The warning by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) to Nigerians to brace up for a third COVID-19 wave and the investigation by the Nigerian Air Force into the reported killing of soldiers in airstrikes are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that as India continues to set a new global record for a rise in daily coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day, while deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by an all-time high over the last 24 hours, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) has warned Nigerians to brace up for a third COVID-19 wave.
On Sunday, India reported 346,786 new cases of COVID-19 for the previous 24 hours, with 2,624 deaths – the world’s highest daily toll since the pandemic began last year. Overall, nearly 190,000 people have died from COVID in the country, while more than 16.6 million have been infected.
The PSC warning came as the Rapid-Response initiative group of the Academy of Medicine Specialties (AMS) stated that to avoid a third wave of COVID-19 in the country, the Federal Government should close international airports to all flights for at least two weeks.
PSC said the cases in India and Turkey are of particular concern to the country due to the demographic similarities with Nigeria and the fact that they currently experience serious third waves, adding that over 2,500 Indians died on Sunday alone, more than they suffered on any day in the first and second waves, and more than the total Nigeria has ever lost on record.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general voiced alarm yesterday at India’s record-breaking wave of coronavirus cases and deaths, describing the situation as “beyond heartbreaking. WHO is doing everything we can, providing critical equipment and supplies, including thousands of oxygen concentrators, prefabricated mobile field hospitals and laboratory supplies,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva during a media briefing.
The Punch says that the Nigerian Air Force has commenced an investigation into the reported killing of soldiers in airstrikes.
Over 20 soldiers were allegedly slain when a NAF fighter jet responding to attacks on a military camp by Boko Haram insurgents bombed the camp based on a wrong coordinate.
Scores of insurgents had attacked the military camp in Mainok during which over seven soldiers, including an officer, lost their lives.
But TheCable reported that many soldiers were also killed by airstrikes carried out by the NAF jet.
Reacting to the report on Monday, the NAF spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, an air commodore, said the incident was under investigation.
The newspaper reports that the quantity of foreign exchange used for oil imports in 2020 was $1.32bn, compared to $2.10bn in 2019, the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria have shown.
The CBN’s data on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex revealed that $148.32m was utilised in January for oil imports; $145.23m in February, and $139.55m in March.
Forex for oil import transactions fell to $113.80m in April and $109.11m in May but rose to $114.57m in June. It stood at $77.36m in July; $82.37m in August; $72.63m in September; $78.86m in October; $92.91m in November and $146.95m in December.
Although the CBN did not specify the oil imported into the country, Nigeria’s oil imports consist mainly of petrol, diesel and kerosene. Fuel consumption and imports plunged to record low in the second quarter of 2020 amid the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been the major importer of petroleum products and sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years amid a lack of full deregulation in the downstream oil sector and scarcity of forex.
The Sun says that the Nigerian Government has released another N120 billion through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to subsidise those on tariff bands D and E with less than 12 hours of power supply.
While dismissing World Bank’s claim that 78 per cent of power consumers in Nigeria get less than 12 hours of daily supply of electricity, the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Rufai Zakari, in a statement, queried the empiricism of the bank’s figures.
According to the data from Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), 55 per cent of citizens connected to the grid are in tariff bands D and E which have less than 12 hours of power supply.
Those citizens, he said, are being fully subsidised to pre-September 2020 tariffs until DIsCos are able to improve supply.
“It is inaccurate to make a blanket statement that 78 per cent of Nigerians have less than 12- hour daily access. The data from NERC is that 55 per cent of citizens connected to the grid are in tariff bands D and E which are less than 12 hours supply. Those citizens are being fully subsidised to pre-September 2020 tariffs until DisCos are able to improve supply.
ThisDay reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted operating licenses to 10 additional international money transfer operators (IMTOs) as part of efforts to boost diaspora remittances.
With the new licenses issued, the total number of IMTOs operating in the country now stands at 57. In an updated post on its website yesterday,
CBN listed the newly-licensed operators as Transfercorp Limited/VFD Group; Comot Trading Nigeria Limited; Direkt Wire UK Limited; Gabtrans UK Limited in partnership with Moneyto Limited; GDM Transfer PTY Limited; Innovate 1 Pay Limited; Paysend Plc; SANAA Capital LLC (Money4 Diaspora Services LLC); Swift Payment Limited and WI-PAY Global LLC.
The CBN has in recent times been designing policies to encourage further inflows of the foreign currencies. CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had said reforms to increase diaspora remittances into the country would support the economy and help reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had said if the country could have inflows of about $10 billion to $15 billion, this would have a significant effect on the economy amidst the current fiscal constraints.
The central bank has said all diaspora remittances must go through the deposit money banks rather than mortgage or fintech institutions.
GIK/APA