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Tag: COVID-19 Pandemic

  • 14 things Buhari will do to salvage Nigeria after COVID-19 pandemic – Presidency

    14 things Buhari will do to salvage Nigeria after COVID-19 pandemic – Presidency

    The Presidency on Thursday released list of 14 critical actions President Muhammadu Buhari will do to salvage the nation after COVID-19.

    It said the president had already started doing some of the things

    According to Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said some of the actions of the president would certainly assuage some apprehensions.

    Below are the 14 checklists

    1. An economic team, headed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning has been set up to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

    2. Economic Sustainability Committee headed by the Vice President to define a post-COVID-19 economy for Nigeria.

    3. Task force set up on free movement of farm produce headed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    4. Plans afoot to tackle weak health systems and infrastructure through establishment of standard laboratories, intensive care units, and isolation centres in all states of the Federation. The health infrastructure will eventually be recalibrated for the good of the people, and in readiness for future emergencies.

    5. As long term measure, emphasis will be placed on integrating local content in proven researches in cure, and production of materials in the heath sector.

    6. A Fiscal Sustainability Plan to complement the suite of monetary and banking interventions recently announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    7. A mass agricultural programme to be put in place.

    8. Major rural road construction programme.

    9. Mass housing programme.

    10. Large scale installation of residential solar systems, utilizing mainly local materials.

    11. Expansion of the Social Investment Programme.

    12. The 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Budget 2020 assumptions and targets have already been revised.

    13. Time-sensitive expenditures are to be prioritized over less critical spending.

    14. Extant financial controls are to be strengthened to detect, eliminate and sanction instances of waste, funds misappropriation and corruption.

  • People might shun church services after COVID-19 pandemic – Sam Adeyemi

    People might shun church services after COVID-19 pandemic – Sam Adeyemi

    The senior pastor of the Daystar Christian Centre in Lagos, Sam Adeyemi, has said gathering members together for physical church services might prove difficult after the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The clegyman noted that over the couple of weeks members have adopted and embraced the online mode of worship from wherever they are.

    Adeyemi, who spoke during a monitored Instagram live interview, tagged: “Iforowero” with BBC News Yoruba said: “That’s an issue I have pondered upon severally because the church may not be the same again after this COVID-19 experience. As you can see, many people have been receiving messages via online broadcast from their homes. It’s no longer like before that they have to be physically present in churches,” he said.

    “Now that many have been used to worshiping God from the comfort of their rooms, will they go to church when COVID-19 is finally over? Many Christians may also feel relaxed on Sundays when they usually go to church.”

    Adeyemi also said the COVID-19 outbreak has afforded many Christians the opportunity to evaluate the extent to which their churches actually care about them.

    “Also, many Christians have start questioning the genuineness of their churches for them with little or no help coming their way during the pandemic period when hunger is holding sway,” he said.

    The cleric said the pandemic should teach church leaders and those occupying political offices that there is need to show humanity to one another if truly Nigeria hopes to grow.

    He also expressed displeasure over the devastating effect of the pandemic, saying he was pained that churches were closed.

    The cleric noted that everyone must bear with the situation and hold on for a while.

    Alluding to how a church in South Korea got affected by the outbreak of the virus, he said: “The church members were badly hit by this infectious disease and the pastor had to go about seeking for forgiveness.

    “Even if there is going to be social distancing in our churches, how many services are we going to hold? Looking at the differences between churches with big number of members, we have to be careful and remain calm because there is no vaccine yet… As a preacher, I travel all around. But I have remained indoor with my family.”

  • Afreximbank cancels 27th AGM over COVID-19 pandemic

    African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has cancelled its 27th Annual General Meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now to hold it by correspondence

    Its President Prof. Benedict Oramah said, in a statement, that the decision to hold the Shareholders’ meeting by correspondence was made after the consideration of available options to ensure that the bank complies with its governance requirements.

    He announced that the seminars’ component of the AGM, which were expected to be held from June 10 to 13, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, were cancelled in the light of global mobility restrictions and the need to ensure social distancing imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Our priority is to guarantee the well-being and comfort of our shareholders and partners which requires that we comply with health and safety protocols put in place by our host country,” he said.

    Oramah explained that these decisions, while difficult, were necessary and in line with the bank’s proactive efforts to combat the pandemic.

    “As a leading Pan-African institution, Afreximbank’s response strategy has been to lead by example in taking proactive and timely measures,” he said.

    “We remain fully dedicated to supporting efforts to mitigate the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African economies and its people. We will continue to be at the frontline with bold initiatives, forging global partnerships towards mitigating the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa,” the Afreximbank chief said.

    Afreximbank Annual Meetings are among the Bank’s most prominent events. They are sought-after keenly by banking industry professionals, trade and trade finance practitioners and other parties involved in economic development from across Africa and beyond.

    They are also attended by business and political leaders and have been ranked among the most important gatherings of economic decision-makers in Africa.

    Afreximbank’s next Annual General Meetings will take place in 2021.

  • COVID-19 lockdown: Africa loss $65.7b in one month – ECA

    COVID-19 lockdown: Africa loss $65.7b in one month – ECA

    A month of lockdown across Africa cost the continent about 2.5 percent of its annual GDP, equivalent to about 65.7 billion U.S. dollars per month, a newly published United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) report revealed on Sunday.

    The newly published report entitled “COVID-19: Lockdown Exit Strategies for Africa,” proposes African nations various COVID-19 exit strategies following the imposition of lockdowns that helped curtail the virus.

    At least 42 African countries applied partial or full lockdowns in their quest to curtail the pandemic.

    But it has had devastating economic consequences.

    The UNECA also estimated that the COVID-19 lockdown has wider external impact on Africa in terms of lower commodity prices and investment flows.

    “With the lockdowns came serious challenges for Africa’s economies, including a drop in demand for products and services; lack of operational cash flow; reduction of opportunities to meet new customers; businesses were closed; issues with changing business strategies and offering alternative products and services; a decline in worker production and productivity from working at home; logistics and shipping of products; and difficulties in obtaining supplies of raw materials essential for production,” the report read.

    The report, among other things, proposed seven exit strategies that provide sustainable, albeit reduced, economic activity.

    The strategies include improving testing, lockdown until preventive or curative medicines are developed, contact tracing and mass testing, immunity permits, gradual segmented reopening, adaptive triggering, as well as mitigation.

    Gradual segmented reopening may be needed in countries where containment has failed with further measures to suppress the spread of the disease being required where the virus is still spreading, the report indicated.

    “The spread of the virus is still accelerating in many African countries on average at 30 percent every week,” the report advised.

    According to the report, active learning and data collection can help policymakers ascertain risks across the breadth of policy unknowns as they consider recommendations to ease lockdowns and move towards a “new normal.”

    It further urged African nations to learn from the experiences of other regions and their experiments in reopening; and to use the “extra time” afforded by the lockdowns to rapidly put in place testing, treatment systems, preventive measures, and carefully design lockdown exit strategies in collaboration with communities and vulnerable groups.

    The ECA argued that one of the most sensitive issues facing policymakers is the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on food security.

    On Sunday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent surpassed 61,165.

    The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic reached 2,239.

  • Despite COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 still has lots to offer – Kemi Adetiba

    Despite COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 still has lots to offer – Kemi Adetiba

    Filmmaker and music director Kemi Adetiba who is best known for her movies Wedding Party and King of Boys has said she believes the year 2020 still holds many promises unlike most people in the world who have written off the year as a year of total waste with Coronavirus pandemic.

    Adetiba made her opinion known through her Twitter and Instagram handles a few days ago.

    She tweeted, “Saw a tweet where person wrote they had canceled their goals for 2020 and replaced them with simply “staying alive.” I think 2020 still has more to offer. My dad once said to me “What you lose on the stretch, you gain on the curve.” I pray there is more once we round this bend.”

    The award-winning movie director went on to put up a long epistle on her Instagram page talking about the same thing. She wrote;

    “I think 2020 still has more to offer. There is no pretending it is increasingly becoming harder and harder to remain positive in these peculiar times. It is very natural to want to simply throw your hands in the air and give permission for the year to throw you anywhere and anyhow it wills.

    “I know it seems unfair to be forced in the position where you have to choose between hunger or health for both yourself and your family, but alas, here we are and there is no running from it.”

    She sermonised that lamenting about the situation will not make it disappear, and advise we should give it whatever it takes to live our normal lives.

    “Blinking hard or “woe is me” laments will not make it disappear. But if this THING will not play fair, then neither will we. The only thing sure about LIFE is CHANGE. And as long as you have breath… There is always HOPE!!! No one would have predicted an invisible virus would come shut down the entire world for half the year. This is what you call “humbling!!” But as long as the world is still spinning, we have an obligation to keep pushing,” she added.

    She prophesied that when things open up it will be survival of the fittest and only those that spent time warming up, prepping, and evolving will gather the most nuts in the end.

    Kemi Adetiba is known for many things in the media and entertainment world, but her two films “Wedding Party” and “King of Boys” have been rather extraordinary.

    In 2018, King of Boys made history as the biggest ever opening week for a non-comedy Nollywood film before grossing over N245 million in box office worldwide.

  • May Day: Thank you for all that you do, Buhari appreciates workers’ diligence amidst COVID-19 pandemic

    May Day: Thank you for all that you do, Buhari appreciates workers’ diligence amidst COVID-19 pandemic

    President Muhammadu Buhari has appreciated Nigerian workers for the way they have conducted themselves notwithstanding the difficulties of this COVID-19 pandemic situation.

    Buhari sent his message of appreciation to the workers through a Zoom meeting of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Friday.

    The President who was represented by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator (Dr) Chris Ngige, extended his good wishes and solidarity to the workers as they marked the May Day celebration.

    “The President has shown his appreciation to you for the way you have conducted yourselves in spite of the deleterious effects of this COVID-19 situation. He has extended his gratitude to the Nigerian workers for the way you have fought this coronavirus,” Ngige said in a press release by his media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu.

    Reacting to fears of possible job losses as a result of COVID-19, the labour minister allayed the fears, saying government and social partners would look at the four-pillar policy responses, laid out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) “which are human-centred and built on global solidarity.”

    To ensure economic sustainability post-COVID-19, Ngige told the workers that a comprehensive Economic Sustainability Plan was being developed by the federal government.

    “The plan is being developed by Economic Sustainability Committee led by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and comprising of Minister of Finance, Industry, Budget and Planning, Central Bank Governor and others and a committee set up by the President, comprising of Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Communication and Digital Economy, Interior, Works and Housing, Health, Science and Technology, Labour and Employment and Education. We are saddled with the responsibility of producing a comprehensive policy for a Nigerian economy functioning with COVID-19,” Ngige said.

    He said talks were ongoing between the Presidential Economic Sustainability Committee and employers on job protection and even job creation at this time and progressively post COVID 19.

    He reiterated that employers would not be encouraged to disengage staff without prerequisite Social Dialogue and clearance from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    Ngige reassured that all relevant factors to the nation’s workforce would be identified, analysed and solidified to ensure job retention and continued realisation of decent work agenda.

    He stated that employers would not be encouraged to disengage staff without prerequisite Social Dialogue and clearance from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    Once more, Ngige praised the workers in the healthcare sector for being in the frontline of this war with the invisible enemy.

    He also expressed government appreciation to health workers umbrella unions (JOHESU) and for medical doctors, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), for their professionalism and support at this time of global health crisis.

    He said government has provided hazard allowances and life insurance for those who may lose their lives in the battle against COVID-19, as well as Employees Compensation for those who may lose suffer injuries and disabilities in the course of discharge of their duties.

    Ngige however called on employees in the science, technology, and research sector of the economy to put on their thinking caps and join their colleagues throughout the world and produce cure and/or vaccine for the COVID-19, for testing and other required processes and procedures.

    He said if Madagascar and Senegal had done it, we could also do something greater or key into their knowledge to mass produce for the Nigerian populace.

    He announced that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) has sent people to Madagascar and Senegal to see if they could adapt their methods to tackle COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria.

  • May Day: Atiku commends health workers leading battle against COVID-19 pandemic

    May Day: Atiku commends health workers leading battle against COVID-19 pandemic

    As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark Workers’ Day, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has commended health workers leading the battle to contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

    Workers’ Day is celebrated on May 1 every year.

    Abubakar, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said this year’s Workers Day was coming at a time when Nigeria was in the middle of a ravaging health pandemic.

    He said he believed it was more appropriate to use the opportunity to express utmost gratitude to health workers who had been leading the battle to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

    According to him, we cannot thank such workers enough.

    “Since December last year when the novel coronavirus reared its ugly head in China, it has expanded to nearly every corner of the world. Nigeria has not been spared of this scourge.

    “From our index case in February, the plague has spread to 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 1,728 confirmed cases and 51 deaths, according to information from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as at April 29.

    “The good news, however, is that thanks to our heroic healthcare workers, 307 persons were successfully treated and discharged.

    “One of those is my son, Mohammed. I remain eternally grateful to the medical personnel for their services.”

    Abubakar expressed optimism that after the pandemic, governments would see the need to increase spending on healthcare and human capital development.

    He said they should also work toward a better standard of living for the people and other topical issues being demanded by the Labour.

    Abubakar said no one ever envisaged that the global economy could afford to shut down for several weeks with heavy consequences on businesses – both public and private sector.

    “But even the greater casualties of the current lockdowns are the workers.”

    Abubakar said there were abundant reports about how companies and corporations were laying off staff and cutting wages.

    According to him, some state governments are finding it difficult to pay salary, while others are slashing workers’ salary on account of the COVID-19 situation.

    “It will be wrong of us as a society to say that the weakest of us should bear the pain of this affliction. The reverse should be the case.

    “It will not be asking for too much to urge the National Assembly to forbid any employer of Labour from penalising workers in the effect of the pandemic.

    “The grim reality of the situation that we are in today calls for greater understanding between government and Labour. It is, therefore, time that both entities see each other as partners in progress.

    “On the occasion of this year’s Workers Day, I join many across the world in solidarity with the Nigerian workers in particular who have been making great sacrifices to keep our frontiers firm.

    “I want to however take solace in the can-do Nigerian spirit. We shall not give up. We shall not give in. It will take more than Covid-19 and the consequential lockdown to knock us down.

    “It will not be easy, but standing united, we can rebuild our country because it is the place we call home,” he said.

  • Ngige to Nigerian workers: Your jobs are safe despite COVID-19 pandemic

    The Federal Government says it will work to ensure that there are no job losses arising from the extreme effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy.

    The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, said this on Thursday in his May Day message released by his media aide, Mr Emmanuel Nzomiwu.

    Ngige said that the Federal Government would look at the four-pillar plan of policy responses to the pandemic laid out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    He said that such policies were intended to be human-centred and built on global solidarity.

    He said that all relevant factors to the nation’s workforce would be identified, analysed and solidified to ensure job retention and continued realisation of decent work agenda.

    The minister said that the Federal Government would be guided by labour standards as benchmarks for social and employment protection at this time of vulnerabilities.

    He stated that the government would not encourage employers to disengage any member of their staff without the prerequisite social dialogue and clearance from the ministry.

    Ngige commended workers in the health sector for being in the frontline of ensuring that the raging pandemic was contained.

    “Over the years, May 1 has been a unique day in the world of work. It is a day dedicated to workers as partners in the socio-economic development of nations,” he said.

    The minister, however, said that the 2020 May Day celebration was different “because we are all taking refuge in our respective homes, staying off the streets in a bid to stay alive and beat an invisible enemy.

    “The COVID-19 outbreak has affected modes of work and the utilisation of teleworking is on the increase.

    “As you work from home, I urge you to do your best in that regard and to endeavour to demarcate your personal life from work,” he said.

    Ngige said that the Federal Government was not unmindful of the fact that businesses in both the private and public sectors had suffered.

    “Sustainability of the enterprise has become a subject of concern. The worries precipitated by the COVID-19 crisis are further compounded by worries of maintaining a source of livelihood.

    “In this regard, the government and social partners will have a look at the four-pillar plan of policy responses to COVID-19 crisis laid out by ILO.

    “These are intended to be human-centred and built on global solidarity and it will be in addition to the Federal Government evolving plan of action to sustain the economy in the context of current global crisis,” he said.

    He urged workers to imbibe the ILO laid out workers’ response options to COVID-19 which include efficient social dialogue at all levels.

    Others are mobilisation and allocation of human and financial resources without exacerbating the national debt crisis and promotion of solidarity and non-discrimination/stigmatisation of workers and sick persons among others.

  • U.S. State sues China over COVID-19 pandemic

    U.S. State sues China over COVID-19 pandemic

    The state of Missouri in America has become the first state to sue the Chinese government over the Coronavirus.

    The lawsuit seeks to hold the Chinese government officially responsible for “deceit, concealment and inaction”.

    The lawsuit, filed in federal court by the state’s top lawyer, alleges Chinese officials are “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians”.

    It added that the Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease.

    The lawsuit also accuses the Chinese government of making the pandemic worse by “hoarding” masks and other personal protective equipment.

    U.S. President Donald Trump, initially lavished praise on China and his counterpart Xi Jinping for the official response to the outbreak, which has since spread worldwide to infect more than 2.5 million people.

    But he and other senior U.S. officials have also referred to it as the “Chinese virus” and in recent days have ramped up their rhetoric.

    China is already facing similar lawsuits filed in U.S. courts on behalf of U.S. business owners.

    International law experts believe that efforts in U.S. courts to hold China liable for the virus would probably fail.

    A professor of international law at the University of Chicago, Tom Ginsburg a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity offers foreign governments broad protection from being sued in U.S. courts.

    In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China’s response was not under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, adding that it had provided updates on the outbreak to the United States since Jan. 3.

    “Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response at home in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation,” Geng told a daily briefing on Wednesday, speaking about Missouri’s move.

    “What the United States should do is refute and reject such abuse of litigation.”

    Trump initially downplayed the seriousness of the virus, which has killed more than 43,000 people in the United States, out of nearly 800,000 infections, by Tuesday.

  • Nigeria, other developing economies lost $100b to COVID-19 pandemic – IMF

    Nigeria, other developing economies lost $100b to COVID-19 pandemic – IMF

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria, emerging markets and other developing economies have lost over $100 billion in portfolio flow reversals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    IMF Managing Director, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, who stated this on Monday in a statement, said commodities-dependent countries have been further shocked by plummeting export prices, while tourism-dependent countries are experiencing a collapse of revenues including those relying on remittances for income support.

    The IMF boss described COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis like no other that requires global response like no others as well, insisting that it is more complex, with interlinked shocks to health and economies that have brought the way of life to an almost complete stop. She said the world is learning only gradually how to treat the novel virus, make containment most effective and restart economies.

    She said: “The outlook is dire, we expect global economic activity to decline on a scale we have not seen since the Great Depression. This year 170 countries will see income per capita go down—only months ago we were projecting 160 economies to register positive per capita income growth,” saying in many ways, there has been a ‘response like no other’ from the IMF’s membership. Governments all over the world have taken unprecedented action to fight the pandemic—to save lives, to protect their societies and economies. Fiscal measures so far have amounted to about $8 trillion and central banks have undertaken massive (in some cases, unlimited) liquidity injections, adding that the IMF has $1 trillion lending capacity at the service of its 189 member countries.

    She said the IMF, in recognizing the characteristics of this crisis, sought to maximize its capacity to provide financial resources quickly, especially for low-income members, saying, in this regard, “we have strengthened our arsenal and taken exceptional measures in just these two months, the Fund has doubled its emergency, rapid discussing capacity to meet expected demand of about $100 billion.”

    Ms. Georgieva said that 103 countries have approached IMF for emergency financing, saying the Executive Board will have considered about half of these requests by the end of the month. She said the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust has been reformed to “help 29 of our poorest and most vulnerable members—of which 23 are in Africa—through rapid debt-service relief, and we are working with donors to increase our debt-relief resources by $1.4 billion.” She praised the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, and China, for being able to provide “ immediate relief to our poorest members.”

    She said the Fund is seeking $17 billion in new loan resources to triple its concessional funding via the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust for the most vulnerable countries, commending Japan, France, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia for their commitments to provide $11.7 billion, representing “about 70 per cent of the resources needed towards this goal.”

    The IMF chief said among the measures already taken, is the suspension of official bilateral debt repayments for the poorest countries through end 2020, describing it as a ground-breaking accord among G20 countries. “This is worth about $12 billion to nations most in need,” she said, calling on private sector creditors to participate on comparable terms, a measure she said that could add a further $8 billion of relief.

    She said there was need for the IMF to think hard about where this crisis is headed and how it can be ready to help its member countries, “being mindful of both risks and opportunities,” pointing out that laying the foundations for a strong recovery, “our policy advice will need to adapt to evolving realities. We need to have a better understanding of the specific challenges, risks, and trade-offs facing every country as they gradually restart their economies.

    “In the new post-COVID-19 world, we simply cannot take social cohesion for granted. So we must support countries’ efforts in calibrating their social policies to reduce inequality, protect vulnerable people, and promote access to opportunities for all, This is a moment that tests our humanity. It must be met with solidarity. There is much uncertainty about the shape of our future. But we can also embrace this crisis as an opportunity to craft a different and better future together,” Georgieva said.