Author: The Gazelle News

Thirty five new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), The Gazelle News.com reports. The NCDC announced this on its verified twitter handle at 10.20pm noting that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria has risen to 442. Nineteen of the new cases are in Lagos, nine in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, five in Kano and two in Oyo. Lagos continues to be the epicentre as its confirmed cases rose to 251, more than all others added together, FCT has 67 Cases, Kano is now…

By Dare Ojelade and Blessing Williams, Lagos Three more deaths were recorded in Lagos on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 linked to Coronavirus infection, The Gazelle News.com reports. This was made known by the state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi on his verified twitter handle. The ages of the deceased are: 51, 52 and 63. According to Professor Abayomi, one of the deceased was a doctor who had contact with an infected person while the remaining two have no travel history or record of contact with any infected person. The number of coronavirus-induced deaths in the state has risen…

Kwara State Government on Wednesday discharged two of its four COVID-19 patients after they have both twice tested negative. They were discharged alongside five members of their families who were also at the state’s isolation centre and have equally twice tested negative, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital. AbdulRazaq reiterated that testing positive for the virus is not a crime as anyone could contract it. He warned against stigmatisation of COVID-19 patients or their families. “I’m glad to announce to you that we are discharging a total of seven persons from our isolation facility,” AbdulRazaq…

By Timothy Alao, Osogbo The State Government of Osun has restated its warning that private hospitals in the State are not allowed to admit and treat suspected or confirmed Coronavirus patients. The State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode who gave the warning via a public announcement on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 stated that non-adherence to the directive would attract prosecution by the State Government. Egbemode disclosed the State government has accredited health facilities with required personnel to treat suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients in the State. “The State Government of Osun has reiterated that private…

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 visited the scene of the fire incident that razed some shops in Dugbe market, Ibadan, on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020. Governor Makinde, who was accompanied by a number of government officials, told the victims and a crowd of sympathisers, who had converged on the location to possibly salvage remnants of their wares, that the state government would launch an emergency fund to address disasters and emergencies. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that Makinde commiserated with the…

By Dare Ojelade and Blessing Williams, Lagos Five more Coronavirus patients were discharged on Thursday, 16 April, 2020 after attaining full recovery from the virus infection, The Gazelle News.com reports. The state Governor and Incident Commander, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced this on Thursday on his verified twitter handle. According to the Governor, the patients were discharged from the Infectious Disease Centre, Yaba. They consist of three females and two males. Total number of discharged patients from Lagos has risen to 90. Below is the full tweet from the Lagos State Governor: Dear Lagosians, Today, 5 more patients; 3 females and…

By Dare Ojelade, Lagos The Executive Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area, Lagos, Southwest, Nigeria, Princess Samiat Abolanle Bada has disclosed that over 10,000 residents of the council have benefited from the distribution of Covid-19 food relief package provided by the council in particular and the Lagos state government in general, since the beginning of the Federal Government lockdown in the state on March 30th. The council chairman disclosed this at the council secretariat on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020 shortly before the commencement of distribution of food relief package to youths across the seven wards in the…

By Olusola Sanni If anyone was in doubt about the notion that the people remain the centre-piece of the Seyi Makinde’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in Oyo State, the method and manner the state government has adopted to respond to the emergency situation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic should clear such doubts. Covid-19 is a highly infectious disease and it has claimed many a life across the globe. There are 11 confirmed cases of the disease in Oyo State, with two victims being fully treated – including the governor himself. Just about the time that the disease broke out…

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have shared N634.72 billion to the Federal Government, states and local governments as revenue for April. The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), made this known while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the FAAC meeting held in Abuja. “The distributable statutory revenue for the month is N533.75 billion, which is less than the N534.91 billion that was shared for the month of March. “In addition, the sum of N35.55 billion is proposed for distribution under the SURE-P programme. “So, the total revenue distributable for the current month, including Value Added Tax (VAT) of N65.43…

By Dr.Muiz Banire, SAN (@MBanire) Ruling the airwaves of recent is the song of Fuji music maestro, Akande Abass Obesere, warning a terrorising masquerade to be careful of his movement as he was approaching the expressway where vehicular traffic is heavy and the masquerade might be involved in an accident. Shortly, the rhythm changes and a sense of righteous indignation pervades as a speeding car crushes the masquerade. It seems the atmosphere in Nigeria right now is succinctly captured by the music referred to above as our political leaders in the country seem to be unwary of the warnings from…

Following the fire outbreak at the Alawo, Dugbe Alawo market which resulted in the loss of goods worth millions of Naira, Youth and Sports Development Minister, Mr Sunday  Dare has expressed deep sympathy to the  traders who lost their wares in the inferno. According to Dare, “I sincerely sympathize with the traders whose shops were destroyed by the fire outbreak at the famous Dugbe Alawo Market. This incident coming on the heels of the fight against Covid-19 pandemic is  unfortunate and quite pathetic. My thought is with those whose shops were destroyed by this unfortunate fire incident. We pray that…

A 51-year-old medical doctor on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020 became the first health worker in Nigeria to die of COVID-19 after contracting the virus from a patient he was treating. The doctor, who died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, was rushed to the facility on Monday, 13 April, 2020 after attempting to manage a COVID-19 patient in a private hospital in Lagos. The Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, said the doctor was not a staff of the hospital but was rushed to the facility after he showed symptoms of the disease. “The doctor is…

Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, has said it intends granting soft loans to local transporters, whose businesses have taken a hit from the shutdown aimed at curtailing the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). State Governor Abdulrahman Abulrazaq explains, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, 14 April, 2020 that the shutdown is to flatten the curve of transmission of Coronavirus. He stated that the restrictive measure had seriously affected transport business in the state and among the likely beneficiaries of the loans are commercial motorcyclists, tricycle operators and cab drivers. “The loans will be paid in tricycles after the COVID crisis…

By Ayoola Ojo The gap between the secondary school education and the tertiary education in Nigeria seems so short that an SS3 student could become a higher institution student within a calendar year. With that, one start to wonder why many students in the higher institutions, especially ‘freshers’ (a term used for new students), are naive when it comes to certain issues relevant to their academic advancement. Many a time, one wonders if there would have been a better output on the side of the students if there had been some sort of orientation given to them as they…

Video of Dr Pantami: https://youtu.be/sYYk6rYBrko With the Covid-19 Lockdown in some states, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ibrahim Ali Pantami, has disclosed that the Federal Government (FG) has been providing necessary cash assistance, food items and other relief materials to poor Nigerians whose monthly top-up is less than N300. He said the government embarked on the palliatives-sharing exercise following the hardship citizens are facing as a result of the lockdown and restriction of movements in some states. Dr. Pantami made this known in a video obtained by PRNigeria, while fielding questions during an interview session. He said…

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has warned of tough consequences for members of the organized transport sector who continue to breach the existing restriction order by resorting to night travels – a development that has proven to be counter-productive as it undermines the tireless efforts of the Federal Government at curbing the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus. This warning is sequel to intelligence at the disposal of the Force showing that road transport workers, especially interstate operators, have continued to defy the lockdown order and cessation of movements as emplaced by the Federal Government as they…

The Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, has condemned the killing of a commercial bus driver in Aba, Abia State by an NSCDC operative. Gana has equally ordered a thorough investigation into the killing, and he revealed that the suspect had been arrested and handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution. The victim whose identity has yet to be known was said to have been shot by Officer of the Corps while enforcing lockdown order in the state on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020. The slain driver was said to have approached…

By Dare Ojelade and Blessing Williams, Lagos Lagos State announced the highest number of discharged Coronavirus patients for a single day as 16 patients were discharged on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020 after their recovery from the virus infection. The Gazelle News.com reports that the state Governor and Incident Commander, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced this on his verified twitter handle on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020. According to the Governor, a total of 14 males and two females were discharged on Wednesday. Among them were three foreigners: a Briton, one Chinese and a Polish citizen. This brings to 85 the total number…

Kwara State Government on Wednesday, 15 April, 2020, held a virtual state executive council meeting to drive home its call for social distancing at a time of global COVID-19 pandemic. The teleconference was attended by all members of the cabinet from their various locations, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq saying such non-physical interaction offered a glimpse into what would happen in the future. “We need to keep our eyes on the ball and not be distracted. Very shortly, we are having a committee to review the 2020 budget in the face of our current economic realities. We have to cut…