IBNET

 Minister of Labour and Productivity Chris Ngige holds conciliatory meeting between FG and striking Resident Doctors in Abuja.

  By Ibrahim Agunbiade File photo: Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora.   The Federal Government says it has paid N20 billion as COVID-19 allowance to health workers in the country. This is according to the Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora who spoke on Channels Television’s  Sunrise Daily  on Wednesday. “We’ve been able to disburse close to N20 billion and I repeat close to 20 billion. So, to now say nothing has been done, that is not true,” the minister said. Dr Mamora explained that the Federal Government had to stop the payment of hazard allowance to the health workers because of renegotiation with them. “We were able to pay April, May full, June, part of it has been paid but not fully paid and it’s because of the economic situation and these funds have to be sourced for one way or the other,” he added. According to the Minister, the funds were paid to “Federal health institutions” across the country including Federal Medica...

  AUTHOR:  IBNET Final clinical trials for a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, a UK-Swedish drug firm, and Oxford University, have been halted after a subject in the UK became sick. In April, Oxford  partnered  the biopharmaceutical giant for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, projecting it could begin supply  in September  if clinical trials were successful. According to the BBC , AstraZeneca, on Tuesday, said it has now paused the late-stage trials of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine after a study participant developed an unexplained illness. After successful phase one and two trials, the developers, on September 3,  initiated the third trial , which is said to have involved about 30,000 participants in the US, the UK, Brazil and South Africa. AstraZeneca described the pause as a “routine”, and it said the development is as a result of the trial being closely watched around the globe. “We have no idea whether this is a big deal or not Science is...

By IBNET The Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Nureni Adeniran has revealed the reason the Engineer Seyi Makinde-led government completed the ongoing and abandoned projects in schools across the state. Speaking at SUBEB office, Ibadan, on Tuesday, Adeniran said the completion of the projects was done in the best interest of the state as against what happened in the past. He said “Immediately we came on board, and I received the briefs from different departments, we swung into action. The first thing I did was that I saw the list of projects that were on going and abandoned. We undertook a tour to all the 33 local government areas. “At the end of the day, we addressed the media and told the contractors to come back to site because initially they were afraid that maybe as it was done in the past, may be those projects will be taken away from them. But we assured them that the present government of Engineer Seyi Makinde will not do that because Oyo state is f...

  More reactions have trailed the recent increase in petrol and electricity tariff across the country, as students and civil society groups, on Tuesday, embarked on a peaceful protest in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The students under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), condemned the recent increases, stating that it is not in the best interest of Nigerians. Armed with placards carrying various inscriptions expressing their frustration at the increment, the protesters urged the Federal Government to revert the policies in the best interest of the country. Students protest increases in petrol price and electricity tariff in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Tuesday, September 8, 2020   The protesters marched through Bodija and environs and ended the procession at the Federal Secretariat, where they addressed the press on the reason behind their agitation. “We say no to fuel hike, we say no to...

  Published   September 8, 2020   |   By   Ibrahim Agunbiade     The Nigerian Muslim rights group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has again backed the call for the introduction of special courts to try corruption cases. This was sequel to the call made by the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr. Umar Abba Mohammed, for the establishment of Special Courts to try corruption cases.     EFCC’s Acting Chairman made the call in Abuja on Friday, 4 th  September, 2020 while receiving members of the Monitoring Committee of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), who paid him a working visit. MURIC reiterated its support for special courts for corruption cases on Tuesday, 8 th  September, 2020 in a release issued by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.     “Although the war on corruption has registered some convictions and scored victory in some areas, it is very glaring that man...

  By Admin A photo combination of the logo of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige   The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has asked the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), to end the ongoing strike which they kick-started on Monday. The resident doctors issued a nationwide strike ultimatum to press on eight demands centred on a pay rise, adequate facilities, and better welfare packages. According to Mr Ngige, in a statement on Monday, the resident doctors should embrace dialogue to resolve outstanding issues with the Federal Government. The Minister, who listed the efforts by the Federal Government, maintained that six of the demands have already addressed. “Recall that most of the issues listed in the demands are issues that have been under Conciliation since May 2020 that resulted in their strike in June 2019. “The NARD leadership in three conciliatory meetings with the Nigerian...