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COVID-19 Delta variant: NCDC warns Nigerians against traveling for Sallah

Published

3 years ago

July 14, 2021

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With growing fears of a third wave of COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has warned against trips during the 2021 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

NCDC Head of Risk Communications Division, Dr Yahya Disu, handed down the warning on Wednesday during Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast show.

Disu said the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic started in Nigeria because people travelled for Christmas last December. He, therefore, urged Nigerians to avoid unnecessary trips as Sallah celebrations hold next week.

Recall that experts had earlier warned of a fresh lockdown following the detection of the Delta COVID-19 variant in Nigeria. The experts warned that imposing a new lockdown would have devastating impacts on the economic.

The experts spoke against the background of a third wave of COVID-19 with the steady rise in positive cases in the last one week and the discovery of a new variant of the virus in Nigeria.

The deadly Delta variant is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a variant of concern, given its increased transmissibility.

READ BREAKING: NCDC warns Nigerians over ‘high risk’ of Ebola

The variant has been detected in over 90 countries and is expected to spread to more countries, according to the NCDC.

Speaking of the third wave, the NCDC official said, “Before now, we knew the third wave was going to be inevitable. Third wave is about having increase in the number of cases. We have had increase and decrease in number of cases before now. So, the third one is starting but what is important is what we are able to do to ensure that we are able to reduce it.”

He urged religious leaders to sensitise their followers on the need to strictly observe COVID-19 protocols in order to prevent rise in recorded infections.

Disu said, “More importantly, Sallah is coming when people just travel and that makes the risk higher in villages, in different parts of the country. So, we need to warn people: they don’t need to travel if it is not necessary, you can celebrate where you are. During Sallah, we go to mosque in large numbers but this is the time we need to be very cautious.

READ COVID-19: Nigeria records two deaths, 167 new cases on Friday

“We are working with the religious organisations. The second wave in Nigeria started because of Christmas, because people travelled for Christmas. So, we can avoid it, we can learn from it. A life that we lost is very important for every one of us, it could be anybody. So, it is not worth it to lose a life because we want to celebrate Sallah or Christmas.”

Nigeria has recorded over 168,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,100 associated deaths since the index case of the virus was reported in the country in March 2020, according to statistics by NCDC who continues to urge Nigerians to maintain social distancing and hygiene practices as well as use masks in public to prevent transmission of the lethal virus which has been identified to move through droplets.

Related Topics:COVID-19 Delta variant NCDC

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FG extends FEC meeting to Tuesday, says ‘far-reaching decisions will be made’

Published

6 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The Federal Government has extended the federal executive council (FEC) meeting to Tuesday.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and culture, announced the extension of the FEC meeting on Monday while speaking with State House correspondents.

The FEC meeting was held on Monday for the first time since March.

Idris said the FEC meeting will continue on Tuesday at 12pm.

“The council meeting will continue tomorrow, therefore, there will be no press briefing today,” the minister said.

“A lot of far-reaching decisions are being taken and the conclusions will be made available to you tomorrow. FEC will continue at 12 noon tomorrow.”

During the FEC meeting, President Bola Tinubu swore in two additional commissioners of the National Population Commission (NPC).

The two commissioners are Fasuwa Johnson from Ogun state, and Amidu Raheem from Osun state.

Earlier, the cabinet observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late Fabian Osuji, a former minister of education; and Ogbonnaya Onu, a former minister of science and technology.

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Electricity tariff hike: We’ll go back to drawing board, FG tells labour

Published

7 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The Federal Government has said it will go back to the drawing board with relevant stakeholders to address the issue of the electricity tariff hike.

Mamudah Mamman, permanent secretary at the federal ministry of power, spoke in Abuja on Monday while addressing members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Members of organised labour were out to picket offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), ministry of power and the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in Abuja over the tariff hike.

The NERC on April 3 approved an increase in the electricity tariff for elite customers.

Organised labour is calling for a reversal of the increase and a return to the negotiating table.

Mamman said members of the national assembly have told the ministry to do a wide consultation with relevant stakeholders on the matter.

The permanent secretary assured that the ministry would sit down next week with the leadership of the NLC to see how the issues could be resolved.

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“The national assembly had written the ministry to go and do a wide consultation with all the relevant stakeholders,” he said.

“What the ministry does is give policy directions. We realise that the policy direction given is pushing Nigerians to the corner, and we need to do things differently.

“What we need to do is for all of us to come to the table, look at it, and decide what is the best way. I don’t have the power to reverse the tariff, so we will go back to the drawing board with the regulator and NLC.

“I’m going to take your message to the relevant authority, and we will look at it and inform you.”

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Reverse electricity tariff — we won’t accept band classification, Ajaero tells NERC

Published

10 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) should reverse the electricity tariff.

Ajaero spoke on Monday when members of the labour body picketed the headquarters of the NERC in Abuja over the increase in electricity tariff.

The NERC on April 3 approved an increase in the electricity tariff for elite customers.

Ajaero said the protest was due to NERC’s unresponsiveness to the multiple letters sent by the NLC.

He added that the increase in tariff was arbitrary, noting that NERC did not consult relevant stakeholders before taking the decision.

The NLC president argued that Nigeria has 4,000 megawatts of electricity for over 200 million people, as against the global index of 1,000 megawatts for one million citizens.

“We are here on a peaceful protest having written so many letters to NERC that they cannot increase tariff without meeting with Nigerians, that the process of adjusting tariffs in every tariff methodology requires that they meet with all stakeholders, including labour, that we don’t know where this tarrif is coming from,” Ajaero said.

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“And that NERC is not oblivious to the fact that Nigeria is wallowing in power poverty, that while the whole world gave a global index of one million people for 1,000 megawatts, Nigeria has 4,000 megawatts for over 200 million people.

“What Nigeria is generating today is not enough for Lagos, and it is bad enough to say some Nigeria are better than others; some will get 20 hours, some will get two hours; even in South Africa, such has never happened.

“Use the same magic that you are using to give some Nigerians 20 hours to give everybody in Nigeria 20 hours. Nigerians are saying no to discriminatory power allocation.”

He noted that the Manbilla power plant in Plateau state can generate 3,600 megawatts of renewable hydropower but has remained underperforming 30 years after its inauguration.

Ajaero urged the federal government to put an end to all taxes that could further increase the burden on Nigerians.

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