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Tag: Federal government

Make skills training compulsory for corps members – NYSC

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has urged the Federal Government to make its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) compulsory for all corps members in the country.

Mrs Chinyere Ekwe, Head of SAED in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) office of NYSC, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

She said that making the training compulsory to all corps members would increase the number of youths trained in various skills targeted at growth and development of the nation.

Ekwe explained that SAED was introduced by the scheme to enable corps members to learn and develop one or more skills for self-reliance.

According to her, the initiative was introduced to support Federal Government’s efforts at addressing unemployment in the country, but presently, it is not compulsory for the corps members.

“This defeats the aim of introducing the programme, because if more youths participate in skills training, more youths will become self-employed, self-reliant and employers of labour

“If more youths are trained, they will in turn train many others, but in a situation where this programme is not compulsory for them, you find that a lot of them may show lackadaisical attitude towards it.

“I also think that there is need to reduce the training fee to a minimal rate so that more corps members can participate.

“The FCT Coordinator, Mr Salawu Abdulrazak, has tried to bring down the training fee to N10, 000 for six-month training and for corps members can to pay in installments.

“If more is done to support the corps members by bringing down the fee, it will encourage more of them to join,” Ekwe said.

She also urged the government to support the scheme with provision of materials, saying that training large number of corps members yearly in various skills without materials was a major challenge to the scheme.

According to her, right now in the camp, hands-on training is free, but there are no materials for corps members to use in the training. We also do not have well-equipped skills centres in the area councils.

Ekwe commended the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for its effort in providing an ICT center at the orientation camp for training of corps members.

She urged serving corps members to make use of the opportunity to learn one or more skills in order to become skillful, self-reliant and productive.

She said that emphasis on certificate was waning in Nigeria, adding that it was therefore why learning a skill or more had become necessary.

“You will be empowering yourself and other youths by doing this”.

The NYSC official said that many corps members who had passed through the programme had established businesses, adding that SAED’s partners had also continued to support corps members with start-up capital.

She said that partners like Bank of Industry (BoI) gave corps members loan as much as N2 million, while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also had a loan scheme that could give N3 million to a corps member.

June 3, 2017
FG alerts on birdflu outbreak of in 7 states, FCT

The Federal Government on Friday alerted the public to the outbreak of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu in the FCT and seven states of the country.

raised the alert at a meeting with state Commissioners of Agriculture in Abuja on Friday.

Mshelbwala listed the states affected by the outbreak to include Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT and lastly, which reported a case on May 30.

He said that the disease had spread across 26 states of the federation and the FCT since it started in 2008 affecting 800 farms in no fewer than 123 local government areas.

Mshelbwala, who said that there were no scientifically proven vaccines for bird flu, noted that the Federal Government was adopting quarantine, movement control, stamping out, decontamination and bio-security measures to curb the spread.

The director expressed regret over the poor bio-security practices by some poultry farmers, adding that it was the major reason for the continuous spread of the disease.

According to him, the Federal Government has paid over N674 million in compensations to 269 farmers across the affected states.

“Our national action plan encourages proper regulation of the poultry industry and enforcement of annual registration of all actors along the poultry value chain including farmers, traders, egg merchants and feed millers.

“It also encourages the creation of veterinary extension services to facilitate the control and proper inspection of poultry and poultry products,’’ he said.

Mshelbwala said that the way forward to the containment of the disease was to ban importation of poultry and products, quarantine and bio-security measures, among others.

He, however, warned poultry farmers against illegal vaccination of birds, saying that it was a deadly alternative to the control of the disease.

June 2, 2017
Navy needs $250m to refit NNS ARADU

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Ibok-Ette Ibas, says the Nigerian Navy needs 250 million dollars to refit its war ship, NNS ARADU, for maritime operations.

Ibas, however, told journalists at the navy’s 61^stanniversary celebrations in Lagos on Thursday that refitting NNS ARADU was not an option for now.

“To refit NNS ARADU, the nation would need over 250 million dollars and that is not what the navy can afford for now.

“We desire to have the ship at sea but as soon as the navy is properly funded, we should be able to refit that vessel and have it at sea,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NNS ARADU is one of the three ships in the world with capabilities for simultaneous anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

The ship also has capability for electronic warfare and naval fire support.

Ibas said that the Federal Government had provided a lot for the navy but the navy still needed more.

“We all understand that the navy is an important service that protects the nation’s maritime resources and needs to be given special consideration.

“A lot has been provided for the navy in a certain way so we have to work out other strategies to ensure that we are able to carry out our mandate,” he said.

According to him, the nation has faced a lot of ups and downs following series of attacks on national security infrastructure in the last few years.

“The consequences of which resulted to the drop in the nation’s revenue coming from oil but it was perfectly restored and we were able to contain the menace with the dedicated taskforce.

“To that extent, we have been able to provide the needed security at sea and we were able to contain the menace of militants and keep them away.

“This is in addition to the dialogue initiated by the Federal Government.

“You are also conversant with the issue of piracy, which the navy has been able to contain with our credible presence at sea,” he said.

Ibas added that in the last two years, the navy got some boats which were inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This is in addition to various infrastructural logistics and welfare to the officers and men,” the CNS said.

The CNS condemned the bloody clash between navy and police men in Cross River, stating that the incident was being probed to bring the perpetrators to book.

June 2, 2017
Youths demand sustainable domestic immunisation financing

Nigerian youths have urged the Federal Government to develop a sustainable plan for vaccine and immunisation financing.

The youths made the call at the end of a two-day Routine Immunisation Youth Champions Retreat organised by Community Health Research Initiative (CHR), an NGO, in Abuja.

A statement issued by Ms Ndidi Chukwu, Communications and Media Officer, CHR, said the youths commended the recently approved $125 million World Bank loan to finance 2017 Polio Eradication Programme and other routine immunisation.

It noted that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, would end its support in the next five years to the country.

According to the statement, the coalition asked the government to evolve ways to finance procurement of vaccines for immunisation rather than depending on loans and donor support.

The youths who were trained by CHR and Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) to support immunisation financing advocacy in Nigeria, urged the government to create innovative means for financing immunisation.

The statement also lauded government on its anti-corruption crusade and advised that some of the money recovered from looters should be used to fund pressing health issues in the country.

It further recommended increased budgetary allocation for immunisation during the Gavi transition period to bridge possible funding gaps that could arise in Nigeria.

The youths also urged traditional and religious leaders and institutions to actively participate in immunisation advocacy and ensure community involvement.

June 1, 2017
Ogoni clean-up: HYPREP calls for stoppage of re-pollution

As the Federal Government through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP gears up for the actual clean-up of oil impacted Ogoni environment, the Project Coordinator, Dr. Marvin Dekil has met with Ex-Artesenal Refiners on the need to stop the re-pollution of the environment.

Dr. Dekil made the case at an interactive session with the leadership of Ogoni Ex-Artesenal Refiners Forum in his office in Port-Harcourt.

He noted that apart from the huge economic loss on the country and its attendant damage to the environment, artesenal refining poses serious health hazards to those involved in the illegal act.

The HYPREP Coordinator said the federal government is serious with the cleanup of Ogoni land and so there is need for the group to reciprocate the gesture by putting a stop to the re-pollution of the environment.

Dekil stated that one of the key derivable of the clean-up project is the provision of alternative sources of livelihood for those whose original sources of income (farming and fishing) were affected by the oil pollution so that as the environment is being cleaned up, they can fend for themselves and their dependents.

He urged the Ex-refiners to key into the project and not go back to illegal oil refining.

Chairman of the Ogoni Ex-Artesenal Refiners Forum, Cassidy Nbeera commended the President Mohammadu Buhari administration on summoning the needed political will to making the Ogoni cleanup project a reality. He pledged his group’s determination to stop all forms of illegal oil refining to see to the success of the Ogoni cleanup project.

Nbeera also promised the group’s willingness to join in the campaign to dissuade youths from further polluting the environment through a guided sensitization of Ogoni communities.

The Ex-refiners’ chairman urged the Federal Government to live up to its bidding of providing training for them to go into modular refining and listed other alternative sources of livelihood for them to include; Agro/Allied business, Waste Recycling, Basic Skills in Health, Safety and Environment Management (HSEM), Building, Fishing/Trawling, welding and fabrication.

June 1, 2017
FG inaugurates committee on proposed ICT University of Nigeria

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja inaugurated an implementation committee to facilitate the establishment of the proposed Information Communication Technology (ICT) University of Nigeria.

Mr Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications said the committee, which has former Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof. Julius Okogie as Chairman, has six weeks to produce its report.

Shittu said that the members of the committee were carefully selected comprising men and women who had made their marks in ICT development in the country and pledged the ministry’s support for the assignment.

The minister said that as demand for ICT products and services in the country increased rapidly with the emergence of a digital economy, the demand for ICT skills was expected to also grow exponentially.

He said that there was, therefore, need for capacity of ICT education in Nigeria to be strengthened by people who were well grounded in the field to provide the required skills.

“The linkage between the academia and industry as a result of the establishment of the university will not only lead to constant improvement of the curriculum but also drive innovation through joint research and development programmes.

“Research and development, human capacity building are key focal areas critical for the full development and harnessing of ICT toward fast-tracking socio-economic progress in Nigeria.

“Research and Development propels innovation while human capacity building helps to equip the people with necessary skills and literacy to innovate and use ICT for further development.’’

Shittu said in the past, researches had been carried out without recourse to the relevant industries.

He said that consequently, many outcomes of such researches had remained in the laboratories and not in the industry where they would have been exploited.

“The university will offer variety of programmes aimed at providing specialist knowledge and expertise required for a professional career in the broad field of Information Communication Technology.

“Fields such as Telecommunications, Internet of Things, cyber security, robotic, embedded systems, computer forensics, digital media and entertainment technology.

“The university will also be expected to offer skills development programmes in emerging and transformation technologies such as Cloud Computing and Big Data,’’ the minister said.

Shittu said it was expected that each of the six campuses of the present Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) would be transformed into a centre of technological excellence in specific areas of ICT.

He said that teaching experience in the new university would include a blend of theory, analysis, innovation and hands-on activities such as project-based learning and live industry-led projects.

In his remarks, Okojie said the project was a laudable one, noting that Nigeria was far behind technologically.

He said that there was that need to join the rest of the world to get on board the technological train.

The chairman said that members of the implementation committee were already aware of the challenges of the gap in the digital divide and promised that the report would be delivered shortly.

In his goodwill remark, Mr Yusuf Kazauri, the Director-General of Galaxy Backbone, an agency under the Ministry, said the establishment of the university would herald a new era in the country’s development.

He said that ICT was an important catalyst to attain economic advancement for nations of the world.

“In today’s world, without a good knowledge of ICT, it will be impossible to attain the desired height, especially with Nigeria’s youthful population.’’

Members of the committee were drawn from both the private and public sectors and other stakeholders in the industry.

The university will be the first of its kind in Africa but not the first in the world.

Some of such institutions around the globe include the Multimedia University of Malaysia; IT University of Gutenberg, Sweden; IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

June 1, 2017
EFCC, others to probe NN423billion contracts in Niger Delta

Why is it that the Federal Government released N423billion for 427 projects in the Niger Delta Region within a six-year period with little to show for it?

This is what the anti-graft agencies will unravel as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday referred a report from the Niger Delta ministry for action.

Most of the contracts totaling N700 billion but for which N423billion had been released were awarded during the administration of former Presidents Umaru Yaradua and Goodlcuck Jonathan.

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Usani N. Usani told reporters at the end of the FEC meeting, that 60 per cent of the contracts sum, (about N423 billion) had been released for the 427 projects in the region without corresponding physical delivery on site.

According to him, those found culpable in the investigations would either be made to return money or be prosecuted by the anti-graft agencies.

He said: “Today FEC received approval of a project technical audit committee report ‎which was carried out by the ministry in investigating all contracts awarded and projects and programmes carried out in the ministry from inception of the ministry from 2009 to 2015.

“The revealing content of the report shows that over N423 billion has been expended in the region by the ministry alone, ‎not other intervening agencies. From this amount, project execution rate has been at 12percent, with an average completion rate of a project standing at 5 years. And the impact rate is 8percent.

“So, today we have sought approval from Council to have the recommendations of this report conveyed to the legitimate agencies charged with the statutory responsibilities of recovering government assets that are either misappropriated, misused or fund to be idling in some quarters.

“With this, it means all those who have accessed government resources for one purpose or another must be compelled to make adequate use of same otherwise face the recommendations that go with such violations and that is our position concerning that report. And we have got Council approval for that.

“It’s also important to place emphasis on the fact that in the region of 60per cent resources in terms of funds had been paid out to contractors with that 12per cent completion rate. When we say 60per cent, it is 60per cent of the amount of money that was actually appropriated, being N700billion. And so, 60per cent of that constitutes N423 billion.

“So, to find that N423 billion has been expended in the region with the type of result we see obviously shows that there is something tangibly and obviously wrong with how procurement had been carried out in the ministry,” he said.

He stressed that only those contractors who failed to deliver on their contractual terms after receiving payments would be sanctioned.

He however clarified that some of the contractors actually did well and at such are being commended.

Asked whether those public officials found to have colluded with the erring contractors would be sanctioned, Usani said those found culpable would also face the music.

“The report has also recommended where complicity is found in the evaluation or monitoring personnel or department, that sanctions ‎should be taken. So, I can confirm that to you.

On East West road, he said “As you know, no government agency is sufficiently funded. That becomes a major challenge, the second issue is to address the concern about commitment or lack of it by government, no administration to the best of my knowledge within a democratic setting has been more committed than this present government.

“And demonstration in this is the action of this administration to go ahead and seek extra budgetary special loan credit from China to the tune of $500 million, now we are making a fresh application to increase that to $774 million dollars to be able to tackle an aspect of that road and this came under five of the special projects nominated by the President to see that work doesn’t stop and if you look at our budget as lean as it is, about 50 per cent goes on the allocation to the east west road.

“Beyond that for this year the budget ministry proposed N8billion counterpart funding for the credit facility we are getting from china and so we are committed but it is just impossible to say we will be able to allocate enough funds because the competing demand do not allow satisfaction in every sector of the economy, so it’s a problem for us.”

Minister of Science and Technology Ogbonnna Onu, noted that Nigeria’s dependence on importation of raw materials and products has had very adverse effects on Nigeria’s economy particularly on job creation.

He said: “Nigeria is a great nation and we have abundance of natural resources in our country. It doesn’t make sense that we leave what we have and be importing from outside.

“For example, between 2000 and 2015, Nigeria spent as much as N49 trillion importing raw materials and products. At that time, not that it was sustainable, but our economy could manage such level of importation because crude oil sold most of the time above $100 per barrel. But definitely now, such level of importation is unsustainable but we are paying a price right now because if we have depended on our own raw materials, we would have had a service.

“With the sharp drop in the prices of crude oil, Nigeria would have been able to withstand such a shock and we would not have had such problem that we are passing through now.

“So, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is determined to change the direction that Nigeria is passing through. In the past 56 years, we have depended on foreign commodities. We have relied on importation. We have sacrificed jobs.

“We now want to move our economy away from that into innovation driven-economy. So, Raw Materials Processing and Development Council, one of the agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Science and Technology had to undertake very important study.

“Before the study was done, there was extensive consultation with research institutes, countries and universities, businesses, industries, governments at all levels to determine our level of dependence on outside products and to find a way we can stop this.

“We had seen what other countries such as Canada, China, India, Japan and South Korea did. It is now very clear to us that if we move in the direction that approval was given today, Nigeria will be having service in the next five years and this will be very helpful because what it means is that the abundance of natural resources can now be utilised for industrial production in the country. Then, we’ll be able to give jobs to Nigerians.

“The major thrust of President Muhammadu Buhari administration is that we should be producing made-in-Nigeria goods so that those who want to work will be able to do so and this is the way to do so. Above all, as a great nation, we must work for self-reliance. We must be a self-reliant nation. Other countries have achieved it. We must be able to achieve it,” he stated.

May 31, 2017
FEC approves vaccine production with May &Baker Plc

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the signing of a four-year vaccine production agreement between the Federal Government and May &Baker Plc.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Issac Adewole, who confirmed this development when he briefed State House correspondents after the meeting which was presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, said the agreement would last from 2017 to 2021.

Adewole revealed that the federal government would own 49 per cent of the joint venture while May and Becker would own 51 per cent.

“Between 1940 and1991, Nigeria was not only producing vaccines such as smallpox, yellow fever, and anti-rabies vaccines but we also exported to Cameroon, Central African Republic and a few other countries.
“In 1991 the Vaccine Production laboratory stopped production ostensibly because government wanted to reactivate and upgrade the facility which did not take place till today.

“What Council did today was to put life into this joint venture agreement that proposes to establish a company called bio-vaccines Ltd which will be jointly owned by federal government of Nigeria and May and Baker Plc.’’

According to the minister, the board of the company will comprise seven people, four from May and Baker and three from federal government.

He said the company would be expected to meet the nation’s basic vaccines requirements in the next four years with a take-off capital of N100 million.

Adewole added that May and Becker would make an equity contribution N1.3 billion while the federal government would contribute N1.2 billion

He said: “The company between 2017 and 2021 will produce basic vaccines that we need.

“We have considered vaccines as a security issue, it is not only health but we need to consider the security of all Nigerians particularly our children.

“So, with this agreement we will be able to produce those common vaccines and from 2021 and beyond other vaccines that are necessary will also be out in board for administration to Nigerians.

“We are quite happy that today it has taken place and we believe that Nigeria has started a journey to vaccines security.’’

The minister announced that his ministry also presented to the Council the report on the outbreak meningitis.

“We are happy to inform the nation that we are almost at the end of the outbreak.

“What we are now doing is to now prepare to ensure that this does not repeat itself next year.’’

Adewole also briefed the council about the unfortunate incident where a body was flown into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo, by Kenya Airways.

He said the body was brought into the country without the necessary approval.

“The standard procedure is that for you to fly in a body into nigeria you need a waiver, a sort of approval to by issues by a federal ministry of health.

He revealed that his ministry had already notified the international civil aviation authority so that Kenya airways will be formerly sanctioned.

“But we want to assure Nigerians that the body tested negative to Ebola and any of the hemorrhagic fevers.

“We know the cause of death but for confidential reasons we do not have to disclose it. But it is nothing really to worry about.

“So, we are on top of the situation in the way and manner in which we handled the situation.

“The entire premises were decontamination immediately and the body was taken.’’

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbunnaya Onu, who also briefed the correspondents, said for too long Nigeria had depended on the importation of raw materials and products at the detriment of nation’s economy.

He noted that Nigeria was a great nation that was enriched with abundant natural resources and “it doesn’t make sense that Nigeria has been importing what it has from outside the country.’’

May 31, 2017
Rice smuggling: FG threatens to shut land borders

The Federal Government has threatened to shut some land borders if the smuggling of rice continues from neighbouring countries.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, gave the warning while speaking to newsmen on some of the Federal Government’s achievements in the agriculture sector in the last two years in Abuja.

Ogbeh said the decision had become necessary to encourage local rice farmers and to enable the country achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2018.

“We believe they are determined to sabotage the efforts that we are making to guarantee self-sufficiency in rice and to save foreign exchange which we don’t have.

“They insist on bringing in rice through the land borders, avoiding the duties and the levies we put on them and they are definitely bent on sabotaging our efforts and we are getting increasingly unhappy with them.

“And I must say that very soon, if they persist, we will take very nasty measures against them.

“We will like to advise our neighbours, who believe that the ECOWAS treaty means that Nigeria is a volunteer nation for economic suicide.

“We have no such plans, destroying our own economy to make any neighbour happy.

“The ECOWAS treaty number two does not suggest that any country can be an avenue of smuggling foreign goods not produced in that country for dumping in his neighbours territory.

“If they insist, I do not think that government is far away from considering permanently closing certain borders very near us and when we do, nothing will make us change our minds on the issue, ECOWAS treaty or not,’’ Ogbeh warned.

The minister said that the importation of rice reduced from 580,000 tonnes in 2015 to 58,000 tonnes by 2016.

According to him, by the end of this year, we will eliminate the difference because more people are growing rice in the country.

He said the Federal Government would distribute no fewer than 200 rice mills to millers across the states of the federation to encourage fresh milling of locally produced rice in order to make them more palatable than the imported ones.

Ogbeh said the move would save about five million dollars for the country daily when achieved.

According to the minister, about three months ago, there was this cry about Nigeria going to starve and we told them that there will be such thing.

“We have never produced as much grains as we did in the last two years in this country’s’ history.

“We have fed not only Nigeria, we have fed West Africa and there are still thousands of tonnes in people’s warehouses.

“Those who bought grains and stored believing that starvation was near and they will make a killing they are now begging us to take off the grains from them because they are getting stock.

“The only shortfall we have is maize because of the disease called the armyworm.

“We are dealing with that and this planting season, we are going to support farmers to make sure that we bring that disease under control.

“We have done amazing things in agriculture in two years, we are still going,’’ Ogbeh said.

The minister said the government was working toward achieving self sufficiency in staples within the next two years excluding wheat.

He said that government’s ambition was that in five to six years from now, Nigeria should be able to earn between N10 to N30 billion from exportation of agricultural produce annually to service the country’s debts and build a robust foreign reserves.

May 29, 2017
Ebola: FG, Lagos seek sanction for Kenya airways

The Federal and Lagos State Governments are seeking sanction for Kenya Airways for conveying a dead body from Ebola infested Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, without approval from the necessary bodies.

This was disclosed Thursday at a joint press conference held in Lagos.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said the Kenya airline conveyed the deceased to Nigeria against the extant regulation.

He said though the corpse tested negative to the deadly Ebola virus, but it was necessary for proper documentation to have been carried out.

According to him, “The airline brought the remains of this Nigerian without all necessary documentations that are required to process its clearance by the Department of Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health. The Federal Government of Nigeria and relevant agencies condemn this deliberate breach.

“In line with industry practice, a report has been made to the Nigerian Civil Aviation, the regulatory agency of the Nigerian aviation industry on the occurrence.

“Necessary steps are being taken by the regulatory authority to sanction the airline in a bid to prevent future occurrence. We have commenced detailed investigation by all relevant agencies of government to determine the immediate and remote intentions of this unfortunate behaviour,” he said.

Idris emphasized that the Federal Government instituted a ban on the repatriation of human remains into the country in all points of entry as a precautionary measure to avoid importation of any infectious disease, saying that the ban was one of the interventions the nation undertook during the Ebola outbreak.

He said the Federal Ministry of Health and Port Health Division issued guidelines to all airlines on the procedures to be followed to obtain a waiver before repatriating any human remains into the country.

“The government will like to reiterate again that the ban is still in force and any attempt to contravene this ban will attract serious sanction. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari takes the health of her citizens seriously and will not shy away from wielding a big stick on any errant individuals or organisation,” Idris said.

However, the commissioner said as soon as the dead body was brought in from DRC, the officials of Port Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC and the Lagos State Ministry of Health investigated the cause of death of the remains and took samples for laboratory investigation.

Idris said the laboratory report showed that there was no evidence of Ebola infection or any other contagious infections on the corpse, while assuring everyone to go about their normal business without any anxiety.

“Government will want everyone to be vigilant and encourage all our officials at land, sea and air borders to continue screening of international passengers.

“Government will want to appeal to all our international passengers to cooperate with our officials who are conducting screening at all our borders. This surveillance shall continue until further notice. All international carriers are also enjoined to cooperate with all relevant agencies of government to ensure unhindered surveillance,” he stated.

A representative of the Minister of Health, Dr. Joshua Obasanya also said a letter of investigation had been forwarded to Kenya Airline to establish why the airline flew a dead body from DRC into Nigeria without the necessary approval.

He said if it was found that the airline breached the necessary protocols, it would be sanctioned appropriately, saying that the government was waiting for the airline’s response to the letter.

Also speaking, Dr. Biodun Ogunniyi, Consultant Epidemiologist, NCDC said there is no fresh outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria, saying that government had the wherewithal to deal with any emergent outbreak.

May 25, 2017