The report that Nigeria has recorded a 500 percent increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks across the country caused by the Delta and Omicron variants is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that Nigeria has recorded a 500 percent increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks across the country caused by the Delta and Omicron variants.
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Abuja, observed that Nigeria is now in a fourth COVID-19 wave, adding that as at December 19, 2021, a total of 223,887 cases and 2985 deaths were recorded across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Adetifa noted that the virus that causes COVID-19 is more likely to spread in mass gatherings, especially when held indoors with full capacity and poor ventilation and recommended outdoor events with physical distancing, compulsory use of face masks and provision of hand-washing facilities or hand sanitisers.
He said: “Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is launching its Yuletide season campaign themed #CelebrateResponsibly as part of the #TakeResponsibility campaign, which began in February 2020. #CelebrateResponsibly focuses specifically on measures Nigerians need to take to protect themselves and loved ones from COVID-19 during this period.
“The #CelebrateResponsibly campaign targets the entertainment industry, transport industry, religious settings, media, security personnel, young people, and the general public to promote adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures during this festive period.
Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health, as well as NCDC and its partners, are therefore intensifying risk communication efforts to remind Nigerians of the risk we face and need to take collective responsibility to reduce transmission of the virus.”
The newspaper says that notwithstanding the high food inflation in the country, Nigerians have continued to contend with the rising costs of making meals either at home or from commercial food vendors, going by the latest prices of gas and kerosene.
In the absence of regular electricity supply, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and kerosene are the major sources of cooking fuel for many Nigerians, but the rising costs have seen a growing percentage of households shifting to firewood and saw dust.
The 2019 expenditure pattern report, which measures Nigeria’s spending pattern in both food and non-food items, revealed that of the total, 56.65 per cent of the household expenditure in 2019 was spent on food, with the balance of about 43.35 spent on non-food items.
With a high food inflation and rising cooking fuel costs, the amount spent on food is expected to have doubled, pushing many households into poverty and hunger.
Marketers note that the shortage in the local market is caused by poor supply, as many gas-producing firms prefer to export rather than supply the domestic market due to the price parity. Currently, the Nigerian LPG domestic market gets 60 per cent of products from import by marketers while a paltry 40 per cent is supplied locally.
| The Punch reports that the Federal Government has outlined nine completed and ongoing hydropower projects being prepared to add 2,672 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
It outlined the projects in its latest document containing the status of the country’s hydropower sector, which was obtained from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Abuja by our correspondent on Monday. Data from the FMWR showed that the nine projects were located in five states including Kaduna, Taraba, Gombe, Benue and Nasarawa. They include the 30MW Gurara I hydropower project in Kaduna, completed and put on concession; 360MW Gurara II plant, also in Kaduna, with its engineering, procurement and construction contract already awarded. Others include the Kashimbila, Dadin-Kowa and Itisi hydropower projects with capacities of 40MW each and located in Taraba, Gombe and Kaduna states respectively. The government said both the Kashimbila and Dadin-Kowa hydropower projects had been completed and were ready for concession, while a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed with Kaduna State on the Itisi project. It said three other hydropower projects, namely, Bawarku, 182MW; Makurdi, 1,500MW; and Katsina-Ala, 460MW, were all located in Benue State. The ministry stated that the Bawarku Hydropower project was in its Outline Business Case approval stage by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission. The newspaper says that Debt Management Office says the proposed N250bn sukuk will be used to finance key economic road projects identified by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Federal Capital Territory Administration, and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. The DMO’s Director-General, Patience Oniha, said this in Abuja, on Monday, at a media sensitisation programme on the debt issuance, while inviting investors within and outside Nigeria to participate in the sovereign sukuk. The offer is a 12.8 per cent, 10-year Ijarah sukuk due 2031, which opened on December 16 and will close on December 22, 2022. Oniha said the government was working to enhance revenue so that spending on other capital projects could be sourced locally instead of through loans. She said, “Sukuk is one of the instruments we use for borrowing. This is tied to some specific projects. The exchange rate has been relatively stable. Monetary policies affect lending rates. The Sukuk we are looking to issue today is for roads and bridges. This time round, we are working with the FCT and Niger Delta Ministry — they have road projects. The Sun reports that the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged government to avoid imposition of lockdown of the economy even as the spread of Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to generate concerns. “While we celebrate the positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth recorded all through the three quarters of this year, the recovery of the economy from the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 is still fragile. “The government must do everything in its power to sustain the positive growth trajectory towards an inclusive and sustainable growth rate.” He stated that Nigeria needed a long-term containment strategy and public health action plan to manage epidemics and pandemics without having to lock down the economy. In the short term, considering Nigeria’s low vaccination coverage, Olawale-Cole recommended that the government should develop and deploy strategies to get more citizens vaccinated. “These strategies need to address both the supply and demand-side challenges to vaccination”. ThisDay says that stakeholders in Nigeria’s gas sector under the aegis of Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) have listed areas in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that require urgent reconsideration, clarification and amendment for the realisation of optimum value. Some of the areas needing clarification and amendment, as pointed out by the NGA include issues around domestic gas delivery obligations, lack of clarity on licensing requirements for midstream and downstream gas, and potential overlap in the roles of the two new agencies. Other contentions areas, according to the group are the exclusion of the industry or private sector representation on the governing council of the midstream and downstream gas infrastructure fund and the lack of clarity on transition from a regulated to a market-based gas pricing regime. The NGA in a communiqué signed by its President and Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Gas, Mr. Ed Ubong, after its meeting, stated that certain provisions of the PIA required further engagement and clarification to ensure unambiguity in their implementation. The NGA raised concerns on the nature and extent of domestic gas delivery obligations and the scope of the discretion to be wielded by the regulators, given the commercial, contractual, technical and financial considerations underlying investments to meet such obligations. |
GIK/APA