Diamond Celebrities

Emirates airline, the United Arab Emirates flag carrier, has become the world’s first airline to offer to cover customers’ medical expenses and quarantine costs should they contract Covid-19 during their trip. The airline will pay medical expenses up to €150,000 ($173,000) and quarantine costs of up to €100 for 14 days, should they be diagnosed […]

The federal government Friday issued a circular directing all MDAs to carry out COVID-19 tests for all civil servants. The circular, dated July 17, 2020, and addressed to all Permanent Secretaries, was issued by the Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), Dr Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Esan. It was signed on her behalf by the Permanent […]

The presidency has reacted to the calls made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign. In a statement issued on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said his principal will not heed to calls made by the PDP. “President Buhari will not […]

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday pushed back against some of the conspiracy theories spreading online accusing him of creating the coronavirus outbreak. “It’s a bad combination of pandemic and social media and people looking for a very simple explanation,” the Microsoft founder said during a CNN Town Hall interview. Doctored photos and fabricated news […]

Uche Secondus, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says there is nothing to show that there is a government in charge of Nigeria. At a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Secondus said the country is in “a free fall”, as corruption and insecurity have been left unchecked. The PDP chairman said Nigerians […]

President Muhammadu Buhari was on Thursday sighted with a face mask for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 had recommended the compulsory use of face mask while in public as one of the guidelines meant to curtail further spread of the virus in the country. But while […]

The House of Representatives has resolved to sue Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged perjury and defamation of the parliament. Akpabio had on Monday, while appearing before the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission at an investigative hearing, alleged that members of the National Assembly get 60 per cent of contracts […]

A rise is expected in the number of COVID-19 cases next month in Lagos State, Health Commissioner Prof Akin Abayomi said on Thursday. The commissioner told reporters at Bagaulto Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, that the postulations are a result of modelling carried out on the pandemic in the state. He said: “Modelling is not […]

No fewer than 7,875 Nigerian doctors are currently practising in the United Kingdom, according to the UK’s General Medical Council. The GMC, which is the government body that maintains the UK’s official register of medical practitioners, also says  India, Pakistan and Nigeria are the countries with the highest number of doctors practising in the UK. […]

A lottery shop operator, identified simply as Baba Pool, on Thursday committed suicide over his alleged failure to pay some of his customers their winnings. It was gathered that the deceased hanged himself inside his shop in Kayode Market, Abule Ijesha, in the Sabo area of Lagos State. Punch learnt that the deceased, in a […]

A new survey has rated government as the least trusted institution in Nigeria. The survey was conducted by Edelman Intelligence, the independent research arm of the Edelman global network which tests how well people trust the four critical institutions of the society to do what is right. The four institutions were identified as government, business, […]

The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar on Wednesday 22nd July 2020 closed at ₦472/US$1 in the parallel market. Also, the exchange rate closed at ₦472/$1 on Tuesday 21st July 2020. Naira: ₦472 Dollar: $1 Date: July 22nd 2020 The exchange rate between the naira and the British pounds sterling also closed at  ₦578/₤1 on Wednesday 22nd […]

The suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has asked the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, to present evidence that he (Magu) fraudulently enriched himself and also collected bribes to shield suspects from prosecution. Mr Magu challenged Mr Malami while responding to a query by a presidential probe panel […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ordered Nigerians with expired visas to leave the country before August 17. In a statement on Tuesday, the Nigerian embassy in Abu Dhabi said UAE has granted waivers on fines and penalties on visas that expired before March 1. The embassy urged affected citizens to submit their papers for […]

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, United States, has said a Nigerian entrepreneur, Izuchukwu Madubueze (aka Izu), shot himself dead in a suspected case of suicide over an allegation of sexual assault. A Twitter influencer and self-acclaimed female rights activist, Nanichi Anese, had on June 29, 2020, tagged the 23-year-old as a sexual offender. The creative […]

Gal Pissetzky, the legal representative of suspected Internet fraudster, Ramon Abass, aka Hushpuppi, has said the suspect is on his way to California, United States of America, for trial. He told Punch on Wednesday night that Hushpuppi had not been released as being speculated in some quarters. Pissetzky, a Chicago lawyer, also noted that he […]

A UN finance support platform tagged “One UN COVID-19 Response Basket Fund”, says it has received additional one million dollars to help Nigeria to address challenges posed by the pandemic in the country. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), which manages the basket fund, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. The statement […]

The federal government will from midnight Friday enforce a partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State, for scheduled rehabilitation work to ensure that the major transportation facility does not collapse completely. Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who confirmed this at a briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, called on motorists in […]