Tag: lockdown

Please report anyone who demands payment for COVID-19 Test – Dr. Osagie Ehanire

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has asked Nigerians to report any Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) worker or Ministry of Health personnel that demands payment before COVID-19 test is carried out in the country.

There have been reports circulating since last week that the Federal government charges as much as N50,000 for Covid-19 testing and the Health Minister has now rubbished those reports.

Speaking on Monday July 6, during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said COVID-19 testing remains free.

“I wish to remind everyone that government-run testing for COVID-19 is free. Please report anyone who demands payment for necessary action,” he said.

According to Ehanire, Nigeria has recorded a total of 28,711 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, 11,665 discharged patients and 645 deaths out of 152,952 tests conducted as of July 6.

Ehanire also revealed that June alone recorded half the total number of deaths recorded so far.

“It means that just under half of the total fatalities so far recorded occurred in that single month of June. While we more than doubled the tests done and the number of cases detected. The reduction in case fatality rate is down to about 2.2 per cent as opposed to about 5 per cent we have seen on global average,” he added.

President Buhari has reportedly suspended the acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.

According to reports, Magu was suspended to allow him face the probe into the allegations of corruption leveled against him by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

In June, Malami wrote a letter to President Buhari asking for Magu’s sack. He accused Magu of corruption, diversion of recovered funds, insubordination among other offenses.

On Monday, Magu was invited before a panel probing the allegations. The panel is led by Ayo Salami, retired president of the appeal court.

Some of the 22 allegations Magu is being investigated for include:

Alleged discrepancies in the reconciliation records of the EFCC and the Federal Ministry of Finance on recovered funds
Declaration of N539billion as recovered funds instead of N504b earlier claimed
Insubordination to the office of the AGF by not seeking his approval on some decisions
Not providing enough evidence for the extradition of ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke
Alleged late action on the investigation of Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) leading to legal dispute
Not respecting court order to unfreeze a N7billion judgment in favour of a former Executive Director of First Bank
Alleged delay in acting on two vessels seized by Nigerian Navy leading to the loss of crude
Alleged favouring of some investigators called Magu’s Boys
Reporting some judges to their presiding officers without deferring to the AGF
Alleged sales of seized assets to cronies, associates and friends
Alleged issuance of investigative activities to some media prejudicial to some cases.