The federal government has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) to carry out tests on plant-based cough mixtures, as possible treatment for Coronavirus.
In a memo titled ‘Formulation of a Phyto-Medicine-Based Cough Mixture/Syrup for the Management of COVID-19 Patients by Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine Department of the Ministry’ and addressed to the director-general of NAFDAC Mojisola Adeyeye, the permanent secretary in the ministry of health, Mashi Abdullahi said the directive became necessary following a search for cure to Coronavirus.
The memo reads in full;
“As you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is currently ravaging the world with no definite treatment or vaccine.
“This has necessitated countries to look for solutions from within and Nigeria is no exception. It is worthy to note that Nigeria is blessed with medicinal plants which could be exploited.
“It is heartwarming to note that the Department of TCAM has taken the pains to research into scientific materials to come up with a formulation intended for the management of cough in COVID-19 and other cough-related infections.
“The formulation is a Cov-herbal cough mixture. Interestingly, all the ingredients that make up the formulations are medicinal plants that are widely used as food materials and medicines.
“They include Allium sativa (garlic); Allium cepa (onions); Zingiber officinale (ginger): Piper guineense (West African Black Pepper); and Adansonia digitata (baobab fruit). The innovation here is the composition of the formulation.
“These medicinal plants have documented scientific evidence of long use for the management of cough and other respiratory infections, with medicinal properties of mucoIytic, antitussive, expectorant, soothing, demulcent, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects.
“The ministry is determined to walk the talk in the promotion and integration of herbal medicine into the health care delivery system.
“In view of the foregoing and the desire of the ministry to showcase to the public a product that is 100 per cent sourced locally, you are requested to carry out the necessary procedures for listing.
“The ministry will contract the packaging of the product to some identified pharmaceutical companies. Find attached scientific pieces of evidence of the products end labelling for your information end necessary action."
Nollywood actor, Yul Edochie has defended Big Brother Naija star, Mercy Eke after being tagged "local" by a vlogger Oluwa-Tosin Silverdam.
The vlogger had described Mercy as an "Mgbeke feeling funky" in a video where he mentioned 5 BBNaija stars he doesn't like.
Reacting to the Vlogger's video, Yul Edochie stated that "our brains need to be formatted as white men have messed with them". He further stated that Mercy is not local, but a Nigerian or a Biafran.
He tweeted;
White people messed up our brains making us see our own ways as local. C. Ronaldo speaks English with a Portuguese accent, have you called him local? Many brains need to be formatted in this country. We no be Oyibo. Mercy Eke is not local, she is simply Nigerian or Biafran.
A Nigerian man, Kosi Ugo has advised men to conduct DNA tests on their children after sharing his experience with a newly married woman who offered him three million naira to impregnate her last year.
According to him, the married woman said she didn't want her children to have her husband's genes because he was 'short, bald and his family had traces of ancestral madness.'
Taking to his Facebook page, he wrote: 'Last year, a newly married woman offered me 3 million naira to impregnate her.
According to her, she didn't want her children to take her husband genes, because he was short, bald and his family had traces of ancestral madness.
Dear men;
I heard DNA now ranges from between 50-100k.
You don't need to inform your wife - just take strands of your children's hair while they are asleep and present them at the hospital.
There's a huge chance that more than half of your children are not yours.
A stranded University of Uyo (UNIUYO) student has cried out for help after allegedly being flogged while on her way to meet her family in Cross River State.
According to Favour Attah, the incident occurred at Akwa Ibom State's border with Cross River state.
She further revealed that she was only trying to talk to the man in-charge when he allegedly ordered his boys to flog her.
The UNIUYO student wrote;
I decided to go home today after the lock down was lifted, I'm from cross river state Etung local government Effraya. The videos will explain everything. All I was trying to do was talk to the man on the blue native (he seemed to be the one in charge) in one of the videos to explain to him that I am a student that got stocked in uyo and I was trying to get home to my family in Effraya.
I'm 22 and I'm trying to talk to you and all you do is ask the boys around with sticks to beat me up, after a while he came himself and used his whip to hit me several times and also pushed me several times that I almost fell to my face and got some Marks on my back from the whip, all I was trying to do was go home to my parents to avoid me having to die of starvation in a land I know no one but only came to school. I just wanted him to listen to me like he listened to everyone that approached him, but maybe he thought I was too small.
The only picture in my head was his daughter (if he has any) in a situation like this trying to go home to her parents and she's flogged and humiliated. Just because she is a girl and she should not be listened to. I don't know what his name is but hope and pray he finds peace this night for flogging a child that only wanted to go home to her parents to find food and shelter and yes he was letting people cross over. I guess he licked their faces better or they deserved to live more than every other person on this bridge
Ondo state's Deputy Minority leader, Hon. Tomide Akinribido got called out on his wedding day today, May 8, by his ex-girlfriend who accused him of deceit and fraud.
The lawmaker representing Ondo West State Constituency, had shared photos of him and his new bride on Twitter with the caption "Meet the Akinribidos".
The lady alleged that Hon. Akinribido lied about wanting to marry her, after which he took all her money to fund his election and disappeared immediately after winning the election. She further claimed the lawmaker hinged his decision on not going ahead with the marriage plans, with claims of his mother being against his marriage to a non-Yoruba.
She tweeted;
This guy fraudulently lied to me that he wants to marry me. Took all my money to fund his election and disappeared immediately after winning the election. His friends and members of his family were in on the scam and they cheered him on.
After he had achieved his mission he sent @Bobbyoba to come and tell me that it was his mother who kicked against him marrying a non Yoruba. Every single thing Bobby told me that day I recorded it all.
Hon Akinribido thanked his ex-girlfriend for the "free press". He tweeted;
386 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Nigeria on Friday, May 8, 2020.
According to Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC, out of the 386 new cases of COVID-19, 176 were recorded in Lagos, 65 in Kano, 31 in Katsina, 20 in FCT, 17 in Borno, 15 in Bauchi, 14 in Nasarawa, 13 in Ogun, 10 in Plateau, 4 in Oyo, 4 in Sokoto, 4 in Rivers, 3 in Kaduna, 2 in Edo, 2 in Ebonyi, 2 in Ondo, 1 in Enugu, 1 in Imo, 1 in Gombe, and 1 in Osun State.
Nigeria now has 3912 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 679 patients have been discharged from various Isolation centers across the country, while 117 deaths have been recorded.
The Premier League will warn clubs at a meeting on Monday, not to vote against the season restarting at neutral venues, as it could cost them more than relegation, according to Sky Sports.
The clubs in the bottom six – Brighton, West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich – have reservations about proposals to finish the season by playing at neutral grounds without fans.
They believe it would deprive them of home advantage and affect their chances of survival.
However, they will be warned that the protocols for games restarting could be in place for the start of next season.
At least 14 clubs would need to vote in favour of the proposals before games can restart.
The Premier League meeting will take place hours after the government have announced the latest review of lockdown restrictions.
Juventus forward, Paulo Dybala has welcomed Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba, to Allianz.
Dybala, a former teammate with Pogba at Juve, said he would love to play alongside Pogba again amid interest linking the France World Cup winner with a return to Turin this summer transfer window.
The Argentine international, who recently recovered from Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, said this while he was highlighting his positive relationship with Pogba while showing off a collection of match-worn shirts on UEFA’s official website.
“I could not overlook a shirt like this, of course,” Dybala said as quoted by Goal, referring to a Manchester United shirt from Juventus’ 1-0 Champions League win at Old Trafford in 2018.
“It is from Manchester, from my friend Paul Pogba, whom I admire as a person even more than as a football player.
“I had the chance to share great things with him, and hopefully, I can repeat that someday.”
Manchester United “have got a real star” in Mason Greenwood, according to Gary Neville, who doesn’t think the teenager will end up flopping in the same way Adnan Januzaj did at Old Trafford.
Greenwood was enjoying a superb breakout season before the coronavirus outbreak stopped play in March, having scored 14 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils.
The 18-year-old has had to be content with a backup role behind Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, but has maximised his time on the pitch at every opportunity.
One man who failed to establish himself after a bright start to life at Old Trafford was Januzaj, who was eventually sold to Real Sociedad in 2017.
However, Neville cannot see Greenwood following the same path, with it his belief that the young forward is “more composed” than Rashford was at the same age.
“I think youth systems and producing your own players in the next two or three years will be the lifeblood of clubs,” the United legend told Sky Sports.
“It’s a really difficult time for players at all levels, in terms of the ones out of contract, but there’s a massive opportunity for young players who have got ability to get driven into the first team.
“I think Mason Greenwood is an outstanding player, the equal of Rashford at his age, in some ways more composed and a bit more classy, less raw, he looks well above his age group in terms of his composure and his temperament.
“I think Manchester United have got a real star there. We’ve been wrong before, you talk about Adnan Januzaj, I thought he was going to be world-class, but I think Greenwood is going to be the real thing.”
“It’s going to be exciting now with the young players, Brandon and Mason, maybe the break will do them good, their bodies might fill out, it’s a new training environment for him,” he said.
“I was surprised when you said he’d only started four league games, and he’s really done well in most of them.
“Some tough games, he’s been thrown in at the deep end, and he’s done fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing him because he’s a special talent.”
Ajax chief Erik ten Hag has said that Barcelona star Lionel Messi has not arrived at a similar level since Pep Guardiola left Camp Nou in 2012.
Guardiola took over as Barcelona supervisor in 2008 and during a four-season run, he drove the Blaugrana to a shocking time of achievement that included three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey wins and two Champions League triumphs.
Messi additionally encountered an unprecedented run of individual accomplishment during this period, winning the Ballon d'Or in four continuous years somewhere in the range of 2009 and 2012.
Ten Hag accepts that during Guardiola's rule, Messi had the option to be all the more a cooperative person and under ensuing mentors, the Argentine has seen his level plunge now and again beneath where it was under the Spaniard.
"Messi was one of the pioneers, however he likewise worked for the group and exceeded expectations thus. He has never been in the same class as under Guardiola," Ten Hag disclosed to Voetbal International.
"Barcelona has not won much in European terms lately either.
"Messi still exceeds expectations, yet now likewise at times experiences as far as possible. It was never similar to that under Guardiola.
"Kick has guts, he sets out to pioneer and imaginative."
As the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 continues to roll out measures on how to curtial the spread of the pandemic in the country and manage its health and economic implications, President Muhammadu Buhari has commended public-spirited Nigerians and organisations for their financial and material support.
President Buhari also revealed the total amount in the five bank accounts designated for the COVID-19 contribution.
In a statement signed by his Spokesman, Garba Shehu and made available to DAILY POST on Friday, Buhari cited the provision of isolation, treatment and laboratory centres/facilities by individuals and companies such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Guaranty Trust Bank and ThisDay Newspapers and Partners among others in several states and Federal Capital Territory.
The President called on other privileged Nigerians and bodies to emulate these laudable gestures.
According to President Buhari:-
“We are facing a national challenge and all hands must be on deck to navigate this difficult course. In this respect, all types of assistance are welcome, big or small. The spirit behind the contributions is salutary.”
Records obtained from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation about lodgements from 111 individuals and organisations into the FGN Covid-19 Eradication Support Accounts in the five designated banks between April 1-30, 2020, indicated the total sum of Six Hundred and Ninety Seven million, Five Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Eight Naira only (N697, 538, 108.00).
The above consists small payments of N5, N10, N14, N20 by individuals to huge deposits of N200 million by Dantata Property Development; N100 million by Ocean Trust Ltd; N25 million by NSITF; N20 million by Ebele and Anyichuks Foundation; N15 million by Nizamiya Hospital Abuja; and N10 million each by Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship and Association of Bureau De Change (BDC) respectively, among others.
Governor Nyesom Wike has charged the Rivers state COVID-19 task force to identify hotels still operating during the lockdown for the state government to demolish them.
Inaugurating the task force at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday, May 7, Governor Wike also charged them to identify erring beer parlours.
His words:-
“From tomorrow, move in. Any hotel that is operating, identify it and we will bring down the hotels.
“I have the political will. Those people who disobey will face the consequences.”
He said the task-force must be decisive to ensure that coronavirus is not accommodated in Rivers state.
Governor Wike reminded them that they are being drafted to fight an invisible enemy and their duty is to defend Rivers people.
He said:-
“Nobody should come from outside to compound our problems. Then you want to import this invisible killer. We will not allow that.”
He appealed to Rivers people to make sacrifices at this time in the fight against coronavirus. He noted that this is a period of crisis and all hands must be on deck to check coronavirus.
“If we allow what is happening to continue, we don’t have the capacity to face it. And there will be no support from any quarter,” he said.
The governor said hotels with existing guests must send their lists to his office for scrutiny and approval.
Meanwhile, the African Action Congress (AAC) has warned that the repatriation of almajiris across Nigeria is spreading the dreaded COVID-19.
The AAC in a statement sent to journalists on Thursday, May 7 and signed by its national chairman, Dr Leonard Nzenwa, called for the stoppage of the exercise, saying it increases the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
“The almajiris should be tested in the states they reside, if found positive should be quarantined and treated while the rest should be kept in a camp and efforts made to locate their parents who will identify and take them home.
“We must realize that these are fellow Nigerians who must be treated with compassion and dignity,” the party said.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, yesterday disclosed that ‘Powerful individuals’ were behind the surge in illegal mining activities in recent years across the country.
This is even as he disclosed government’s readiness to prosecute about 19 foreign nationals recently apprehended over illegal mining in Osun and Zamfara states.
The minister, while briefing the press in Abuja on the recent activities of illegal miners particularly in Osun and Zamfara states, said the federal government in the interest of the nation would have to prosecute the criminals in the court of law to serve as deterrent to others.
He informed that it had been discovered that the foreigners perpetrate the illegal act using the cover of the artisanal miners whom government in a bid to grow the economy at small scale levels had identified with their activities and christened them Artisanal and small-scale Miners with the consent of some monarchs and elites in the country.
According to Adegbite, most of the foreigners arrested in connection with crime were largely Chinese and a handful of Bukinabes and Senegalese who connive with powerful individuals in the country.
Giving the breakdown, the minister, “said the two arrested in Zamfara and 15 of those apprehended in Osun State were all Chinese, one from Burkina Faso and Senegal.”
Speaking further, he observed that unlike in the past when illegal mining cases were frivolously handled and let off, the suspected foreigners and their local accomplices would be investigated and prosecuted, adding that in the face of the dwindling fortunes of oil in the international market, the federal government had no other option than to focus on agriculture and solid minerals to survive as already captured in its diversification agenda.
He explained that the two states were the epicentres of the surge in illegal mining because the only mineral selling very well in defiance of the current global COVID-19 crisis is gold, and Osun and Zamfara states are the most endowed in the precious mineral.
“It is all about gold this time because other minerals are not selling very well now as the industries that use them have been closed down as a result of the global pandemic.
Secondly, as a result of the economic downturn occasioned by the pandemic, currencies world over are being devalued, yet the price of gold, which was about $1,768/ounce the last time I checked, is still rallying.
He said,
“We found out that there are a lot of miners especially the foreigners, they are also here illegally, so some of the measures that we would want to take is with Ministry of Interior because what is the status of these people when they come in, some of them have only visiting visa and some of them have visas that have expired.
“How do we make sure that the Minister of Interior keeps track of all these villains who come into Nigeria and they go back as at when due. These are some of the measures to checkmate this.
The minister who commended the governments of Osun and Zamfara states for their role in the arrest of the illegal miners, said
“It is a good development that states are now waking up in safeguarding the mineral deposits within their jurisdiction, having realised that with the crisis being experienced in the oil sector, solid minerals will be a major way out for all economies.”
He said they had appealed to the two states to hand over the cases to the federal government which had the power to prosecute such mining offenders to take it up from there in prosecuting them, adding that he was aware that Osun State government has been under pressure to let the illegal miners off the hook.
U.S. President, Donald Trump, on Friday, said he would send an army to topple his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro if he wanted to.
Trump said this while speaking on Fox and Friends, a live talk show on Fox Television as he denied the U.S. involvement in an alleged recent coup attempt on Maduro.
“We have nothing to do with it. If I wanted to go into Venezuela, I would not make a secret about it.
“I would go in, I would go in and they would do nothing about it, they would roll over.
“I would not send a small little group, it would be called an army,” he said.
Trump stressed that he would find out the true events but insisted the U.S. would not handle it that way if it was involved in the mission.
Meanwhile, Venezuela President in a live broadcast on Monday, alleged that a group of “mercenaries” invaded Venezuela by sea on Sunday in an attempt to overthrow him.
Maduro, who has often accused the U.S. of trying to topple him, said the aim of the invaders was to smuggle him to the U.S.
He said two American citizens alleged to be part of the mercenaries had been arrested.
The socialist strongman displayed what he alleged to be the passports of the two Americans identified as Airan Berry and Luke Denman.
He said the duo, who work for a Florida-based security company, “were playing Rambo, they were playing hero.”
On Wednesday, Venezuela’s state TV aired a video of Denman apparently confessing to plotting to overthrow Maduro and bring him to the US.
The 34-year-old former U.S. Special Forces member said he was helping Venezuelans to reclaim their country, NAN reports.
Trump, reacting to allegations described the invaders as a “rogue group, adding that the mercenaries launched a shambolic attack.
“I don’t know too much about it. This was a rogue group that went in there, a lot of Venezuelans, I think people from other countries also.
“I saw their pictures on a beach. It was not led by General George Washington, obviously, this was not a good attack.
“I think they were caught before they ever hit land, but I know nothing about it, I say that the government has nothing to do with it at all,” he added.
Yaya Toure is supporting previous Ivory Coast colleague Didier Drogba's offered to become the leader of the Ivorian Football Association (FIF).
"It's the ideal opportunity for change in our football. It needs advancement," said Toure.
"At the point when I state I support Drogba, it's additionally to benefit the nation, to have a previous player of his sort putting himself in Africa."
Drogba spoke to his nation multiple times and declared his goal to run for the post back in September.
Be that as it may, because of the progressing Coronavirus pandemic, no date has been booked for the political decision.
The previous Ivory Coast commander faces rivalry from occupant Sory Diabate and FIF VP Idriss Diallo.
In spite of help from Toure, not all players have sponsored Drogba's offer. The association of previous Ivorian football players has sponsored Diabate over Drogba.
Talking on his Instagram page, Toure told his adherents,
"Didier was my older sibling, my skipper. Individuals jabbered about us however we were constantly quiet, savvy. We know one another.
"An excessive number of individuals attempted to scrutinize him, the press, fans."
Current players from Ivory Coast will be allowed a chance to cast a ballot and Toure, the four-time African footballer of the year who drove his nation to triumph in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations stated: "I realize he is searching for help and I trust he will get it from a portion of the voters, leaders of clubs or AFI (Ivorian Association of Football Players).
Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira says the club plan to resume training on May 18.
Players from other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Tottenham, have already returned to their training facilities under strict conditions, while the majority of top-flight squads remain in self-isolation.
United players who were based abroad during the coronavirus outbreak have been told to return to the UK and Pereira has confirmed plans are in place to restart training at Carrington later this month.
“We had a meeting and were told that if everything is going well, we’ll be back in training on May 18 in groups of six,” Pereira told Globo Esporte.
“If that goes well, a week or two later, we’ll be able to train as a group.
“There will be six players training initially and there won’t be much contact between us. We’ll still be separated and training in different parts of the pitch. Those precautions have to be followed.
“I don’t know who’ll be in my group yet.”
Pereira is enjoying his most successful season at United since breaking into the first team in 2014, making 37 appearances in all competitions before the coronavirus outbreak.
Inter Milan have reportedly asked Chelsea to drop their asking price for the winger, Victor Moses. According to the Italian newspaper, Calcio Mercato, the Nezarrurri are unwilling to match Chelsea’s €12 million price tag for the former Nigerian international.
The Italian Serie A giants will require the Blues to drop their evaluation of the 29-year-old if he is to complete a permanent switch to Inter this summer.
Inter Milan manager, Antonio Conte, remains eager to sign Moses on a permanent deal at the end of his loan deal at San Siro.
Recall that Moses joined Inter from Chelsea on loan last January transfer window.
He had made seven appearances for Inter across all competitions so far this season before the Serie A was suspended due to the spread of COVID-19 across the world.
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, on Friday criticized the current expulsion of almajiris from the various Northern States to their States of origin due to the spread of COVID-19.
It said the expulsion of almajiris by State governments was wrongly-timed.
MURIC urged Northern governors to postpone the expulsion of almajiris until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The group made the call in a statement signed and sent to us by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
MURIC stated that the world would have been a better place if the teachings of Prophet Muhammad were adhered to by the people.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, several States have been repatriating almajiris from their States.
However, MURIC in a statement said:
“Many states of the North have been expelling large numbers of almajiris back to their states of origin in recent times. For example, on April 21st, 2020, Kano expelled 432 almajiris to Katsina, 63 to Yobe, 198 to Kaduna, etc.
Expectedly, the Northern states are beginning to take responsibility and there is every reason to believe that plans are already on ground to take good care of those almajiris on arrival in their home states. The motive behind it is commendable.
“However, the expulsions have coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak and this is our first concern. The children are being exposed to great danger.
To make matters worse, significant numbers of these almajiris are testing positive to coronavirus thereby swelling the COVID-19 caseloads of their receiving states and making the management of this global pandemic more difficult for Nigerian authorities.
Unfortunately, some of these almajiris are also escaping to southern states, potentially spreading COVID-19 to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.
“It is clear that the concerned Northern States appeared to have acted without consulting Islamic scholars who are at their beck and call. Islam opposes the idea of leaving a city under a plague attack.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) warned that ‘If a plague breaks out in a city and you are living there, do not leave it. And if you are about to enter a city and there is a plague there, do not enter there’
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has disclosed that 22,000 Nigerians have been tested for coronavirus.
NCDC Director-General, Chikwe Ihekweazu made the disclosure during the daily press briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, on Thursday.
The NCDC DG said the body only made public the number of persons tested and not the number of tests conducted.
Ihekweazue said those infected are made to undergo a series of tests which are not counted and updated into the system.
He said:
“The data shared is on people tested not on tests done. The data we share when we say we have about 22,0000 tested, those are on people tested, we don’t include all the series of tests.
“Every individual that is positive will have to be tested every three, four or five days. And some would have stayed in the hospital for about four weeks, so all those are tests being done as well and all of that are in the lab.
“So, the numbers are really not fully representing the works being done in the labs across the country. We are not reflecting those numbers in the numbers we share every day.”
A Pregnant young lady has been arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over the murder of her husband.
According to reports, the young woman whose name has been given as Veronica Boniface allegedly stabbed her husband to death following a purported phone conversation with a ‘strange woman’.
The state commandant of the NSCDC, Mohammed Mahmoud-Fari, said the suspect stabbed the late husband with a kitchen knife following an argument about a phone call from a purported strange woman.
The suspect, who is also a mother of one and who is currently pregnant, in her statement said she only intended to scare her late husband and collect the phone but mistakenly ended up killing him.
According to her, she was using the knife to peel yam before the altercation “and mistakenly stabbed her husband in a bid to collect the phone from him”.
She regrets her action and has pleaded for leniency.
Katsina State Government has confirmed 11 new cases of coronavirus disease in the State.
The confirmation was made known by the State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari in a tweet via his Twitter account on Friday, stating that the State has recorded a total of 8 deaths.
The tweet read
“COVID-19 Update as at 7th May 2020.
“11 new cases of COVID19 Katsina cases confirmed.
“Total confirmed cases in Katsina are now 106.
“764 people have been tested.
“Total number of active cases-89.
“A total number of 9 patients have been discharged with 8 deaths recorded.
“Residents are advised to stay home and stay safe.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control on Thursday confirmed 381 new cases of coronavirus disease in the country.
Nigeria now has 3526 confirmed cases; 601 patients have been discharged, while 107 deaths have been recorded.
Nigeria had a total of 381 new cases COVID-19 on Thursday May 7, 2020, with the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, recording no single case for the first time since the outbreak in Nigeria’s capital.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, cases in Lagos continue to rise as the State recorded 183 cases on Thursday, being the highest figure so far in a single day.
Abuja had always occupied the second position on the log before the outbreak hit Kano a few weeks ago.
However, NCDC list for Thursday showed that no case of the deadly virus was recorded in the nation’s capital.
Nollywood actor, Yomi Fabiyi has declared that social media is now deadlier than gun, knife and so on.
Speaking via his official Twitter handle, he further described social media as a lethal weapon that allows the closest person to you come friendly and all smiles with a real account and at the same time use a fake account to slander you.
Social Media is such a LETHAL WEAPON that allows the closest person to you come friendly, all smiles with real account & simultaneously use fake accounts or proxies to hurt your brand, reputation & image with lies, half-information + blackmail. SM now deadlier than gun, knife etc
Pablo Zabaleta revealed Manchester City players were putting Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo up in the locker room after being taken over in 2008.
Zabaleta joined City from Espanyol in that year as the Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club, leading to big spending by the Premier League outfit.
The full-back said City players were preparing to welcome Barcelona star Messi and Ronaldo to the club.
“Ten days after my arrival, the purchase of the club by the people of Abu Dhabi is executed,” Zabaleta told La Nacion.
“Four days later, they invest £40 million for Robinho and there I said, ‘Now what do I do? I’m going to last six months here.’
“We took it a bit as a joke and…in the locker room we started putting ‘Messi’, ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’. We were sh*tting ourselves.”
Zabaleta, who left City for West Ham in 2017, is nearing retirement from club football and admits the coronavirus pandemic may accelerate those plans.
“I think about it every day. I wake up thinking, ‘Is this what awaits me after retirement?’ Now, somehow, we’ll go back to training and we will see. But it’s all still uncertain,” he said.
“I had even come to think, at the end of this season, to give myself the joy of playing one more season in another league, perhaps in Italy, but now I don’t know.
“The chances are you won’t play in front of a crowd, so what motivation could I have left? Why go to Italy if mythical stadiums like the Olimpico in Rome or San Siro will be closed?”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes the club were determined to learn from past mistakes heading into the 2019 Champions League final.
Having lost the decider against Real Madrid the season before and also finishing one point short in the race for the Premier League title in the 2018-19 season, Jurgen Klopp’s side was no stranger to falling short of silverware.
Against Tottenham however, the Reds made sure to get the job done with goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi sealing a fairly comfortable victory in the final last year.
The victory was a long time coming for Henderson and his team-mates, with the Liverpool skipper admitting the side’s previous failures left them in a good position to beat Spurs.
“It was an accumulative thing, if you obviously look at Madrid, the league that season if you look further back to the league finals and League One finals that were lost as well,” Henderson told BT Sport.
“So if you look back there were a few moments where we’ve been through those tough times together. We always responded in the right way and we always kept going and kept improving so I knew after the last game of the league, I knew it would in some way help us going into the final to make sure it wasn’t going to happen again.
“Certainly the Madrid game, you learn a lot from playing in finals and especially a Champions League one. I felt we learned a lot from that Madrid game.”
Ander Herrera revealed his sadness at the way Paris Saint-Germain won Ligue 1 and admits he never wanted to leave Manchester United.
Herrera said he had differences of opinion with the United board before walking out of Old Trafford to join French giants PSG as a free agent last summer.
And while the streets of Paris are paved with gold for the modern player, given PSG’s wealthy Qatari ownership, Herrera has been left deflated by how his first league season ended.
Like the Dutch Eredivisie, France’s Ligue 1 was abandoned before crunch matters could be resolved on the pitch because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Runaway leaders PSG were declared champions, but it left a bittersweet taste for Spanish midfielder Herrera.
He yearned for the first championship of his career to be a jubilant moment to share with team-mates, in front of supporters.
“To be honest, I didn’t celebrate it,” Herrera told ESPN. “I love football but I love to play football and win trophies on the pitch.”
“When I look back a year ago, my intention was not to leave Manchester United,” Herrera said.
The 30-year-old said it was not unusual for a player’s point of view to not match up to a club’s vision.
“I disagreed with some of the decisions they made but this happens in football,” he said. “It happens in every company.”
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has hailed the incredible season Liverpool have put together, saying the only thing he can do is clap for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool has built a massive 25-point advantage over City at the top of the Premier League table, with the Reds winning 25 of their 27 matches in 2019-20 thus far.
Klopp’s men were cruising toward a league title when the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a halt in March, with play yet to resume.
The English top-flight is aiming to return in June under their “Project Restart” initiative, with the Reds just two wins away from their first Premier League title.
Though City’s title defence is set to end meekly Rodri has said he is still proud of his side’s campaign thus far, with Liverpool simply on another level in 2019-20.
“Sometimes football is like this,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports News. “Liverpool have been amazing this season in the Premier League. They have focused their entire mentality on the Premier League only and in these situations the only thing you can do is clap.
“But we’ve had many problems this year. We have had lots of injuries and important players out but it’s not been a bad season for us – we’re second.
“OK, it’s not where we want to be but sometimes it’s like this, and we have to keep going. I think we are proud of the season we’ve done.
“We already have two titles (Community Shield and Carabao Cup) and we have a chance to get another two including the Champions League.”
A suspected COVID-19 patient died on Tuesday in a vehicle conveying him to an isolation centre in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
His death caused panic among the residents.
The patient was reportedly dropped opposite one of the entrances to a leading commercial bank.
The suspected patient, identified simply as Alex, a Beninoise, resided in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
He was reportedly accompanied by his friend who was seen clutching his remains, seeking help, in a video that trended on social media yesterday.
Alex’s friend claims in the video that the deceased took ill when he returned recently from Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
He said he and Alex were Beninoise residing in Ijebu-Ode, adding that an officer, perhaps referring to a security operative, was conveying them from Sagamu to Owode Idiroko, a border town in Ogun State, when his friend died in the car.
The friend of the deceased said the officer hurriedly dumped him and his deceased friend beside the road.
The development caused not a small concern in Abeokuta as residents of the area were worried for their safety, fearing that people could begin to contract this viral disease if the state government fails to move in to disinfect the area.
Governor Dapo Abiodun through his Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo, advised Abeokuta residents to be calm.
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The Chancellor of the first Sports university in Africa, Prince Ned Nwoko has released pictures of the proposed Stars University, Idumuje-Ugboko in Aniocha North LGA, Delta State to disabused the mind of those who have been fed with lies that no development of such is going on.
The pictures comprises of administrative blocks, lecture hall, canteen and junior staff quarters near completion.
The pictures were released on social media by Prince Ned Nwoko’s Media and Publicity officer, @megastar_magazine.
It would be recalled that National University Commission NUC delegates were there in March 2020 to access the level of work done to facilitate the approval of Stars University which acronym STARS stands for SPORTS, TECHNOLOGY, ART, RESEARCH AND SCIENCE.
The International Council of Nurses, ICN, has revealed that at least 90,000 healthcare workers worldwide have been infected with COVID-19.
It said the figure may be doubled as a result of continuing shortages of Personal Protective Equipment, PPE.
ICN further disclosed that the disease has killed more than 260 nurses.
Speaking with Reuters yesterday, Howard Catton, ICN’s Chief Executive Officer, CEO, charged authorities to make available more accurate records to help prevent the COVID-19 from spreading among staff and patients.
It recalled that last month 100 nurses died in the pandemic, adding that
“The figure for health care workers’ infections has risen from 23,000 to more than 90,000, but that is still an under-estimation because it is not (covering) every country in the world.”
He explained that the estimate of 90,000 is based on information collected on 30 countries from national nursing associations, government figures and media reports.
The ICN represents 130 national associations and more than 20 million registered nurses.
The CEO noted that 3.5 million cases of Coronavirus have been reported worldwide.
“If the average health worker infection rate, about 6 per cent we think, is applied to that, the figure globally could be more than 200,000 health worker infections today,” he said.
“The scandal is that governments are not systematically collecting and reporting on this information. It looks to us as though they are turning a blind eye, which we think is completely unacceptable and will cost more lives,” Catton, a Briton, added.
The ICN said that those “shocking” figures being announced by the World Health Organisation, WHO, is to significantly underestimate the reality.
“This failure to record both infection rates and deaths among health care workers is putting more nurses and their patients in danger,” it said.
Nigerians are celebrating the lockdown-over party in an unknown club.
Are these people not aware of this virus? Clearly they haven’t been informed about the asymptomatic carriers.
We’re advised to maintain social distancing as the only means to curb the spread of the deadly virus but it seems some people are not getting it right.
How could you endanger your life because of fun and party.
Today makes it 10 good years that the Nigerian favourite star, Davido has now been fully active in the music industry.
On May 7th 2011, Davido Emerges into the Nigerian music space with his debut single “Back When” alongside Naeto C – and since then the rest is history.
Davido remains one of Africa’s best artists, the man has walked away with some of the following awards, the MTV Africa Music Awards, Nigeria Music Video Award, BET Award only to name a few.
Davido is one of Nigeria’s most successful artists who has been recognised both locally and internationally.
From the stable of Naijaloaded, we say happy 10 years of continued greatness.
When talent is true, there is no end. I hope we get to celebrate for many years to come. Happy anniversary!
The 19-year-old superhero kid of Mavin REMA is arguably the fastest rising artist in the Nigerian music industry.
And he has made a tremendous impact in less than one year in the game. From launching a breakout single ‘Dumebi’, becoming the
Only Nigerian music artist to feature on Barrack Obama’s summer playlist.
Bagging the winner of two major awards.
Staging concerts in major cities in the world.
Becoming the first Nigerian artist to charge a million naira and above for his first show and list goes on.
Rema is undoubtedly a brilliant artist who has managed to gather all these achievements within just 11 months.
It makes people perceive him as a lucky chap born with a silver spoon who paid to be at the top of the industry. Surely, he has the rich kid looks, but in reality, Rema is far from such speculations.
He went through a struggle to attain the status he currently holds.
Though still young, Rema’s hustle earned him enough to buy his mum a car at the age of 17 and also helped him walk his way through to one of Africa’s biggest record label, mavin records.
But how did Rema, a poor kid with no father who grew up on the streets of Benin rise to global prominence?
March 22nd makes it a year since Divine Ikubor aka Rema joined Mavin records, one of Africa’s biggest record labels.
You guess that Don Jazzy did a great job to have discovered Rema that early, well that is not exactly the case, so let’s rewind to where it all began.
Rema was born on May 1st, 2000 in Benin city, Edo state Nigeria to a father of Edo descent and a mother of Igbo descent.
And he is the 3rd son of the family. Things got tough for him when he tragically lost his father and elder brother within a short space at a young age.
He was forced to take the responsibility of taking care of his mother as the man of the house. By the time he was 11, he had discovered he could do more than just drawing comics and selling to his friends.
Rema Life In church
He had a genuine talent for music. He was good at creating melodies and writing, So he diverted his comic writing talent to songwriting.
Rema started rapping and became a solid member of 3 different music groups in church singing gospel songs.
He was the leader of the rap nation group. Because He had a passion for gospel music and dreamt of someday performing on the big stage of his church headquarters in Lagos, christ embassy.
This was when he adopted the name Rema. His pastor saw the talent in him and advised him to start writing songs. This he took heed to the advice and did so well.
The pastor also gave a prophecy that he would be great, and the whole world will listen to his music. Rema held on firmly to the prophecy, and this has been a significant source of motivation to him throughout his career.
He created a life-band in ehile group of schools where he attended secondary school in Benin. With the help of his drummer friend Osaige, the group became a solid one.
His mum supported his dream but couldn’t afford to sponsor his music career or even afford to further his education to the tertiary level.
Rema Friend Princewill Emmanuel aka Alpha P
Rema met a young singer like himself, Princewill Emmanuel a.k.a Alpha P in a religious event.
Alpha P, just like rema, had pure talents in music but wasn’t doing much with it. Rema became an inspiration to him, and they both became music partners creating a duo known as the rna group.
Alpha P did the hooks while Rema did the rap. They began putting more effort in their music career by writing, recording, and rehearsing daily.
Taking his mum’s advice of making his studies a priority, Rema did his best at school during the day and rushed down to the studio to rehearse and record with Alpha P after school hours.
He spent time listening to various genres of music, and that helped his versatility in producing dynamic sounds. The duo quickly participated in a talent show competition, dream alive talent show in 2015, and emerged winner beating many older artists. They were able to release their first music video in a single titled “Mercy“.
A song that was written to show gratitude to God for taking them this far. They even got interviewed by Channels TV and HipTV at that time.
Watcht the video below:-
Rema Early Hustling life
From the very beginning, Rema knew there was no going back from here, but there was one major problem lacked the finance to fuel his music aspiration.
His mother who was at Benin was hustling hard trekking long distances just to survive so Rema takes a bold decision it dropped all he was doing in Nigeria and traveled to Cotonou around 2016 there he worked hard and kept gathering money as well as keeping his music dream alive.
Rema Work in Ghana
Rema from Cotonou who later took a bus to ghana where he found a minimal job at the beach this young man spends his time wisely in ghana by working to make ends meet and surprisingly make time to mastered Ghanian music after a year he returned to Nigeria in 2017 and by that time was only 17 years old.
Immediately used the money he saved overtime to buy his mom an SUV just to show his support and appreciation with at least some money in his pocket to sustain him as a 17-year-old with no major responsibilities.
Draining his finance Verma had only his mom and music to focus on so he kept his hustle spirit alive the young artists spent a lot on downloaded beats and he had a producer friend who made production cheaper for him.
Rema Road to Fame
Rema kept working to make money that could see him through his studio sessions while doing all this popular OG in the ninth year music industry Dprince released a song “Gucci gang“.
And Rema caught up with a song he loved and just like he had been doing for other songs he made a freestyle cover for the song after contracting producer liquid mix to produce a remix for the song, and he posted the remix on Instagram on February 28th.
Dprince got to listen to the remix, he loved it and he called him over.
Rema meet Don Jazzy
He started recording songs in August 2018 and soon got introduced to Don Jazzy and the Mavins team.
Months later, he recorded songs like “Iron Man” and most of the songs on his 2019 EPs.
A lot was going on the ground as Rema kept learning from the then Mavin crew members like Tiwa Savage, Reekado Banks, and from Don Jazzy himself.
His meeting with these people really helped him refine his talent and brand.
Rema Signed To Mavin Records
In early 2019, he was ready for unveiling on March 22nd 2019, he was officially signed into Mavin records with enough songs to be released.
His debut song “Dumebi” topped major song charts in the country. He followed with awesome music videos and Rema soon became a phenomenon artist everyone talked about.
As Rema sound and age made him so unique in the industry he started taking media interviews his tone was quickly accepted even beyond the shores of Africa and his EP grammer picked on.
Number one on Apple Music in Nigeria he has released over fourteen tracks within eleven months of his entrance into the industry with three extended playlists.
A song Ironman appeared on Barack Obama’s summer playlist it made his debut runway work at the Lagos fashion week in November 2019.
Rema hangs out with Jaden Smith for drake Halloween bash at Delilah West Hollywood California on October 31st, 2019.
Rema Award
On October 19th, 2019 Rema went on and bagged the Next Rated Award and was nominated for viewer’s choice at the 13th edition of the Hadees’ on January 12th it receives the sound city MVP for the best new artists.
Rema Songs
Released two songs in February of 2020.
Rema “Rainbow” and “Beamer” lasted for over a week on Audiomack Top 10 Songs as well as topping the charts on other music rating platforms in Nigeria.
Rema Vision
He also has plans to use his music to influence the fashion and sports industry in Nigeria.
Without a doubt, Rema has been through the highs and lows in the industry coming out stronger and remaining focused and committed to becoming in the future of afro beats.
The bad commando believes is on this planet with a mission to take afro beats. to every part of the world until it becomes one of the desired genders of music in the world.
He is a super talented kid and if he keeps the momentum high and focuses on his music with a great team behind him then the sky is all of the starting-point.
Rema with Drake
Drake on an Instagram live said, “We have six songs together“.
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