tackle incidence of imperfect painting inherent in the country.

Sircar said BSP was introduced to deliver quicker, neater and smoother painting in the most efficient and effective way with the use of mechanised and advanced tools.

He said the new service was borne out of the companys ingenuity and constant quest for innovative products and services.

Sircar noted that the company had always been on the forefront of trail brazing in products and service delivery.

Berger Swift Painting is a new concept in the Nigerian Painting Industry.

The concept is expected to revolutionise the Industry in Nigeria. Berger Paints Nigeria Plc is the first paint company to offer this novel service in Nigeria.

The new service will completely change the process of painting in the country.

It will ultimately make project execution quicker, neater and smoother.

You dont have to worry about paint spillage or dusts on the furniture, there is on-site support to help move and cover your furniture to ensure your space remain neat.

Berger Swift Painters are well trained, well kitted and safety conscious.

They follow all hygiene protocols to ensure safety of lives and properties.

This is more apt at this period of Covid- 19 Pandemic.
The painters will properly sanitise their hands and use appropriate nose masks.

Apart from havoc posed by fake products in the Nigerian Paint Industry, prolonged duration of painting, dusty environment while painting and poor finishing are other challenges faced by customers.

The introduction of Berger Swift Painting Service will solve all these militating challenges by delivering quicker, neater and smoother painting.

The new service from BPNs stable is expected to bring Nigeria at par with the Western World in the area of quality service delivery, he said.

He said the company which commenced operation in Nigeria on the 9th January 1959 has grown to be a leader in the voating and allied Industry in Nigeria.

According to him, it has over the years built a reputation as the first in setting standards in the paint industry in Nigeria.

It has pioneered a wide range of specialty products that are much sought after in this dynamic and ever-changing market, he said (NAN)

Source: NAN News

![FG urges African leaders to focus on rural tourism post COVID-19]

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture

By Rotimi Ijikanmi
The Federal Government has urged African leaders to focus on rural and intra-African tourism in speeding up the recovery process in the creative industry post Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the recommendation on Monday at the 63rd Virtual Meeting of the UNWTO-Commission for Africa (CAF)

In his remarks at the virtual meeting of the African Ministers of Culture and Tourism, the minister said rural tourism is key in creating employment particularly for youths and women.

For us in Africa, after the pandemic, focusing on rural tourism will help speed up the recovery process in the Travel and Tourism Sector.

This is because rural tourism employs more people in Africa, and here, I am talking about arts, crafts, culture and heritage.

It is however imperative for the UNWTO to support Africa with a Marshall Plan of sorts, in terms of technical assistance, capacity building and grants, he said.

Mohammed noted that the travel and tourism sector is a driver of growth and economic prosperity, accounting for one in every ten jobs globally.

He said the employment opportunities provided by the sector benefitted a wide variety of people, especially the low-skilled, the youth and women.

The mimister, however, regretted that the sector is the most severely impacted by the pandemic, and it is really hurting at both national and international levels.

He, therefore underscored the need to develop and implement defined plans and protocols that are country specific to effectively manage as well as mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector.

Mohammed said Nigeria has put measures in place to aid the recovery of the travel and tourism, and indeed the entire creative industry.

As Nigeria gradually opens up, just like the rest of the world, with domestic flights due to begin around the end of June and hotels and restaurants coming back to business, new protocols are being put in place for the safety and security of all.

They include training of personnel on security and safety measures, infection control, adherence to government protocols, enhanced hygiene measures, use of personal protective equipment and facility sanitation

We are also studying the new set of guidelines/recommendations by the UNWTO as well as the Safe Travel Protocols designed by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for the purpose of domesticating them, he said.

The minister itemised various, interventions, policy decisions palliative measures by the government at mitigating the effects of Covid-19 on the people since recording the first index case in February 27.

Speaking in the same vein, the host, Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Port and Marine, Didier Dogley, said global tourism has been drastically affected by the pandemic.

He said to emerge stronger; there is need for the continent to strengthen collaboration and the leaders to be proactive.

The CAF Chairman and Zambia Minister of Tourism and Arts, Ronald Chitotela, said in revamping the tourism industry, there is the need for greater partnership across board.

For his part, the UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili said the ministers must work together to reposition Africa as the best tourists destination.

He said African countries must put resources together towards digital transformation of the tourism industry.

The AU representative at the meeting, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid said the ministers should take advantage of the effects of Covid-19 to develop domestic and regional tourism.

Abou-Zeid, the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the AU Commission, said the tourism sector is key to the development of the continent since it accounts for 6.5 per cent of the workforce in Africa.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports no fewer than 11 CAF-ministers made interventions at the meeting.

NAN reports that the 64th meeting of UNWTO-CAF is scheduled to hold in Cape Verde next year.

Source: NAN News

![Insurgency: Buhari meets Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Buratai]

Insurgency: Buhari meets Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Buratai

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed door with Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agenda of the meeting between the president and Buratai was unknown as at the time of filing this report.

However, NAN gathered that the Chief of Army Staff would use the opportunity of the meeting to update the president on his recent mission to the battle fields in the North East.

Buratai had in April relocated to the North-East to coordinate the ongoing war against the Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province terrorists by the Nigerian troops.

NAN reports that Buratai, who lost his biological mother while battling the Boko Haram insurgents at Sambisa forest, returned to Abuja on Sunday to brief the president on the progress report so far.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

![Army chief briefs President on troops operation in NE]

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ismaila Chafe
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Monday updated President Muhammadu Buhari on the successes recorded in the fight against insurgency in the North-East, saying 1,429 insurgents were neutralised in the last two months.

Buratai, who made this known after updating the President on the ongoing military operations against terrorist groups, revealed that 116 Boko Haram informants were also apprehended.

He said: The troops are putting in their best and that has resulted in the tremendous successes we are recording.

The fight is still ongoing and over 1,429 of this Boko Haram terrorists have been neutralised and we have arrested over 166 Boko Haram terrorists informants, their spies, couriers on logistics and their coordinators in the villages, the towns and even the forest.

So, this is a tremendous achievement, our intelligence corps along with the Department of State Services and of course our good friends the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), have worked very hard to see that this is achieved and I assure you that things will continue to improve as the days go by.

Buratai, who has been at the theatre of war in the North-East for the past two months, said that the President was pleased with the performance of the nations troops in the battle fields.

I came in from the North-East just a day ago and it behooves on me to brief the President on what transpired there during the two months I stayed there.

I have given him details of what the troops are doing and what we have achieved as well as what we intend to achieve in the nearest future.

So far so good, even before I came, the President has been getting reports on what is happening in the North-East. So, with this brief that I gave him this morning, its further confirmation of what he has been receiving and so far, he said.

Buratai expressed the readiness of the military to continue to deal with the situation, not only in the North-East but all other parts of the country.

Tremendous success has been achieved and we are very happy with what is going on, the morale of the troops in the trenches is very high at the moment, and their loyalty and commitment is not in doubt.

Surely you will agree with me that the troops morale is very high; it is something of trust, something of confidence, and something that will raise the spirit of any officer or soldier when he sees his Chief of Army Staff in the trenches along with him.

This has raised the morale of the troops and has also made them to put in their best and that is what has resulted in us doing so well and its still on going, he said.

The Chief of Army Staff, who announced that he would soon return to the battle fields to complete the fight against the insurgents, said the military would continue to tackle all forms of security challenges in collaboration with all other security agencies.

He lauded the efforts and loyalty of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army.

We have very loyal and courageous officers and soldiers. While in the battle field there, some of them were even ready to take the bullet for me.

So, I am very much impressed and happy with my officers and soldiers. This is to show the level of morale that they had while I was there and I will continue to be with them, to raise their morale, he said.

Source: NAN News

![Features: Imperative of looking inwards for COVID-19 containment]

NABDA

By Obike Ukoh

Necessity they say is the mother of invention. The current coronavirus disease, with no known cure yet,has compelled many countries to look inwards on how to tackle the pandemic.

Though the mandate of the World Health Organisation (WHO) includes advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, promoting human health and well being, among other, the current situation required indigenous and home grown approaches.

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology, reiterated the need for indigenous approach, when he said that the current COVID-19 pandemic, will alter the balance of World Economic Order.

He spoke during a facility visit to the Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHETSCO).

Onu said that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught Nigeria and other developing countries the need to develop their indigenous technology in order to solve their problems.

The minister was at SHETSCO to inspect its products and inputs into COVID-19 management in Nigeria.

According to Onu, it is only by developing indigenous technology that Nigeria could defeat poverty and unemployment.

He urged the scientific community to intensify research efforts in order to boost Nigerias development.

In his words:You must continue to research on products, to ensure sustainability and ensure competitiveness of the research products.

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and other research institutes have taken up the challenge to join in the fight to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the mandate of NABDA is to: Carry out well-focused research and development in biotechnology in priority areas of food and agriculture, health, industry, environment and other strategic sectors for national development and draw up programmes and policies for biotechnology utilisation, research, and development in Nigeria.

Recently, NCDC successfully validated the first phase of the viral Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) extraction which should enable local production of cheap testing kits for coronavirus.

The validation took place in the laboratory of NABDA in Abuja.

The Director-General of NABDA, Prof. Alex Akpa, said that the success of the validation was important not only to Nigeria but Africa as a whole.

The success of this validation shall enable us to massively produce test kits so that more people would be tested for COVID-19, not only in Nigeria but in Africa.

The immediate aim is to produce reagents for real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and remember, recently the lack of reagents stalled work in Kano and molecular diagnosis could no longer take place, Akpa said.

He also recalled that the absence of the same reagent equally stalled COVID-19 diagnosis in Lagos for many days.

This project is, therefore, designed to enable not only Nigeria but the whole of Africa to put the issue of shortage of reagents behind, the director-general said.

He disclosed that the project was a Pan-African project whose partners include Ethiopia, NCDC and the University of Sheffield, U.K., among others with funding from African Development Bank (AfDB).

Dr Ndodo Nnaemeka, Chief Molecular Bio-engineer, National Reference Laboratory of NCDC, said he was mandated by the NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, to launch this wonderful project.

According to Nnaemeka, the project is designed to solve the problem of RNA extraction kits which had become a global issue.

He said there were serious concerns for the need to have more extraction kits in-country, and that there was growing demand worldwide for extraction kits.

The western world prioritises their own interest first by making sure that they meet their local needs before exporting to other countries, so there was really need for it, he said,

The NCDC chief molecular bioengineer said the first phase of the evaluation results he carried out with the NABDA scientific team was awesome and successful.

The kits compete favourably with other international kits we are using, in fact, it scored highly in purity and in quantity of extraction and we are thinking of scaling production, Nnaemeka said.

He said that to be able to conduct tests, the viral information which comes as the RNA has to first be extracted and without this extraction, no test can be conducted.

What will tell you that the virus is there is contained in the RNA, so RNA is required for you to be able to detect COVID-19, he said.

He added that as scientists, they would soon carry out the second phase of the evaluation which would involve real sample of COVID-19.

Similarly, Dr Rose Gidado, the Country Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), said the exercise was historic.

She said the validated RNAswift Test Kit for COVID-19 was developed by Dr Alison Nwokeoji, a Nigerian scientist at the University of Sheffield, U.K.

Gidado also disclosed that the new test kit could test more than 20,000 people per day.

If we set up more testing centres, we can easily do 50,000 with automation, she said.

Gidado added that the project was a partnership involving NABDA, NCDC, Ethiopia, the, Plateau, theand the Ministries of Science and Technology, Health and Agriculture.

NABDA also stressed that it was necessary to conduct antibody testing, especially on casual farm and logistic workers, who serve as interface between farmers and consumers.

NABDAs Director-General, Akpa, said that the test would help to identify those farm and logistic workers who were carriers of COVID-19 causative agent, and minimise the risk of contamination of farm produce.

He said that farm produce such as cabbage, lettuce, carrot, tomatoes, pepper, mangoes and oranges, among others, intended for the general populace were at risk of contamination.

According to him, it is particularly important and urgent to test these farm hands who are engaged in harvesting these produce in order to make sure that they are COVID-19 free.

The NABDA boss also stated that if such test was not conducted, farm labourers who are infected with the disease could contaminate the vegetables that are movedto the markets and cities.

Akpa also said that the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges, poorly understood globally.

Its management therefore requires innovative approaches and necessitates the invocation of the strategic mandate of NABDA, with special emphasis on development and cutting-edge bio techniques in testing for new cases.

Starting with immediate interventions that would complement the efforts of the Presidential Task Force(PTF) on COVID-19, NABDA proposes deployment of a number of its short to medium term in-country capabilities, he said.

The director-general said these included the use of its advanced molecular laboratories in Abuja and Odi, Bayelsa as testing facilities to meet and surpass the presidential target of 4,000 per day.

Akpa also stressed the need to conduct antibody testing to determine the immunity level of the populace, especially the working population.

He emphasised that this would enable the government to generally categorise population vulnerability and specifically delineate the working population into susceptible and resilient sects for reopening of the economy.

Akpa said the antibody testing was designed to assist the country identify citizens that had inherent level of immunity against COVID-19.

The director-general said workers with immunity to the disease were those who could return to work amidst the pandemic to support essential services across all sectors.

This is particularly important considering the fact that such persons will constitute the critical mass in the fight against COVID-19, especially in combat against health workers infection, he said.

Akpa explained that people who survived the disease had built antibodies and these antibodies could be harvested.

He said the antibody could be harvested from the blood that was obtained from the survivor which could then be multiplied through informatics genetic technology.

Akpa also said the agency was offering to assist the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and the NCDC in the sequencing of local isolates of the SARS-CoV-2 which caused COVID-19.

This service will enable the country to map the sources of the virus strains available in the country.

It will also help identify likely variations in medical behaviour that will affect response to treatment and vaccine efficiency.

We are also poised to participate in the WHO COVID-19 vaccine testing programme, scheduled to commence soon in Africa, he said.

Stakeholders say that with collaboration and adequate funding, Nigerian scientists and research institutes, will make valuable contributions in the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. (NANFeatures)

Source: NAN News