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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
Schistosomiasis elimination: refocusing on snail control to sustain progress
Substantial progress has been made during the past decade to prevent and control schistosomiasis (also known as bilharziasis) globally. The disease affects more than 230 million people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Progress is mainly due to large-scale periodic treatment of affected populations with praziquantel, the only medicine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against all forms of schistosomiasis. Regular treatment cures mild symptoms and prevents
progression to severe, chronic disease.

“Through progressive scale-up of periodic large-scale treatment
to control morbidity in many endemic countries, we are closer to
achieving the minimum target of 75% global coverage of all school‐aged
children,” said Dr Amadou Garba Djirmay, who leads WHO’s global schistosomiasis control programme. “But
if we want to achieve elimination, we must go a step further to
introduce snail control in hot spots and in areas targeting elimination.
This is bound to increase impact and accelerate progress towards
interruption of transmission.”

Expansion of treatment is largely supported by donated praziquantel from Merck KGaA of up to 250 million tablets annually. In 2018, almost 78 million children were treated, representing 63% of all school‐aged children eligible for treatment.

Transmission: role of snails

Schistosomiasis is an acute, chronic parasitic disease caused by infection with trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma. It is prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in poor, rural communities that have little or no access to
safe drinking‐water and basic sanitation. Infection is transmitted when people suffering from schistosomiasis contaminate freshwater sources when evacuating urine and faeces containing the parasite’s eggs.

Once an egg comes into contact with fresh water, it releases miracidia (hatchlings) which enter a snail and produce hundreds of cercariae (larvae) daily. The cercariae enter the human body on contact with the skin and develop into adult worms.

Besides treatment with praziquantel, eliminating snail hosts and improving sanitation are important methods for sustainable prevention of the disease. Dam and irrigation projects are known to be potential sites for outbreaks of the disease. Snail management,
often achieved through mollusciciding, can help to reduce transmission by eliminating these intermediate snail hosts.

Vector control

In 2017, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision making body – adopted resolution WHA70.16 on the Global Vector Control
Response, calling on Member States to develop or adapt national vector control strategies and operational plans. The strategy aims to reduce by at least 40% the incidence of vector borne diseases, including schistosomiasis, by 2025.

In response, WHO is reinforcing snail control as part of its strategic approach to achieve the target of eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem and, ultimately, the goal of elimination of transmission. Snail control will complement mass
treatment campaigns and sustain the public health impact of this core intervention.

To facilitate implementation of snail control, in 2019 WHO published on specific, standardized procedures and criteria for efficacy
testing and evaluation and in 2017 a manual on the use of molluscicides in the field. WHO is also planning to strengthen capacities
of health staff in medical malacology in order to reinforce snail control activities in countries.

In the past, molluscicides (particularly niclosamide¹ based products) were widely used in schistosomiasis control programmes. For example, in China programmes largely relied on snail control for over 30 years to overcome the disease as a public
health problem. In other parts of the world, however, snail control programmes were gradually discontinued and competencies faded away.

“Snail control is a crucial component of the global schistosomiasis elimination strategy,” said Dr Rajpal Yadav, Scientist, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “It
is time we look for new snail control products that are cost–effective
and of low risk to humans and the environment. Some efforts are being
made to explore molluscicide compounds from plants, marine algae and
microorganisms.”

An integrated control strategy involving mass treatment with praziquantel, snail control and environmental modification, wider access to sanitation and safe water, economic and environmental development, health education and poverty-alleviation can greatly
contribute to sustainable control and elimination of schistosomiasis.

WHO’s new road map on neglected tropical diseases for 2021–2030, due to be launched later this year, advocates enhanced financial and political support to achieve the target of interruption of transmission. Additional research to address gaps,
develop tools and optimize the impact of existing programmes with snail control will complement the core strategic approach.

Schistosomiasis: forms of the disease

There are two major forms of schistosomiasis – intestinal and urogenital.

Intestinal schistosomiasis usually results in diarrhoea and blood in the stool; enlargement of the liver and of the spleen and portal hypertension are common in advanced cases.

Urogenital schistosomiasis is characterized by the presence of blood in the urine. Chronic infection results in fibrosis of the bladder and ureter that can evolve to hydronephrosis and create conditions for bladder cancer.

In women, urogenital schistosomiasis can cause vaginal bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse and nodules in the vulva, a condition now described as female genital schistosomiasis. In men, urogenital schistosomiasis can induce disease in the seminal
vesicles and prostate.

¹Limitations with the use of formulations based on niclosamide include restrictions on the usage of water immediately after application and temporary toxicity to non-target aquatic organisms including
fish, amphibians and invertebrates.
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March 27, 2020
BREAKING: Sowore Raises The Alarm Over Plot By Buhari’s Regime To Re-arrest Him After SaharaReporters Exposed Coronavirus In Aso Villa

Omoyele Sowore

Omoyele Sowore

BBC

Rights activist and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, has raised the alarm over a plot by the Nigerian Government to detain him over revelations by his news outlet, SaharaReporters, that Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, tested positive for Coronavirus.

On Monday night, SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Kyari was ill and had contracted the deadly virus.

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BREAKING: Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari, Reportedly Sick, Suspected Of Contracting Coronavirus

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The online news medium went ahead on Tuesday to break the story of three of Kyari’s staff contracting the virus from him.

Till this moment, the Presidency has been unable to deny any of the reports, instead plotting to turn their anger on Sowore and SaharaReporters.

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EXCLUSIVE: Presidential Intensive Care Unit Activated As Buhari Self-isolates After Abba Kyari Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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In a message to his followers on Facebook on Thursday, Sowore said his lawyers had informed him of a high-powered delegation sent to the Federal High Court in Abuja to obtain a detention order.

Sowore said, “Folks, it is important to inform you that we are facing some unusual circumstances and the days ahead might be very tensed and difficult, but we will conquer.

“Following the revelation by SaharaReporters that the Chief of Staff to Buhari, Abba Kyari, contracted Coronavirus and subsequent revelations about the criminal conducts/negligence that has brought Nigeria to the nadir of this global pandemic, the Buhari regime today sent some high powered delegation to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria to help procure a detention order against me.

“The courts are reportedly on break due to COVID-19 pandemic. This was leaked to our lawyers a few minutes ago. They plan this time is to use the Nigerian Army for the sinister plot.

“The plan is to obtain a court order and then send soldiers to shoot up my residence in Abuja by claiming that I resisted arrest with armed colleagues.

“If I am arrested alive, they would take me to a military barracks in Abuja to be tortured and or infected with COVID-19.

“I am not raising the alarm to scare anyone, it is to inform our compatriots that we should brace for difficult days ahead.

“However, rest assured that we are in high spirits and are totally convinced that we may be turning a historic corner in the face of brutal repression.

“I am urging all to stand firm, unbowed and unbroken.”

Recall that Sowore was first arrested in the early hours of August 3, 2019 by operatives of the Department of State Services for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations on August 5 to demand a better country from the administration of President Buhari.

He was kept in unlawful detention from that period until December 5, 2019 when he was finally released on bail despite two court orders earlier sanctioning his freedom.

In a twist of event, DSS operatives invaded the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 6, 2019 to rearrest him without any court order.

He remained in unlawful detention until 18 days later when he was released by the secret police for the second time.

At the resumption of his trial in a case brought against him by the Nigerian Government, the prosecution failed to prove accusations against him and even went ahead to dropping seven of the charges earlier preferred against him.

Groups and high-raking individuals from around the world have described the charges against Sowore as baseless and a waste of time.

The journalist remains confined to Abuja as one of his bail conditions forbids him from leaving the city or speaking with journalists until the end of his trial.

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March 27, 2020
COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

Olabisi Deji-Folutile

Olabisi Deji-Folutile

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The world is facing its most trying and unprecedented times as the last few weeks have been most challenging for almost everybody. What started in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic, has put the entire world in disarray. Major streets across the globes have become empty. Both the rich and the poor are being ravaged by the plague of COVID-19, which the World Health Organisation has rightly described as a pandemic. Work places have been shut; religious and social gatherings banned and many countries are on total lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of this viral disease. Expectedly, schools are also affected across board. Every day people are being told to embrace social distancing and suddenly things like human contacts, hitherto considered as free gifts of life, are becoming very expensive.

No one knows when this whole chaos will end, so people are making different kinds of adjustments to cope with the situation while it lasts. Many companies have shifted their operations online. Likewise, many schools have opted for e-learning, making use of available technology for teaching and learning.

Universities around the world are making use of communication technology to ease the effects of the global pandemic on their academic calendars.   In China, universities are going for online teaching instead of in-class teaching; the ones in Australia have moved their classes online just as UK universities have suspended face-to-face teaching.  Turkey started its remote university classes on March 23. In Kenya, universities have activated communication between lecturers and students via social media platforms and emails while classes have gone totally online in the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. Teachers in France have been working with their students on Zoom.

Just a few days ago, Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, directed the ministry of education to collaborate with the ministry of communications in rolling out open learning programmes in response to the closure of all educational institutions in the country. In the same vein, Mount Kenya University’s Vice-Chancellor Peter Wanderi, has announced the extension of online teaching platforms for regular students to facilitate the learning process. And to take care of the over six million students that have experienced disruption to their studies, ten North African and 12 Arab countries have begun work on an e-learning initiative to facilitate open and online education.

These are some of the steps being taken across the globe to bridge the gap created by school closure in the wake of COVID-19. Unfortunately, while all these activities are going on in other parts of the world, Nigerian government has not said anything about steps being taken to take care of its students’ community. Rather, the only message from the Federal Government was a total closure of all tertiary institutions and FG-owned unity schools till further notice. A statement issued by the National Universities Commission simply said universities would remain   shut   for one month while the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said tertiary institutions would remain shut indefinitely.

Assuming government has been overwhelmed by the burden of controlling the spread of COVID- 19, hence its silence on options for learning for its teeming student population, one would have expected the higher institutions themselves to at least say something, but as it is, they too are not helping matters. The silence in our universities has been deafening. To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, decided to choose this time, of all times, to embark on an indefinite strike. One wonders how the academic body   manages to feel comfortable being on a strike at a time when researchers across the globe are busy looking for solution to a pandemic that is ravaging the entire world. This kind of action makes one query the essence of having Research and Development as a core component of tertiary education in Nigeria when researchers can be nowhere to be found at a critical time of societal needs.

By now, our researchers should be adding their voices to the various efforts being made towards developing a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. After all, universities are expected to proffer solutions to societal problems.  This is a wrong time for ASUU to embark on an indefinite strike. This should be a time of strategising and proffering solutions. This is really the time for everyone to get involved. Besides, I think Nigerian universities should also be more forthcoming on their responses to the challenges posed to their students by COVID-19.

As it is, religious organisations are doing far better in terms of their responses to the effects of this pandemic on their primary constituencies. Many of them have devised other means of getting the attention of   their members following several government directives prohibiting either gatherings or limiting the number of people allowed to congregate at a time. Almost all the churches have switched to online platforms for their services. How come religious organisations are working hard to keep their flocks and both government and higher institutions in Nigeria are just moving on as if all is well? No word on how to keep the students busy or keep them engaged using available online technology! Should teaching and learning be restricted to the classrooms alone in this 21st century?

Nigeria has always been described as a religious society. Corona Virus has further exposed the smartness of our religious bodies and the dullness of those in charge of our public educational institutions. This is not an attempt to blame any religious organisation for having the foresight to deploy technology in reaching their audiences. Instead, it is a wakeup call to managers of our educational institutions to adopt and use available technology to help their students at a time like this.

Apart from the National Open University of Nigeria, which basically runs online, I doubt if there is any other public university in the country that has capacity for online teaching. This is in spite of the launch of the Nigerian Communication Satellite known as NIGCOMSAT by the Nigerian Government first in 2007 and then NIGCOMSAT-IR in December 2011, to provide critical ICT backbone infrastructure to support e-learning, among others in the country.

What is the essence of investing so much money in a communication satellite if it cannot be deployed at a time of need?   Those in charge of NIGCOMSAT, the commercial arm of Nigeria’s space centre, have consistently claimed that the technology has the capacity to cover the entire Africa. If that is the case, why is the country still struggling to deploy internet connectivity facilities to its schools to aide e-learning? If we are truly a serious country, by now, all the schools in urban and rural areas should have been connected to the e-learning services.

No doubt, COVID-19 has exposed Nigeria’s unpreparedness for e-learning. But, we can’t afford to remain where we are. That is why it is important for every institution to start thinking of how to deploy available technology in the world for the good of their students at this critical period. Universities should as a matter of urgency migrate online. This shouldn’t be another season of waiting and probably wasting for the Nigerian student. There is no reason why any higher institution worth its name should suspend all academic activities until the end of Corona Virus with all the available resources and technology in the world today. The minimum expected of them is to upload teaching resources online for students to have access to them. At least this will give the students the opportunity to learn on their own.

This is also an opportunity for telecommunications companies like Glo, MTN and the rest of them to make a difference in Nigeria’s educational institutions. They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other educational institutions; or provide data at cheaper rates to help poor students have access to the internet for online learning.

I know there are obvious stumbling blocks to digital learning in Nigeria. Many students don’t even have access to devices while the cost of buying data is still high. These challenges and others have provided   telecommunications companies a huge opportunity of making a difference in Nigerian higher institutions by providing e-learning solutions and broadband connectivity to universities and other higher institutions.

They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other higher institutions; or help poor students who have limited or poor internet access to enhance online learning.

Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief of Franktalknow.com and member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

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March 27, 2020
WHO satisfied with Malaysia’s preparedness in dealing with Covid-19

PUTRAJAYA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is pleased with Malaysia’s level of preparedness in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pix) said the matter was learned at a recent meeting between the WHO and the Ministry of Health (MOH).

“What Malaysia is doing is the first method, the MCO (Movement Control Order),“ he told reporters at a media conference at MOH, here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia’s second method of controlling Covid-19 transmission was by conducting active case detection or identifying positive case patients – searching, testing, isolating and treating.

In addition, Malaysia also identified the Covid-19 target groups – those who attended the tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque, illegal immigrants and the Rohingya community, he said.

He said the MoH had also consulted with the local authorities to carry out cleanup exercises of public areas which is expected to be implemented within the next two days.

Asked about the number of doctors in Malaysia at the moment, he said so far there were enough doctors, and the ministry is in the process of recalling 3,000 retired nurses and health workers.

“However, the MoH did not wait for all 3,000 retired medical personnel to come forward to register for employment. For example those who have skills in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and ward have been employed. More than 1,000 retired personnel are already placed in Sungai Buloh Hospital,” he said.

Asked about the teleconference between MOH officials and doctors from China in the afternoon, Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysia wanted to know about the new method used by China in treating Covid-19.

“For example the use of Avigan (medicine). The side effects need to be studied first. Even though it is not registered in Malaysia it can get the approval of the director-general of health,” he said.

He added among the new methods shared by China is to use the blood of patients who have healed, as plasma to thicken the antibody.

“But MoH is unsure whether this approach is effective or not,“ he added. – Bernama

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March 26, 2020
Dino-killing asteroid choked whole world in dust within a few hours

When a large asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago, it sent huge curtains of dust flying tens of kilometres up into the air that quickly covered the planet

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March 26, 2020
WHO urges countries to ensure the continuity of malaria services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the resilience of robust health systems around the world. Recognizing the heavy toll that malaria exacts on vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the region’s fragile health infrastructure, WHO underlines the critical importance of sustaining efforts to prevent, detect and treat malaria.

“As COVID-19 continues its rapid spread, WHO would like to send a clear message to malaria-affected countries in Africa,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “Do not scale back your planned malaria prevention, diagnostic and treatment activities. If someone living in a place with malaria develops a fever, he or she should seek diagnosis and care as soon as possible.”

Ensuring access to core malaria prevention measures is an important strategy for reducing the strain on health systems; these include vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying, as well as chemoprevention for pregnant women and young children (intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, intermittent preventive treatment in infants and seasonal malaria chemoprevention). Additional special measures could ease the burden on health systems in the context of COVID-19, such as presumptive malaria treatment and mass drug administration.

Any interventions must consider the importance of both lowering malaria-related mortality and ensuring the safety of communities and health workers. WHO will provide guidance for countries to safely maintain essential health services in the context of the COVID-19 response.

About COVID-19

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Essential information on the COVID-19 pandemic can be found in a dedicated WHO site.

About malaria

Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide and 405 000 malaria-related deaths. For more on malaria, visit: www.who.int/malaria

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March 26, 2020
Coronavirus: Shehu Sani Donates Protective Items, Food To Churches, Mosques

A former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has distributed protective items and foodstuffs to churches, mosques and correctional centers.

Sani while making the donation in Kaduna on Wednesday, urged Nigerians to stand together and fight Coronavirus.

He berated the elites and political leaders for neglecting and destroying the public healthcare system over the years.

He added that the days of reckoning had come for those charged with the responsibility of turning around Nigeria’s hospitals but refused to take action.

A modest intervention in the fight against #Convid_19;today we distributed free Face masks,Hand Sanitizers & foodstuffs to some Mosques,Churches & the Correctional Services in Kaduna.#CoronaVirusInNigeria #CONVID19 #StopTheSpread #CoronaCrisis #FightCOVID19 #Covid19Out #CONVID pic.twitter.com/0LXL0fG611

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) March 25, 2020

Sani said, “Coronavirus will not bring an end to the world but surely return it to its beginning and basics where love, brotherhood and compassion was the spirit.

“If Coronavirus had come during electioneering period, political leaders could have distributed free and customised sanitisers, masks and ventilators.”

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March 26, 2020
Two Persons Allegedly Die Of Coronavirus After Attending 80th Birthday Party Of Nigeria’s Ambassador To United Kingdom, Okoya, Osoba Among Top Guests At Lavish Ceremony

Two yet-to-be identified persons are alleged to have died of Coronavirus after attending the lavish and star-studded 80th birthday party of Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, George Adetola Oguntade.

The colourful ceremony, which took place on March 10, 2020, was held at the London Hilton on Park Lane, a posh area of UK’s most popular city – London.

Apart from the two guests alleged to have died of the virus after attending the event, one other attendee is said to be on ventilator at a hospital in London.

One of the two persons that died is said to be related to Dorlapoh Crystals, a popular UK-based business owner whose company customises fashion items.

The development has since raised fears that scores of other attendees at the ceremony could have contracted the deadly virus.

Among prominent Nigerians, who attended the party are billionaire Rasak Okoya and his wife Sade, a former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, Kessington Adebutu (Baba Ijebu), Oba Saheed Elegushi, music icon – Ebenezer Obey, and Dele Momodu.

Many of these high-profile guests have since returned to Nigeria, further raising concerns that some of them may have imported the dreaded virus into the country without knowing.

Coronavirus was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 31 and since that period, there has been 8,077 confirmed infections and 422 deaths.

Therefore, as at the time Oguntade’s birthday was staged in London on March 10, the virus had fully taken up strategic positions across most parts of the UK.

In a recent interview, Momodu, a veteran journalist and Publisher of Ovation International, confirmed attending the party in London but said that he had no symptoms of the pandemic.

Senior airport sources however, told SaharaReporters that many top Nigerians, who arrived in the country from UK and other parts of the world before the ban on international flights into Nigeria was announced, refused to submit themselves for medical screening for the virus.

Already, a number of prominent Nigerians have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Video of Full Video: Justice George Oguntade’s 80th Birthday Celebration

Full Video: Justice George Oguntade’s 80th Birthday Celebration

Full Video: Justice George Oguntade’s 80th Birthday Celebration

Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, and Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Frank Okiye, have all tested positive to the virus while dozens others including state governors, who came in contact with them in recent days have now gone into self-isolation in order to ward off the pandemic.

Nigeria has 46 confirmed cases of Coronavirus so far and one recorded death.

Though government at the federal and state levels have adopted series of measures to curtail the pandemic, there are fears of the virus spreading further in the coming days.

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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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Chido Onumah and Godwin Onyeacholem

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March 26, 2020