Fulani herders’ 7-day ultimatum: Ondo monarchs back Akeredolu’s order, tell Buhari to caution his aides

 

Reactions have continued to trail the 7-day ultimatum given to herdsmen to vacate forest reserves across Ondo State by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

The latest is from traditional rulers in the state who on Thursday threw their support behind the governor’s move for unregistered herders to vacate government forest reserves.

Briefing journalists in Akure, the state capital shortly after an emergency meeting, the monarchs called on President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate to the world that he is the father of all irrespective of ethnic affiliation.

The Olukare of Ikare, Oba Akadiri Momoh who spoke on behalf of the monarchs, also appealed to Buhari to advise his aides to always exercise restraints on issues that border on the prevailing insecurity in the country.

While frowning at what they described as a deliberate attempt by some persons to twist the governor‘s clear directive as regards the ultimatum, the monarchs said Fulanis like any other ethnic groups are free to live and conduct their legitimate businesses anywhere in the country including Ondo state.

- DAILY POST

FG further extends NIN-SIM linkage deadline to Feb 9

 

The federal government has again extended the deadline for subscribers to link their national identification number (NIN) with their SIM cards to February 9, 2021.

This was announced in a statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and Damian Udeh, ALTON publicity secretary, on Wednesday.

The federal government had earlier given telco subscribers a two-week timeline to update their SIM registration with a valid NIN.

The deadline was then extended to January 19, 2021, for subscribers with NIN to link it with their SIM cards and February 9, 2021, for those without NIN.

“ALTON can confirm to our members that we have received formal confirmation from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that President Muhammadu Buhari has graciously approved the extension of the deadline for subscribers with NIN to link it to their SIM registration data from January 19 to February 9,” the statement read.

“We thank the president for giving us more time to deliver on this all-important assignment of creating a credible national identity database for the country.

“To ensure that we utilize the extension period judiciously, we urge all telecom subscribers who have a NIN to link it to their SIM Cards through available channels as soon as possible.”

ALTON also advised subscribers without NIN to visit the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) website for a list of enrolment centres close to them.

The NCC said it has received 47.8 million subscribers have submitted their NINs for linkage with their SIM cards.

-THECABLE

Afe Babalola University records scientific breakthrough on COVID-19

 The Chemo-Genomics Research Institute of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, CRIA, in collaboration with the ABUAD Multi-system Hospital, AMSH, have gained new understanding about the reasons humans are more vulnerable to infections by the new variant of COVID-19, popularly known as N501Y SARS-CoV-2 mutant.

One of the reasons provided by the bio-medical scientists and researchers, led by Dr. Olaposi Omotuyi, is that the new variant is 80 times more effective at binding to human cells and is characterized by faster human-to-human transmission, more rapid progression of symptoms and death.

Since the country is not on total lockdown, the scientists and researchers advised that people should adhere to the laid down non-pharmacologic preventive procedures.

The Bio-medical scientists and Researchers at the two-sister institutions took advantage of the cutting-edge Bio-computing platform at the research institute to calculate and re-evaluate the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 surface (ACE2) for the wild type in comparison with the new variant.

One of the outstanding discoveries of the research efforts is the improved RBD binding with ACE2 following N501 mutation.

This scientific breakthrough becomes more important and germane bearing in mind the coming of the second wave of COVID-19 which boasts of more deaths and infection than the parent pandemic.

In the heart of this second wave is the change in structure to the genetic material of the parent virus SARS-CoV-2. Although quite a number of changes in structure have been in existence before now, of higher importance is the spike-glycoprotein N501Y change. The spike glycoprotein is responsible for recognizing and binding of human cells at the angiotensin-converting enzyme2 surface (ACE2); thus, making human beings more vulnerable to the infection.

Another critical insight gained in the study is the role of N501Ymutation in altering the interface water dynamics. It should be noted that interface water acts as a stabilizing force for protein-protein interaction through enhanced hydrophobic attractions. The free energy calculation showed that N501Y-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein RBD would bind ACE2 80-times more efficiently compared to the wild type.

According to Omotuyi, these findings should therefore serve as a wake-up call for enforcement of COVID-19 protocol by all institutions, stressing that at the level of individuals, personal protection must be enforced at all times.

-DAILY POST

New retirement age for teachers takes effect Jan. 1 – FG

 

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the new retirement age of 70 years for teachers and the new years of service of 40 years will take effect from Jan.1.

Adamu made this known at the 2020 Annual Ministerial briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

He, however, said that there would not be a uniform take-off date for all the other policies approved by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2020 World Teachers Day.

He said that effective dates for other policies would be announced subsequently after the submission of the report of the National Coordinating Committee.

Prior to the approval of the new retirement age and years of service by the president, the retirement age of teachers in the country was 60 years or 35 years in service.

The gesture was as a form of reward for teachers’ dedication to duty and also to attract more people to the profession.

Also, Adamu said the ministry had constituted a National Working Committee to work out modalities to ensure continuous learning of students across all institutions in the face of COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged ASUU’s strike.

He explained that the committee would work in collaboration with the United Nations Children Education Fund to ensure the continuous learning of students.

The minister added that a grant had been obtained from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to build a National Education Cloud to warehouse educational resource materials for teachers and learners at all levels of education in the country.

“Upon the inauguration of this facility, hopefully in the next six months, time and space will no longer be a hindrance to learning.

“All universities must prepare their workforce to operate under this environment,” he said.

On the government’s determination to increase access to tertiary education, he said the ministry had continued to allocate resources for scholarship awards to Nigerians both home and abroad.

” I must commend our donor partners for keeping faith with their promises in this regard.

“Especially, Morocco, the Russian Federation, Hungary, China, some Commonwealth countries, Romania and Egypt who have awarded a number of scholarships to Nigerian students to study in their countries.

“For 2020, a breakdown of the returns do fare are as follows: Morocco-100slots, Russia-97 slots, Hungary-50 slots, China-47 slots Romania 10 slots and Egypt -5 slots.

” If there are further returns from donor nations in the coming weeks, candidates will be notified accordingly,” he said.

Adamu also said that two federal polytechnics would be established in Borno and Benue in the 2021 fiscal year, adding that the two institutions would take off in October.

- PM NEWS

SBM poll: 60% of Nigerians unsure, unwilling to take COVID-19 vaccine

 

A new report by SBM Intelligence, Nigeria’s geopolitical intelligence platform, shows that 35.9 per cent of Nigerians are unwilling to take the COVID-19 vaccine, while 24.1 per cent are yet to decide whether or not to take the vaccine. 

According to the report, titled: ‘COVID in Nigeria– The second wave’, the survey was conducted across 36 states of the country and Abuja. 

The federal government had announced that it will distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the 36 states of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), before the end of January 2021. 

According to the survey, only 39.9 per cent of respondents said they will take a jab of the vaccine. 

Across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the north-east is the only region where a majority of respondents said they will take the vaccine. In other zones, most respondents were either unsure or opposed to taking the vaccine.

SBM said the unwillingness and little interest is due to mistrust issues and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

“Some respondents held that it (vaccine) is a religious war to contaminate the children of God with evil substances,” the report read. 

“Some believe that the vaccines are a tool to depopulate Nigeria, while others expressed concern about the effectiveness ratio and the side-effects that the vaccine might have. 

“Some other persons were not completely opposed to the vaccine, but were more concerned with the thoughts of being used as guinea pigs for drug trials.”

Also, 31.1 per cent of Nigerians surveyed did not believe that COVID-19 is real and are still unsure if the virus exists; however, a majority (68.8 per cent) believe it is is real.

SBM said this scepticism is tied to the belief that there is low death rate and the perception that COVID-19 mainly affects the rich, “a belief supported by cases of high profile infection”.

A majority of respondents at 68.8 per cent believe that COVID-19 is real, while 14.4 per cent are still unsure of the existence of the virus, 16.7 per cent say the virus is not real.

The report also showed that majority of Nigerians (63.3 per cent) are against a second lockdown; while 21.6 per cent are in support and 15.1 per cent are on the fence on this issue.

“The opposition is largely because of the economic and security impacts that accompanied the previous lockdown.”

SBM said if a second lockdown is imposed, the federal government would likely face severe resistance from Nigerians.

Regarding vaccine distribution in Nigeria, SBM said the distribution strategy does not appear to be grounded in any discernible methodology.

It advised the federal government to distribute the vaccine according to states with highest number of COVID-19 cases. 

The federal government had announced the release of N10 billion to support local production of COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recent report shows that Nigeria has 113,305 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 1,464 COVID-19 deaths; and 91,200 persons discharged.

- THECABLE

Another 14 Nigerians die of COVID-19, infections hit 114,691

 Nigeria’s COVID-19 death toll increased to 1,478 Wednesday, with new 14 deaths, the fifth successive day, since 16 January that the country recorded double digit fatalities from the virus.

Fifteen died on Sunday 17 January, 14 on the 18th and yet another 15 on 19th January.

According to the data supplied by the NCDC on its websites, the deaths on Wednesday came from eight states.

Lagos, Edo and Oyo recorded 3 deaths each.

Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Imo and Taraba recorded one death each.

The NCDC also announced 1,386 cases for Wednesday, more than the 1,301 of the previous day.

The national caseload is now 114,691 from 1,198,758 samples tested.

The number of discharged increased to 92,336, with active cases now 20,877.

According to the NCDC, 1,136 people were discharged on Wednesday. Out of the lot, 626 community recoveries happened in Lagos State.

However, Lagos is carrying the heaviest burden of new infections, with 476 cases reported.

Rivers was next with 163 and the FCT Abuja reported 116 cases.

Kaduna logged 114 cases, Oyo 68, Plateau 62.

Osun’s 55 new cases sent jitters to the state government, making it to impose another round of curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Government directed civil servants below grade level 12 to work from home effective from Jan. 25.

But teachers, health workers and other workers on essential services, irrespective of grade, were exempted from the directive.

The state also banned vigils and crusades until further notice.

Here is the breakdown of cases for 20 January:

Lagos-476
Rivers-163
FCT-116
Kaduna-114
Oyo-68
Plateau-62
Ogun-56
Imo-55
Osun-55
Edo-51
Anambra-50
Kwara-44
Kano-17
Ebonyi-14
Cross River-10
Delta-10
Jigawa-8
Bayelsa-6
Ekiti-6
Borno-2
Taraba-2
Zamfara-1

- PM NEWS

Allow Akeredolu fix security situation in his state – OPC New Era, tells Buhari

 

The Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) New Era has called on President Muhamadu Buhari to allow Governor Rotimi Akeredolu fix the security situation in his state.

OPC New Era made this disclosure while reacting to a statement credited to Mr. Garba Shehu Special Assistant to President Muhamadu Buhari on Media and Publicity.

DAILY POST recalls that Akeredolu had given an ultimatum to herdsmen to vacate Ondo forests. 

Shehu in his reaction however said that Akeredolu does not have the power to do so.

But, National Publicity Officer of OPC New Era, Comrade Adesina Akinpelu while reacting, hinted that the group is ready to mobilise all militant groups in the South Western States of the country in favour of Akeredolu.

Akinpelu who spoke with DAILY POST in Ibadan on Thursday condemned in totality the reactions of Buhari’s spokesman on the ultimatum given by Akeredolu to the unregistered herdsmen grazing on the soil of Ondo.

Akinpelu added that Yorubas both at home and in the diaspora should not allow the struggle of their leaders to be in vain.

He said, “Why is it that President Buhari is only responsive to issues that concern the Fulani more than other tribes in the country.”

Adesina disclosed that when the daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti was allegedly killed by the Fulani kidnappers, there was no tangible response from the Federal Government except a condolence letter sent to the family without any action to fish out the killers.

Adesina, however, disclosed that all militant groups in the Southwest will be mobilised to defend Akeredolu and the entire Yoruba speaking states.

Akinpelu hinted that it was obvious that the herdsmen have President Buhari as their patron.

“During the reign of the former governor of Oyo State, late Lam Adesina, Buhari rushed down to Oyo State when a crisis erupted between the Fulani and Yoruba people, and that was an indication that President Buhari maintained a bond with the Fulani herdsmen.

- DAILY POST