Author: straightnewsng.com

The Nigerian aviation sector has been the worst hit since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, Mr. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation has said. Addressing journalists during the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on the control of COVID-19, Sirika said the sector has lost approximately N24 billion due to the closure of the country’s airports. “Based on the trend of events prior to COVID-19, the total loss is about N21 billion approximately plus about N3 billion (trajectionally). It is divided into this form: N7 billion for aviation (what they lose in a month), N10 billion…

Bundesliga is set to be Europe’s first top football league to start the Premier League to complete its season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This follows a nine-day clearance to resume the football in Germany, though fans will not be allowed into the stadiums. Government officials have confirmed the remaining nine or 10 games remaining for clubs can be played from the second half of his month, with the league announcing matches will start from May 15. Getting the green light from Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany is significant for English top-flight teams, who have been watching Bundesliga progress carefully as…

By Akanimo Sampson The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the coronavirus crisis is boosting e-commerce as more people are shopping online all over the world. But it seems the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are not adequately prepared to tap the ensuing opportunities. UNCTAD’s rapid eTrade readiness assessments conducted in Benin, Mali and Niger found that the three West African countries need far-reaching reforms to seize the benefits of online commerce. Findings of the assessments released on April 30 during the UNCTAD eWeek reveal that the three nations need better infrastructure and e-commerce strategies, as well as capacity-building and…

Amidst growing debate on who is a better striker,  Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF’s verdict: Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen, who plies his trade in France is better than Tammy Abraham, the Chelsea forward. Pinnick had tried to lure Abraham to play for Nigeria without success despite his closeness to Tammy’s dad. “I don’t believe that’s an issue. You have a choice; it’s not just today. At a point, John Fashanu refused to play for Nigeria, I was still in secondary school if not primary school,” said Pinnick. “We are all human beings. We are subjected to…

By Akanimo Sampson The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s biggest oil and gas states, is still unrelenting on opening fire on Governor Nyesom Wike. Despite the loud commendation of the vociferous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on how his administration is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, APC says Wike has been handling the scourge poorly. Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the media warhead of Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, in Rivers APC, is alleging that Wike has continued to politicise the pandemic in the troubled oil state.…

The fatal shooting of a Chinese-born coronavirus researcher on US soil has fuelled conspiracy theories around the world. Bing Liu, a 37-year-old assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was found dead in his house on Saturday. Colleagues said he was close to making “significant findings” on his studies of Covid-19, sparking online speculation it was an assassination. But police say it was a murder-suicide. Why did Liu die? He was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities at his home in the Pittsburgh suburbs, according to the local police department. The…

By: Israel Umoh Like a leprous finger, the COVID-19 is sticking out its scary head. The pandemic has thrown open the vacuous systems of developing and developed countries. For the developed countries, the pandemic has been randomly decimating their citizens, thus making their arrival mentality in the health-care system nonsensical. For the developing countries, the virus has shown that they are little pawns in the health-care chessboard and the people are surviving on the mercies of God. Nigeria, the hitherto Giant of Africa of yesterday has become the Lilliputian of today in the comity of developing ones. The health system…

By Akanimo Sampson A political risk consultancy, Menas Associates, has warned in an intelligence report that the focus of attention of jihadism in the Sahel is shifting. According to it, the focus is shifting from the three borders region — between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — to the Lake Chad region. Menas Associates which also provides actionable intelligence for its clients, says the development follows the March 23 attack by Boko Haram’s Bakura Doron group on the Chadian army garrison on the Bohoma peninsula. The political risk consultancy has also been helping multinational companies operate in the Middle-East, Africa…

By Akanimo Sampson Apparently jolted by the emerging People Power on his controversial Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has agreed to subject the draft bill to public hearing. The bill was being fast tracked for passage in the Green Chamber of the bicameral National Assembly. According to Wikipedia, People Power is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political forces. Continuing, the free encyclopedia says People power can be manifested as a…

The Federal Government is open to the possibility of using local herbs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who stated this when the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefed members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, insisted that the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development must first certify any such remedy. Ehanire said the government was not ruling out the possibility of using local herbs for the treatment of COVID-19, adding that what the government was saying was that those who claim to have found cure should subject it to test by…