BIGDREAM

Residents of cities where restrictions are in place because of the coronavirus, would have closed-door Easter celebrations. Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu after a meeting at the presidential villa (Guardian) The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has reminded residents of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun that restrictions put in place by the federal and state governments concerning the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, will remain during the period of Easter. President Muhammadu Buhari   declared a stay-at-home order  in the aforementioned states as one in a raft of measures to curb the spread of the pandemic in Africa’s most populous nation. And as Christians the world over commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ this weekend and all through Monday, the police force says the ban on religious worship and large gatherings should still be adhered to in affected cities. “The Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has directed the Commissioners of Po...

Wike urges Christians in Rivers state to have Easter Church Services with their full congregation on Sunday, April 12, 2020. Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike asks Christians in Rivers state to have Easter Church Services with their full congregation on Sunday, April 12, 2020. (Twitter: @GovWike) Governor Nyesom Wike of River State and three other governors have relaxed the restriction order on religious gatherings in their state because of Easter celebration. In a statement on Thursday, Wike urged Muslims in the state to observe Jumaat prayers on Friday. He also encouraged all Christians in Rivers state to have Easter Church Services with their full congregation on Sunday, April 12, 2020. He added that other restrictions, including the closure of markets, night-clubs, cinemas, beer parlours, public burials, weddings, parks as well as the closure of air, land, and sea routes into the state, remained in force until further notice. He said,  “In the Spirit of Easter, th...

The fire was reported to have razed two key offices before it was put out. Nigeria's Accountant General Office on fire (Tribune) An official of the office of the Accountant General has said that the fire that gutted the office did not affect its data centre. The building also known as Treasury House went up in flames on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. The fire which affected the fourth and fifth floors of the building was reported to have razed two key offices before it was put out. But an official who spoke to Premium Times about the incident said, the fire didn’t touch the data centre which according to the official is fully backed up. The official said,  “The fire did not affect our data centre, which is actually fully backed up. We have been using a computer to process and back up information for the past 11 years.” Another official disclosed that the inferno started at a department where here federal, state and local government allocations payments are processed. “...

The power companies say they are doing all they can to make Nigerians happier during the pandemic. Illustrative photo of electricity workers (Pulse Kenya) Power distribution companies are backing a proposal by the national assembly and the federal government which states that Nigerians are due two months of free electricity for their troubles. The  Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED)  which oversees the  Distribution Companies (Discos)  says it is fashioning out modalities for the freebie which will be communicated to Nigerians in due course. “The electricity distribution companies recognise the challenging effects of the coronavirus on the economic and daily lives of our customers,”  says Executive Director of ANED,  Sunday Oduntan. “In fulfillment of our commitments to the nation, we hereby align ourselves with the efforts of the National Assembly and the Federal Executive to mitigate the hardship that is currently being bo...

The Ambassador of China to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, on Wednesday said the Chinese experts that arrived Nigeria came to reciprocate the gestures demonstrated by Nigeria during China’s trying times in fighting Covid-19 Chinese Doctors arrived in Nigeria to help in he fight against coronavirus. (Punch) Speaking with newsmen after the arrival of the team along with more medical equipment, the Ambassador acknowledged that the Nigerian government had shown China great solidarity when it struggled with the Coronavirus pandemic. He said the support coming from the Chinese government and its companies in Nigeria was China’s way of reciprocating. He noted that so far, it had cost China’s construction company, CCECC, about two million dollars to bring in the experts and the medical equipment. The ambassador said that he could not understand the rationale behind the attitude of some Nigerians who were against the coming of the experts. “I am struggling to understand the logic; for us,...

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 3,608 healthcare workers have benefited from its training on infection prevention and control of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in the country. A lab technician testing for coronavirus in Nigeria [NCDC] Its Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 on Wednesday in Abuja. Ihekweazu  said that as at April 5, the agency had trained a total of 3,608 health workers for the infection prevention and control in the country. “ NCDC has supported 20 per cent of those numbers, which are actually from the private sector, because many Nigerians received care from the private sector. “So, as we responded in the early days of the outbreak in Ogun and Lagos States, we actually focussed a lot on the private sector in addition to the healthcare facilities where we are managing these patients. “Another 22 per cent were on treatment centres and 27 pe...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has again cautioned members of the public against unsupported claims of fraudulent operators advertising cures and treatments of the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic. The Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu. [Daily Post] The Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, gave the caution in a statement signed by Mr Tony Orilade, Acting Spokesperson of the Commission on Wednesday in Abuja. Magu  said that there was need for patriotic Nigerians to be cautious of fake Covid-19  ” Do-it-yourself”  tests and shun any fraudulent charity offering guidelines on donations to the public. Magu particularly cautioned against use of unwanted mobile applications from untrusted sources and fake multilevel marketing schemes with mouth- watering returns online. The EFCC boss said that, “ The Federal Government has rolled out account details of accredited banks through which donations can be made. “Plea...