Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says over 24,000 children are yet to resume in the state after the first lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The governor said this while briefing newsmen at the State House, Ikeja on the COVID-19 update on Tuesday.
He explained that one of the reasons for reopening schools was to protect students from social vices.
He said, “After the first lockdown, we are still looking for about 24,000 children that have not come back to school. So, there is a challenge if you keep them out for that long.
“Their parents or guardians now turn them to other things instead of allowing them to come back and learn.
“We just don’t want to throw them (out) because they will just be roaming about the streets and become more endangered. You see incidents of child abuse and unprintable things that are being done to these children.
“We believe that schools, sometimes, happen to be the safe haven for them and we have done a roaster.
“We are monitoring. We are not saying that our position is sacrosanct and (it) can be reviewed down the line. If we monitor and realise that people are not taking responsibility, we make a recall and that is why decisions will be reviewed from time to time.”
By Sodiq Oyeleke
Source:https://punchng.com/covid-19-24000-children-havent-returned-to-school-says-sanwo-olu/
The National Identity Management Commission says Nigerians who have not registered and obtained their National Identity Numbers should be ready to face the consequences.
NIMC stated this in a tweet on Tuesday.
“By order of the Federal Government, today is given as the last chance to register your NIMC or face the wrath of what comes next,” NIMC tweeted.
On December 15, 2020, the Federal Government declared that after December 30, 2020, all SIMs that were not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.
It later extended the December 30, 2020 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement and gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021.
It also gave six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021, but many organisations have called for a further deadline extension or outright suspension of the NIN registration process due to the large crowds who had yet to have their NINs.
Although the NIMC refused to speak on the matter after several calls and messages were sent to senior officials of the commission on the subject, operators in the telecommunications sector told The PUNCH on Monday that about 43 million NINs had been submitted to the agency for verification
About 43 million National Identity Numbers have been submitted by telecommunication companies to the National Identity Management Commission for verification in order to have them registered with their respective Subscriber Identification Modules.
The Nigeria Immigration Service had in 2019 made NIN a prerequisite for obtaining passports while recently, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the National Examinations Council made it compulsory for intending candidates.
This has caused several persons to gather at NIMC enrolment centres in disregard of COVID-19 protocols.
By Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
Source:https://punchng.com/nin-prepare-for-consequences-nimc-threatens-unregistered-nigerians/
Bandits have again killed eight people in Dutsin Gari and Rayau villages of Maru local government area of Zamfara state in fresh attacks.
An eye witness, Malam Ibro Mamman who spoke to our reporter said the bandits who were on motorcycles invaded the Dutsin Gari village last night with the intention of abducting some people but were squarely faced by the villagers.
According to him, the villagers engaged the bandits in a heavy fight which lasted several hours.
Mamman said, “When the bandits realized that they could not succeed in their nefarious activity, they opened fire and killed six people, injured many before they moved to a nearby village called Rayau.
“In Rayau Village, the bandits also faced similar challenges from the villagers who were battle-ready on receiving the report of what happened in Dutsin Gari village.
“The villagers came out in large number and engaged the bandits in a gun battle where two of the villagers lost their lives and the bandits left without abducting anybody, ” said Mamman.
Mamman also said the bandits returned to the two villages early this morning only to find out that many people have fled to Kanoma town for fear of reprisal attack.
According to him, the angry bandits set many houses on fire and carted away with domestic animals.
Recall that, the bandits have in the past abducted 40 worshippers including the Imam in Dutsin Gari Village during the Friday prayers some months ago.
Frantic efforts were made to talk to the spokesperson of the police command, SP Mohammed Shehu, but he didn’t pick up the phone calls.
By Maiharaji Altine, Gusau
Source;https://punchng.com/eight-killed-houses-razed-as-bandits-invade-zamfara-communities/
Nigerians have urged the Federal Government to extend the deadline for the registration for the National Identification Number.
In a poll conducted on PUNCH‘s social media pages, 85.9 per cent of respondents across our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages voted in support of the extension.
On Twitter, 89 per cent of the 8324 votes were in favour of an extension. The same was the case on our Instagram Stories, which was seen by 3296 users.
However, the percentage of respondents who voted in support of an extension was lower on Facebook at 79.8 per cent. Number of respondents was 1000.
The Federal government had on December 15, 2020 declared that all SIMs that were not registered with valid NIN on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked after December 30, 2020.
However, following public outcry against the short notice, it later extended the deadline, giving 3 weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021, and a 6-week extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.
The timing of the NIN registration amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has left many Nigerians and other stakeholders faulting the Federal Government’s decision to embark on the exercise now.
Crowds at the registration centres of the National Identity Management Commission have also left many fearing a surge in the cases of COVID-19 in the country.
One of the respondents, Erhiyoma Maxwell said, “If they are really concerned about the spread of Covid19, then the date should be shifted to avoid rush and over crowding.”
Another respondent, Akeem Emmanuel tweeted, “It should be extended indefinitely.”
A Twitter user, Clinton Chidiebere agreed with Emmanuel, as he tweeted, “There shouldn’t be deadline in the first place.”
Meanwhile, following the large crowds that besiege its state offices in Lagos and Abuja, NIMC has released a list of over 50 NIN enrolment centres in the two cities.
According to NIMC Spokesman, Kayode Adegoke, the decentralisation will help decongest the large gatherings at the state offices in the two cities as well as make the NIN registration process faster and easier for applicants.
By Punch News
Source:https://punchng.com/poll-nigerians-call-for-extension-of-nin-deadline/
