Fred Ezeh, James Ojo and Benjamin Babine, Abuja
Hope of tertiary institution students returning to school soon was dashed yesterday, when the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 confirmed that there was no plan yet to reopen tertiary institutions.
National Coordinator of PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, in a radio interview, said the PTF was, at the moment, concerned with measures that would flatten the curve and contain community transmission.
“We know that schools, together with restaurants, bars and other entrainment activities could encourage community transmission of the dreaded coronavirus, hence the reason we were not in hurry to reopen them.
“However, we have taken pragmatic measures to ensure we do not lose a whole year in terms of primary to secondary school transition, hence the president’s approval for schools to reopen so that exiting students could return to school and write their examinations some of which are regional.
“Summarily, there is no plan to reopen tertiary institutions until we get to the top of the numbers and also see clearly that we are making significant progress in terms of flattening the curve.”
On Monday, PTF announced some modifications to the phase two of the ease of lockdown as earlier approved by President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Chairman of PTF, Boss Mustapha, said at the daily briefing that the president approved that schools should be reopen for Primary six, JSS 3 and SS3 students.
In addition, he said the president equally approved the lifting of the ban on inter-state travels while maintaining the curfew time which starts from 10pm to 4am.
JOHESU gives conditions for peace in health sector
The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has warned that the outcome of today’s meeting with the Federal Ministry of Health would determine if there will be industrial peace in the health sector.
Chairman of the union, Josiah Bebelemonye, said at the end of an emergency meeting, yesterday, that they decided to attend the meeting to see how to salvage or prevent a total shutdown of the health system.
“Yes, we are very mindful of the consequences of shutting down the health sector, but recently, we noticed developments have shown that we are being pushed, we are being forced to engage in a shut down process
“We clamoured for hazard allowance especially a special hazard allowance for this COVID-19 period, we also entered an agreement with government and paragraph 1a is explicit; replace who ever is earning N5,000 with 50 percent of his or her own basic salary.
“The N5,000 that was shared across board should be shelved and 50 per cent replace it also across board for the workers but after about six weeks delay, the payment was done but its now generating huge uproar within the health system,” he explained.
According to him, any worker in the health system directly or indirectly employed to carry out health services for the good of the citizen are to covered, but “today, some machinations has been taken place to redefine who a health worker is to say that some persons are no longer health workers and so they should be paid 10 per cent.”
He said some of the persons that they have been discriminated against fall under the categories of health workers that are even more exposed than some of the professionals being paid 50 per cent.
“For example, the laundry people who collect all the beddings from the hospitals, isolation and treatment centres of COVID-19, wash these beddings and then you say they are not, whereas, the World Health Organisation definition of health workers encompasses the administrators, accountants, maintenance and this was made clear by the Ministry of Labour, only to be reinterpreted by the Federal Ministry of Health.
“Everybody in the health sector is involved in one way or the other, that was why paragraph 1a was not stupid to present itself for all. Why are we discriminating payment now?”
Biobebelemoye stated that there have been protests in many hospitals but the Union had to step in to avert crisis.
He appealed to JOHESU members to exercise a little patience, hoping that by the end of today’ s meeting, the ministry will think better than pushing us into shutting the health system down.
EU donates palliatives worth N18m to NAPTIP
The European Union (EU) has donated COVID-19 response items, including food and non food items worth N18 million to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for onward distribution to victims of human trafficking, rape and other domestic violence at various NAPTIP shelter.
The items was presented by officials of the Action Against Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants in Nigeria (A-TIPSOM) and The International Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) in Abuja, on Tuesday.
The Institutional Coordinator of FIIAPP/A-TIPSOM, Jose Antonio Nsang Andeme, said the intervention was meant to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on trafficked persons.
Director General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, appreciated the intervention and assured the items would be justly distributed to the target benefactors.
Chinese firms donate PPE to finance ministry
Similarly, China Great Wall Industry Corporation and China General Chamber of Commerce have donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning as contributions to the fight against COVID-19.
The firms donated kits which included facemasks, hand thermometers, thermal thermometers and other equipments useful for self protection and also for combating the virus.
This ministry said in a statement that the two Chinese firms were received in Abuja by the Minister, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.
President of the China General Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ye Shuijin, said while presenting the kits that the Chamber is a representative of all Chinese companies in Nigeria.