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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will no longer be involved in the management of the nation’s refineries after their rehabilitation. This was disclosed Wednesday by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, in an interview on Arise TV breakfast programme, The Morning Show. He disclosed that upon completion of the ongoing rehabilitation exercise, the services of a company world be procured to manage the plants on an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) basis. “We are going to get an O&M contract, NNPC won’t run it. We are going to get a firm that will guarantee that this plant…

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has approved the release of 46,000 metric tons of rice, 36,495 kegs of vegetable oil and other items valued at N3.2 billion for distribution. The Customs’ Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday. Attah said that the relief items were to boost the Federal Government’s continuous efforts to alleviate sufferings associated with the painful but necessary ongoing lockdown in some parts of the country. He disclosed that the items approved to be released were 46,000 metric tons or about 158…

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, has cautioned security agencies against using the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown to harass journalists as they go about their lawful duties. The council gave the warning in a statement by its Secretary, Mr Ochiaka Ugwu, on Tuesday in Abuja. It urged the security personnel to respect journalists as essential service providers and a major partner in the efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 In the country. The council called on heads of security agencies in the FCT to caution their officers and men against harassing journalists in the discharge of their duties…

The Taraba Government says the two patients suspected of been infected with COVID-19 have tested negative to the virus. Dr Innocent Vakkai, the state’s Commissioner for Health and Chairman, state Technical Committee on COVID-19 said this while giving an update on the effort in the fight against the virus on Tuesday in Jalingo. He said that the samples of the two persons who were sent for test turned out to be negative. “We have no positive case of coronavirus in the state and we hope to maintain this status,” he said. He said that the state government had distributed hand…

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), on Tuesday, expressed its willingness to donate its 1,400 offices nationwide to the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, as part of its contributions to the fight against the deadly pandemic in the country. Mr Franklin Alao, the General Manager, Corporate Communication, NIPOST, said in a statement in Abuja that the gesture was to hasten the government’s relevant agencies’ fight to curtail the spread of COVID-19. ”Our modest contribution in fighting the COVID 19 pandemic is to partner with the PTF by offering our 1,400 offices across the country for the distribution of humanitarian aids,…

reports that the Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the aim of the bill was to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians and local businesses. Gbajabiamila, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the proposed bill would help in boosting the economy through the informal sector as the country prepared for the aftermath of the pandemic. However, while some Nigerians gladly received the news, others expressed concerns and mixed feelings. Mrs Risikat Alabi, a shop owner, said it was a welcome idea as it would afford electricity consumers the opportunity to enjoy…

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello has warned that the administration would impose tougher measures to achieve health safety precautionary protocols needed to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Abuja. Bello gave the warning in Asokoro District Hospital when he inspected the ongoing work in the hospital, already converted to COVID-19 Isolation and treatment centre, on Tuesday in Abuja. The minister expressed his displeasure over flagrant violation of the lockdown order in satellite towns, noting that the administration would not allow a few individuals to carelessly put the larger population in danger. Bello enjoined residents to demonstrate forbearance and cooperate…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Sen. Bola Tinubu, has commiserated with Sen. Magatakarda Wamakko, over the death of his brother, Alhaji Buba Wamakko. In a condolence message to the former governor of Sokoto State on Tuesday, Tinubu described the late Wamakko, who died at the age of 66, as a “good community leader.” While praying for the repose of the soul of the deceased, Tinubu also prayed Allah to comfort the wife and the children he left behind. “Please accept my deepest sympathy and condolences over the passing, on Monday, of your younger brother, Alhaji Buba Wamakko, who…

The leadership of the National Assembly has faulted the way the Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government is being implemented and called for enabling legislation in line with global best practices. The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila made their reservations about the scheme at a meeting held on Tuesday with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq and some top officials of the Ministry. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase…

While it may appear to be an arduous task for his peers and even some acclaimed inventors, Mr. Usman Dalhatu, a 200-level student of Mechanical Engineering at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, in Kaduna State, Nigeria, has designed and produced a manual ventilator, to be used in treating coronavirus patients. Dalhatu, who just clocked 20, told PRNigeria that he decided to fabricate the manual ventilator as part of efforts to assist the Federal Government contain the pandemic, whose cases have been on the rise in the country. The young inventor, who hails from Gombe State, revealed that it took…