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COVID-19: Governors in self-isolation as ministers undergo test

- Airlines suspend local flights
- Cases now 51
Following the positive COVID-19 result for Chief of Staff to the President Mallam Abba Kyari and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, some of the governors who had contact with them have gone into self-isolation.
No fewer than eight ministers have also been tested to determine their status.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who self-isolated himself has tested negative to the virus. The Presidency on Wednesday confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari tested negative.
Both Kyari and Mohammed attended high-level government meetings before the results of their test were received.
Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Abubakar Sani-Bello (Niger) have gone into self-isolation.
Fayemi, who is the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairman, said he took Coronavirus test despite not having any of symptoms of the virus.
He however did not say the outcome of the test in the tweet in which he explained that he opted to isolate in order to protect people that may have come in contact with him.
“In the circumstance we find ourselves today, every citizen must engage in personal hygiene and take actions that can help us overcome this challenge and that is exactly what I have done.
“I had gone in contact with those having suspected cases and I felt I have to do this to help the situation…”
Adviser to Obaseki, Mr Crusoe Osagie said: “The governor has gone into self-isolation after the Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed and Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, tested positive for Coronavirus.
“The governor met Senator Mohammed at the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and National Economic Council (NEC) meetings. He also visited Mr. Kyari.”
He explained that although the governor was not showing any symptoms of the virus, “he has taken the necessary precaution to self-isolate to protect people that may otherwise come in contact with him”.
Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu said Obaseki “avoided meeting with everybody, upon his arrival in Benin City from Abuja and he maintained social distance, before going into self-isolation.
Shaibu added that six persons had been isolated in the state while samples of five of them had been taken for test.
In Minna, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sani-Bello, Mrs. Mary Noel Berje, said her boss, decided to “embark on self-isolation considering the fact that as a public figure, he must have had contact with some confirmed contact cases of COVID-19 .
“Considering the fact that I(Sani-Bello) was in Abuja the whole of last week to participate in the APC meeting with the President, the NGF meeting, NEC meeting and the World Bank breakfast meeting, as a way of leading by example, I have placed myself on isolation and waiting to be tested, along with members of my family.”
It was learnt that the governor had directed all his close aides and cabinet members to seclude themselves.
The Disease Control Unit of the Bauchi State Ministry of Health said it had directed 27 persons (mostly aides of Governor Mohammed) to self-isolate.
Twenty Osun State judges and 22 officials of Yobe State Government are currently on seclusion after returning from foreign trips.
The Director-General of Nigeria Governors’ Forum Asishana Okauru also went into seclusion having met with Bauchi State Governor Mohammed.
Okauru urged all members of the NGF and the secretariat staff invited to the last meeting of the forum to also self-isolate.
Okauru said that his wife, a former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Omoigui, and other members of his nucleus family, had also gone into self-isolation..
“I wish to inform the general public that my wife, together with my entire household, will be proceeding on self-isolation.
“We are taking this action following my exposure to His Excellency, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State who today (Tuesday) announced the positive outcome of his test for COVID-19.
“I attended different meetings of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Nigerian Economic Council last week, which were also attended by the Bauchi State Governor.
“Consequently, my wife and I would be undergoing COVID-19 testing this week.
“All members of NGF secretariat that were exposed will also be observing self-isolation. We encourage all those who were invited to the NGF meetings for presentations to also do same.
“By our actions, we hope to encourage others who are exposed and not sure of their status to undergo self-isolation and make themselves available for the test, where applicable,” he said.
20 Osun judges, returnee Yobe officials in self-exclusion
Osun State government said yesterday that 22 judges in the state are in isolation after they returned from the United Arab Emirates.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamontu, said the judges returned to the state after attending an 11-day international conference that ended March 20 .
He said: “The judges went into isolation immediately they arrived from the United Arab Emirates last weekend to ascertain their medical status. They are in self-isolation and we are monitoring them.”
Also, 22 officials of the Yobe State Government that returned from Dubai last week have placed themselves on a 14-day self-isolation
Some of the returnees said they tested negative for the virus on their arrival from the oil-rich Emirate.
One of them said, “We were subjected to all the screening procedures both in Dubai and at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. The good thing is that none of us was positive for the virus at the time we were all tested.
“Naturally, the global protocol requires our self-isolation and we have to undergo that before we re-unite with our families and friends. This is exactly what we are doing. We have to do that to disabuse the mind of the people of the state. The truth is that none of us will like to put our families or any citizen of the state in danger.’’
The Acting Head of the state civil service, Mohammed Nura; the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Basic Education and Secondary Education, Yakubu Doskshi and the Special Adviser on Politics to Governor Mai Mala, Aji Yerima Bularafa, confirmed that the returnees had gone into self-isolation.
Akeredolu, Sule: we’re not in isolation
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his Nasarawa State counterpart, Abdullahi Sule have denied reports that they were in self-isolation.
They said there was not nothing shameful in self-exclusion and therefore would not avoid it should the need arose
Akeredolu, who addressed reporters alongside Commissioner of Police Undie Adie said he would not have come out if he were on self-isolation.
The Director of Strategic Communication and Press Affairs to Nasarawa State governor, Mr Yakubu , said, “If indeed Engineer Abdullahi Sule goes into self -isolation, we shall make a formal statement to that effect.
“There is nothing to hide about COVID 19 in the entire world as also in Nasarawa State“
Lamai urged the public to disregard reports in some social media platforms insinuating that the governor had gone on self-isolation.
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Update : Tinubu to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration in Rome, A signals Nigeria’s engagement with global efforts for peace, Says Onanuga

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will this weekend travel to Rome at the invitation of the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, to attend the historic inaugural mass of the new Pontiff.
The solemn ceremony, which marks the formal beginning of the Papacy of Pope Leo XIV, will take place on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
The event is expected to draw Heads of State, diplomats, religious leaders and dignitaries from around the world.
Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday, May 17, and is scheduled to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, May 20.
According to a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, the invitation to President Tinubu was conveyed through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
In the message, Pope Leo XIV emphasised the symbolic significance of the Nigerian leader’s presence at “this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The Pontiff added a personal note, recalling his time in Nigeria: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
Tinubu’s delegation includes a mix of government officials and senior Catholic clergy, underscoring Nigeria’s religious and diplomatic ties with the Vatican.
Among those accompanying the President are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, who is also the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
The Vatican Conclave of Cardinals elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
A seasoned theologian and Vatican administrator, the new Pope is expected to steer the Church through complex global challenges, including geopolitical tensions, migration, poverty, and religious extremism.
Nigeria, home to one of Africa’s largest Catholic populations, has long maintained close diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
Tinubu’s participation in the Papal inauguration not only affirms this relationship but also signals Nigeria’s engagement with global efforts for peace, dialogue, and religious harmony.
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Breaking : JAMB to reschedule UTME for 379,997 candidates affected by technical issues in southeast, Lagos, There were errors, Says Oloyede

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it would reschedule 379,997 candidates affected by technical glitches in the five states of the South East and Lagos to retake the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made this known in an ongoing press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said, “206,610 in 65 centres were affected in Lagos and 92 centres in the Owerri zone comprising 173,387 candidates in the five states of the South East were affected.”
Oloyede, who took responsibility for what he described as a “sabotage” of the 2025 UTME, said the affected candidates will start getting text messages from the Board starting Thursday.
He added, “The affected candidates will start getting text messages for rescheduling starting from tomorrow.
“I apologise, I take full responsibility.”
Of the 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks, raising concerns across the education sector.
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Update : Court dismisses suit against Tinubu on removal of Danladi Umar as CCT Chairman

Justice James Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu challenging the removal of Danladi Yakubu Umar as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The suit was struck out by the judge following its withdrawal by the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs: Community Rescue Initiative, Toro Concerned Citizens of a Relief Foundation, and an Abuja-based lawyer, Comrade Nasir Bala, had jointly instituted the suit against President Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and six others.
It will be recalled that the Senate, in November, asked President Tinubu to sack Danladi Umar as CCT Chairman over allegations of corruption and misconduct.
The upper chamber adopted the resolution during a plenary session after Senate President Godswill Akpabio put it to a vote, and a majority of the senators supported it.
The resolution was passed in accordance with the provisions of Section 157(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that two-thirds of the Senate’s membership can advise the President to remove the CCT Chairman.
However, in the suit, the plaintiffs sought to restrain the Clerk of the National Assembly from transmitting the resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives to the President, and to halt any attempt by the Executive to act on the resolution purportedly removing Justice Umar from office.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, counsel to the plaintiffs informed the court of their decision to discontinue the case.
He stated that a formal notice of withdrawal had already been filed and brought to the court’s attention.
Justice Omotosho consequently dismissed the case on the ground that the parties had already joined issues with one another.
The plaintiffs had earlier argued that the National Assembly acted in breach of constitutional provisions, particularly Section 157(1), Section 22(3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, and relevant paragraphs of the 1999 Constitution, in recommending Umar’s removal.
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