Nedu Echianu's Blog

Following the outbreak of Coronavirus in Nigeria, the Ogun state government has on Friday quarantined twenty-eight people believed to have come in contact with the Italian man who was tested positive of the virus. The state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, disclosed that 28 people who had contact with the Italian victim of the disease have been identified and quarantined. The state also has shutdown a firm in Ewekoro. The 44-year-old Italian victim is said to be a consultant to the Lafarge, Ewekoro factory. Recall that the state government had reported that the victim of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lagos had earlier visited the state. The Italian man was said to have fell ill after he visited Ogun State for a business trip from Italy. Vanguard

Nigeria on Friday confirmed the first case of Coronavirus, code-named COVID-19, by the World Health Organisation, in the country. The case is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, on February 25, 2020. He was confirmed by the virology laboratory at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the laboratory network at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. Here are tips from the WHO on how to protect yourself and others against the virus: Wash your hands frequently. Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand. Rub or wash them with soap and water. Maintain social distancing Maintain at least one metre (three feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the dise

The Ministry of Health in Lagos State has confirmed its first case of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID - 19), incidentally the first in Nigeria and in West Africa since the outbreak in China in January 2020. This was contained in a statement released Friday morning by the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi. It is the second confirmed case in Africa following one recently recorded in Algeria in North Africa. The novel virus is fast spreading, having been reported in over 20 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and lately in Africa. Like the case confirmed in Algeria, the victim, an Italian traveller, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday from Milan on a business trip. The victim used the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos. The victim whose name was not identified is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos. The Lagos State Government said it has reported it to the Federal Ministry of Health. The statement from the gove

The Award recipient surrounded by LEADS Africa members Chief Daniel Chimezie Okeke, has been conferred with the LEADS Africa's Patriotic Personality Award of Excellence in recognition of his exemplary commitment to corporate business investments, employment creations, local content and economic development in Africa. Similarly, he also received a Corporate Mandate Award on behalf of Management and Staff of Swiss Spirit Hotels/ Express Concern Limited for their corporate commitment to delivering on the mandate of the firm towards Africa's Quest for development. In his presentation, the leader of the delegation said that from information made available to them by a Special Envoy of Enquiry that visited Nigeria few months ago, it was revealed that the recipient, who is a holder of the prestigious traditional Chieftaincy title of ' _Omereoha 1 of Ututu'_ has done well in establishing business institutions that create jobs, engaged in community development and char

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday sentenced a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party. Olisa Metuh, to seven years imprisonment on corruption charges regarding his activities preceding the 2015 presidential election which his party lost. Justice Okon Abang delivering judgment at the proceedings which lasted over six hours convicted Metuh on all the seven counts, including the fraudulent receipt of N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014 and use of the money for political activities of the PDP and for his personal purposes. The court also convicted Metuh for transacting with a cash sum of $2m without going through a financial institution. The judge agreed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission successfully proved that the transaction violated the anti -money laundering law which pegs the maximum cash transaction an individual undertake outside a financial institution at N5m . He imposed sentenced Me

The Senate says the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration has been violating some critical provisions of the 1999 constitution as ammended by his failure to reconstitute the board of the Federal Character Commission FCC.  The Commission which is meant to monitor and ensure equitable appointment and employment of Nigerians from the thirty six states of the federation, into the public service, is yet to be reconstituted since 2018 when the tenure of the previous board expired.  Moving a motion on the floor of the red chamber, minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe explained there is no provision in the FCC Act for the position of sole administrator or acting chairman to run the affairs of the commission as is the case at the moment.  Coming under order 52 of the Senate rules, Abaribe while citing Section 3(1) of the Federal Character Act, said that “the Chairman and members of the Commission shall hold office for a period of five years in the first instance and for a furt

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – ousted by the military in 2011 – has died in Cairo at the age of 91. Mubarak spent three decades in office before a popular uprising swept Egypt. He was found guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolution. That conviction was overturned and was freed in March 2017. His death was confirmed by Egyptian state news on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Al-Watan website reported that he died at a military hospital. Mubarak underwent surgery in late January and was photographed with his grandson as he recovered. BBC

The Supreme Court has fixed Wednesday for the hearing of the All Progressives Congress’ application for a review of its February 13, 2020 judgment which overturned its victory in the last governorship election in Bayelsa State. It was learnt on Sunday that as of Friday, the parties to the case had been served with the notice for the scheduled Wednesday's hearing. The disputed apex court ’s judgment was delivered barely 24 hours to the inauguration of the party ’s governorship candidate, David Lyon, and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi -Eremienyo, scheduled to hold on February 14. The five -man panel of the court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili disqualified Degi -Eremienyo's candidacy and ruled that the disqualification had rendered the joint ticket held by him and the governorship candidate a nullity.

Tyson Fury produced the most destructive performance of his boxing life to end Deontay Wilder's five-year reign as WBC heavyweight world champion in seven thrilling rounds of their Las Vegas rematch. The Briton, 31, pummelled his rival in a way few could have imagined following their 2018 draw, flooring him in the third and fifth rounds while constantly backing the most-feared puncher in the division up in a way no-one has done before. A jab and right hand - the combination Wilder has wiped men out with repeatedly - sent the American down in the third, stunning the MGM Grand Arena. Wilder, who was making his 11th defence of his title, fell again before the round was out - this time a slip - and was ragged under the pressure, before a right and left hand to the body sent the 34-year-old down in the fifth. Fury delivered everything he had promised, transitioning from his hit-and-move style to overpower, outwork and bully his previously undefeated rival until the towel cam

We have followed with keen interest and empathy, the quagmire of hundreds of thousands of African students in China, especially those in Wuhan, have hitherto been facing in the past weeks. A prominent proportion of them are studying either in University of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Central China University, and others withing Wuhan (the epicentre of the global outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus). While expressing our genuine solidarity to the peoples of China at this difficult time that presents a historic litmus-test on their healthcare capacity, amidst socioeconomic challenges, we must also identify the best decisive and proactive step Africa must take. Whereas some nationals wish to be evacuated, others seem reluctant and countries like Ghana and Kenya, already taking pragmatic steps at bringing home their students/nationals after having facilitated medical and humanitarian relief for them. The question is, what must Africa do in concert, put

The Centre for Igbo Arts and Culture CIAC says 43 percent of the 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered, adding that every two weeks, a language disappears, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage.  A statement signed by Chairman of CIAC, Kanayo Okoye lamented that 40 percent of the global population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand. He added that China has been able to grow economically because they decided to adopt their indegenous language as tools of instruction in their schools from the early stage of their children's education.  As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2020 international mother language day which holds on February 21 every year, the CIAC boss says the time has come for the Federal government to mandate that every Nigerian Child is taught at least one indigenous language from kindargarten to university.  Okoye said the English language has been used in schools since Nig

The Senate on Thursday began moves to establish an agency that would see to the rehabilitation, deradicalisation and integration of repentant insurgents in the country. A bill, sponsored by Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe East senatorial district, was read for the first time on the floor of the Senate Thursday. Already a subject of fierce push back, the bill offers further concession to Boko Haram militants who choose to cease fire. Last month, the Nigerian military said no fewer than 608 repentant Boko Haram insurgents were undergoing the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme under its Operation Safe Corridor in Malam-Sidi, Gombe State. Clients, the military euphemism for the repentant insurgents, were said to have been exposed to formal literacy classes, skills acquisition and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) as well as drug and psycho-therapists during their training. A group of Borno elders, led by ex-governor Kashim Shettima, last year, had frown

An Assistant Director attached to the State House, Abuja, Laetitia Dagan, has been killed by yet -to -be identified assailants. Dagan was said to have been killed in her apartment in Galadimawa, Abuja, on Monday shortly after she returned from work. The 47 - year -old Plateau State indigene was said to have left her office in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, around 8pm while the incident happened around 11 pm. She was said to be a participant in an ongoing training for civil servants holding at the Manhattan Event Centre, Uke, Nasarawa State. Some of her colleagues were reported as saying that the assailants set Dagan's apartment on fire probably after killing her. “The assailants were so cruel. They tied her and set her with her mattress on fire. “She was just promoted to the position of assistant director last year. She was always full of smile,” one of her colleagues said. Investigating the case, the police are working on a clue on an item suspected to have been mistake

Lagos State has recorded a case of the Lassa Hemorrhagic fever which has been reported to be raging in over 19 states in the country. The State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed that the patient is currently in isolation at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Abayomi, while noting that the situation is under control, called on residents to be calm and not panic. He assured the residents that state government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, was doing everything possible to control the spread of the disease in the state. He said, “The Ministry of Health through Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health Directorate is currently carrying out' contact tracing ’ to determine those who may have been infected in line with international standards while we beef up our other surveillance strategies.” The Commissioner stressed the need for members of the public to e

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday tasked top security officials to beef up the security measures at the National Assembly to avert any threat. Lawan, who is also the chairman of the National Assembly, disclosed that he has received report of security threat to the Assembly. Lawan made this disclosure in his opening remarks at an emergency meeting the leadership of the Senate had with top security officials. "Personally I had a report from the DSS that we had a security threat. Many unknown and uninvited people came or are coming into the National Assembly complex and we felt we shouldn't take this lightly. "From today we have to find temporary solution to support the security arrangement here. We will find a more permanent solution by the time the entire environment is remodeled," Lawan said. In attendance were the Director General of the Department of Security Service (DSS) and representatives of the Defence, Police, Civil Defence, Fire S

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the arrest of a former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu issued the bench warrant against him for his continued failure to appear in court in respect of corruption charges instituted against him and two others by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. The judge, in issuing the arrest warrant, refused to accept his lawyer's explanation that the defendant was ill and on admission in London. Dikko ’s lawyer, Solomon Akuma (SAN), who had previously undertaken to produce him in court, only presented a medical report, in a bid to justify his absence from court on Monday.

When it sits on Tuesday, 18 February 2020, to consider the application to review its judgment of 14 January in the matter of the petition on the outcome of the March 2019 governorship election in Imo State, Nigeria’s Supreme Court will find itself presented with a signal moment to re-set the balance in the monumental enterprise of election dispute resolution in Nigeria, a balance upset increasingly by an appearance of decision making un-moored to law or principles. It is an opportunity that the Court should embrace with clarity and an eye on posterity. Imo State is counted as one of three governorship elections, whose outcomes have been altered by judicial intervention from the 2019 cycle of elections, but in reality, it is unique. In May 2019, the same Supreme Court voided the outcome of the governorship election in Zamfara State, clearly won by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), because the party did not conduct a lawful primary prior to candidate selection, a

Growing up, I never fully understood the concept of financial responsibility or how my parents managed their finances. I had no appreciation for the naira note nor how to be a thrifty shopper. I was ill-prepared to manage a budget or make wise money choices as a college graduate. As I got older and more financially conscious, I realized that if it wasn’t for my minimalist parents, their wise decision to  open a kiddies account  for I and my siblings as well as generous relatives with deep pockets, I couldn’t have imagined where we would be today, financially speaking. Several life lessons opened my eyes to the importance of financial responsibility which is why I think it’s incredibly important to teach young children how money works and how to wisely use it. If you asked most teens or kids in their pre-teens what it means to be financially responsible or if they have a  teens account , I am sure you will get a lot of remarks masked in confusion. This is why I wi