Covid-19 will disappear without vaccine - US President, Trump

US President, Donald Trump has said the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic is going to “end without a vaccine.”

Trump told the press during his daily briefing at the White House at the weekend, “This is going to go away without a vaccine, it’s gonna go away, and we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.”


He added, “You may have some flare-ups, and I guess I would expect that.”

As at Friday, the deadly virus had infected at least 1.2 million people in the US killing more than 76,000.

The leading expert on infectious diseases on the US COVID-19 task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had repeatedly said a vaccine is still at least a year to 18 months from being produced.


Meanwhile, President Trump insists he relies on what doctors tell him, adding that doctors believe COVID-19 will go away but did not say if it was going to be this year.

“It doesn’t mean, frankly, it’s going to be gone before the fall or after the fall, but eventually it’s going to go away.

The question is whether we will need a vaccine. At some point, it will probably go away by itself.”

NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS WILL COME OUT OF COVID- 19 PANDEMIC STRONGER - OSINBAJO

“We will get through this much stronger economically and much stronger as a people because of our resilience. There are a lot of challenges but they offer significant opportunities for us to turn things around.”

Those were the words of assurance from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to Nigerians during his interaction today at the 2020 edition of ‘The Platform’ themed “Nigeria’s battle against COVID-19”.



Yemi Osinbajo
Nigeria’s Vice President
According to him. “I am very confident that Nigerians, with our resilience, our strength and our innovation, we will go through this in great shape.”

The Platform is an annual discussion programme of the Covenant Christian Centre that features discussions around the state of the Nigerian nation and its development. The May 2020 edition featured virtual participants without a life audience as a result of the global pandemic.

The Vice President then laid out some of the Federal Government’s efforts to address the economic fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking specifically about how the country can transform the challenges caused by the pandemic into opportunities for economic diversification and job creation, the Vice President said prioritizing use of local resources and creating local jobs in the construction and allied industry, amongst other things, will be critical in sustaining the economy in the post COVID-19 era.

He said: “We have to prioritize the use of local resources in all public works. In road construction for instance, it is cheaper to build concrete roads using limestone than spending resources on the importation of bitumen. We have limestone in abundance hence we should be looking in that direction. The road from the Apapa port to the Lagos –Ibadan expressway is being built with cement and is of high quality.

“In the housing sector where we have a huge deficit, we need to focus on using local resources to build houses and in the process we will be creating opportunities for young engineers, architects and builders etc.”

In the area of agriculture, the Vice President said government’s initial policies have saved the country from the huge forex burden of food imports and related activities.

“We think that by ramping up agriculture, especially small holder agriculture and improving the value chain, especially in storage and processing facilities, more jobs will be created for many young people.

“We have found ourselves in a situation where we realize that the way to go is to support the creation of the jobs in agriculture and reduce food imports and ultimately address the issue of unemployment and food shortages.

“What we must do as much as we can is to change the narrative about Nigeria and provide more jobs.”

Still on mitigating the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic such as inflation, the Vice President said government would focus on improving productivity and improving food stock across the country.

According to him, “if you can ramp up food production and the logistics of bringing food to the urban centres, inflation will be controlled to a large extent.”

He added that boosting agricultural production for export purposes and supporting the mining sector will bolster the country’s foreign exchange earnings and reserves.

Other contributors to discussions at the virtual summit include the Governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State; Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo State. The Director-General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Dr. Chike Ihekweazu also spoke at the interaction which included interviews, panel discussion and speeches. The event was moderated by Pastor Poju Oyemade, the Convener of The Platform.

Oyo records 5 new cases of COVID- 19, 4 Ibadan, 1 in Ogbomoso

Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde has confirmed five new COVID-19 cases in Oyo state, taking the total number of infections in the state to 64 cases.

According to Makinde, he said the new infections cases cut across Ibadan and Ogbomoso ( Surulere ).

In his Oyo state Covid-19 Taskforce update for May 9, 2020, Makinde said ” the COVID-19 confirmation tests for five suspected cases came back POSITIVE. The cases are from the following Local Government Areas: Ibadan North (2), a foreigner in Surulere, Ibadan North East (1) and Ibadan South West (1). So, the total number of confirmed cases in Oyo State is 64.

With five new cases in Oyo, Nigeria confirmed a total 239 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections in the country to 4,151 cases. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a tweet on Saturday night, May 9, confirmed the new cases.

According to the agency, 97 of the cases were in Lagos, 44 in Bauchi, 29 in Kano and 19 in Katsina. Borno states had 17 cases the Abuja had seven cases, Kwara had six, Oyo had five, while Kaduna, Sokoto and Adamawa states had three cases each.

IMPEACHMENT: OYO DEPUTY GOVERNOR OUTSMARTS GSM

Despite the intensity of the plot to remove the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, it appears a Herculean task because most members of the state House of Assembly are with the Deputy Governor than Governor Seyi Makinde (GSM).

Early in the life of the administration, the lawmakers have had the ears and support of Olaniyan than the governor, including standing by some of them when in need. The legislators are angry that the governor has been allegedly contemptuous of them.

When the lawmakers were hauled into a hotel by a top member of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) to sell the idea of a likely impeachment of the Deputy Governor, most of them were busy with text and WhatsApp messages (on the spot), leaking reports on how the plot will be hatched. Olaniyan’s strategists were enjoying the game. It is obvious that any impeachment investment will go down the drain.



Notwithstanding, two confidants of the governor from Itesiwaju and Saki West are locked in a fierce battle to produce the successor to Olaniyan.

Over 300 die in Bauchi within 14 days- Residents

BAUCHI State residents are alleging massive deaths from a ‘strange ailment’ in Azare, headquarters of Katagum Local Government Area of the state.

About 301 people are feared dead in the last two weeks in the area, according to residents.



Some suspect the strange ailment to be COVID-19

The State Government on Saturday alleged exaggeration of the matter.

Deputy Governor Baba Tela told reporters that the situation in the Azare was being blown out of proportion by those who don’t reside in the state.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ibrahim Baba, in a May 8, 2020 letter to President Muhammadu Buhari spoke of a “massive outbreak of coronavirus” in Azare.

He said the town recorded over 100 COVID-19 deaths in one week alone, sparking panic among residents.



He said: “Sir, I write to draw your kind attention to the massive outbreak of coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 in the last one week, and this has thrown the entire area into great mourning, panic and confusion,” he wrote.

Read Also: COVID-19 patient flees Bauchi isolation centre
“The centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa State make the town’s large population susceptible to the virus due to the already existing large cases of the disease in those areas.

“And because media coverage is always largely skewed toward states capital and other more prominent cities, the ongoing horrific situation in Azare has not gotten the attention it deserves, and that’s why I want to use this privilege to appeal to you for urgent action to arrest the unpalatable situations.

“Consequently therefore, I wish to appeal to your Excellency to direct the National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) and the presidential Task force on COVID-19 to urgently reach out to Azare town with all the necessary facilities and palliatives to assist the communities there.”

He also appealed to the president to allow a facility the Central Bank of Nigeria built at a Federal Medical Centre in the town to be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

“And to help in this expected effort, may I draw your attention to the fact that at the Ophthalmology unit and laboratory have already been built and equipped by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Azare Federal Medical Centre Since 2013 but have not been commissioned and put to use up till now,” he said.

“This facility can be repurposed to a COVID-19 test and treatment center provided the right equipment are added, including ventilators.

“As a matter of life death, I have the utmost trust in your sense of patriotism and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians that you will assist the beleaguered people of Azare town and environs to overcome this harrowing situation. And while I look forward to your kind response, please, accept the assurance of my high esteem and loyalty.”

In a similar letter to Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, the Deputy Public Relations Officer (P.R.O) of the State Asset and Recovery Committee, Musa Azare claimed that 301 fresh graves were dug at the Azare cemetery in the “last 14 days.”

Azare who posted the letter on his Facebook wall said:  ‘’ Dear Kauran Bauchi,

“Information reaching me from Azare says that as at yesterday there were 301 fresh graves in the Azare cemetery, dug in the last 14 days. I have verified this information from multiple sources.’

‘’Equally of serious concern is the way people escort their dead ones to the cemetery. No observance of any counter-measure against the Covid-19 pandemic. There is need to intensify awareness campaign.

‘’And to our people, you better wake up, and accept the reality o

Man City have finally found their Yaya Toure replacement two years after his last game

Two years ago, Yaya Toure played his final game for Manchester City after a brilliant 316 appearances for the club.

Yaya Toure produced so many big moments at Manchester City.
Two years ago today, Vincent Kompany took the microphone at the Etihad Stadium and reeled off a list of Yaya Toure's greatest Manchester City achievements.

"If there's ever going to be a legend at the club, then it's this man," Kompany told a packed Etihad, who had all waited after the final whistle to say farewell to Toure.


"To be a legend, you have to have a tremendous amount of talent, longevity, and you need to be there in key moments. I just want to remind a few of them.

"Semi final, FA Cup, Manchester United. Yaya Toure. Final against Stoke City, FA Cup. Yaya Toure. First league-winning title, two goals against Newcastle. Yaya Toure again.

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"Second league title, Crystal Palace away. Yaya Toure again. League Cup final, Sunderland. Yaya Toure. League Cup final against Liverpool, Yaya Toure."

The mention of each classic Yaya moment was greeted with a cheer louder than the last, and Kompany's final words prompted the biggest cheer of all.

SCHOOL RESUMPTION DATE: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REACTS TO RUMOURS OF JUNE1

Recently, it was revealed that some tertiary institution’s students have started resuming back to their various campuses expecting academic activities to commence shortly, following rumours that, the Federal Government of Nigeria has given order that all schools of the Federation should resume back to their normal curricular activities.

The Federal Government  of Nigeria has ordered closure of all schools (both basic and tertiary institutions) in the country to outside academic activities indefinitely and all students were ordered to go home, as no school’s health facility will be responsible for the treatment of students during the period.

In the false viral news circulating on the internet, it made it known that the Federal Government of Nigeria has given order that all universities and polythecnics (both private and public), are to resume back to their academic activities on the 1st of June, irrespective of what happens concerning the global pandemic outbreak spreading all over the world.
However, the federal government, through it Federal Ministry of Education has given clarification to the viral news, calling it a “fake news”.

TheMinistry of Education reacting to this news on Twitter said that, “There is currently no confirmed date on the resumption of schools Nationwide. These are purported news articles to dissuade the public”

As made known by the ministry of education, the news on the resumption of tertiary institutions is fake news and it should be disregarded.

Nigerians are urged to always neglect fake news especially at this period of time,as most bloggers or publishers don’t confirm informations from reliable sources before publishing it on their blogs, thereby misleading the public.

Also, there is no specific date yet for the resumption of schools Nationwide, as this will be communicated by the Federal Government, when schools are expected to resume and all students are expected to be with their parents.

The problem with Oshiomhole [Opinion]

APC's national chairman is on the verge of losing his lucrative job and it all has to do with his brand of politics.

In the photo: The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state, Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa state, Bayelsa governor-elect, David Lyon, President Muhammadu Buhari, APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state. [Twitter/@BashirAhmaad]

“Are you looking at me with pity?” Chairman of Nigeria’s governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, asked journalists who had besieged the gates of his Aso Drive residence in Abuja, as he made to fling himself into a waiting car for a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

It was a message of defiance and calmness from Oshiomhole, shortly after a court suspended him as APC chairman.

After his meeting with the president, Oshiomhole, still putting up a brave face and managing to briefly look unruffled, announced that a minister and a handful of governors are behind his current travails.

He should know.

“I am a child of light who will always defeat darkness,” he added, with the looks of a man barely clutching at straws, his bald pate now tanning uncontrollably in the baking Abuja temperatures.

Oshiomhole’s troubles didn’t begin this week or this month, however.

Oshiomhole waves the APC symbolic broom during a party meet (Punch)

Announced APC chairman on June 23, 2018, after John Odigie-Oyegun's lethargic reign, Oshiomhole was propped to the throne and vaunted as the figure who unites a party still coming to grasps with the trappings and the allure of power at the center.

He was tasked with bringing together the alpha males and out-sized egos in his party; and setting them on a common path toward consolidation with an agenda everyone could identify with.

Soon after his emergence as party chairman however, Oshiomhole made it clear he was at war with Edo Governor and his successor as helmsman of the south-south state, Godwin Obaseki.

Both men do not see eye to eye to this day and it was Obaseki who ensured that the APC in Edo and Oshiomhole’s primary ward in the state, suspended the national chairman from the grassroots.

Without a power base to draw from, Oshiomhole has been left weakened and emasculated. Obaseki has almost seized control of the APC structure in Edo from Oshiomhole's grasp.

It is that lack of a power structure from his home state and the deployment of his office as a means to settle personal scores, that has now left Oshiomhole vulnerable to the extent that he risks kissing his position as party chairman goodbye.

Oshiomhole’s politics has been far from stellar. He’s alienated some of the most powerful governors in his party at a time when he should be forging a consensus with some of his party's most powerful figures.

President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Godwin Obaseki and APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole share a laugh in 2019 ( Presidency)

Top party officials say Oshiomhole’s ‘my way or the highway’ leadership style has earned him more friends than foes within the top brass of the APC.

His 'detractors' say his straight-talking can come across as rude and that it rubs colleagues the wrong way.

The APC's National Working Committee (NWC) has also been split right down the middle on Oshiomhole's account and the governing party now exists as splinters and factions no thanks to Oshiomhole's polarising brand of politics.

Oshiomhole’s cause has also not been helped by the fact that the APC has lost a couple of states it should be winning and that the party gifted Bayelsa to the opposition PDP through what some chieftains have termed ‘schoolboy errors and carelessness’ from party headquarters.

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Buhari are quite the buddies [adelove]

While he talks a big game, dances with an effervescence at campaign rallies and puts opponents to the sword with an acerbic tongue during press briefings and outings, Oshiomhole often comes across as brash, brusque, not together and bereft of strategy and careful planning in the running of the APC.

Those who are hell bent on kicking him out as party chairman may be doing so from a selfish standpoint, seeing as they are no better humans themselves, but it has to be said that Oshiomhole handed them the weapons for his own annihilation.

He may well survive this however, seeing as President Buhari and APC godfather Bola Tinubu have often taken a liking to him.

Should he want to last the distance and tighten his hold on power for a little longer, Oshiomhole has got to change who he’s become and crack the whip only when absolutely necessary.

APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, flanked by party executives (Guardian)

Carrying on like one headmaster who whips recalcitrant chaps into line within the APC, was always going to land the lithe framed Oshiomhole in trouble.

Oshiomhole has got to lead by making sure most of the top dogs within the APC are singing from the same hymn sheet.

Anything less will amount to a hara-kiri.