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Nigeria’s COVID-19 Infections Rise with 1,024 New Cases

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Nigeria, on Monday, reached another devastating milestone as 1,024 people tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as of Sunday night.

The new figure catapulted the country’s total cases to more than 100,000.

This is coming about 11 months after the country recorded its first infection in an Italian traveller on February 27, 2020.

Some experts had hoped that Nigeria and much of the African continent would be spared by the pandemic in its early stages but since the second wave began in early December, the disease has been spreading ruthlessly, setting new records after months of low numbers that led to a lax on guard to safety and weak enforcement of health protocols.

On Sunday, Nigeria reported from 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 1, 024 new cases pushing the total number of infections in the country to 100, 087.

One in every six persons (16 per cent) tested for COVID-19 in Nigeria in the past two weeks tested positive for the virus, indicating how far the virus has spread.

PREMIUM TIMES’ review of official data showed that Nigeria set a weekly record of reporting about 10, 000 cases in the past one week.

Deaths

The spike in infections is also leading to fatalities.

Eight people died from the disease on Sunday, taken the death toll to 1,358 in total. Eight people also died on Saturday.

Nigeria recorded one of its highest coronavirus-related deaths on Friday, with 12 people dying from the virus.

In the past 23 days, there have been 146 fatalities as a result of COVID-19 complications in Nigeria.

The government has blamed the increasing deaths on later referrals of COVID-19 patients to treatment centres.

The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday said caregivers are holding on to suspected cases for too long before presenting them for treatment.

But health experts believe the lowering of guard on safety and the weak enforcement of protocols especially in the country’s major airports in Abuja and Lagos could be responsible for the recent surge, warning that the situation could get worse if citizens keep violating safety protocols.

The federal government recently warned that a significant increase in COVID-19 infections in Nigeria appears imminent this January due to continued violation of safety protocols during the Christmas period.

Active cases in the country rose sharply from about 3,000 about a month ago to over 17,000 due to a rise in new infections.

Of the over 100,000 cases so far, 80,030 patients have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

Specifics

The 1,024 new cases were reported from 17 states: Lagos – 653, Plateau – 63, Benue – 48, Zamfara – 45, FCT – 42, Rivers – 27, Ondo – 26, Adamawa – 26, Kaduna – 22, Edo -18, Ogun – 16, Imo – 12, Kano – 9, Yobe – 6, Ekiti – 5, Jigawa – 4, Osun – 2.

Lagos led with 653 new cases on Sunday, more than half of the daily total. The commercial city is Nigeria’s coronavirus epicentre with a total of over 35,000 confirmed cases and about 252 deaths.

Mr Mamora warned Nigerians against complacency in containing the COVID-19 pandemic as the much-awaited vaccines may not arrive the country as soon as expected.

So far, Nigeria has conducted over a million COVID-19 tests.

Globally

The number of COVID-19 infections worldwide surpassed 90 million on Sunday morning, about a year since the highly infectious disease began spreading around the globe.

The grim milestone was reached as many countries commence coronavirus vaccination to get as much of its people vaccinated in record time.

COVID-19, the potentially dangerous pneumonia-like disease caused by the coronavirus and said to have emanated from a local Wuhan market to spread to over 200 countries, has claimed more than 1.9 million lives, according to data from worldometer.info.

Africa also on Sunday passed the milestone of three million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 72,000 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Africa, with more than 1.2 million reported cases, including 32,824 deaths, accounts for more than 30 per cent of the total for the continent of 54 countries and 1.3 billion people.

The high proportion of COVID-19 cases in South Africa could be because the country carries out more tests than many other African countries.

Nigeria is the ninth most affected African country after South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Libya, Kenya and Algeria.

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Breaking: Wike Plans to Attend Thursday’s PDP NEC Meeting

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By Eric Elezuo

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NECeeting on Thursday is not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party  state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

Political stakeholders have concluded that the outcome of Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan.

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Bribery, Corruption: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

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The All Progressives Congress ward in Ganduje, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The party ward legal adviser, Halliru Gwanzo, announced the suspension while addressing newsmen in Kano State on Monday.

Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje levelled by the Kano State Government as the reason for the suspension.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Chief Press Secretary to the APC National Chairman, Mr Edwin Olufo, failed as his mobile phone was unreachable.

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Akpabio Commits to Collaboration with Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno

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The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stated his commitment to working closely with Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Umo Eno to ensure the delivery of democratic benefits to the people of Akwa Ibom State.

Akpabio stated this in his country home, Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, while briefing his constituents on the journey so far as their representative in the red chamber.

He assured the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District of his commitment to their welfare in appreciation of their total support for him, President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election.

The Highpoint of the constituency briefing was the distribution of over 10,000 bags of rice and other essentials for his constituents from the wards, to the local governments.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, quoted Akpabio as saying, “I am here once again, to thank you for standing by me, our President and the party, before, during and even after last year’s elections. I have come to say thank you and also bring Renewed Hope to you all.

“As the President is doing his own, the Senate President is also doing his bit and being complemented by the state governor, Akwa Ibom would be the better for it. We have finished elections and politics, we are now into governance. The governor of the state must touch you, because he is the governor of all the people in the state irrespective of political affiliation.

” As I am touching you now from the political angle, I will also touch the state without any political party affiliation. Most of the projects we are putting in place would be used by people resident in the state. Relax, things are getting better.”

The former Governor of the state, assured his constituents that his current position as the Senate President would be used for the development of the state in collaboration with the President and the Akwa Ibom State Governor.

Hear him: This Senate President is not the one that would be fighting the state government. I will collaborate with , I will collaborate with , to make the state better for us all. We cannot be out of government for a long time. You have to go to a government that carries you along”

Akpabio promised to work for his constituents and Nigeria with all his strength, noting that, “as the President of the Senate, I am for the Southern region and the entire country. I may not come here regularly to tell you what I have been doing for you, but you will be feeling the impact on way or the other. Our unemployed youths would be gainfully employed. I will construct a mini stadium in all the local governments in the district, for our youths to develop their sporting potentials. ”

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