OMICRON VARIANT: FIRST CASE REPORTED IN SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron.

The announcement is the first to be reported in the Arab world.

The case was detected in a Saudi man who returned from a North African nation.

State news agency, SPA broke the news, citing a Health Ministry official, but did not name that country.

Saudi Arabia had banned flights to and from several African countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concerns about the new variant.

Omicron could evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.

South Africa has accused countries of punishing its advanced ability which detected the new virus.

CANADA SLAMS TRAVEL BAN ON NIGERIA AMID OMICRON VARIANT

In view of growing concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Canada has added Egypt, Malawi, and Nigeria to the travel ban list

Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has disclosed that Nigeria has been added to his country’s travel ban list. according to Sputnik news agency report.

“We are adding three countries to the list of these countries that we talked about last Friday, these are Malawi, Egypt and Nigeria,”

Duclos added that all travellers coming from outside Canada, apart from the United States, would now be tested at Canadian airports for the virus, regardless of vaccination status.

This came after the World Health Organization on Tuesday called for countries to keep calm and take “rational” measures in response to the new COVID variant, Omicron.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents that have been in any of the affected countries over the last 14 days will need to receive a negative PCR test before being allowed to travel to Canada. Upon arriving in Canada, they will face more testing and quarantine measures.

LOGGER ARRESTED FOR CUTTING OFF EMPLOYER’S MANHOOD

A 40-year-old logger, Ogidan Yusuf, has been arrested by Operatives of Ogun State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, for allegedly cutting the genital organ of his employer, Oluwo Shakiru.

State commander of Amotekun, David Akinremi disclosed that the suspect, a resident of Wuraola Street, Epe, in Ijebu East LGA also and assaulted his employer’s wife over loss of equipment, emphasizing that the occurred two months after Yusuf had been dodging his boss over loss of the machine.

“The insistence of the victim to get back his saw, coupled with the assault on the victim’s wife by the suspect led to a physical fight.

“In the process, the suspects allegedly gripped the victim’s genital organ and almost yank it off only to escape from the scene before his arrest by our operatives.

“The victim was immediately rushed to Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital and is responding to treatment while the suspect who confessed to the dastardly act has been handed over to the police for prosecution.” Akinremi concluded

#EnSARS: LAGOS GOVT. REJECTS PANEL’S REPORT DUE TO INCONSISTENCIES

The Lagos State Government has rejected the report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into police brutality on the alleged Lekki Tollgate killings of October 20, 2020.

The state government in its white paper, described the report as contradictory.

The White Paper also wondered on the findings of nine (9) deaths at LTG on 20 October because apart from merely listing out their names in that form at pages 297-298, the JPI did not explain the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

“It is quite astonishing that in the list of eleven (11) deaths set at pages 297-298, two (2) of the names appeared twice (Kolade Salam, Folorunsho Olabisi as Nos. 37 and 38). Furthermore, the person listed, as No. 46 Nathaniel Solomon who testified as a witness and petitioned the JPI in respect of his brother who he allegedly died at LTC, himself listed as having died at LTG on 20th October 2020.

“ Remarkably, Nathaniel Solomon’s deceased brother (Abata Soloma, was then also listed as No2 on the list of persons who died at LTG.

It stated that the only victim of gunshot injury from LTG was picked up at 7:43 on 21th October 2020 after the curfew commenced (see page 99) and no evidence as to who shot him was presented before the JPI.

The white paper frowned at the award of the sum of N10m to one Serah Ibrahim (listed as No. 14 on Page 304 of the Report), whereas, she testified on oath that she had no petition nor claim for compensation before the panel.

“This award to Serah Ibrahim is also contrary to the provisions of section 13 Tribunal of Inquiry Law 2015 (Cap. T6 La of Lagos State) which prescribes that only witnesses summoned by a Tribunal of Inquiry are entitled to witness fees subject to consent of the Attorney General. Serah Ibrahim did not testify at t request or summons of the Tribunal.’’

Another inconsistency in the JPI report was the award of compensation to only one out of the alleged nine “deceased” thus making the JPI cast doubts as to the deaths of the with others on the list.

‘’On the basis of the above fundamental inconsistencies in the findings the JPI regarding the nine (9) deaths at LTG and particularly because the findings are clearly and mainly not supported by evidence, before the JPI as attested to by the JPI itself, when it said there was no contrary evidence to that of Prof. Obafunwa that only one person died at LTG of gunshot wounds at LTG on 20th October 2020.” The white paper added.

FATHER, GRANDFATHER NABBED FOR ALLEGEDLY DEFILING THEIR 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER/GRANDDAUGHTER

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun Command, says it has arrested two persons, a father and a grandfather, for allegedly raping their 13-year-old daughter/granddaughter.

The command’s spokesperson, Adigun Daniel, who disclosed this in a statement issued in Osogbo on Monday, said the suspects were arrested on Friday, after they were reported.

“The corps received a tip-off from an informant who disclosed that the girl opened up to her that the grandfather and father have been having carnal knowledge of her.

“The corps immediately swung to action and arrested the father.

She also said that she had been living with her maternal grandmother at the age of three before she was taken to her paternal grandfather at the age of five.

“She said that her father and mother are separated and that was why she was entrusted in the care of her grandparents at different times.

“The girl also stated that at some point, she was molested by her grandfather but she could not stick to her allegation, owing to the fact that she was still living with him,” the NSCDC spokesman said.

He, however, added that both the father and the grandfather had denied raping the girl.

Mr Daniel said that the corps had given custody of the girl to the state Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, pending the conclusion of investigation on the matter.

He said the NSCDC Commandant in the state, Emmanuel Ocheja, had directed that appropriate investigation be carried out on the alleged incest.

The NSCDC spokesman quoted Mr Ocheja as saying that the girl “was psychologically disturbed to give vivid account of her ordeal”, adding, however, “that with tact, the corpswould scoop out useful information to help her” (NAN)

AUSTRALIA BANS SOUTH AFRICA FLIGHTS OVER VIRUS CONCERNS

New pandemic-related travel restrictions will go into effect. Credit…David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Australia banned flights from nine southern African countries on Saturday, tightening its borders to prevent the entry of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Non-Australians who visited South Africa, Zimbabwe and several other nations in the past fortnight will also be barred from Australia, Heath Minister Greg Hunt said.

Citizens and residents travelling from the listed countries will have to quarantine for 14 days.

“These are strong, swift, decisive and immediate actions,” Hunt told media in Canberra.

The variant-which has a large number of mutations-was first detected on November 9.

Scientists are racing to understand how it behaves, but there are fears the strain may be more transmissible or render existing vaccines less effective.

The World Health Organisation listed Omicron as a variant of concern and said it could take several weeks to know if there are significant changes in transmissibility, severity or implications for Covid vaccines, tests and treatments.

AIRPORT OFFICIAL SUSPENDED OVER ALLEGED EXTORTION OF PASSENGER

**Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos**

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has suspended some officials for allegedly extorting a passenger at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos on Saturday.

Yakubu said the action was in line with management’s determination to rid the nation’s airport of corrupt officials.

According to her, the officials are staff of Aviation Security and Customer Service departments of the Authority, and have been suspended.

She said that the On Duty Card of their accomplice from the Nigeria Immigration Service had been withdrawn.

Yakubu said the action was taken to serve as deterrent to other bad eggs in the system that are bent on tarnishing the image of the country. (NAN)

IPMAN BACKS FG ON FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has backed the Federal Government’s plan to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol by 2021.

IPMAN’s President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 16 had no provision for subsidy.

NAN reports that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had announced that the government would remove fuel subsidy and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant to about 40 million poor Nigerians.

Okoronkwo said: ” We, as marketers have always advised the government to remove petrol subsidy because it is not in the interest of development of the downstream sector.

“We welcome the decision of the government to stop subsidising petrol by 2022 and we are hoping it will attract more investments to the sector, especially with the passage of PIA.

“What we want is that a level playing field be provided for everyone in the sector to encourage competition once the subsidy is removed.”

He, however, advised the government to reinvest the subsidy savings in critical areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture and other sectors that would increase revenue accruing to the country.

Also, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, immediate-past President, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), said continued subsidising of petrol was not sustainable in light of current economic realities.

He said the 2022 deadline was realistic and its impact might be mitigated with the coming on stream of the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery, Bua Group Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery and other modular refineries.

Oyebanji, who is the Managing Director of 11 Plc, however , faulted the plan to replace the subsidy with cash transfer to Nigerians due to lack of a reliable data base in the country.

“In my personal opinion, I am of the view that such funds should be channeled to areas like education and mass transportation that would be accessible to ordinary Nigerians,” Oyebanji said.

An oil and gas expert, Mr Wilson Opuwei, said the conversation about fuel subsidy in Nigeria should have been a thing of the past because it was an obvious wastage of the nation’s resources.

Opuwei, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Dateline Energy Services Ltd., maintained that the elites were the major beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy regime.

He said: “We should let market forces determine the price of petrol and other products, not government dolling out subsidies with funds that we don’t even have.

“What government should be doing is to create enabling environment for businesses to thrive, and once Nigerians are economically empowered, we will not be having this debate on petrol subsidy.”

PETROL PRICE HIKE: NLC VOWS SHOWDOWN WITH FG

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vowed a showdown should the Federal Government implement the planned removal of fuel subsidy.

President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, gave the warning in a statement titled, “Nigerian workers refused to take the bait” a situation which he opined could jerk up the price of petrol by more than 200 percent.

Ayuba Wabba disclosed that the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari had announce that the price of petrol could increase as high as N340 from February 2022 when the Federal Government eventually remove subsidy on the product.

“The disclosures by the NNPC GMD and the Minister of Finance were in symphony with the positions of the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri and the International Monetary Fund urging the Federal Government to do away with fuel subsidy.

“The response of the Nigeria Labour Congress is that what we are hearing is the conversation of the Federal government with neo-liberal international monetary institutions. The conversation between the government and the people of Nigeria especially workers under the auspices of the trade union movement on the matter of fuel subsidy was adjourned sine die so many months ago.

“Given the nationwide panic that has trailed the disclosure of the monologue within the corridors of government and foreign interests, the Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to posit that it continues to maintain its rejection of deregulation based on import driven model.

“It is difficult to convince Nigerian workers why our dear country is the only country among the OPEC member countries that cannot produce its own refined petroleum products and thus adopts the neo-liberal import production model of refined petroleum products.

“We wish to reiterate our persuasion that the only benefit of deregulation based on import driven model is that Nigerian consumers will infinitely continue to pay high prices for refined petroleum products.

“This situation will definitely be compounded by the astronomical devaluation of the Naira which currently goes for N560 to 1US$ in the parallel market.

“This will open a wide door to unintended social consequences such as degeneration of the current insecurity crises and possibly citizens’ revolt. This is not an outcome that any sane Nigeria wishes for.”

The NLC President explained that the “argument that the complete surrender of the price of petrol to market forces would normalize the curve of demand and supply as is being wrongly attributed to the current market realities with cooking gas, diesel and kerosene is very obtuse.

“The truth is that these commodities which Nigeria can easily produce have been priced out of the reach of most Nigerian families with majority of our people resorting to tree felling and charcoal for their energy needs.”

“Apart from our concerns on the transparency of the disbursement given previous experiences with such schemes, we are wondering if government is not trying to rob Nigerians to pay Nigerians? Why pay me N5000 and then subject me to perpetual suffering?

“Clearly, government thoughts on the so-called removal of fuel subsidy is cloudy and appears to be a “penny wise-pound foolish” gamble.

“It is clear that the palliative offered by government will not cure the cancer that will befall the mass of our people who suffer the double jeopardy of hype-inflation while their salaries remain fixed,”

“As we had done several times, we call on the federal government to consider various options that can help Nigeria navigate out of the quagmire constructed by the failure of successive governments to embrace developmental governance and accountable leadership.”

“Insulate the domestic consumers from the market pressure brought about by the free fall of the Naira by making arrangement with contiguous refineries not far from Nigeria to swap crude oil with refined petroleum products;

“Accelerate work on the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four major refineries which are all currently operating at near zero installed capacity; and

“Establish empirical data on the quantity of refined petroleum products consumed daily by Nigerians. It is unfortunate that this record remains a myth and a huge crater for all manner of official sleaze and leakages in the downstream petroleum sub-sector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.” The statement added.

LAND GRABBING: OBASEKI TO SET UP SPECIAL COURT, JAIL OFFENDERS

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said his administration is poised to reconstitute the state’s Private Property Protection (PPP) Committee and set up special court to try offenders of encroachment and land grabbing.

The Governor, in a chat with Newsmen in Benin City, disclosed that the state had amended the Private Property Protection Law 2017.

Obaseki said the development was aimed at curbing the criminal activities of land grabbers and property speculators.

According to him, “We are committed to ending land grabbing in Edo State and will next week inaugurate the Committee for the Protection of Private Property (PPP).”

“With this law, we are not only banning the Community Development Associations (CDAs) but also all sorts of splinter groups like Okaigele or people who have come up to forcefully take other people’s landed properties in their communities.”

“We have been waiting for this law to reconstitute the committee on protection of private property.”

“Now that we have the law, we will be reconstituting this Committee using this law and utilizing more stringent measures to deal with erring individuals or communities trying to dispose of innocent individuals of their landed properties.“

“We are setting up a special court to swiftly try offenders and if guilty, they will certainly face the consequences.”

Mr Obaseki had, on July 27, 2021, assented to the bill repealing the Edo State Private Property Protection Law 2017 and re-enacting the Edo State Private Property Protection Law 2021.