Folarin Kehinde

The Joint Senate Committee On Finance, Banking, Insurance and Financial institutions is currently having an interactive session with the Economic Management Team over the recent fall of the naira.

Leading reporters reports the Economic Management Team includes officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) led the governor, Yemi Cardoso.

The committee had on January 31 summoned the CBN governor to appear before it.

The move comes amid pressing concerns about the state of the economy and the sharp decline of the naira in the foreign exchange market.

The Senate is seeking answers and solutions from Cardoso and his team to stabilise the currency and restore confidence in the economy.

More to follow…

In the wake of several sudden deaths reported during a recent football match between Nigeria and South Africa, medical experts in the country are cautioning hypertensive individuals against participating in activities that may induce excitement or put excessive pressure on the heart.

Speaking on the matter, Dr Salau Ibrahim, a consultant cardiologist at the Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, highlighted potential causes for the sudden collapses, suggesting strokes, sudden heart attacks, or stress-induced heart problems as likely factors.

Dr. Ibrahim emphasized that age, coupled with existing health issues such as heart problems or kidney complications, necessitates careful consideration of activities that may stress vital organs.

“The major causes of such sudden deaths are stroke or heart attack. Regular checkups and lifestyle modification are crucial. If you have any background comorbidity like hypertension or diabetes, ensure you take your medications regularly,” Dr. Salau told Leadership newspaper.

Another expert, Dr Ramon Moronkola from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), linked the deaths to possible strokes resulting from cardiac arrest and heart or brain issues.

Dr Moronkola explained that emotional surges, such as those experienced during intense football matches, could lead to a sudden increase in adrenaline and blood pressure, posing a significant risk to individuals with underlying cardiovascular diseases.

In addition to individuals with pre-existing conditions, those with genetic predispositions may also be at risk of abnormal heartbeats triggered by emotional surges, potentially leading to fatal outcomes, cautioned Dr. Moronkola.

The Deputy Bursar of Kwara State University (KWASU) Malete, Alhaji Ayuba Olaitan Abdullahi, on Wednesday night died while watching the semi-final match between Nigeria and South Africa in the ongoing AFCON competition.

Nigeria won the tension soaked match against South Africa by four goals to two which was decided by penalty kick after a 1-1 draw at extra time of the match.

Sources said that the deputy bursar died after he went to watch the match at a sports center in Sango-Kulende area of Ilorin metropolis very close to his house where the incident occurred.

According to the source, Ayuba watched the game till the end of the extra time when he felt uncomfortable and was rushed to a private hospital in the area where he gave up the ghost.

“The deputy Bursar watched the Nigeria/South Africa match from the beginning till the end of the extra time and when it was the time for penalty kick, he complained that he was feeling dizzy, so he said he needs to go back home and rest not knowing that his blood pressure had gone up.

“So on getting home, he collapsed and he was rushed to private hospital in Sango from where he was referred to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) and before he could be attended to, he died”, the source said.

He was buried on Thursday morning according to Islamic rites.

A statement issued later by the University and signed by Dr Saedat Aliyu, announced the death of Mr. Ayuba Olaitan Abdullahi of the bursary department.

“Janazah will hold this morning, and his remains will be interred at the Hausa Muslim cemetery, Apata Yakuba, Oyun area, Ilorin, at 9 am.

President Tinubu has approved the immediate release of 102,000 metric tonnes of rice and maize from the National Food Reserves in order to enhance the availability of food in the country.

The president’s directive comes days after a series of protests in some states against the high cost of food items.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in a chat with journalists at the State House following a meeting of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention on Thursday.

Idris also noted that the government has suggested importing any deficiencies that may arise after the distribution of the food items.

The minister indicated that the government will take suitable actions against individuals stockpiling food.

He emphasized that during emergencies, it is necessary to implement immediate actions to guarantee the availability to Nigerians.

Fourteen travellers abducted by gunmen in Kogi State on Saturday, February 3, have been freed.

The news was confirmed by Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye, on Thursday evening.

“Just been informed by the DPO that, all the kidnapped victims of God is Good Motors, GIG and ABC have regained their freedom,” he said in a statement.

The abduction occurred on the Abuja-bound buses near Inele Eteke, in Olalamaboro Local Government Area. Armed bandits had hijacked the vehicles and whisked away 14 passengers, comprising of 12 from GIG and 2 from ABC.

The abductors subsequently contacted the families, demanding a ransom of N15 million for their release. It remains unclear whether any payment was made before the hostages were freed.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) have served a 14-day strike notice on the Federal Government, raising the spectre of nationwide industrial action if their demands are unmet.

The unions, in a statement, said they are furious over the government’s failure to implement a 16-point agreement signed in October 2023. The agreement aimed to address the “massive suffering” caused by the hike in petrol prices and naira devaluation, policies blamed for worsening economic hardship.

“Despite our efforts to ensure industrial peace, the government seems unperturbed by the mass suffering and hardship across the country,” NLC and TUC leaders said in a joint statement. They accused the government of neglecting the welfare of citizens and workers, leaving them with “no choice” but to resort to strike action.

Effective February 9, among others, the two Labour Centres said, “Constrained by this development and recognising the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defence of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government to honour their part of the understanding within 14 days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February 2024.”

A member of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Adamawa State died during the penalty shootouts of the match between Nigeria and South Africa of Wednesday evening.

It was gathered Thursday morning that the youth corper, identified only as Samuel from Kaduna State, died just before the last kick that ensured Nigeria’s victory in the match.

A witness, who gave an account of the incident in a social media post, said: “We lost one Nigerian during our victory celebration over south Africa at our sports viewing center here in Numan.

“The corps member who is serving in Numan from Kaduna State fainted before the kick of the winning goal.

“He died before they could reach the hospital in Numan. May his soul rest in peace.”

The NYSC Coordinator in Adamawa State, Jingi Dennis, said he was awaiting greater details of the incident.

The coordinator said in a conversation Thursday morning: ”I received the news of his death last night. I hope to have more details today.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that SIM cards not linked to National Identity Numbers (NIN) will be deactivated by the end of February.

The compulsory linkage between SIM cards and NINs was initiated in December 2020 to improve security by preventing unregistered and unlinked phone numbers for criminal activities.

Despite deadline extensions, there has been a significant number of phone lines that remain unlinked.

The NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Aminu Maida, emphasized that pre-registered or illegally registered SIM cards have been challenging, and the SIM-NIN connection was intended to address this issue.

Maida made the comment on Tuesday in an interactive session with journalists, noting that the commission will now adopt a data-driven decision-making approach and hold telecom service providers accountable for service delivery to consumers.

“You are going to see a change in the way we make decisions; we are going to be very data-driven. All our decisions are going to be backed up by data as much as possible. We want to reduce subjectiveness and make the right decisions that will improve the industry.

“We intend to hold our licensees accountable for all services. After all, the consumers pay for the services, and they expect the service to be at a certain level or point, so we will be holding our licensees accountable to ensure they deliver on their obligations to their licenses.

“We need to put smiles back on the faces of consumers. NCC is clear on this: we need to protect the interest of consumers. They remain number one because that is where you extract values from.

“Yet, the interest of licensed operators will also be protected while we put eyes on their activities to see the level of compliance,” he said.

He further mentioned that the commission will prioritize three critical stakeholders: consumers, the industry, and licensees.

According to him, the NCC aims to address consumer complaints more effectively by monitoring licensees’ customer service systems and identifying the reasons for delays in issue resolution.

He added that the decision to deactivate SIM cards without NIN is part of the government’s efforts to enhance security measures and combat activities of bandits and terrorists.