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Tag: PTF

  • Nigeria receives 300,000 additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

    Nigeria receives 300,000 additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

    Nigeria has received 300,000 additional doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, the government said on Monday.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, disclosed this at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    He noted that the vaccines were donated to the government by telecommunications giant – MTN and called on other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19 in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the first batch of 3,924,000 doses of the vaccines arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on March 2 via an Emirates airplane from India.

    Nigeria commenced the exercise three days later with the vaccination of four frontline healthcare workers in Abuja.

    At Monday’s briefing, Mustapha, who is also the PTF chairman, described the disclosure that some Nigerian scientists have produced at least two local COVID-19 vaccines which were awaiting clinical trials and certification as significant.

    According to him, it is a welcome development that will open a new vista in scientific breakthrough and will boost the morale and image of the medical industry in the country.

    The SGF, therefore, called on all relevant agencies to provide the required support and enabling environment for the smooth conduct of the remaining protocols for the certification of the local vaccines.

    He also hinted that a platform would be created during the week to show Nigerians every information relating to the management of vaccines and the pandemic.

  • SGF, ministers, PTF members receive COVID-19 vaccines today

    SGF, ministers, PTF members receive COVID-19 vaccines today

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Chairman Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha and members of the PTF will on Monday in Abuja receive doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

    The Director Press, Office of the SGF (OSGF), Mr. Willie Bassey, said this in a notice on Sunday.

    The development was coming on the heels of the duo of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who received their doses of the vaccine, live, on Saturday at the Presidential Villa.

    The SGF and the PTF members would received theirs on Monday after it got a clearance from the Executive Director National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib.

    Bassey said that the vaccination would be held at the OSGF during the weekly live joint national briefing of the taskforce.

    This means that the PTF regular members, including the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed; Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmood; Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora; Director General, Nigeria Centre Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu; and the National Incident Manager (NIM) PTF, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad among others were expected to join Mustapha to receive jabs of the vaccines that first arrived in the country last Tuesday.

    The Nigerian Government began the vaccine roll out at the National Hospital, Abuja last Friday with frontine health workers and support staff.

  • No COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians below 18 years – PTF

    No COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians below 18 years – PTF

    The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has said that Nigerians under the age of 18 years will not receive the COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

    The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, said that the Federal Government planned to cover 70 per cent of Nigerians within two years.

    Mamora warned that private organisations were not permitted to procure, distribute and administer the coronavirus vaccines.

    To ensure a smooth management of the four million vaccines arriving on Tuesday, Mamora said the PTF had approved the TEACH strategy and the electronic management immunisation system.

    He said that the strategy called TEACH approach harnesses all the benefits of traditional, electronic, assisted and concomitant house-to-house registration to optimise the use of innovative technology.

    Mamora said that the TEACH approach entails traditional method of vaccinating target populations using desk review of available data sources, identifying the vaccination sites and roll out.

    He described the strategy as innovative to ensure a smooth rollout so that no one was left behind.

    Mamora warned against private importation of vaccines and emphasised that only the National Primary Health Care Development Agency would import and manage vaccines until further notice.

  • COVID-19: Defiant Yahaya Bello threatens to sue Buhari’s PTF, NCDC for de-marketing Kogi, scaring away investors

    COVID-19: Defiant Yahaya Bello threatens to sue Buhari’s PTF, NCDC for de-marketing Kogi, scaring away investors

    The Kogi State Government has threatened to sue the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Presidential Task Force, PTF on COVID-19 for declaring the state high risk COVID-19 state.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 had on Monday declared Kogi a high-risk state for refusing to acknowledge the existence of the disease.

    The PTF also said that the Kogi government had failed to report testing, lacked isolation centers and therefore warned Nigerians to be weary of visiting the state.

    TNG reports that the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has not hidden his disbelieve in the pandemic since in broke out in Nigeria. The governor recently in a viral video said COVID-19 vaccine is a killer.

    However, in a swift reaction, Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi Commissioner for Information and Communication declared the intention of the state government to sue PTF-COVID-19 in Lokoja on Wednesday over what he described as an attempt to de-market the state and inflict the citizens with fear.

    The State Government accused PTF-COVID-19 of failing in an earlier effort to import Covid-19 into Kogi and as such, has now resorted into creating panic.

    Fanwo said the claim by NCDC and the Task Force was directed at de-marketing the state by scaring investors away and ultimately, crippling Kogi economy.

    “We very much believe their intent was to ensure in­vestors are scared from com­ing to the state. Despite their unreliable figures, Kogi emerged the in­vestment destination of Nigeria in the last quarter of 2020.

    “They felt embarrassed and the best way to hit back is to create a picture of health crisis in the state.”

    On efforts being made by the state government to fight the disease, Fanwo claimed Kogi was the first to procure thousands of face masks which it distributed free of charge to residents of the state.

    He also claimed Kogi State had done more sensitisation on the disease than other states in the country.

    “We were the first state to procure face masks in thou­sands and distribute to all the LGAs. We were the first state to set up a Squadron Team to combat the spread of the pandemic. We set up isolation centres with state-of-the-art equipment.

  • COVID-19: PTF declares Yahaya Bello’s Kogi high risk state, warns Nigerians not to visit

    COVID-19: PTF declares Yahaya Bello’s Kogi high risk state, warns Nigerians not to visit

    The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has declared Kogi a high-risk state for refusing to acknowledge the existence of the disease.

    The PTF also said that the Kogi government had failed to report testing, lacked isolation centers and therefore warned Nigerians to be weary of visiting the state.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has not hidden his disbelieve in the pandemic since in broke out in Nigeria. The governor recently in a viral video said COVID-19 vaccine is a killer.

    It said having analysed the pandemic in the country, 22 high burdened Local Government Areas within 13 states in the country had been identified.

    The National Incident Manager (NIM) of the PTF COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad, said this on Monday in Abuja, during the PTF briefing on COVID-19.

    Muhammad said: “In addition to these, we have states where data is not coming forth. If we don’t test, your data will not be analysed and if your data is not analysed, we won’t know the level of the pandemic in your state.

    “Notable among the states are Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara and Kebbi and of course Kogi that has not been reporting at all.

    “States that are not testing are probably at much more higher risk than the states that are currently known as high burdened states.

    “A state that is not testing at all is an absolute high risk for Nigerians to visit because, there is no testing facility and even if you fall sick, there is no isolation center and they don’t even acknowledge that the disease exists. So for that reason, we put that state at the top of high risk states.”

    According to Mohammed, the 22 high burdened local government areas within 13 states in the country, mostly in the cities of the state capitals contributed over 95 per cent of new cases recorded in the last six weeks.

    He listed the states and local governments as Nkanu West (Enugu); Abuja Municipal (FCT); Gwagwalada FCT; Gombe (Gombe); Chikun (Kaduna); Kaduna North; Kaduna South; Nassarawa (Kano); Katsina (Katsina); Ilorin South (Kwara); Ilorin West (Kwara); Eti-Osa (Lagos); Ikeja (Lagos); Kosofe (Lagos); Lagos Mainland (Lagos); Keffi (Nasarawa); (Lafia) Nasarawa; Ibadan North (Oyo); Jos North (Plateau); Jos South (Plateau); Port-Harcourt (Rivers); and Wamako (Sokoto).

    He said the PTF was working currently to provide support to various states through their task forces towards contextualising and implementing the regulation signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “As mentioned earlier, the regulation covers places of worship, public transport, banks, workplaces, sports and so on and so forth,” he said.

    The notable features of the regulations include “Restrictions on gatherings, mandatory wearing of face masks in public and above all the powers of prosecution by law enforcement agencies.

    “We expect governments, institutions, owners of private buildings and other regulators to enforce these regulations. For example, putting a notice of no mask no entry or no mask no service to enlighten users of their services.

    “Pertinent strategies will be adopted and they will include mobile courts on strategic locations such as markets, motor parks and it is expected that every law enforcement agency will monitor complaints or their staff within which they supervise.

    “We are providing advisory to the states to develop community engagement strategy and risk communication strategies to sensitise the public on compliance to these regulations and to promote behavioural changes.

    “Last week, we started with the FCT, where we had a very fruitful meeting with the Minister and the stakeholders of the FCT. We are currently developing the implementation plan and the timeline for which the FCT Taskforce will commence operations all over the FCT,” he said.

  • COVID-19: Market authorities must run temperature checks before transacting business-PTF

    COVID-19: Market authorities must run temperature checks before transacting business-PTF

    The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has charged market authorities to mandate temperature checks before buyers and sellers transact businesses at the various markets scattered all over the country.

    PTF National Incident Manager, Mukhtar Muhammed, revealed this on Friday while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.

    He said market leaders must take responsibility and ensure traders and buyers comply with COVID-19 protocols including the use of face masks, social distancing and washing of hands at market places.

    Muhammed said, “We want economic activities to continue but this has to be in a regulated fashion where there won’t be increased risk for people transacting their businesses.

    “We would want to see a market where before you enter the market, there is somebody stationed there to measure your body temperature. And if your temperature is above 38 degrees, you will be turned back and advised to seek assistance or linked directly to where you will have a test done. If your temperature is negative, then, they will also ensure that you have a face mask which is actually the first step – if you don’t have a face mask, you won’t be allowed to come near the gate of the market.

    “We also envision to see where the market authorities themselves become responsible and ensure that all these measures are put in place and people that are not complying are quickly refuted or taken out of the market place.

    “We also want to see the law enforcement agencies working side by side with the necessary stakeholders –the association of the market regulators to ensure that these protocols are complied with. Not only the markets but all public places, the supermarkets, parks, event centres and so on and so forth.”

     

  • PTF: Another Lockdown? Never!, By Michael West

    PTF: Another Lockdown? Never!, By Michael West

     

    It appears this government may likely be the undertaker of deeply polarised, highly ethnicised and economically impoverished country called Nigeria. The misgovernance of this clueless, visionless and inept leadership should be called to order before they destroy the feeble fabrics of pseudo-unity that keeps Nigeria trudging on the path of nationhood.

    How can the PTF dare to threaten Nigerians with another possible lockdown when government’s pronouncements and actions actually promote violation of the Covid protocols and rules it put in place? No reasonable government will turn deaf ears to appeals from well meaning individuals and organisations that the NIN forced registration where multitude of people cluster on daily basis to beat the deadline should be suspended till further notice.

    Government imposed distancing at worship centres, schools and some public places like banks but allow Nigerians in their millions to struggle their way through at NIN registration centres. They prepare grounds for increased infection thereby. It is sheer insensitivity and wickedness! Nigerians must firmly and frontally resist any attempt to impose any lockdown.

    The irony of it is that these bunch of confused people masquerading as leaders don’t buy their own foods. They live big at the expense of tax payers. Who will feed the already pauperised Nigerians and their children if there’s another lockdown?

    This is the only country around the globe where increased tariffs in electricity and fuel price hike welcomed its people as they returned from months of lockdown.

    We should let them know that we will not tolerate those irrational decisions any further. Government is about the security and welfare of the people and not to subject the citizens to indignity and economic servitude perpetually. Those in authority should learn to feel the pulse of the man on the street before taking some serious decisions. Covid is real, but we still have our lives to live.

    Warning: There’s a limit to how long school children can use nose masks. It is not medically approved to be used by children at all except for their moments in highly infectious environments. But since we enjoy copy and paste approach to most of our situations, please allow them to breathe when they feel like. Their lungs are not strong enough for long use of masks. Please don’t kill our children to satisfy your foreign masters.

    – Michael West

  • PDP demands dissolution of Buhari’s PTF, tags it incompetent to tackle Covid-19 pandemic

    PDP demands dissolution of Buhari’s PTF, tags it incompetent to tackle Covid-19 pandemic

    The Peoples Democratic Party has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to dissolve the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 over alleged incompetence.

    In a statement signed on Wednesday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PTF which was inaugurated in March 2020 has not demonstrated any capacity in handling the pandemic beyond the announcement of infections and associated fatalities.

    The statement was titled, ‘COVID-19 Second Wave: PDP Laments FG’s Lack of Commitment…Demands Special Department To Tackle Pandemic’.

    It partly read, “More distressing is that the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has not demonstrated any capacity beyond mere announcement of figures of infected persons, deaths, recoveries, discharges and issues of local protocols rather than engaging in epidemiology, researches and production of equipment, drugs, therapeutics and other medical palliatives that can help stave off the impact of the global pandemic.

    “On account of this, the PDP restates our demands for the dissolution of the PTF and in its place allow a convergence of experts in a special department under the purview of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control to professionally tackle the pandemic.”

    The President had established the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on March 9, 2020, to coordinate and oversee the government’s efforts to contain the spread and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

    The task force which is chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has ministers of health, aviation, education, humanitarian affairs and disaster management, amongst others as members.

    Details soon…

  • BREAKING: FG to review Jan. 18 school resumption date amidst rising Covid-19 cases

    BREAKING: FG to review Jan. 18 school resumption date amidst rising Covid-19 cases

    Worried about the rising caseloads of Covid-19 in Nigeria, the federal government disclosed that it is considering shifting the January 18th resumption date for schools.

    In December, the presidential task force on COVID-19 had asked schools in the country to remain closed until January 18, 2021.

    But at a briefing on Monday, Adamu Adamu, minister of education, said there are concerns about the scheduled date.

    “It (January 18th date of school reopening) is not sacrosanct. When we decided on that date it was just a target towards what we were working on,” he said.

    “Of course, we are keeping it in view and looking at what is happening in society, and then it is supposed to be subject to constant review. Even today at the PTF meeting we looked at the rising figures and thought about if we should probably take another look at it.

    “On January 18th resumption, we are reviewing it, we are going to review it… tomorrow the Ministry is going to take it up.”

    Nigeria crossed the 100,000 marks of COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

  • VIDEO: VIPs, Government officials who flout COVID-19 travel protocols won’t escape sanctions – PTF

    VIDEO: VIPs, Government officials who flout COVID-19 travel protocols won’t escape sanctions – PTF

    The Federal Government has said there will be repercussions for Very Important Personalities (VIPs) and government officials who flout travel protocols.

    In a video posted by the Ministry of Information and Culture on Wednesday via Twitter, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, vowed to clamp down on officials for failing to obey travel protocols including undergoing compulsory COVID-19 tests after returning into the country.

    “We want to change people’s behaviour. We’ve shown that we are going to do it. We have done it and we will continue to do it every week until things change. It is not like we want to punish people but if you continue to put our country at risk, we will take action,” he said.

    “Next week, we will publish another 100, subsequent weeks, we will continue to publish until we see an improvement in terms of the compliance. So, whether you are a VIP, whether you are a government official, whether you are in a leadership position, if you do not follow the travel protocols, there will be repercussions.

    “We do not publish names because the essence of doing the entire exercise is to force people to comply with our protocols.”

    Sani’s remarks comes four days after the Federal Government released the passport numbers of 100 travellers who failed to undergo COVID-19 tests after returning into the country.

    It placed a travel restriction on the passport holders for six months from January 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021.