Ex boyfriend of Zainab Abdullahi Yahaya, who recently married to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), retired Colone Hameed Ali has dragged her to court, demanding various sums of money running into millions for alleged deceit, mischievous and breach of trust. The aggrieved boyfriend, Zubairu Dalhatu Malami claimed that he had been in a relationship with Zainab (now Mrs. Ali) for over three years and had invested so much in her life, future and business when she consistently promised to marry him. In the Demand Notice, filed by Buba Partners (Kwarshi Chambers), dated 22nd May, 2020 and sighted by Arewa Agenda, Zubairu Malami alleged that Zainab picked an unnecessary fight with him few days to her marriage to the Customs boss wherein she insulted him and called him all kinds of names with claims that he calculate all she had collected from him both as loans, investments and trip tickets. Zubairu Malami is therefore demanding that Zainab should refund the sum of N2,778,270.40 kobo for travel tickets (he bought for her)to travel to various countries, including the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, N1,500,000 loan for her investment, N1,763,000 only for her LEFE (bride) clothes, among other monetary and material demands. Speaking to Arewa Agenda, a publication of young writers from the North, Counsel to the aggrieved boyfriend, I.I. Wangida confirmed the letter but refused to say more on the matter because it is “unethical.”
He expressed surprise at how the letter leaked to the press knowing that he had only served it to Zainab Abdullahi Yahaya. Efforts to reach both the aggrieved boyfriend and the bride proved abortive at the time of this report. It would be recalled that on October 29, 2018, the first wife of the Customs, Hajiya Hadiza Jummai Ali, died in Abuja. Their marriage was blessed with four children. And on Saturday, May 30, the Comptroller General married a new wife at a low-key ceremony in Kano State. Before being appointed as Comptroller General of NCS by President Muhammadu Buhari, Ali had previously served as military administrator of Kaduna State from 1996 to 1998.
Former Exxon Mobil engineer, James Onuoha, has been sentenced to15 years in prison without an option of fine for raping a14-year- old girl, a tenant’s niece and other sexual escapades.
Justice Adedayo Akintoye of an Igbosere High Court in Lagos lsland, pronounced the sentence today, June 1. In his judgment, Justice Akintoye, said Onouah was guilty as charged and should, therefore, be punished.
In his allocutus, Olowonla pleaded with the court to tender justice with mercy as he was a first time offender.
”My lord, he is a first time offender, he is a family man with wife and children and also the breadwinner of his family.
”He has lost his job since this case came up, going by the circumstances of this case, I urge my lord to tender justice with mercy.”
Onouah was arraigned by the Lagos State Government for allegedly raping his tenant’s 14-year-old niece. He was alleged to have committed the offences on January 4, 2016, at 11.30 a.m.,at 25, Samuel Amoore Street, Idowu Estate, Ike-Ira Nla, Lekki-Ajah, Lagos.
The prosecution, led by Dr. Jide Martins said that the defendant willfully had an unlawful sexual act with the teenager without her consent.
The offences contravened Sections 134 (2), 135 (1), 137 and 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. He was first arraigned in January 2016 at the Magistrates’ Court on a four-count charge of defilement.
Onouah was remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre pending legal advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
He pleaded innocence of the offences.
Following the DPP’s advice, the case was transferred to the high court for trial.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has embraced the concept of community policing, as the minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello inaugurated an advisory committee, headed by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma.
Inaugurating the 17-member committee today, June 1 in Abuja, the minister advised members to be non-partisan in the discharge of their duties, reminding them that the concept of community policing was anchored on a premise of trust between the people and security agents. A trust which, he said, must not fall short if the objective of the policy is to be achieved.
“Once there is a trust deficit in any guise or form, the workability of this policy becomes highly diminished and we would have lost a great opportunity in improving the security profile of the Territory.”
The minister said that in selecting those that will serve as members of the special constables, the committee must be fair, just and equitable.
Muhammad Musa Bello said that those selected should be provided with basic training required for the job, even as he advocated a robust feedback and monitoring mechanism on the performance of those appointed to assigned tasks within the communities.
He also called for the confidentiality of investigations and protection of informants.
An Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Community Policing, Bala Senchi gave an overview of the functions of State Community Policing Advisory Committees, saying that it is the highest advisory body on community policy in a state.
According to him, the implementation of the policy will be cascaded down to the grassroots through the State Community Policing Committee, Area Command Community Policing Advisory Committee, Local Government Community Policing Advisory Committee, the Divisional Community Policing Committee and the Special Constabulary.
Members of the FCT State Community Policing Advisory Committee are CP Bala Ciroma as Chairman, the Ona of Abaji, Adamu Baba Yunusa; Senator Phillip T. Aduda – Senator representing the FCT, Rev. Dr Samson Jonah- Chairman, FCT Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Tajudeen M.B Adigun- Chairman, FCT League of Imams Initiative; The Commander, Army HQ Garrison, Abuja; The Commander, Guards Brigade, Abuja; The Commander, Naval Unit, Abuja; The Commander, 053 NAF Camp, Abuja and State Director, Department of State Service, Abuja.
Others are the Comptroller, Nigeria Correctional Services; the Commandant, NDLEA, FCT; Command; the Commandant, NSCDC, FCT Command; the Comptroller, Nigeria Immigration Services, Abuja; the Sector Commander, FRSC, FCT Command; the Director Security Services Department, FCTA and Chief Bolaji Adigun – Chairman, Police Community Relations Committee.
A group, Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has accused the military administrator of old Kaduna State, retired Colonel Dangiwa Umar of falling for the antics of purveyors of fake news on the issue of appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement today, June 1, the group’s Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, said that in appointing Nigerians since 2015, the President has been taking deliberate and necessary steps to achieve regional and ethnic balance.
“We are surprised that a respectable Nigerian of the calibre of the former military administrator of the old Kaduna state, Colonel Dangiwa Umar (Rtd)could fall for the antics of purveyors of fake news bent on painting the President bad. “These slimy characters are the same people who were part of a scheme cooked up by a British firm Cambridge Analytical, which was confirmed to have been paid £2m by an unnamed billionaire sympathetic to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the run-up to the 2015 Presidential election to, among other things, present the then-candidate Muhammadu Buhari as a sectional leader. “Of course that move failed and even after the election, Nigerians saw how opposition elements readily made unverified claims about political appointments, aside from pushing the rest of the Cambridge Analytical game plan which included questioning the President’s educational credentials. “We want to refer Nigerians to an investigative piece by an online publication, ‘The Interview’ on all political appointments in the first term of the Buhari administration, which exposed the lies that the North was favoured to the detriment of the South. “For the avoidance of doubt, the piece which focused on all political appointees including heads of parastatals and Presidential aides showed that the North had a 51% share of appointments in MDAs to the South’s 49% while 52.4% of Presidential aides were from the South compared to 47.6% from the North.”
File photo: Nigeria Muslims listen to sermon during congregational prayer in lagos (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Federal Government of Nigeria has opened up worship places, including Mosques and Churches after weeks of closure in efforts to control coronavirus pandemic.
Briefing newsmen today, June 1, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari approved “relaxation of restriction on places of Worship based on guidelines issued by the PTF and Protocols agreed by State Governments.”
Boss Mustapha, made it clear that the relaxation of the restriction on places of worship and other places is for four weeks and is subject to review.
He said that other recommendations approved by the president are “managed access to markets and locations of economic activity to limit the risk of transmission,” adding that ban on inter-state travels is still in force, except for movement of agricultural produce, petroleum products, manufactured goods and essential services.
Others are mandatory use of non-medical face masks in public places, mandatory provision of handwashing facilities/sanitisers in all public places, extensive temperature checks in public places, aintaining two metres between people in public places and strengthening infection prevention and control at healthcare facilities.
There are also isolation of vulnerable populations (elderly and those with underlying health conditions), massive information and education campaigns, deepening of collaborative efforts with the community leaders, civil society, faith-based organisations, traditional institutions, etc.
Boss Mustapha said that there would be continuous mobilisation of State governments to take up greater role in the implementation of the guidelines and advisories provided by the PTF.
Full text of the speech is reproduced:
I welcome you all to the National Briefing for Monday 1st June, 2020.
When the PTF briefed the nation on Monday 18th May, 2020, we informed you that Mr. President had approved amongst others, the extension of phase one of the eased lockdown so that the observed gaps in the expected impact of the National Response could be closed and the gains consolidated. That action was based on the Guidelines developed and published by the PTF, working in collaboration with sub-national entities and key stakeholders.
3.The PTF also announced the extension of the lockdown of Kano State due to the need to address the peculiar circumstances that had arisen in that state.
4.During the two weeks extension, the PTF evaluated the COVID-19 situation in the country after which it submitted a Report to Mr. President as promised last week.
5.Ladies and gentlemen, despite partnerships, injection of resources and collaboration, the COVID-19 has continued to ravage the world in very many ways. It has also continued to spread and claim casualties. The global figures recorded as at Sunday, 31st May 2020 had risen to 6,407,451 confirmed cases, 2,862,610 recoveries and 377,834 fatalities across 216 countries and territories of the world.
6.The global epicenter of the pandemic has shifted from China to Europe, then to the United States of America and is now showing significant impact in South and Central America. This shift to South America with virtually similar climatic and demographic similarities with Africa, is a cause for concern when we consider the fact that earlier projections pointed to Africa as likely to be the worst hit continent, by the pandemic.
7.In Africa, confirmed cases stood at 146,568 while 64,080 cases had recovered and 4,222 fatalities were recorded as at Sunday, 31st may, 2020.
8.Reports have shown that there are lesser number of confirmed cases than expected across the African Continent. Countries have continued to record significant daily increases, capable of overwhelming our fragile healthcare systems if there is a consistent surge. This calls for caution, planning, multi-sectoral investment in institutional and human capacity, scientific and methodical approach as well as citizens commitment to the control of the pandemic.
9.As at midnight on the same day (Sunday, 31st May, 2020), Nigeria had recorded 10,162 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 3,007 discharges and 287 deaths. Significantly, Nigeria recorded 553 new cases on Saturday, 30th May, 2020 representing the highest single day numbers, ever.
10. Nigeria’s national response has continued to rely on science, data, experiences drawn from other nations and consideration of our peculiar environment to address the pandemic, while observing the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While reviewing the impact of previous measures and the first phase of the eased lockdown, the PTF prioritised the following aims:
Ensuring a cohesive, exhaustive and data-driven policy to guide the opening up of the country;
Putting in place procedures for the effective review of the country’s reopening policy;
iii. Mitigating against our health system being overwhelmed by a series of sustained outbreaks;
Maximising the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 control; and
Minimising the negative and social effects of the non-pharmaceutical interventions.
12.Similarly, the PTF adopted the following guiding principles to ensure that the response is robust and holistic:
Utilisation of data systems to assess risk, measure response performance, and evaluate progress;
Application of non-pharmaceutical interventions in a measured and step-wise manner (e.g. using 2-week intervals to identify adverse effects);
iii. Narrowing the focus of non-pharmaceutical interventions with significant side effects (e.g. business closures, stay at home orders) to targeted areas for effectiveness and impact;
Development of systems for the protection of vulnerable groups;
Prioritisation of risk communication and community engagement with emphasis on community involvement and ownership; and
Encouraging States to fund activities (contact tracing, sample and data collection, etc.) that support the control of COVID-19 thereby generating data to aid decision-making.
13.The PTF, in reaching its conclusions and making recommendations for next steps of the response, remained mindful of the following important socio-economic issues:
impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and all national economies;
pain and hardship brought upon the poor & vulnerable, the aged, the sick, people living with disabilities, and particularly those whose survival depend on their daily earnings;
iii. impact of the closure of schools and tertiary institutions;
avoidable death of citizens occasioned by the decline in the level of availability of medical services to citizens due to closure of medical facilities, rejection of patients by hospitals and fear of stigmatization; and
the level of infection of frontline workers and its implications for the national response.
16.From the economic development, security and social cohesiveness perspectives, the PTF also worked closely with:
The Economic Sustainability Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice President;
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) promoting the development of stimulus packages for different categories of SMEs, farmers, businesses, etc;
iii. The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development working to enlarge the database of some of the Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs) for inclusiveness;
The Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment charged with the mandate to organize the Special Pubic Works Intervention capable of employing one thousand youths from each of the 774 LGAs in the country;
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development on the mobilization and technical support to farmers for the planting season as well as unrestricted movement of food and other agricultural produce;
The Federal Ministry of Education for the development of guidelines and protocols for safe reopening of our schools;
vii. The Security Agencies for the enforcement and protection of lives and property;
viii. Professional bodies, Civil Society Organisations, the Labour Sector, trade associations, religious and traditional leaders;
The Nigeria Governors Forum; and
The National Assembly.
17.The PTF has taken into consideration the advisory of the World Health Organization on the need to do the following when planning to ease a lockdown:
balance lives and livelihoods,
follow a slow and phased approach that is data driven;
iii. apply Public health measures in every community and at every phase of the response (i.e. surveillance, case finding, testing, isolation, tracing and quarantining contacts.); and
evaluating the economic and social aspects of the society, which will play a role in progressing or hindering any efforts for the response.
18.It is the consideration of the PTF that while Nigeria’s confirmed cases have increased in the period under review, the following factors should inspire confidence in the response:
Majority of the confirmed cases are in a handful of local governments in the country;
20 out of the 774 LGAs nationwide account for 60% of the cases (see map below);
iii. There is an opportunity to concentrate efforts in these high-burden areas;
Federal agencies and State Governments are working together on the promotion and utilisation of guidelines on case management (e.g. homecare for relatively well patients);
There is increased capacity to detect, test and trace those infected with the virus;
29 testing laboratories have been activated, with Bauchi being the latest addition while the test count nationwide has exceeded 60,000; and
vii. A shift in focus to community engagement and enhanced risk communication.
NOTE: NCDC to list the names of the 20 LGAs
19.Notwithstanding the foregoing, the PTF considers it necessary to restate to Nigerians that:
Nigeria has not reached the peak of confirmed cases;
The battle against COVID-19 is a long term one;
iii. Nigeria should pursue a strategy that will aid the sustainable control of the spread of the disease;
Risk communications and community engagement should remain top priority; and
Precision approach to containment and management should be adopted
20.Based on the overall assessment, including available data on the public health considerations and resultant economic impacts, the PTF is of the opinion that Nigeria is ready to allow SCIENCE and DATA determine her cautious advancement into the second phase of the eased lockdown for a period of four (4) weeks.
After considering all factors mentioned above, the PTF submitted its recommendations and the PRESIDENT has approved the following for implementation over the next four weeks spanning 2nd – 29th June, 2020, subject to review-:
Cautious advance into the Second Phase of the national response to COVID-19;
Application of science and data to guide the targeting of areas of on-going high transmission of COVID-19 in the country;
iii. Mobilisation of all resources at State and Local Government levels to create public awareness on COVID 19 and improve compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions within communities;
Sustenance of key non-pharmaceutical interventions that would apply nationwide and include:
a) Ban of gatherings of more than 20 people outside of a workplace;
b) Relaxation of restriction on places of Worship based on guidelines issued by the PTF and Protocols agreed by State Governments
c) Managed access to markets and locations of economic activity to limit the risk of transmission;
d) Ban on inter-state travels except for movement of agricultural produce, petroleum products, manufactured goods and essential services;
e) Mandatory use of non-medical face masks in public places;
f) Mandatory provision of handwashing facilities/sanitisers in all public places;
g) Extensive temperature checks in public places;
h) Maintaining 2 metres between people in public places;
i) Strengthening infection prevention and control at healthcare facilities;
j) Isolation of vulnerable populations (elderly and those with underlying health conditions)
k) Massive information and education campaigns.
Deepening of collaborative efforts with the community leaders, civil society, faith-based organisations, traditional institutions, etc;
Continuous mobilisation of State governments to take up greater role in the implementation of the guidelines and advisories provided by the PTF;
vii. Continued provision of support by the NCDC to States through guidelines to shape decision-making in responding to high burden LGAs and Wards; and
viii. Easing the total lockdown of Kano State and introduction of Phase One of the Eased Lockdown.
22.Ladies and gentlemen, this is still a fight for life and our advancement to phase two does not mean that COVID-19 has ended. It is still potent and highly wasteful of human lives. I implore all Nigerians and corporate citizens to take responsibility and play the expected role.
I will now invite the Hon Minister of Health to provide you with details. The DG – NCDC will elaborate on the technical aspects of the next steps while the National Coordinator will expatiate on the guidelines before it is published.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency has announced a new pump price band of N121.50 to N123.50 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol.
The PPPRA, which is an agency of the Federal Government, disclosed this in a circular to fuel marketers dated May 31, 2020.
The sharp drop in crude oil prices on the back of the spread of coronavirus saw the landing cost of petrol hitting a record low in March, wiping off subsidy on the product.
The pump price of petrol, which is still being regulated by the Federal Government, was reduced to N125 per litre from N145 per litre on March 18, 2020, effective March 19.
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has ordered a total lockdown of Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of the State, effective from 12 midnight June 2nd.
In a state wide broadcast today, June 1st, the governor said that the 14-day total lockdown has been imposed on the local government following “the alleged and controversial COVID-19 index case” in the area.
He said that during the lockdown, there would be no house to house movement within the local government area, adding that street movement is completely prohibited within the local government area for the period.
According to governor Yahaya Bello, palliative would be distributed house to house within the local government area, even as he said that contact tracing is being carried out house to house to identify those who might have made contact with the alleged Kogi coronavirus index persons, who are the Chief Imam of Kabba and his Son, within the local government area
“The Kogi State incident management team should continue to thoroughly carry out the contact tracing. The contact tracing and enforcement of the lock down order shall be fully covered by the mainstream media.
“Health workers who might have made contact with the alleged index case should proceed on self-isolation.
“All security agencies in the state are to enforce total compliance with the lock down order
“All citizens and residents of the state should continue to adhere to the NCDC guideline as the state still remain COVID-19 free.”
The attention of the FIRS Management has been drawn to malicious publications in some no less reputable media outfits such as Premium Times and PUNCH Newspaper dated 18th May, 2020, entitled “FIRS Chair ignores Buhari’s directive, retires nine directors”, which blatantly twisted facts to create the impression that nepotism and tribalism are being entrenched in FIRS. Management also notes with satisfaction subsequent spirited and well intentioned rejoinders by friends and well-wishers of the FIRS in a bid to state the true perspective of the matters arising from the said invidious publication.
Following wide consultations, the FIRS Management wishes to bring to the attention of the general public that the present Management of FIRS led by Mr. Muhammad Nami has no intention of (and is not) entrenching nepotism and tribalism in FIRS. The Management therefore wishes to state categorically that those making such insinuations are doing so from the figment of their imagination.
The main issues mischievously alleged in the publication are summarized as follows:
That Muhammad Nami unlawfully retired nine Directors to pave way for his allies by relying on old Civil Service Rulewhich was suspended by President MuhammaduBuhari via a circular No SH/COS/100/A/1462 dated 17th June, 2016 issued by the then Head of Service, and that the immediate past Chairman of FIRS upheld the order as no Director was retired during his administration on the basis of the old rule.
That Muhammad Nami assumed office in November 2019
That the Service relied on Section 10.1a (iii) of the FIRS Human Resources Policies and Processes (HRPP) to retire the Directors while ignoring Section 1.8.2of the same HRPP which deals with the effects of circulars and other amendments to HRPP.
That after the retirement of the Directors, the Executive Chairman appointed Four (4) new Directors, which has caused disquiet among Senior Staff who were sidelined for the Contract staff.
The publication asked “where is transparency, accountability, integrity and Federal Character in these appointments?”
For the purpose of clarity and avoidance of any doubt, Management wishes to put the record straight as follows:
4.1 Muhammed Nami did not unlawfully retire nine Directors to pave way for his allies. In the first place, the retirement of the Directors was done in accordance with the rules and followed due process as it was approved by the Board.
Secondly, on the issue of using old Civil Service Rule at the expense of the new rule, it must be noted that FIRS (the Service), was established pursuant to FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007, as a Public Service and not a civil Service. There is a lot of difference between Civil Service and Public Service. Civil Service covers Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government without autonomous Status, while Public Service includes among others FIRS, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), with autonomous status and functional Board of Directors. As such the circular couldn’t have been binding on the Service.
4.2 The Service did not disobey the new regulation suspending the eight (8) year tenure rule. Of course, it is easy to see that the previous management did not retire Directors because there was no Board in place, and so it operated solely thereby determined the rules to implement and those to disobey with a huge media support from the likes of the media organisations under reference.
4.3 The FIRS Human Resources Policies and Processes (HRPP) in its Chapter 10 adequately captures all retirement matters that are peculiar to the Service, and which all staff signed and promised to abide by at the point of entering into the Service. By virtue of the provision of S.1.8.3 of the FIRS HRPP, it is only where any matter is not provided for or covered by the HRPP that recourse is made to the provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR). And since there is no lacuna therein, there is no need to rely on the Head of Service Circular on 8-year Tenure Suspension.
4.4 It should also be noted that the provision of S.1.8.2 referred to in the publication relates only to the circulars, directives, notices, orders and other documents issued by the Board and Management of the Service and not from the Head of Service. This Section also gives powers to the Board to periodically amend the HRPP.
4.5 It is also not correct that after the retirement of the Directors, the Executive Chairman employed the Four (4) contract Directors without advertisement. The correct and verifiable position is that Nine (9) Directors were retired out of which six (6) were retained asActing Coordinating Directors and Special Assistants. The Four (4) contract Directors mentioned in the mischievous publications are not all Nupes as alleged. Only two of them are from Niger State while one of the other two is from Kaduna and the other is from Bauchi. As contract staff, these Directors were engaged on the basis of the provisions of S.2.22 of HRPP for a period of 2 years which did not violate any rule. To further prove wrong the allegation of tribalism, the current Management team ismade up of the Executive Chairman, two members from the North East and North West respectively, another two from the South West and the last two from the South East against the highly biased one operated previously.
4.6 Therefore the present Management team with members from different Regions approved by the Board as well as the efforts made to return the core functions of the Service to the staff instead of allowing the consultants to continue to perform such functions are all signs of Transparency, Accountability, Integrity and adherence to Federal Character principle.
The new Management also retained 14 out of the 24 Directorate Contract Officers inherited from the immediate past administration which was obviously lopsided in favour of the geopolitical region of the former Chairman. Please note that out of the 24 Contract Directorate Staff engaged by the immediate past administration, 17 of them were from the same geopolitical zone with the former chairman, while out of the 13 Permanent Directorate Staff engaged recklessly and illegally by the same management, 8 of them were from former Chairman’sgeopolitical Zone.Also, out of the 14 Contract Directorate Staff retained, 7 of them are from the same geopolitical zone with the former chairman.
Following from the above, the important questions the Management wishes to ask those who have allowed themselves to be used for the wrong reasons are as follows; where were they:
When the above stated lopsided appointments took place in FIRS (2015 – 2019 )
When majority of the staff of FIRS were rendered redundant because their core tax functions were outsourced to mostly inexperienced consultants?
When the immediate past administration of the Service operated without a Board or properly constituted Management Team, and even elevated a contract staff to exalted positions of Special Adviser, Coordinating Director, and later as Acting Chairman?
When the immediate past administration failed to properly constitute a management team, and operated with only two Coordinating Directors (Biodun Aina and Cyriacus Ekechi) against the (6) allowed by the HRPP of the Service?
When very experienced staff of the Service’s operations, tax audit, and investigation departments were posted out to non – existing Training Schools?
The general public, the diligent tax compliant companies and other organisations are therefore advised to ignore and treat such publications as a mark of the entrenched yellow journalism in the country’s media practice. The Management, therefore, frowns at the reprehensible, ignominious, and unprofessional antics of a few misguided people who are being used to drag the noble journalism profession into disrepute by the unprincipled resort to sensationalism at the expense of hard facts.
Finally, the Management wishes to caution the media killjoys not to drag this reputable and professional Institution into uncharitable tribal politics. To be sure, the core mandate of the Service is to assess, collect and account for Tax Revenue in the country for the common good of its citizenry and the Nation at large.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has concluded arrangements to rally the world to assist Yemen battle high-level humanitarian crisis.
The event, scheduled for June 2 will be hosted virtually by the Kingdom in partnership with the United Nations.
A statement from the Saudi Arabia information center, said that a total of USD 2.3 billion is being sought to cover emergency requirements in Yemen across multiple humanitarian sectors, including medical, food and shelter assistance.
The statement said that the event is the first virtual event of its kind to be held on this scale, and will be attended by top Saudi Arabian and United Nations officials.
Among the high-level attendees will be His Royal Highness, Faisal Bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs: António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor – Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), and Mr. Mark, Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA).
Saudi Arabia said that it hopes to attract significant pledges to finance the 2020 Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan to bring relief to the estimated 24.3 million people in Yemen who are currently in acute need.
The United Nations has taken the unusual step of extending the implementation period of the existing plan from this June until the end of December 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Yemen has been the number one humanitarian priority for Saudi Arabia and KSrelief,” said Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSrelief. “COVID-19 has created new needs there, but is just the latest challenge in an already deteriorating situation. Yemen needs a lot of help, not least because of its weak health system. Saudi Arabia, through its strong partnership with the United Nations organizations, is determined to continue to help the Yemeni people, as it has consistently done since 2015.”
KSrelief provides impartial and independent assistance to Yemen and other countries.
To date, 60-70% of the Kingdom’s Yemen assistance has been channeled through the United Nations, always in line with the basic humanitarian principles of impartially and independence from economic, political, military or religious considerations.
The Kingdom’s ongoing assistance to Yemen is in line with its long history of commitment towards meeting the needs of the country and over the last 5 years, Saudi Arabia has provided nearly USD 17 billion in aid to Yemen, including humanitarian and development aid, support to the Central Bank of Yemen and comprehensive assistance to Yemenis living in the Kingdom.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia was the top donor country to Yemen, with contributions totaling USD 1.25 billion, or 31.1% of the total amount sought by the United Nations.
Since May of 2015, KSrelief and 88 humanitarian partners have implemented 474 projects across 12 humanitarian sectors, aid totaling USD 3 billion.
On COVID-19, Saudi Arabia has established a strategic plan to help countries and regions most in need. Yemen has one of the most fragile healthcare systems on the planet, and at the start of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health of Yemen received immediate support from the Kingdom through capacity-building, funding, and the provision of protective equipment and diagnostic supplies.
KSrelief has also worked with many international NGOs and non-UN partners to prevent the global spread of the pandemic.
Both KSrelief and the United Nations are hopeful that the June 2 event will result in pledges from donor countries to provide the urgent funding that is so crucial to alleviating the suffering of all Yemenis in need.
Facts have emerged indicating that from tomorrow, June 1, states will be fully saddled with managing and controlling of coronavirus.
Speaking to news men today, May 31 shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja, the chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, confirmed that the “ownership of the next stage (of coronavirus control) will be the responsibility of the states and the national supervision and coordination.”
He said that this is because the nation had gone into community transmission. “Where are the communities? The communities are in the states. So the ownership of the next stage will be the responsibility of the states, the local government, the traditional institutions, the religious leaders at the different levels of our communities because that is where the problem is.
“Like we have kept saying, 20 local governments out of 774 account for 60% of confirmed cases in Nigeria today. So where are these 20 local governments? They are in communities. It means we have reached the apex of community transmission and we must get the communities involved.
“So the issue of places of worships, the issue of schools, the issue of some certain businesses that were not opened hitherto are part of the packages that we have looked at and we’ve made the appropriate recommendations, but you know that Mr President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of that.
“In the framework, the states are subnationals. They have their own responsibilities too, so it is in the exercise of those responsibilities that they had meetings with those religious bodies and agreed on the guidelines and protocols on how they open up, but in the framework of the national response, we are taking that into consideration.”
On whether Nigeria is winning the fight against coronavirus, considering the rate of infections, Boss Mustapha, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), confirmed: “we are winning.
“As a matter of fact, you juxtapose the rate of cases with our fatality rate, which is basically about 3%, in other countries and other climes, it’s over 10%, but the most important thing that you will realise, when we started this exercise, we had only five testing stations, now we’ve ramped it up to 28, without correspondent increase in the number of deaths. We’ve gone beyond 60,000 now, that reflects in the number of confirmed cases.
“We’ve not reached the peak yet and I won’t want to fool Nigerians by telling them that we are out of the woods. No, we are not out of the woods. As we even open up and accommodate more enterprises, because we are trying to have a balance between livelihoods and life, there’s a likelihood of increase in transmission in cases.
“But that should not be a source of despair. Like we’ve always said, the experts will tell you over 80% will contact Coronavirus and will not even notice that they have and that accounts for what is happening at the isolation centres when you see young men saying they are not sick and asking why they are being kept there. They are asymptomatic, they don’t show symptoms and they will ware it out.
“There’s a 20% that is critical by virtue of certain factors, indices: age, underlying health conditions and vulnerability. That’s the percentage we are trying to protect and if we don’t do something in terms of management, in terms of putting in non-pharmaceutical intervention and guidelines to protect that 20%, about 5% of them can fall critically ill and eventually become fatalities in the numbers and that’s what we are trying to avoid.
“So everything we are emplacing is to ensure we protect this vulnerable 20%. 80% will ware it out so the figure isn’t a thing of major concern. Yesterday when I saw the 553 I called the governor of Lagos, I thought he was going to be under intense pressure, but surprisingly he said no, that it was expected because testing has been ramped up and as you ramp up your testing, it reveals what is happening in your community that prepares better for the kind of management care you will put in place.
“We are not worried about it as to whether the numbers will increase? They will increase.”
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Ex boyfriend of Zainab Abdullahi Yahaya, who recently married to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), retired Colone Hameed Ali has dragged her to court, demanding various sums of money running into millions for alleged deceit, mischievous and breach of trust.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency has announced a new pump price band of N121.50 to N123.50 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol.
