Beware! EFCC alerts on fake lockdown funds for Covid-19

Ibrahim Magu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has cautioned members of the public against fraudulent activities of spurious dispenser and manager of funds to vulnerable Nigerians, ostensibly to cope with the discomfort associated with the lockdown measures of the Federal Government in some parts of the country.

A statement signed by Tony Orilade, Acting Head, Media and Publicity of the commission stated that the Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, who disclosed the strange development today, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, added that some faceless elements are circulating " FREE N5000 LOCKDOWN FUNDS TO SUSTAIN DURING LOCKDOWN".

He said, "The circulation of the fake funds is being carried out online through a phishing link via WhatsApp.  The link is embedded with a link titled https://bit.ly/free-N5000. Whenever the link is clicked, it would redirect recipients of the message to a phishing website address https://fg-free-funds.blogspot.com. Visitors to this fraudulent website will find an online questionnaire from which they must respond in order to trigger the phishing".

According to Magu, the phishing website is curiously hosted on a Google server. “However, registration information of the website is being investigated and members of the public are advised to be wary of any Lockdown Funds dressed in any suspicious garb", he added.

It would be recalled that, the EFCC,  had in a recent release, cautioned Nigerians against fake cures and donations, especially fake charities springing up purporting to offer guidelines on donations to government and ordinary Nigerians in a bid to cope with the discomfort arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Magu reiterates the commitments of the EFCC to monitor closely the antics of fraudsters cashing in on the government lockdown directives to perpetrate criminal acts.  "We would not stop bursting every scheme designed to defraud Nigerians of their hard- earned money", he said.

COVID-19: Delta relaxes lockdown, continues dusk-to-dawn curfew

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

  
Delta Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, today, Tuesday April 28, 2020 announced the relaxation of lockdown declared on April 1, 2020, as part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

In a broadcast in Asaba, Okowa said the relaxation of the lockdown would become effective on Thursday, April 30, 2020 and explained that it was to encourage economic activities expected to be carried out from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.

He also announced the continuation of the dusk-to-dawn (7 p.m. to 6 a.m.) curfew imposed on April 15, adding that ban on conferences, sporting activities, gathering of people at event centres and other public engagements remained in force until May 31, 2020.

For burials and weddings, the governor directed that the number of guests must not exceed 50, and that social distancing rule of six feet apart must be observed at such events.

He thanked residents of the state for their understanding in the measures being adopted by the government to stem spread of the virus and hunger while the pandemic was lasting, and observed that the lockdown had to a large extent helped to limit the spread of the virus in the state.

"As we gradually relax the restriction of movement, I must caution that it is not yet uhuru; life as we have known it is still a long way off; we must therefore brace ourselves up to adjust to the new normal in all our personal, official and business dealings going forward. 

"As an administration, we remain irrevocably committed to doing everything necessary to protect the lives and property of citizens in the State, in addition to providing a safe and secure environment for them to pursue their dreams of success and happiness.

"In view of the foregoing, it has become necessary to PARTIALLY LIFT THE BAN on movements within the State effective Thursday, April 30, 2020; this is to enable our people engage in economic/business activities between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m; security agencies will be on hand to ensure strict compliance with the time frame.

"Our schools (public and private) remain closed until Sunday, May 31, 2020; entertainment centres, including cinemas, bars and night clubs remain closed until Sunday, May 31, 2020.

``Restaurants/canteens/beer parlours are to operate on take-away basis while hotels will be allowed to open (with in-room dining) but their restaurants, bars and night clubs remain closed till further notice.

"While transport services (keke, taxis, buses) are allowed to operate, number of passengers shall be as follows: two persons at the back for keke; one person at the front seat, and two persons at the back for a taxi; 10 to 12 persons for a 16-seater/18-seater bus.

"Our airports remain closed to passenger traffic till further notice and, I shall be meeting with our religious leaders on Thursday to chart the way forward for our places of worship. However, all crusades/conventions remain banned till further notice,’’ Okowa said.

He directed that public service workers on Grade Level 12 and above should resume work on Thursday, April30, 2020, adding that the order did not apply to junior staff on essential/emergency duties.

He insisted that workplace protocols should be in place for disease surveillance/prevention, including screening, use of face masks and social distancing.

The governor reminded residents that security agencies had been advised to ensure strict compliance with the above directives, and warned that violators will be prosecuted, without fear or favour.

He announced that the state government had produced one million face masks and that the distribution would commence immediately.

"Henceforth, it is mandatory for all residents in the state to make use of facemasks in the public.  Anybody leaving his/her home must wear a facemask effective Thursday, April 30, 2020 till further notice.

``The masks must be worn in public places, including offices, markets, malls, supermarkets, salons, hospitals and health clinics, churches, mosques, as well as all approved gatherings of persons. 

"Traders/market women are all required to wear facemasks while carrying out their businesses; local government chairmen are hereby directed to work out the modalities for the operations of the markets in their domain, especially with regards to social distancing and other sanitation protocols.

"Hair dressing/barbing salons must never be crowded; owners are hereby directed to restrict the number of persons inside to a minimum number that will facilitate and appropriate social distancing. As much as possible, workers in these establishments should wear hand gloves.

"The state government will in the first instance, distribute one million cloth facemasks to residents in the state, using the local government offices as channels. Meanwhile, those who can afford it are also advised to make their own procurements; the benefit of the cloth facemasks is that they can be washed and re-used. 

"There will be a continuation of the inter-state lockdown for another two weeks. Only essential supplies – food, beverages, medicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum and agricultural products – are exempted from this order.

"As we engage our new normal, I assure all Deltans and residents that we shall continue to put processes in place to limit the transmission of the virus by ensuring rapid identification of cases and contacts, more testing, isolation/quarantine as necessary, staff training/motivation and provision of logistics/supplies," the governor stated.

He added that "except for some minor incidents here and there, our state has been relatively peaceful during the lockdown which speaks of your trust and confidence in the integrity of the structures and processes we put in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

``We are, indeed, very grateful for your support and partnership. The security agencies also deserve our commendation for their sacrifice, patience and professional conduct.

"You will recall that on March 29, 2020, we closed all entry points into and out of Delta as a proactive step to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay; three days later, April 1, 2020, we closed all offices, public spaces and banned public movement/gatherings within the state except for the essential/emergency supplies to enable us to reduce the risk of transmission. 

"These proclamations were made in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the Delta State Public Health Law Cap P21 Laws of Delta State 2006, and in particular, section 8 of the Quarantine Act, Cap Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, (having regard to the provisions of Sections 2,3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act, Cap Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), as well as the Infections Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulation 2020.

``We have every reason to believe that the lockdown helped to limit the spread of the virus in our State, because as at today, six cases of COVID-19 have been incidented.

``Five of the patients are doing well in our case management centres, but, sadly, we lost one of them who presented himself late to the medical authorities; his test report, which turned out to be positive, was received after his unfortunate demise.’’ 

FULL TEXT - STATE BROADCAST BY HIS EXCELLENCY, SENATOR, DR IFEANYI OKOWA, GOVERNOR OF DELTA STATE, ON THE STATE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ON TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2019

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

My Dear Deltans,

I begin this broadcast by first thanking all of you for your understanding and cooperation in this very challenging period in human history. Except for some minor incidents here and there, our State has been relatively peaceful during the lockdown. It speaks of your trust and confidence in the integrity of the structures and processes we put in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic. We are, indeed, very grateful for your support and partnership. The security agencies also deserve our commendation for their sacrifice, patience and professional conduct.

2.      You will recall that on March 29, 2020, we closed all entry points into and out of Delta State as a proactive step to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay. Three days later, on April 1, 2020, we closed all offices, public spaces and banned public movement/gatherings within the State except for the essential/emergency supplies to enable us to reduce the risk of transmission.

3.      These proclamations were made in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the Delta State Public Health Law Cap P21 Laws of Delta State 2006, and in particular, section 8 of the Quarantine Act, Cap Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, (having regard to the provisions of Sections 2,3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act, Cap Q2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), as well as the Infections Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulation 2020.

4.      We have every reason to believe that the lockdown has helped to limit the spread of the virus in our State. As at today, six cases of COVID-19 have been incidented; five of the patients are doing well in our case management centres. Sadly, we lost one of them who presented himself late to the medical authorities; his test report, which turned out to be positive, was received after his unfortunate demise.

5.      The period of the lockdown, while enabling us to break the chain of transmission, also gave us the leeway to easily trace, identify, isolate and test contacts of infected persons. As at today, we have a low virus spread in the State and our health system can be said to be in a state of readiness with the health staff fully committed and motivated to discharge their responsibilities in a professional, ethical and safe manner.

6.      As we begin to ease the lockdown restrictions, the sensible approach is to do it in a gradual, systematic, and orderly manner so that we do not wipe out the gains of the past four weeks. We are very mindful of the fact that each day of the lockdown was tough economically and particularly agonising for those in the informal sector who live on daily income.

7.      To mitigate the harsh economic effects of the lockdown, the State Government distributed food items to all 270 wards in the State, coordinated by a cross section of leaders at the Local Government Area/Ward levels. We are currently also expecting some food items from the Federal Government and Ca-Covid for onward distribution to the poor and vulnerable. At this juncture, I wish to thank all those who donated generously to our COVID-19 Relief fund.

8.      As we gradually relax the restriction of movement, I must caution that it is not yet uhuru; life as we have known it is still a long way off. We must therefore brace ourselves up to adjust to the new normal in all our personal, official and business dealings going forward. As an administration, we remain irrevocably committed to doing everything necessary to protect the lives and property of citizens in the State, in addition to providing a safe and secure environment for them to pursue their dreams of success and happiness.

9.      In view of the foregoing, it has become necessary to PARTIALLY LIFT THE BAN on movements within the State effective THURSDAY, 30TH APRIL 2020. This is to enable our people engage in economic/business activities between the hours of 6am and 7pm. Security agencies will be on hand to ensure strict compliance with the time frame.

EXCEPTIONS:

Conferences, sporting activities, gathering of people in convention/event centres, sports fields, public/open spaces, as well as recreational and cultural/communal activities remain banned until 31st May 2020.

While burials and weddings will be allowed, the social distancing rule (6ft apart) must be applied, and the number of guests/persons must not exceed 50.

Our schools (public and private) remain closed until Sunday, 31st May 2020.

Entertainment centres, including cinemas, bars and night clubs remain closed until Sunday, 31st May 2020.

Restaurants/Canteens/Beer Parlours are to operate on take-away basis while hotels will be allowed to open (with in-room dining) but their restaurants, bars and night clubs remain closed till further notice.

While transport services (keke, taxis, buses) are allowed to operate, number of passengers shall be as follows: -– 2 persons at the back for keke; one person at the front seat and two persons at the back for a taxi; 10-12 persons for a 16-seater/18-seater bus.

Our airports remain closed to passenger traffic till further notice.

I shall be meeting with our religious leaders on THURSDAY, 30TH APRIL 2020 to chart the way forward for our places of worship. However, all crusades/conventions remain banned till further notice.

For the public service, only workers on Grade Level 12 and above should resume work effective THURSDAY, 30TH APRIL 2020. This order does not apply to junior staff on essential/emergency duties.

Workers with comorbities identified by the ministry of Health or its agencies can work from home. However, workplace protocols should be in place for disease surveillance/prevention, including screening, use of facemasks and social distancing.

Let me reiterate that security agencies have been advised to ensure strict compliance with the above directives. Violators will be prosecuted, without fear or favour.

10.    Henceforth, it is mandatory for all residents in the State to make use of facemasks in the public. Anybody leaving his/her home must wear a facemask effective THURSDAY 30TH APRIL 2020 till further notice. They must be worn in public places including offices, markets, malls, supermarkets, salons, hospitals and health clinics, churches, mosques, as well as all approved gatherings of persons.

11.    Traders/market women are all required to wear facemasks while carrying out their businesses. The Local Government Chairmen are hereby directed to work out the modalities for the operations of the markets in their domain, especially with regards to social distancing and other sanitation protocols.

12.    Hair dressing/barbing Salons MUST NEVER BE CROWDED; owners are hereby directed to restrict the number of persons inside to a minimum number that will facilitate appropriate social distancing. As much as possible, workers in these establishments should wear hand gloves.

13.    The State Government will by tomorrow commence, in the first instance, the distribution of A MILLION CLOTH FACEMASKS to residents in the State, using the Local Government offices as channels. Meanwhile, those who can afford it are also advised to make their own procurements. The benefit of the cloth facemasks is that they can be washed and reused.

14.    There will be a continuation of the inter-state lockdown for another two weeks. Only essential supplies – food, beverages, medicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum and agricultural products – are exempted from this order.

15.    As we engage our new normal, I assure all Deltans and residents that we shall continue to put processes in place to limit the transmission of the virus by ensuring rapid identification of cases and contacts, more testing, isolation/quarantine as necessary, staff training/motivation and provision of logistics/supplies.

APPEALS:

16.    Finally, I wish to appeal to us to please stay indoors as much as possible and only go out when it is necessary. You need not travel or visit persons for whatever conversation, business or action you can conclude on the phone or by using other electronic media.

17.    Please wash your hands regularly with soap and water; use alcohol-based sanitisers as an alternative. And it is very important that you do not touch your mouth, eyes and nose with unwashed hands.

18.    If you fall sick with fever, cough and/or breathlessness, please do not panic. Call the Local Government Chairman, Councillor, Executive Secretary or Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer in your Local Government Area. You can also call the Emergency Operation Centre on these numbers: 0803 123 0480; 0803 123 0481; 0803 123 0528; 0803 123 0529

19.    Pray always and endeavour to use this time to strengthen your family bonds.

20.    Together, and with God on our side, we shall overcome.

21.    God bless us all.

Office of the Governor

Government House

Asaba

April 2020

Dismantle lock down, Soludo urges African leaders, canvasses home grown solution to covid-19 pandemic

Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo

Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo has called on African leaders to think outside the box and evolve a home grown strategy that will provide solution to the problem of corona virus pandemic and ease the lock down that comes in its wake.

Prof. Soludo believes that a strategy that includes lockdowns/border closure is the worse of two options given the social and economic realities in the continent.

Recalling that China isolated Wuhan, and kept Shanghai, Beijing, and other major economic engines open, and today, China supplies the world with medical equipment, face masks, etc and raking-in hundreds of billions of dollars, the gifted economist declared: “The idea of a lockdown (and border closure) implies that you will continue to do so (with extensions) until such a time that you are satisfied that the spread of Covid-19 has been arrested or on the decline (with the possibility of imposing another round of lockdown if new infections surge).

“That is the catch: lockdown for as long as required to stem the spread. The length of time required for such lockdowns to ensure “effectiveness” in arresting the spread would make it near impossible in much of Africa. If the strategy is to lockdown until infections stop/significantly decline or so, then we would have a suicidal indefinite waiting game.”

He continued: “First, monitoring the spread requires effective testing, and Africa cannot afford effective testing of its 1.3 billion people. New York State, with a population of 20 million and a budget of $175 billion, is pleading with the US Federal Government to assist with testing kits and facilities. Check out the number of testing centres and facilities in each African country relative to their populations. A joke in the social media narrated that the health minister of Burundi was asked to explain the miracle in his country whereby the number of infections was reported as zero. His response was: “it is simple: we don’t have any testing kits”. Besides, there is stigma associated with the infection, and on the average Africans only go to the hospital as the last resort. There are also asymptomatic cases, and only the critically ill ones will report. So, there will always be massive under-testing, and gross under reporting.

“Furthermore, social distancing in most parts of Africa will remain impractical. From the shanties in South Africa’s townships to the crowded Ajegunle or Mararaba in Abuja/Nasarawa, or Cairo or Kinshasa to the villages and poor neighbourhoods in much of Africa, social clustering, not distancing, is the affordable, survivalist culture. Communal living is not just about culture, it is a matter of economic survival. Hence, the statistics on infections will be coming in fits and stats: shall we be locking down and unlocking with each episode of surge as there may probably be several such episodes (unless and until a cure is found)? Even with over four weeks of “stay at home” or lockdowns in some African countries, the reported daily infections continue to rise. Some may argue the counterfactual that without the initial lockdowns, the number of infections could have been multiples. It is a reasonable conjecture or anecdote, albeit without any proof. The question is the end game for a poor society such as Africa? New infections have re-emerged in Wuhan, and both Singapore and South Korea are going back to the drawing board. Since we cannot sustain lockdowns indefinitely or even until the spread stops/declines, it means that we would sooner or later remove the restrictions. What happens then? There would still be infections, which can still spread anyway. Why not then adopt sustainable solutions early enough without weeks of avoidable waste and hardship? Let us think this through!”

Besides, Soludo contends that African states cannot pay for lockdowns. Many countries depend on budget support from bilateral and multilateral donors, and with acute balance of payments problems. They do not even have leg rooms to simply print money. Most are now begging for debt relief and applying for urgent loans from the IMF and the World Bank. In Africa, both the governments and the people are begging for “palliatives”.

And given that no government in Africa can seriously pay for lockdowns, over one billion Africans are left to survive if they can or perish if they must, especially at a time that African economies are facing their worst economic condition in decades, where commodity prices have fallen dramatically, and for oil producers, the situation is precarious.

Soludo said: “Each day that any of the major African economies stays under lockdown costs Africa billions of dollars in lost income but with debatable benefits. Given its financial and structural weaknesses, Africa does not have the luxury of using the same “conventional tools” of the western countries in the face of the twin pandemic. At the minimum, Africa needs its full population (its most important asset) working at full throttle to have any chance of defeating the impending economic catastrophe.”

On the way out, he said: “We should think African but act locally and opportunistically to survive and prosper, and exploit the global opportunities offered by the crises. Every shock or pandemic presents opportunities. Solutions need to be multidimensional, far beyond economics and western medicine. Ad-hoc response will be a wasted opportunity. Africa needs a package for creating sustainable prosperity in a world of continuous techno-economic-health disruptions.

“As a first step, African countries should urgently dismantle the border closures as well as the stay at home/lockdown orders. Every African society has some local herbs that, to use President Trump’s phrase, “might help”. While the UK and others are experimenting with vaccines, you never know if an Africa herb might be the cure. Necessity is the mother of invention, and only those who dare, succeed! With enough education and mobilization, the infection rate will be drastically reduced without pausing the lives of 1.3 billion people.

For Soludo, the real challenge is the potential economic catastrophe that many African economies face. How policymakers respond depends on how they interpret the shocks: as temporary or permanent structural shifts. But howsoever they choose to see it, one thing is certain: several more similar shocks (not necessarily in exact form) are on the way.

Delta confirms two new cases of COVID-19

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta Governor.

Two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Delta State, according to the commissioner for Health, Dr. Mordi Ononye.

The Delta State Government has announced that the state has recorded two new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Commissioner in a statement today Wednesday April 22, 2020 in Asaba said that the new cases have brought the total confirmed cases in the state to six, with one death and five active cases.

Ononye said that the active cases were being treated at the Isolation Centres in the state.

He stated that the two new cases, one female and one male, were recorded at Uvwie and Udu Local Government Areas of the state.

The commissioner further disclosed that all the patients were doing very well and urged Deltans with symptoms of the COVID-19 like fever, malaria, catarrh, cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing and loss of appetite to report to the nearest government hospital for medical evaluation and possible testing.

He stressed that "all the patients of the active cases are in stable condition and are receiving treatment from our team of medical professionals at our isolation centres across the state.

"We have 11 persons quarantined in our holding centres, while 140 contacts are being monitored across the state.

"There is ongoing active case search in the local government areas and we urge persons with symptoms of Respiratory Tract Infection like fever, nasal catarrh, cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing/ tightness in the chest or loss of appetite to report to any nearest government hospital for medical evaluation."

He thanked Deltans for their continued support for the lockdown and urged them to remain obedient to government stay-at-home directive,

Ononye also called on them to ensure regular hand washing and respiratory hygiene and maintaining of social and Physical distancing at all times.