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COVID-19 Pandemic: A Hungry Man Is Not A Free Man By Adekunle Adeyemi (Scotty Aluta)

According to John F. Kennedy, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” It is no longer news that Coronavirus (Covid-19) is quite alarming and far spreading while food prices have risen dramatically around the country in recent days, fuelling widespread concern and social unrest in communities confronted with devastating price increases when buying provisions and food stuff. Exactly what accounts for this wild upswing in market prices and what do these trends hold for those already living in precarious conditions?

Hunger and malnutrition are self-perpetuating issues that affect a person’s mental ability, health, work and productivity. They constitute the world’s greatest public health risk, more pressing than corona virus (Covid-19).

There will be restrictions of movement due to the outbreak of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) and yet the government have no plan for its citizen during the sit at home period while other countries made provisions for their citizen so as not to lose their lives to hunger because hunger kills faster than a virus. At least 70 per cent of Nigerians are living on stipend even when they go out to hustle to put food on their tables, what will be their fate staying at home for a longer period without having an alternative? How do they survive? If they eventually survive the virus, will they survive the hunger?

The Nigerian government should put a proper measure in place so our case won’t end up like that of Italy, Spain and America respectively or even worse. Nigerians cherish their lives and am very sure the whole of the cities will be empty like a grave yard if the government can roll out an economic stimulus package to its citizen or better still give out relief funds to every individuals.

Influential individuals and organizations are not left out, I personally go against the act of tokenism portrayed by our banking sectors as i see it as policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort. 80% Nigerians are bank users and as well have a BVN (Bank Verification Number), relief funds can be disbursed to Nigerians via their BVN numbers irrespective of where they are. Billions of naira have been paid to the government account by individuals, organizations as well as the banking sectors to support during this pandemic while its citizens are languishing. I hope mosquitoes don’t swallow all the billions as we will be left with no choice as usual to believe it was swallowed by mosquitoes.

The government should put in place an alternatives for its citizen not just to tell us to sit at home and die of hunger as majority of Nigerians lives on hand to mouth on daily basis.

Education and awareness are the first steps to understanding and solving any issue and hunger is no different, while malnutrition is the single largest contributor to disease.

You pray for the hungry, then you feed them. This is how prayer works. – Pope Francis.

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March 30, 2020
WHO Director-General calls on G20 to Fight, Unite, and Ignite against COVID-19

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, addressed Heads of State at today’s extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit focused on COVID-19.

He told them, “You have come together to confront the defining health crisis of our time: We are at war with a virus that threatens to tear us apart – if we let it.“

He welcomed the G20‘s initiative to find joint solutions and work together: “This is a global crisis that requires a global response.”

“Fight, unite, ignite“

Dr Tedros’ call was clear. First, he urged leaders to fight without excuses, without regrets – thanking countries who have already taken steps and urgently asking that they do more.

Second, he encouraged them to unite, stressing that no country can fight this alone, and calling on all countries to build on the solidarity already sparked by the crisis.

Third, he exhorted them to ignite a global movement to ensure this never happens again.

He welcomed G20 leaders‘ commitment “to do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic” to protect lives and livelihoods, as well as restore confidence and shore up stability currently threatened in trade and other sectors, and to commit to take all necessary health measures and seek to ensure adequate financing to contain the pandemic and protect people, especially the most vulnerable.“

The G20 committed to support and further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the response, and called for full funding of WHO‘s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.

G20 members pledged to work together to increase research and development funding for vaccines and medicines, strengthen international scientific cooperation, and leverage digital technologies.

In turn, they tasked WHO and other relevant organizations with assessing gaps in pandemic preparedness and report the findings of this assessment to the G20 Finance and Health Ministers, in order to establish a global initiative on pandemic preparedness and response together.

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March 27, 2020
Socso launches programme to assist workers who have lost jobs

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Ministry, through its agency, the Social Security Organisation (Socso), has launched the Employment Retention Programme (ERP) to assist workers who have lost their jobs.

Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan (pix) said the programme which was introduced as part of the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package, will be implemented through the Employment Insurance System.

“The assistance will be provided in the form of temporary financial benefits and employment services,” he said in a Public Service Announcement today.

In this connection, Kumpulan Wang Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (KWPSM) also launched a 2020 Training Stimulus Package which will benefit more than 40,000 local workers in the hotel, tourism management and air transport sectors which have been affected by Covid-19.

Saravanan reminded employers not to impose employee pay cuts or force employees to use their annual leave during the length of the government’s Movement Control Order aimed at containing Covid-19.

“It is the responsibility of employers to ensure the well-being and health of their workers,” he stressed.

The minister also called on Malaysians to abide by the Movement Control Order which took effect on March 18 and was recently extended to April 14.

“Stay calm, stay home,” he urged. – Bernama

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March 26, 2020
Penang rickshaw peddlers to receive three-month aid payout

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will issue full payments for April to June to rickshaw peddlers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak next month.

State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said each rickshaw peddler would receive a sum of RM500, which included an allowance of RM300 and a one-off cash assistance of RM200.

“I have communicated with various sectors to understand the needs of the various parties and I have also conveyed the needs and recommendations to the state government to get the best help for them.

“The payout is expected to benefit about 318 peddlers,“ he said in a statement today.

The state government previously allocated RM100 a month to peddlers in the state to help those with no fixed income.

Yeoh said a total of 1,367 tour guides registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would also receive a one-off cash assistance worth RM500 each.

“10,000 e-hailing drivers in Penang will also receive RM300 one-off assistance while 2,248 taxi drivers will benefit from an initial incentive payment of RM300 with an additional RM200 one-off.

“All of these assistance is part of the Penang People’s Aid Package announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow yesterday. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the people and sectors that need the most help will benefit, ” he said.

Yesterday, Chow announced a RM75 million People’s Aid Package to be distributed to 15 target groups involving over 400,000 recipients who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. – Bernama

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March 26, 2020
Justice For Sambo Abdullahi, Victory For Whistleblowers In Nigeria By Chido Onumah and Godwin Onyeacholem

Whistleblowers are the first line of defence against corruption, crime and cover-ups, according to a 2019 paper by the All–Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on whistleblowing in the UK.

For Sambo Abdullahi, head of internal audit at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, it has been one long tortuous journey. Over the past two years, he has been at the receiving end of the retaliation whistleblowers around the world, including in Nigeria, face for shining the light on malfeasance around them: denial of wages, job losses, expensive court cases, abuse, psychological trauma, blacklisting across their sector, and sometimes death.

Abdullahi has been denied his salary and other allowances since December 2017, threatened, blacklisted, arrested and sued. All of this for acting professionally and responding patriotically to the call of the Nigerian government asking citizens to join the fight against corruption by blowing the whistle on corrupt practices and other forms of wrongdoing in the country.

In two separate courts, in Ifo, Ogun State, and Okitipupa, Ondo State, where in a most brazen abuse of judicial process, Abdullahi was summoned to answer charges of defamation levelled against him by his boss, Dr. Marilyn Amobi, Managing Director of NBET, he easily walked through the doorway of victory. Both cases were struck out on account of Dr. Amobi’s lack of seriousness in prosecuting.

The crisis of corruption in NBET has been going on for almost three years and the government appears not to have any solution. The appointment of Dr Amobi as the second substantive MD/CEO of NBET signified doom not only for Abdullahi as head of internal audit but also for the entire staff of the company. The MD withheld Abdullahi’s salary and other emoluments just because he exercised the right to decline participation in her fraudulent activities and rejected an unwarranted deployment to a new department unilaterally created by the MD to continue to perpetrate fraud.

Abdullahi, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), graduated in Accounting from a reputable university and has over two decades of experience. He acquired experiences from both the private and public sectors before joining NBET. He was the pioneer Head of Internal Audit of NBET in 2012; a position he held till 2016 when Dr Amobi joined the company.

Within one month of Dr. Amobi’s assumption of office, Abdullahi discovered the illegal over-payment of N2 billion to two generating plants, Omotosho Power Plc and Olorunsogo Power Plc, both of which have no Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) and Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) as required by industry agreement. The implication of this fraudulent transaction is that electricity consumers on a monthly basis pay N2billion in excess of what they ought to have paid if this fraud is averted. It is on record that the very first month the fraud was detected, Dr Amobi assumed the role of internal auditor by signing off the payment vouchers.

Her defence for this unlawful violation was that the mandatory GSA and GTA had been waived. The questions for her are, who approved the waiver? Why was the waiver not extended to other thermal plants? And why did the waiver idea come only after the head of internal audit had uncovered the fraud?

Other transactions that made Abdullahi to incur the wrath of Dr. Amobi was his refusal to endorse other payment vouchers for illegal procurement of alcohol using taxpayers’ money, proposed monthly payment of N2.5million to one Engr. Achinaya (an ex-staff of both NEPA and PHCN) without procurement process, procurement of legal advisory services of Azinge & Azinge and Aelex law firms in gross violation of the Procurement Act, and payment for return flight ticket from London for Dr Amobi to resume work in NBET in violation of the NBET Board-approved benefit compensation packages just to mention a few.

As a retaliation against Abdullahi for doing his job professionally, which to Dr Amobi connotes standing in her way, she colluded with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to get rid of Abdullahi and his colleague Waziri Bintube. Both were removed from their duly appointed and NBET Board- approved functions as head of internal audit and Chief Finance Officer respectively. While Abdullahi’s salary was stopped, Bintube was sacked.

In response, the duo wrote a petition to the Ministry of Power in 2017. The ministerial committee report was released in March 2018 and vindicated them, while indicting Dr. Amobi. But despite the minister’s (Babatunde Fashola) directives that Abdullahi’s salary should be restored and Bintube reinstated immediately, and in fact that both workers should enjoy the rights of NBET staff, Dr. Amobi refused to comply with the directives.

Till date, she denies Abdullahi his salaries and Bintube has not been called back. Dr. Amobi heads a government agency supervised by a Ministry, but her insolent defiance of a Ministerial order is unprecedented in the history of public sector administration in Nigeria. And it is strange that this is happening under a government that claims to prioritize due process and accountability in the public sector.

As if the stoppage of salaries and sacking were not enough, Dr Amobi got Abdullahi and Bintube detained in the facility of the State Security Services (SSS) for more than twenty-four hours. Several directives by Babatunde Fashola, then Minister of Power, were rebuffed by Dr Amobi who insisted that as an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari she would only take directives from the president.

While the issue of salary suspension remained unresolved in spite of interventions from the Ministry of Power, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the office of the Vice President, among others, Abdullahi approached the National Industrial Court in December 2018, twelve months after the unlawful stoppage of his salaries, with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Dr Marilyn Amobi (MD/CEO), Hon Minister of Power and the Ministry of Power as defendants.

On March 11, 2020, Abdullahi (the claimant) once again walked the path of victory with the court delivering judgement in his favour. According to Hon Justice O. O. Oyewumi, the act of the suspension of the claimant’s salaries from December 2017 till date was wrongful; the denial of the claimant’s 2017 and 2018 leave was wrongful; the 1st and 2nd defendants, contrary to its terms and conditions of service, withheld the claimant’s salary and other emoluments wrongfully. The judge ordered the payment of Abdullahi’s salaries and other allowances, noting, “All sums awarded in the judgement is to be paid within 30days of the judgement, failure upon which it attracts 21% interest thereon per annum.”

While the case lasted in court, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Auditor General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Procurement all issued reports indicting Dr Amobi while recommending her immediate prosecution. Sadly, some higher powers are preventing this from happening.

Governance problems are commonly found in federal government agencies due to either lack of a Board or total collapse of the governance structure. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Akoh, noted in a letter to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, dated January 7, 2020, that “for the past 14 months, no Board meeting of the company (NBET) was held, a situation which has serious consequences on the corporate governance of the company”. Truth is, no Board meeting of NBET has held since August 2018 when Professor Yemi Osinbajo, then Acting President, ratified the reconstitution of the NBET Board of Directors recommended by Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance.

The governance collapse in NBET has entrusted the fate of about 80 million electricity consumers in Nigeria in the hands of Dr Amobi who sees herself as not only untouchable, but also a sort of “Alfa and Omega.” She formulates and executes policies at will, such as changing the company organogram whenever she sees any staff as standing in her way. The entire senior management has passed a vote of no confidence in Dr Amobi but despite this and other fraudulent activities traceable to her, no action was taken by the government to ameliorate the problem in the power sector and curb the continuous fraud being perpetrated in NBET.

The Minister of Power of Power Engr. Sale Mamman, in December 2019, made a daring move to respond to the situation by suspending Dr. Amobi from office indefinitely. But curiously, he was overruled by President Muhammadu Buhari in less than two weeks and Dr. Amobi was returned to office.

This forced the Minister to fire a letter dated January 8, 2020, to Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, detailing investigations by the ICPC, EFCC and the reports of the Auditor General of the Federation which implicated the NBET boss “for breach of due process in the award of contracts and several financial wrongdoings.” In that letter copied to President Buhari, the Minister reminded the SGF of “the additional baggage which the suspended MD carries in the light of the anti-corruption stance of the Federal Government.”

If this government wants to be seen as genuinely fighting corruption, the NBET case is a golden opportunity to faithfully demonstrate that conviction. Dr. Amobi has been indicted for corruption by government anti-corruption agencies. The place for her, therefore, is the courtroom, not a cushioned seat of a government agency.

Meanwhile, before Dr. Amobi’s prosecution, government should direct her to obey without delay the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in the suit filed by a whistleblower, Sambo Abdullahi, the head of internal audit of NBET.

In addition, government should realize that all whistleblowers deserve full and effective protection from all kinds of retaliation, without which its whistleblowing policy will not succeed as an instrument for reducing corruption in the country.

Onumah and Onyeacholem are with the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)

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March 26, 2020
Oil Benchmark Slashed To $30 Per Barrel By Nigerian Government

The Nigerian Government on Wednesday proposed $30 per barrel of oil so as to work the 2020 national budget around that.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, in Abuja.

Ahmed advised a review of the 2020 budget using a $30 per barrel price benchmark in favour of the previous $57.

She also said, “The privatisation proceeds will be cut by 50 per cent, based on the adverse economic outlook on sales of the Independent Power Projects and other assets.

“The Federal Government is working on Fiscal Stimulus Measures to provide fiscal relief for taxpayers and key economic sectors.

“We will incentivise employers to retain and recruit staff during the economic downturn.

“We will stimulate investment in critical infrastructure; review non-essential tax waivers to optimise revenues, and compliment monetary and trade interventions to respond to the crisis.”

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March 26, 2020
World TB Day 2020: It’s Time for solidarity
At this unique time in history when the world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes stands in solidarity with governments and communities as they seek to maintain health services
and continue to address the needs of patients suffering from HIV and tuberculosis (TB).

Despite being preventable and treatable, tuberculosis remains the world’s biggest infectious killer and the leading cause of death among people living with HIV (PLHIV), responsible for 32% of the 770 000 lives lost to HIV in 2018. People
living with HIV are far more vulnerable (nearly 20 times more) to TB infection than people without HIV and are three times more likely to die during TB treatment.

While there are proven interventions that reduce TB deaths – such as provision of TB preventive treatment, adoption of novel diagnostics for earlier TB diagnosis and linkage to treatment, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) – we are far behind
in scaling these up, and diagnostic and treatment gaps remain, with only half of estimated TB cases among PLHIV reaching care in 2018, only half of estimated PLHIV with TB receiving ART, and less than half of PLHIV new on ART initiating TB preventive
treatment in a subset of countries which reported globally.

On this World TB Day, WHO highlights two key interventions to reduce unnecessary TB deaths among PLHIV:
- (1) provision of TB preventive treatment for all eligible PLHIV; and
- (2) increased uptake of newer diagnostic tests such as the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay (TB-LAM.)
As the new Director for the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes, I support current efforts to continue and to take to scale TB activities. It’s Time for solidarity!

-Meg Doherty, Director Global HIV, hepatitis and STI Programmes, WHO

HIV programmes are encouraged to ensure that TB preventive treatment, including shorter WHO-recommended regimens, with updated guidance launched today, are provided to all eligible PLHIV as part of a routine package of care, including provision of ART, and that treatment completion is ensured.

In recent months, WHO has also released guidelines for use of a bedside urine TB-LAM test to accelerate earlier TB diagnosis, with significantly expanded eligibility criteria. As this test is “point of care” with the potential for earlier
TB diagnosis and treatment initiation, HIV programmes should consider these recommendations as they enhance strategies for TB diagnosis among PLHIV, including as part of a routine package of advanced HIV care.

It’s Time to urgently scale up TB preventive treatment and TB diagnosis and strengthen referral and linkages to TB treatment at HIV service delivery points in all countries and continue to scale-up ART among PLHIV with TB. This applies to all populations
at risk, including children, pregnant women and marginalized groups, to ensure no one is left behind.

WHO calls for continued collaboration in countries across health programmes for harmonized and integrated policies and service delivery, and engagement with communities and other sectors. Unless HIV programmes scale up interventions to close these
gaps in prevention, diagnosis and treatment both for TB and HIV, countries and their development partners will not meet our common target: a 75% reduction in TB deaths among PLHIV between 2010 and 2020. HIV mortality cannot be reduced without addressing
the leading cause: tuberculosis.

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March 25, 2020
Govt to bear RM662m electricity bill discount

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will bear the cost of an electricity discount for selected sectors amounting to RM662 million, of which RM122.5 million is for Sarawak and RM37.2 million for Sabah, this year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said.

He said the cost would be borne through the Kumpulan Wang Industri Elektrik’s (KWIE) fund for Peninsular Malaysia, and by the federal government for Sabah and Sarawak, he said in a statement today.

The electricity discount of 2% and 15% for six months beginning April was specified under the Economic Stimulus Package 2020, which was aimed at reducing the cash flow problem faced by tourism-related businesses, as well as commercial, industrial and agriculture users affected by Covid-19.

A discount of 15% is given to six selected business sectors under the Trade Tariff category and is expected to result in a reduction of electricity bills for the period amounting to RM40 million in the Peninsula, RM20 million in Sabah and RM8.5 million in Sarawak.

Shamsul Anuar said the 15% discount would involve 10,000 accounts in the six sectors, namely hotel operators, travel and tourism agencies, shopping complexes, convention centres, theme parks, and local airlines offices.

On the other hand, commercial, industrial and agriculture users would get 2.0% discount.

“This would benefit about 1.6 million Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) account holders with electricity bill savings estimated at RM370 million for the six-month period,” he said.

For Sabah, it would benefit 99,322 account owners with an estimated cost of RM11.5 million, while for Sarawak, it involves an estimated cost of RM107.2 million for 100,000 account owners.

Shamsul Anuar said domestic or residential category users would enjoy electricity bill savings through a 2% discount on the electricity consumption for the April 1-Sept 30, 2020 period.

“This means that the people will enjoy a 2% discount during the period, in addition to the 6% discount already enjoyed by domestic consumers for the Jan 1-June 30, 2020 period,” he said.

This is expected to provide estimated electricity bill savings of RM92 million to about 7.5 million TNB account holders for the six-month period.

“For Sabah, it will benefit 520,378 domestic consumers at an estimated cost of RM5.7 million, while for Sarawak, it will benefit 585,637 domestic consumers at an estimated cost of RM6.8 million,” Shamsul Anuar said. – Bernama

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March 19, 2020
PN govt faces difficult economic situation, says Saifuddin Nasution

PETALING JAYA: The government may face an uphill task trying to recover the country’s economy due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Former Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution (pix) pointed out that the previous Pakatan Harapan administration had based the country’s 2020 Budget on the crude oil price of US$62 (RM269) per barrel.

However, he noted that the global virus outbreak has caused oil price to plummet by half to around US$30 (RM130) per barrel.

Saifuddin said this, coupled with the expected tax collection when the budget was announced in October, meant the government’s revenue could be far below than initially predicted.

“Basing on the oil price alone, we could lose about RM10 billion in potential revenue. This does not yet include incomes from the various other sectors.

“Based on my experience being in the Cabinet, I would say that the government’s financial situation now is very complicated,” he told a press conference that was streamed on Facebook today.

Saifuddin was asked to comment if he believed the government has the financial strength to provide RM600 for up to six months to any Malaysian forced to go on unpaid leave due to Covid-19, as announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The PKR secretary-general said the financial assistance would only make up a small portion of the government’s spending, reminding the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration that it still has debt commitments.

“If they don’t pay according to schedule, it will affect our country’s position from various ratings agencies.

“We may still be able to take up loans in the future, but then we will have to pay a higher interest rate,” he said.

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March 17, 2020
830 more nurses for government hospitals, says Health Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will place 830 nurses in government hospitals to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in this country, according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

He said their appointments on a contract basis was to beef up the manpower capacity at 135 government hospitals across the country in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases since last week.

“They, comprising nurses who have completed their studies at the ministry’s nursing colleges, will serve for two years,“ he said at the daily media conference on Covid-19, here today.

Dr Adham said Malaysia had sufficient medical manpower including more than 60,000 doctors in the public and private sectors.

“We have enough (professional medical practitioners) in every state at this moment but what we need now is (more) infectious disease physicians,“ he added.

Besides that, he said the MOH had 926 medical ventilators including 152 non-invasive ventilators and 142 transport ventilators.

“The ministry is ordering 800 more ventilators to meet the current need,“ he added.

On a related development, Dr Adham said of the attendees at the recent four-day Tabligh Assembly held at Sri Petaling Jamek Mosque, more than 7,000 had come forward for Covid-19 screening.

However, he said, the MOH did not know yet the number of positive cases. – Bernama

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March 16, 2020