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Speaker of House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, has announced that all 360 members of the house resolved to donate their two months’ salaries to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, Gbajabiamila said that the two-month salary donation was independent of the contributions by individual lawmakers to alleviate the hardship at their various constituencies. According to him, from March salary, the lawmakers’ donation will be transferred directly to the National Relief Fund account for the fight against COVID-19. “We have in the House of Representatives jointly committed to contributing 100 per cent…

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Abeokuta Field Office, has warned the public not to store petroleum products or engage in panic buying during the lockdown. The Operations Controller, Mrs Muinat Bello-Zagi, gave the warning in a statement on Tuesday in Abeokuta. She said that there was no cause for alarm as all depots are loading and petroleum products would be available all through. She also urged consumers of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas to patronize only licensed plants while also discouraging transfers and decanting by gas retailers. Bello-Zagi cautioned people against using sanitizers close to…

By Harry Awurumibe, Head, Abuja Bureau The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja recorded a high degree of compliance in the first day of the Federal Government ordered two weeks total lockdown of the city and its environs to stem the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world. Prompt News can confirm that most Abuja residents on Tuesday religiously observed the seat at home order as both the major roads and inner streets were deserted. It was observed that the usual Abuja “rush hours of 7am to 9 am” was lacking today as the roads were devoid of human…

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced the donation of N1.045 billion to the nine states of the Niger Delta region to fight against the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region. Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, Acting Managing Director, NDDC, announced this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili. Pondei, who directed immediate shutdown of NDDC operations in the states, said the fund would soon be released to authorities in the states. “The interventionist agency will make available N775 million to support the nine states under its mandate.…

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja  The Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning had described as fake letters presently circulating on Social media purported to solicit funding on its behalf to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. A statement by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communication, Mr Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi on Abuja on Sunday described the authors of the said letter as fraudsters. The statement reads:” The attention of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has been drawn to the activities of fraudsters impersonating the Ministry in an attempt to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.…

Gov Samuel Ortom has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Benue to curtail further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Ortom announced the curfew in a radio broadcast to the state on Sunday in Makurdi. He said the decision became imperative following the discovery of the index case of coronavirus in the state and its attendant consequences on the overall health of the state. ” There will be restriction of movement from 7 p.m to 6 a.m daily, except those on essential services. The curfew will take effect from Monday, 30th March, 2020 till further notice.” Other measures announced…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will follow up on over 6000 contact tracing to curb the spread of Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19), a pandemic outbreak in the country. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, disclosed this on Monday on Channels Television, Programme “Sunrise Daily”, while, speaking on COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Ihekweazu said:” in the short-term, the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are expected to keep rising, but NCDC also expects to be able to get on top of this. “We expect cases of COVID19 to rise as we improve the capacity to detect and test. Our laboratories…

By Harry Awurumibe, Head, Abuja Bureau  Long queues at banks, filling stations, shopping malls and food markets characterized the day in Abuja this Monday as residents make the last-minute household purchases ahead of the total lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by 11 pm tonight. The Federal Government had through last night’s national broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the FCT and two states of Lagos and Ogun are to go into complete lockdown with the movement of the citizens and foreigners restricted for 14 days as part of the multi-strategy to curb the spread of the novel…

All working journalists and other media staff in Lagos and Ogun states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been advised to use their valid Identity Cards to access their places of work and assignment venues during the 14-day lockdown directed by the President in the two states and the FCT. In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the clarification becomes necessary in view of the inadequate time to properly accredit working journalists in the affected states and the FCT during the period. He said members of…

By Kazeem Qudus, IBADAN Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-1). The Governor announced this via his twitter handle @seyiamakinde, “I just received my COVID-19 confirmation test result. It is POSITIVE. I am asymptomatic and will continue to self-isolate.” The state has recorded seven (7) positive cases so far, according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC. Prompt News recalls that Governor Makinde, who has been in isolation had last week promised to step forward to be tested once the laboratory at UCH Ibadan becomes operational. #Covid19Nigeria. Gov Makinde also tweets “I have designated Prof Temitope…