London, May 23, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Two people from two English Premier League (EPL) clubs have tested positive for the coronavirus after a second batch of testing, the Premier League said on Saturday.

Since the players returned to limited group training on Tuesday, eight positive tests for the virus have been confirmed from Englands top flight clubs.

The Premier League can today (Saturday) confirm that on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 996 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, two have tested positive from two clubs, the league said in a statement.

The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.

Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.

The Premier League said it would not be providing details of the identities of the two new positive tests.

A total of 748 tests of players and club staff made up the initial round of testing on Sunday and Monday.

Watfords Adrian Mariappa and two members of the clubs non-playing staff and Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan were among six positive tests.

They are all still in their seven-day isolation period.

Two other Watford players are also self-isolating after coming into close contact with people who tested positive, according to manager Nigel Pearson.

No matches have been played in the Premier League since March, but the government has given the green light for elite sports to resume from June 1, including top flight football.

The Premier Leagues Project Restart hopes to resume action in June, although no date has been fixed.

Another round of tests are scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

All 20 clubs will hold a meeting on Wednesday to decide whether they can move to phase two of the restart and allow full contact training.

Chief executive Richard Masters said on Friday the Premier League is as confident as we can be about a resumption of the top flight.

He added that the remaining 92 games would be completed.

We wouldnt have taken the first step to get back to training if we werent convinced we had created a very safe environment for our players, he said.

Britains death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is the highest in Europe with an official figure of 36,675 as of Saturday.

Germanys Bundesliga returned to action last week with matches in empty stadiums and strict safety protocols.

Spains government on Saturday gave the go-ahead for La Liga to resume from June 8.(Reuters/NAN)
OLAL

Source: NAN News

Bio-bubble

Cape Town, May 22, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Cricket South Africa (CSA) plan to isolate players and support staff in a bio-bubble to minimise their exposure to COVID-19 and hasten a return to play.

CSA has studied the best practises used by the German Bundesliga, which resumed last weekend, and hope to implement them when India are scheduled to visit for three lucrative Twenty20 Internationals in late August.

But the tour remains in doubt as government models suggest the virus could peak in South Africa during August or September.

It poses the question of how to minimise exposure for players, coaches and support staff.

Team doctor Shuaib Manjra said they had worked on a plan, having also liaised with the cricket boards in England and Australia.

The bio-bubble would be a sanitised cricket biosphere with strict entry standards and limited movement out of this cordon, he told reporters via a teleconference.

This will require regular testing of all of those within the bubble.

We want to create a sanitised cricket eco-system that will ensure we account for the entire chain of operations that are sanitised and grant protection to all role-players.

We have drawn from our colleagues in England and Australia, and we have learned from (soccers) La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Manjra said they are facing unknown risk factors, including what effect COVID-19 has on the health of infected athletes once they have recovered.

What is the impact of intense physical activity on players infected with COVID-19 when they return to play?

What happens when one of our players contracts COVID-19, and I have no doubt that many will.

When are they safe to return to play and what are the (health) risks to them when they do? We need to understand this.

All South African sports are preparing to petition government to allow them to renew activities, with the country still under a tight lockdown. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN News

AC Milans veteran star Zlatan Ibrahimovic

AC Milans veteran star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pulled a muscle during training session at the teams Milanello camp, a spokesperson for the Serie A club said on Monday.

The 38-year-old Swede injured a calf during a match that wrapped up a training session, but he left the facility without using crutches.

The extent of the injury will be assessed on Tuesday.

Ibrahimovic had returned from Sweden on May 11, two months after leaving Milan as a nationwide lockdown halted the Italian Serie A with 12 games to go.

He trained with Stockholm side Hammarby, which he co-owns, for part of his stay in Sweden.

Group workouts have been allowed in Italy last week as a government decision about the mid-June restart of the league is expected on Thursday.(dpa/NAN)

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Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development

By Muhyideen Jimoh

Mr Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, has inaugurated a 12 -member committee to ensure COVID-19-compliant infrastructure and protocols for the 20th National Sports Festival tagged Edo 2020.

The virtual inauguration by Dare in Abuja is a follow-up to the extraordinary National Council on Sports meeting on May 18, which called for the hosting of the postponed festival later in the year.

The minister urged members of the committee to interface with relevant agencies to ensure COVID-19-compliant infrastructure for the festival.

Your terms of reference include ascertaining the level of COVID-19 compliance to infrastructure put in place by the Edo government,

You should also work out and put in place requirements to manage any foreseeable and unforeseeable crises that may arise as a result of the organisation of the 20th festival, he said.

Dare also advised the committee to prepare a code of operations (COVID-19 protocols) that would guide athletes, officials, spectators and relevant stakeholders for the successful hosting of the event.

He called on the committee to come up with a new date for the festival to be hosted not later than November.

Earlier, Mr Tonobok Okowa, Chairman of the Committee and Executive Chairman, Delta State Sports Commission, had pledged to deliver on the national assignment.

I can assure you that the committee is committed to ensuring it deliver on this national assignment, Okowa said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee is made up of sports commissioners from the six states in the south-south geo-political zone, officials from the ministries of health, youth and sports, NCDC, State Directors of Sports Forum, and Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

Mr Peter Nelson, Acting Director, Planning, Monitoring and Information, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, is to serve as the Secretary of the committee.

The committee has till June 18 to submit its report.

The 20th sports festival was initially scheduled for March 22 to April 1, but was postponed following an outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Sport Minister Mr Sunday Dare

By Emmanuel Afonne

The e-Sports Federation says preparations for the 2020 On-line National League Games has begun in spite of the coronavirus pandemic affecting sporting activities in the country and beyond.

Mr Christopher Yaba, Secretary of the federation said on Wednesday in a statement after the federations virtual board meeting on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that e-sports (electronic sports) is a form of sport competition using video games.

Yaba said that the board urged its athletes to brace up for the league games, noting that a portal for registration would soon be made public.

The meeting commended the Federal and State Governments for their efforts in containing the dreaded coronavirus pandemic that had so far claimed the lives of over a million people across the world.

We thank our members for their compliance with the lockdown directives aimed at holistically fighting the global scourge,

The e-Sports federation further reassures its young and energetic followers of their commitment to continue to build on the solid foundation laid by the founding fathers of the game.

As a body that focuses on sports, the organisation commends its partners for their consistent support, he said.

The federation scribe called on investors to take advantage of the huge opportunities embedded in e-sporting activities in Nigeria.

E-sports often take the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. (NAN)

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By David Adeoye

The Oyo State Task Force on COVID-19 on Wednesday activated three sites for COVID-19 samples collection in different communities in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigera (NAN) reports that the community testing initiative was intended to accommodate about 10,000 samples.

The community testing drive which was supervised by Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, beganat the Alegongo Primary School, Lagelu West Local Council Development Area, Ibadan.

Olatubosun said that the community testing was free, and encouraged Oyo people to get tested when the team would reach their communities.

Gov. Seyi Makindes administration believes that the health of the citizenry is paramount and that government would pursue with vigour, its commitment to the sound health of the citizenry.

We are treating this as an emergency; no amount spent by government on this is a waste.

We believe the citizenry will contribute meaningfully to the productivity of the state and, invariably, increase the gross domestic product of the state when they are healthy; by so doing, it will improve the economy of the state further.

That is the reason we are doing everything possible to make sure that the people have access to medical care, most especially against anything that has to do with COVID-19, he said.

He said that the task force started with selective testing and later engaged in Drive-Through/Walk-Through Testing at Adamasingba, where it advised the people to drive in and get tested.

But we are reaching a stage where we have to go to the community, and that is why we are decentralising testing, which we call community testing.

We are now moving to communities, local government areas. where we have encouraged people from all the communities to come out and get tested.

The essence of this is that we cannot sit down somewhere and be assessing people.

In figures, Oyo State is rated fourth or fifth but we have tested far more than many states.

We are doing this to have adequate and exact data to work with and arrest the spread of the virus from the community level, the commissioner said.

The Incident Manager of the states Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Dr Taiwo Ladipo, said that the community testing drive was the response of the State COVID-19 Task Force to the rising number of cases in the state.

We have 10 facilities across 10 local government areas and are targeting 10,000 people, but we are starting with three LGAs today.

These are Ibadan South East, Ibadan Oluyole and Lagelu, Ladipo said.

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo

Source: NAN News

NDIC pledges to support EFCC in war against corruption

The International Police (Interpol) has extended its globalised information platform to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Spokesperson of the commission, Mr Dele Oyewale, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said that the platform, codenamed 1P-247, was extended to the EFCC at a brief ceremony attended by the acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu.

The IP-24/7 is a global police communications system that connects law enforcement agencies in all the 194 member- countries.

It enables users share sensitive and urgent police information with their counterparts around the globe, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

With the extension of IP-247 to the EFCC, the commission now has direct and quick access to 18 databases through which information about criminal activities across the world can be accessed, he said.

Oyewale also quoted the Head of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja, Garba Umar, as congratulating Magu on the new milestone achieved by the commission.

Garba said that the extension of the platform was made possible by the EFCC chairmans passion and determination in the fight against financial crimes in Nigeria.

He described the platform as a great breakthrough in criminal investigations.

According to him, with access to the platform, the EFCC can now manage the 18 databases itself without going through the Interpol secretariat in Lyon, France.

Responding, Magu thanked the Interpol for extending IP-247 to the EFCC and its role in facilitating arrests and investigations of many high profile corrupt individuals.

Things get done when you work with Interpol. We have been planning this since 2018 and I thank God it is happening today, he said.

Magu also expressed delight that the platform would energise every enforcement initiative of the EFCC, stressing that enforcement is the greatest deterrent to corruption.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the EFCC had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Interpol on Nov. 29, 2018, as part of its collaborative efforts, aimed at tackling the menace of corruption in Nigeria.

Source: NAN News

Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai

By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has tasked officers and soldiers undergoing Main Battle Tank Training at Nigerian Army Armour School, Bauchi, to exhibit proficiency in the handling of war equipment.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, in a statement on Thursday, said that Buratai made the call while on visit to the school on Wednesday.

One hundred and fifty five officers and soldiers were currently undergoing training for competent commanders, crew men, drivers and technicians at the school.

Buratai expressed satisfaction on the quality and level of training, commitment and discipline of the participants.

According to him, they should continue to learn in order to efficiently operate the new platforms in readiness for deployment into the mission areas.

While I commend your efforts to the training, let me warn that you must operate/handle the new equipment proficiently. We will not accept cowardice, sabotage or inefficiency under any guise whatsoever.

You must maintain high standards of professionalism, effectiveness and discipline in whatever roles they might be assigned or deployed to, he said.

The Army Chief commended the Commandant, instructors and staff of the school for a good job and directed the participants to cooperate fully in order to apply the knowledge effectively in the war front.

They course participants commended the inspiring leadership of Buratai and his efforts in the struggle to end terrorism in Nigeria.

They assured him of their unflinching support and commitment to bring terrorism to an end while leveraging on the newly acquired equipment.

Buratai also assessed the accommodation of some soldiers in Shadawanka Barracks, 33 Brigade Bauchi whose roofs were destroyed by rainstorm on which repairs are already ongoing.

The construction and renovation of accommodation for personnel of the Nigerian Army is equally ongoing in most of the Nigerian Army Barracks across the country just like in Lagos, Jos, Enugu and Portharcourt.

Instructively, some of the accommodation works have already been completed and commissioned especially in Lagos, PortHarcourt and Abuja areas, he said.

Source: NAN News

By Ismaila Chafe

The Presidency has listed the achievements of the Buhari administration in the last five years, saying where the lofty goals are yet to be attained.

It is work in progress, and eyes are firmly fixed on the ball, no distraction.

A fact-sheet released by Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Thursday, maintained that the government swept into office on the wings of Change, and that change has been wrought in nearly all phases of national life.

According to the presidential aide, the three umbrella areas on which government based its interventionist agenda are: security, reviving the economy (with particular emphasis on job creation, especially for youths), and fighting corruption.

In these three areas, where we are today cannot be compared with where we used to be.

By May 2015, insecurity had badly fractured the fabric of the nation. No one could wager that the country would survive the next month, not to talk of another year.

Bombs went off like firecrackers, insurgents ran riot round the country, other forms of crime and criminality held sway. Life was nasty, brutish and short, he added.

Adesina also narrated how over five years, the battle had been taken to insurgents and criminals across the country, saying they are being extinguished by the day, and very close to complete extirpation.

He said: The economy, long dependent on a mono product petroleum, is being retooled, refocused, with diversification as a task that must be accomplished.

Agriculture has been given a fillip, manufacturing has got a shot in the arm, and solid minerals are contributing a large chunk to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to Adesina, the country is very close to food security, with rice, beans, maize, millet, and all sorts of grain no longer imported, adding that we now eat what we grow.

On the war against corruption, the presidential aide said: No quarter is asked, and none is given. Commit the crime, do the term. No retreat, no surrender.

Adesina further maintained that: Facts speak for themselves. And that is what we present at this auspicious season of the fifth anniversary of the Buhari administration.

Facts are stubborn things, no matter how anybody tries to deny, distort or deride them.

Attached below is the five-year Fact Sheet of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

: The Administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs:

The new Visa Policy incorporates the following reforms:

President Buhari in 2019 assented to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigerias history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; and the establishment of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Between 2017 and now, Nigeria has issued its first ever:

:

:

The Federal Government has disbursed more than 170 billion Naira in UBE Matching Grants to States and the FCT since 2015, 8 billion Naira in Special Education Grant to States and private providers of Special Education, and 34 billion Naira from the Teachers Professional Development Fund to States and the FCT.

Approval for the establishment of the following:

Transfer of Almajiri Schools built by the previous administration to State Governments and credible Scholars of Islamic Education, for efficient administration and impact.

The Buhari administrations New Vision for the Niger Delta brings together a robust set of promises, solutions, targets and initiatives aimed at ensuring that the people of the Niger Delta benefit maximally from the regions oil wealth.

The New Vision offers a detailed response to the 16-point Demand Agenda submitted to President Buhari by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) in November 2016.

Tangible results of the New Vision so far include:

:

The Buhari Administration is addressing the issue of poor levels of remittance of operating surpluses by MDAs. From remitting only N51 million between 2010 and 2016, JAMB has gone on to remit more than 20 billion Naira to the Federal Government since 2017.

:

:

In spite of great opposition, the Buhari Administration has expanded IPPIS coverage to the Armed Forces, as well as Federal Universities and other academic institutions.

:

:

:

Re-establishment of Nigerias position and influence in the regional and global arena. Fragile/broken relations with the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and with neighbouring countries (Chad, Niger, Cameroon) have been revived and strengthened since June 2015.

Nigerias prominent participation in the London Anti-Corruption Summit and the Commonwealth Conference on Tackling Corruption, in May, 2016 in London.

Major outcomes/results/manifestations of Nigerias renewed visibility and respect on the International Stage:

The SA-Nigeria Bi-National Commission was in 2019 elevated from Vice Presidential to Presidential Level, as a symbol of a renewed commitment to cooperation between Africas two largest economies.

In Nigeria, we are taking a two-step approach. First, to protect the lives of our fellow Nigerians and residents living here and second, to preserve the livelihoods of workers and business owners to ensure their families get through this very difficult time in dignity and with hope and peace of mind. President Buhari

President Buhari has also approved the following:

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10,578.

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Rowland Ewubare

By Edith Ike-Eboh

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it is firming up business portfolios in the power, medical, housing and other sectors that would strengthen the profitability of the state owned oil company.

The corporation said this in a statement on Thursday that the move was part of measures to cope with the boom and bust cycle in the global crude oil market and to sustain revenue generation for the country.

The statement quoted the corporations Chief Operating Officer, Ventures and Business Development, Mr Roland Ewubare, as saying that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline network would enable the NNPC to deepen its footprint in the power sector through the establishment of an Independent Power Plants.

Ewubare also stated that NNPC would use its network of excellent medical centres across the country to provide innovative healthcare for Nigerians.

NNPC is creating an energy company that would have portfolios in renewable energy; we have initiatives on solar that is ongoing.

We have got biofuels agreements with some state governments that would soon be activated.

We do have a lot of non-core businesses that are aggregated under the Ventures and Business Development Autonomous Business Unit of the NNPC.

This would be expanded through effective collaboration and partnership with the private sectors, Ewubare said in the statement signed by NNPC Spokesman, Kennie Obateru.

He further disclosed that the NNPC had hectares of land across the country and would soon partner with private developers to reduce the housing deficit in the country for the benefit of Nigerians who are core shareholders of the corporation.

Ewubare explained that NNPCs aspiration was to achieve a 10 dollar per barrel cost by the fourth quarter of 2021, adding that a lot of logistics costs would be recalibrated to drive down the cost of crude oil production in the country.

When you have a low commodity price regime, as the case now, the only way we are able to squeeze out some reasonable cash and financial gain to the nation is by curtailing and constraining our costs in line with the GMDs aspiration to push for a 10 dollar per barrel cost of production.

Against this backdrop, the conversation around cost becomes an imperative and urgent one, Ebuware said.

He said the corporation was working closely with its partners to commercialise flared gas by converting it to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas, adding that the gesture would preserve the flora and fauna of the country.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Executive Secretary PPPRA Abubakar Saidu

By Edith Ike-Eboh

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has removed the cap on the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol.

The agency made the disclosure in a document it released in Abuja on Thursday entitled, Market Based Pricing Regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Regulations, 2020.

It said in the document signed by its Executive Secretary, Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, that, henceforth, the price of PMS would be determined by market forces.

It said that it would continue to monitor trends in the crude oil market and advise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and oil marketers on monthly guiding price for the commodity.

The agency said that it made the regulations with the approval of the President Muhammadu Buhari.

From the commencement of these regulations, a market-based pricing regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) shall take effect.

The agency shall monitor market trends and advise the NNPC and oil marketing companies on the monthly guiding Market-Based Price.

The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) advised by the agency shall be guiding retail price at which the product shall be sold across the country.

The regulations may be cited as the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Market Based Pricing Regime Regulations, 2020, made this 20th day of March, 2020, it said.

According to the agency, the regulations seek to complement and enforce the provisions of the PPPRA (Establishment) Act, 2003, and to notify the general public of the existence of a market-based pricing regime for PMS with effect from March 2020. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Stricker Timo Werner

Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle to sign Germany striker Timo Werner from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, Sky Sports said on Thursday.

The report added that Werner has a 55 million euro (.45 million) release clause which expires on June 15 and that Premier League club Chelsea had offered the 24-year-old a contract worth 200,000 pounds per week.

Werner is second-top scorer in the Bundesliga this season with 25 goals, four behind Bayern Munichs Robert Lewandowski.

He has made 29 appearances for Germany, scoring 11 times. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar

Source: NAN News

Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Abuja, according to Mr Frank Mba, Public Relations of the Police Force.

Mba, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said that the suspects, from Isiekenesi, Ideato Local Government in Imo, are helping Police investigation into the May 14 murder of Mrs Janet Ogbonnaya, a mother of five children.

He said that the suspects were arrested by the Police in their home town where they had allegedly taken refuge after committing the crime in Abuja, to evade arrest.

Mba said that investigation that led to their arrest followed complaints by one Chinedu Ogbonnaya, who alleged that his mother, Janet, 55, a native of Ozuitem in Bende Local Government Area of Abia, had been kidnapped.

Ogbonnaya told the Police that N5 million ransom was being demanded by the kidnappers to secure the mothers release.

A comprehensive and painstaking investigation by Police operatives resulted in the arrest of the three suspects, who, in the course of interrogation, revealed that the victim had long been murdered and buried.

Further findings revealed that the victim, a widow, who had been a Facebook friend of the principal suspect, was lured from her home in Gwagwalada, Abuja to visit the suspect.

The suspect took advantage of the visit, served her milk laced with drugs, and subsequently murdered her, he said.

According to him, the victim was buried in a septic tank afterwhich the suspects went ahead to reach out to the family, using her phone, to demand N5 million ransom to secure her release.

Mba said that the suspects, on Thursday, led a team of investigators alongside pathologists to a residence at Wumba District, Lokogoma area of Abuja, where the victims decomposing body was exhumed from a septic tank.

The spokesman said that the exhumed body had been taken to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for forensic examination, while a Toyota Highlander Jeep belonging to the deceased had also been recovered at a mechanic workshop in Apo, where it had been repainted into a different colour.

Mba said that the vehicle documents had been fraudulently changed with ownership of the stolen vehicle criminally transferred to one of the masterminds of the crime.

According to him, investigation also revealed that the house where the deceased was killed and buried originally belonged to one of the suspects but was hurriedly sold to a third party to obliterate evidence.

Already, the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has commended the team of Police operatives for a job well done. He has also pledged that perpetrators of crimes will not go undetected and unpunished.

The Police helmsman has also enjoined citizens to be more security conscious and report any suspicious activities within their neighbourhood to the nearest Police Station, the statement said.

Source: NAN News

By Grace Alegba

The Lagos State Water Corporation has said that the state government had evolved measures to ensure equitable potable water distribution in the state.

The corporations Managing Director, Mr Adekunle Badmus, told journalists on Thursday, that globally there was shortage of potable water supply.

The LSWC boss spoke on the sidelines of the 11th Olu Awoyinfa Distinguished Annual Public Lecture in Lagos.

The theme of the lecture was Forming Uncommon Partnership: Solution to Challenges of Developing Nations.

Badmus said Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olus administration was working on bridging water shortfalls in the state while harnessing the benefits of creating other value chains from water.

We have a master plan in Lagos State which identified how much water is needed. The gap right now is about 500 million gallons. Whereby we are supposed to be producing 700 million gallons, we are only producing about 210.

Lagos State is making water a priority. Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has focused on water.

When he assumed office, he visited all our facilities and he has determined that before the end of his tenure, more people will benefit from safe and potable water in the state, he said.

The managing director said that ongoing projects in the state had shown that the backwash from some water channels contained substances that could be used for fertilizers.

Badmus said that the residents desperation for water supply had led to the proliferation of boreholes in the state, despite the dangers involved in indiscriminate drilling.

The managing director also said that it was imperative for governments in the country to urgently address the water needs, adding that most borehole waters were often polluted due to various factors.

We need to speed it up, we are still way behind in getting water to everyone that needs to get water. If we continue to delay then our lives will continue to be at risk, because the people who drill boreholes dont care if the site was a burial ground, dumpsite or an old weaponry.

Yes, there is usually casing for boreholes but they sometimes crack, there is what we call infiltration that goes into the water, he said.

Badmus added that most borehole waters were contaminated from storm waters, ground waters and other sources which were harmful for human use.

While delivering his keynote lecture, Badmus called on Nigerian leaders to explore capacity of local engineers in addressing the nations water problem and other developmental challenges.

He called for partnerships between professionals in various fields to provide scientific solutions to various sectors of the nations economy for rapid growth and industrialisation.

According to him, developing local capacity would also remove capital flight and ensure growth of technology in various sectors.

Badmus said that COVID-19 and other current challenges had made the need for partnership with other professional bodies in problems solving inevitable.

There is enough for everybody to be able to partner and to be able to carry this nation forward. To move Nigeria forward, we have to start to work with each other and bring everybody into the same room and find a way to be able to contribute, he said.

Badmus listed various areas of collaboration in solving societal problems to include agriculture, infrastructure, engineering and other sectors.

He said there was pressure on health facilities occasioned by poor water supply and sanitation while stressing the need for urgent measures with COVID-19 pandemic to better address the problems of water.

To deal with these challenges in developing countries, we must be innovative and form uncommon partnerships, Badmus said.

He said that there should also be uncommon partnerships between Google and pharmaceutical companies, schools and banks to evolve digital platforms for carrying out activities.

Badmus said that there should be uncommon partnerships like the Lagos and Kebbi States LAKE Rice partnership that would be of mutual benefits..

If we are to rid the developing countries of the many challenges encumbering them, then we must be innovative.

We must begin to form uncommon partnerships across all sectors, from the health sector to the water supply and sanitation, to building infrastructure, agriculture, banking and so on.

Uncommon partners will help us to succeed by providing us with capabilities we shouldnt build ourselves, as well as with fresh insight.

We should help uncommon partners succeed by creating a mutual relationship which both parties can prosper from, he said.

The lecture, which was organised by the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), also featured induction of new engineers and presentation of scholarship awards.

Source: NAN News

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Thursday recorded 350 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number to 11, 516 in the country.

Source: NAN News

NITDA

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has admitted over 14,000 active students into its virtual academy.

The new intake were admitted to study 47 courses on emerging technologies.

The Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this on Thursday in an online meeting organised by the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

The meeting focused on the Socio-Economic and Political Impact of COVID-19 on Telecom and ICT sector in Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NITDA Virtual Academy was launched in May by Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.

The platform was targeted at helping to engage young citizens to spend their time meaningfully and learn new technologies that will help create and shape the post-COVID era.

Inuwa said inspite the effect of COVID-19 in all sectors, there was hope because the crisis had forced people to change behaviour and adapt to new habits.

Coronavirus has forced us to change our behaviour and adapt to new habits.

New trends have emerged, we do everything remotely, working, learning, meeting, workshops, zoom party, e-wedding and so on, he said.

He also said that NITDA had successfully organised various programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Innovation Challenge.

According to him, the innovation challenge is designed to help with ideas that can contain and cushion the effect of the virus as well as keep the economy up.

We are working with the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Nigerian Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) to identify some of the ideas they think are relevant for them.

The ideas can be used as a testing ground to help the initiatives by the start-ups develop their ideas into products, he said.

He added that the challenge had over 2,000 applicants, while five start-ups were selected to pitch at the Open Demo and Prize Giving Day, and three emerged winners.

Abdullahi stressed that it was part of the agencys initiatives to identify youths with innovative ideas, take them to innovation hubs, incubate and accelerate their ideas into products or services.

He said the agency does that through its Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme.

He added that they were working with relevant stakeholders to identify hubs as well as start-ups that can enjoy the initiative.

Commenting on using new technologies in farming, the director-general stated that the Nigerian Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) would encourage farmers to focus more on digital platforms and precision smart farming.

To ensure significant improvement in crop yield, quality of farm produce, efficiency and productivity, increased profit margin, we need harvest focus, sales of farm produce and eco-friendly agricultural practice.

We are working with 150 farmers to start the pilot project, because the agriculture value chain contribute the highest percentage to our Gross Domestic Product.

With ICT as an enabler, we can help boost its projection, he added.

Source: NAN News