The Ekiti State Government has imposed fresh restrictions to safeguard public health following a spike in the cases of COVID -19 pandemic . Among the new measures is the closure of schools and restriction of churches , mosques to one service on worship days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday . The worship centres were also asked to operate half of their sitting capacity. Governor Kayode Fayemi reeled out new guidelines aimed at curbing the second wave of COVID -19 in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday. The statement quoted the governor as saying the step became necessary to ensure that the situation does not snowball out of control during a statewide broadcast on Wednesday evening . The Governor directed that schools in the state will remain closed till January 18 while vigils , partying and clubbing are suspended till further notice . Fayemi also directed that civil servants on Grade Level 12 and below are to stay at home till January 18 when they would be directed on when to resume back at their desks . The Governor said only half of the full sitting capacity of a facility can be allowed to participate in any ceremony /programme at any point and activities should not exceed 8 pm. Fayemi said , “ In addition, protocols regarding wedding and burial ceremonies remain in force . There should be no crowd in the church auditorium and burial services must be at the graveside only. “ Supermarkets, event centres , hotels and bar owners are to strictly ensure that social distancing measures are put in place and followed accordingly . “ Only half of the full sitting capacity of a facility can be allowed to participate in any ceremony /programme at any point and activities should not exceed 8. 00pm. Partying , clubbing and vigils are suspended indefinitely until further notice . “ To ensure that things do not snowball out of control, we have given strict instructions to the taskforce and law enforcement agents to begin aggressive compliance enforcement activities in public places, including worship centres , event centres , markets , supermarkets, bars and hotels. “ Government will not hesitate to close down any facility indefinitely, and to prosecute operators of any public places , flouting the protocols . ”

*Says, “No retreat no surrender for whoever insults me again” Jigawa state governor Muhammed Badaru Abubakar has said he will no longer accept any unnecessary attack or insults from groups or individual in the name of opposing his policies and programs. Reacting vehemently shortly after inaugurating state party ex-co at the APC secretariat in Dutse, Governor Badaru said simplicity in leadership doesn’t mean stupidity, politicians are using my simplicity and an open-door policy to abuse or attack me through various means such as media without considering the burdens on me. His words: “Some politicians underrated me as a scapegoat as such they called me with so many names, condemning my programs and policies which not every leader can tolerate such nonsense. “Henceforth I will no longer tolerate such abuse and insult and group or person make further attempts to diminish my personality or image of my government. I will deal with him or them decisively, leadership is not something to play with”. Governor Badaru has been facing a series of attacks from both opposition political parties and some party supporters who struggle for the emergence of Badaru as governor but were sidelined, this has made some especially party supporters defect from the party in search of survival. The governor explained that as a businessman come 2023 he will leave office and continue with his business, saying is left for the party members and oppositions to come and unite for the development of the party and the state in general. “Failure to follow my advice on the way forward you will regret it, as I told you I’m going back to continue with my business, if the party destroys blame yourself I’m not at loss and nothing will shake my palava”. Badaru noted. Investigation has revealed that absence of media assistants since his swearing for a second term has resulted in the increase of attacks. The governor has been running his government without any special adviser on media nor director press and public relations even the commissioner of information has no portfolio. On the hand the sacked chairman of APC Jigawa state, Habibu Sara said: “we are aware the governor has a plan to destroy our party because he has no relevance after leaving office in 2023 and is aware of the popularity of our party in the state”. He added that his plan to see APC dead in Jigawa will not work as we have politicians who can perform better than him, not businessmen like who have used the state as personal properties.

The on-teaching staff in Nigerian Universities, on Wednesday, warned the federal government not to create another round of problems in the institutions with alleged imbalance in the sharing formula of the about N40bn Earned Allowances (EA) it is about to release. This warning given by the three unions in institutions – Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), came few hours after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced suspension of its nine-month-old strike. The workers, who vowed not to go back to their respective duty posts until the government corrected the imbalance, alleged that the government gave ASUU about 75 percent of the Earned Allowances, leaving 25 percent for the other three unions. N40 billion conundrum Daily Trust reports that part of the agreements the government reached with ASUU at Tuesday’s meeting was to release N40 billion as the Earned Allowance and N30bn for the revitalization of the university system bringing the total payment to N70 billion. Reacting to the sharing formula of the N40bn, the President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma said anyone thinking that the non-teaching staff unions in the universities would resume with the recent development was day-dreaming except the government corrected the imbalance. He said the union was making frantic efforts to reach Directors and Permanent Secretary, Ministries of Education and Labour and Employment to draw their attention to the fresh brewing crisis. “FG not ready for peace” Also speaking, the President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim said it appears the government does not want peace in the university systems, insisting that his union would not take the lopsided sharing formula. He stated, “Honestly, I believe that this remains a rumour even though I know it could be true, I have seen 75 percent and 25 percent. But truly if it is that, we have stated in no uncertain terms that we will not take this kind of lopsided allocations again, because what is the scientific measurement used to give this money? “We have stated before now that the least we can take is 50-50, they are not more in numbers. And even if they want to do something like that, maybe this is my own personal opinion, I may not insist on 50-50 but at least something reasonable. We have so many numbers. “If they give for example 60-40, do you think the noise will be there? Government does not want peace if it is giving 75 percent to only one union and giving 25 percent to three unions, does it make sense?”

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has granted the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu’s prayer in the N10 billion suit filed against Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, to appear before it over an alleged false media report. Justice Binta Mohammed, in a ruling, granted the I-G’s plea filed by his lawyer, Alex Izinyon, SAN. Izinyon had, in the application, sought an order of the court, “granting leave to the claimant/applicant (Adamu) to issue and serve the writ of summons and statement of claim on the defendant who resides at No. 1, Mosafejo Street, Kiribo, Ese-Odo LGA, Ondo State, outside the jurisdiction of this honorable court. “An order of this honorable court under the grant of prayer 1 above for leave to serve the writ of summons and statement of claim, witness statement and other processes filed on the defendant by substituted means by pasting same at No. 1, Mosafejo Street, Kiribo, Ese-Odo LGA, Ondo State, and such service to be deemed as proper service.” IGP Adamu described as falsehood a report published by the media outfit, on Aug. 3, accusing him of illegally raising funds to build a Police Training School in Nasarawa State. Adamu, through his lawyer, Izinyon, had threatened to file a N10 billion suit against the online platform and its publisher, Sowore, unless an apology was tendered within seven days of the letter addressed to the media house on Aug. 6. He had vowed to file the suit except “a written and unequivocal retraction with an apology carried with the same prominence on its platform and three national dailies” was done. However, in a writ of summoning with suit number: CU/3506/2020 dated and filed on Dec.21, Izinyon sought “a declaration that the words published by the defendant against the claimant in the online website of Sahara Reporters of Aug. 3 falsely and maliciously written, published to the general public and therefore was defamatory of the person of the claimant. “The sum of N10 billion only to the claimant as aggravated and exemplary damages against the defendant for libel, falsely, and maliciously published by the defendant against the claimant in the online website.” The lawyer also urged the court to make an order, restraining the media outfit from publishing defamatory reports against his client any longer. Thereafter, the judge adjourned the matter until Jan. 26, 2021, for a hearing. NAN

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has debunked claims that its database is breached. It said investigations on the alleged data dump were found to be non-existent in the National Identity Database. This is contained in a statement issued by the Commission’s Spokesperson, Kayode Adegoke in Abuja. “We would like to bring to the attention of the members of the general public that the purported breach of the National Identity Database going round the social media is false, a hoax, and of mischievous intent. “The NIMC would like to assure the public that there have been no such breaches or incidents. Investigations on the alleged data dump were found to be non-existent in the National Identity Database,” the statement partly read. It said the database scheme presented by the adversary does not tally with the existing schema of NIMC records. “The data being posted by criminals purporting to contain citizens’ information is fake. “The NIMC guarantees the security of the National Identity Database through various layers of security and can assure that no data was breached. “The members of the general public are, therefore, enjoined to refrain from spreading false reports on the purported data breach,” it said.