The indefinite suspension of national examinations, increase in inflation rate and a leap in the number of coronavirus cases are some of the leading stories in the Nigerian press on Wednesday.
The Nation reported that this year’s West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) have been postponed indefinitely.
The newspaper also reported that 117 new cases of Coronavirus have been recorded in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC).
The Sun said that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 12.6 percent in March, 2020 from 12.26 percent recorded in February, the highest in 23 months.
This Day said that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm that the country has only 300 critical care doctors, a number grossly insufficient should Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases surge beyond expectation.
The Daily Trust reported that the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, led by its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has ordered the suspension of the congregational prayers (tarawih), tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an) and I’tikaf (seclusion in a mosque) during this year’s Ramadan.
The Punch said the Federal Government was worried by the rising cases of COVID-19 in Kano State.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnibe Mamora, who said this in Abuja at a media briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the Federal Government would increase its support for the highly populated state to stop the spread of the virus.
Channels Television says the Federal Government is set to expand the social register for palliative distribution by employing digital models, including the use of Bank Verification Number (BVN).
The Leadership reported that after three years of struggling with diabetes, one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s bodyguards, Warrant Officer Lawal Mato, on Tuesday passed away.
The Guardian said that the team of 15 Chinese medical professionals, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 8, 2020, with medical equipment worth about $1.5 million, would be completing the mandatory 14-day isolation period today.
MM/GIK/APA