NEWS
COVID-19: Over 3m Nigerians Fully Vaccinated – NPHCDA
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says more than three million eligible Nigerians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, said this at the bi-weekly briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on Monday in Abuja.
Over three million vaccinated Nigerians were vaccinated eight months after the country started the vaccination of its citizens against coronavirus.
Shuaib said 5,891,305 eligible Nigerians had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which represented 5.3 per cent of the eligible population.
He added that 3,252,067 Nigerians had received their second dose and were fully vaccinated, representing only 2.
9 per cent of the overall population of eligible persons.He explained that the overall population of eligible Nigerians targeted for COVID-19 vaccination to enable the country reach herd immunity against the virus was 111,776,503.
The NPHCDA boss said the Federal Government had adequate doses of vaccines in store to cover a large percentage of the population.
He added that the country had received 3,924,000 doses of AstraZeneca (AZ) in batches between Oct. 22 – 25th from the COVAX facility.
He noted that the country also received a combination of 1,022,400 doses of AZ as donations from the governments of Germany, Switzerland, and Italy from COVAX last week.
Shuaib said the Federal Government had received commitment of over 11.99 million and 12.2 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines respectively.
“We also have received commitment of 4,953,600 doses of Moderna as donation from US Government through COVAX. These are a few of the doses coming in batches in December and January 2022.
“We would also like to remind us that the Federal Government procured 39,800,000 doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine through the AVATT and these have been coming in batches,” he said.
He appealed to persons 18 years and above and unvaccinated to simply walk into the nearest vaccination site to take their COVID-19 vaccine.
“It is free, safe, effective and protects you, your family and your community. And if you have taken your first dose, check your vaccination card for your due date and ensure you take the second dose for full protection,” he said.
He stated that the Agency would initiate the COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Campaign to reach more Nigerians.
He said the idea of mass vaccination campaign was to quickly increase the number of fully vaccinated eligible population.
This, he hinted, would move the country towards achieving herd immunity and creating an enabling environment for economic recovery and a return to social normalcy in the country.
“The mass vaccination campaigns will require mass mobilisation of Nigerians for increased vaccine uptake.
“This cannot be done successfully without the support of all critical stakeholders including governors, commissioners, the LGA Chairmen, Traditional and Religious Leaders, the Civil Society Organisations, the State Ministries of Health, the State Primary Healthcare Boards, all health professionals and our professional media community,” he said.
Shuaib said efforts were ongoing to engage with stakeholders to promote awareness and vaccine confidence.
He said the government aimed to vaccinate at least 50 per cent of the population by the end of January 2022.
“We will be conducting the National flag off of this mass vaccination campaign this Friday Nov. 19 by 10 a.m.,” he said.
The NPHCDA boss said any Nigerian found obtaining the COVID-19 vaccination card illegally (buying or selling) would be made to face the law.
He said the Joint Task Force on COVID-19, which included security agents from the ICPC, DSS and other relevant security agencies remained on alert at every corner of the country and were regularly making impromptu checks.
He noted that it would also be extremely difficult to use fraudulently obtained cards outside the country.
“There is a case of one Mr Amako who attempted to travel outside the country with a vaccination card that could not be validated.
“Upon investigation, the reason for the non-validation was that the expiry date of the 1st and 2nd dose was altered, there were inconsistencies with the vaccine expiration dates and batch number and the QR code scanned belonged to another person.
“This clearly showed that Mr Amako illegally obtained the vaccination card without getting vaccinated. He was denied travel and his case is currently with the law enforcement authorities,” he disclosed. (NAN)
Nasarawa State University, Keffi and Prince Interior Vocational Institute have taken a significant step toward strengthening entrepreneurship and practical skills development among its students aimed at training professional furniture artisans.
The collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), is expected to produce over 500 furniture artisans within two years.
In her remarks during the signing of the MoU, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof.
Sa’adatu Liman said that the collaboration was one of the criteria for TETFUND guidelines in entrepreneurial development output.Liman commended the company for finding the institution a worthy and reliable partner for the entrepreneurial and vocational project.
According to her, the partnership will be beneficial to the entire university community.
Earlier, the Director of the university Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC), Prof. Rashidah Olanrewaju, said the university students will benefit from about 50 different skills in the EDC.
She appreciated the company for the partnership and wished the partners a successful and fruitful collaboration.
The Chief Executive Officer, Prince Interior Vocational Institute, Emeka Owgueke explained that the programme targets the establishment of a medium-scale furniture workshop on campus.
He said that the workshop will be equipped with the basic machines to sustain production and reduce the university’s overhead costs on furniture procurement.
According to Owgueke, the partnership represents a shared vision to create opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire marketable skills and build sustainable businesses within the furniture and interior design industry.
He explained that participants in the programme will be exposed to the entire furniture production value chain, including raw material sourcing, product manufacturing, finishing, branding, marketing, and distribution.
He said under the agreement, students of the university will receive hands-on training in furniture making, interior product design, and business development.
” Under the agreement, university students will be enrolled at Prince Interior Vocational Institute to acquire hands-on, certified training in furniture making, interior product design, and business development.
He commended the leadership of the University for recognising the importance of vocational education and enterprise development in addressing youth unemployment and building a resilient local economy.
“We are deeply grateful to Prof. Sa’adatu Liman and the leadership of the Nasarawa State University for recognising our uniqueness and extending this incredible opportunity to us.
” This partnership is more than an academic arrangement — it is a shared commitment to opening doors for more young Nigerians to boldly step into their career journey, whether from scratch, brushing up existing skills, or upgrading to the next level in the interior and design space.”
Students gain profitability-focused mentorship covering production, pricing, branding, and distribution of furniture goods.
Pope Leo calls for a ceasefire and denounces “horrific violence” in the Middle East
Pope Leo XIV has called for a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict as Israel and Iran continue to trade blows and the death toll across the region mounts.
“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire,” Leo said today after the Sunday Angelus prayer in Vatican City.
The first American pontiff said people in the region have been “suffering the horrific violence of war” for the past two weeks since the conflict broke out.
“Thousands of innocent people have been killed and many more forced to flee their homes. I once again offer my prayers to all those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas,” he said.
Leo added that “violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that the people are waiting for.”
FAAC Shares N1.894trn Feb Revenue to FG, States, LGCs
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
A total sum of N1.894 trillion, being February 2026 Federation Account Revenue, has been shared to the Federal Government, States and the Local Government Councils.
The revenue was shared at the March 2026 Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja, according to a statement by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the weekend.
The N1.894 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N1.274 trillion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N619.119 billion.
A communiqué issued by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that total gross revenue of N2.230 trillion was available in the month of February 2026. Total deduction for cost of collection was N77.302 billion while total transfers, refunds and savings was N259.078 billion.
According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N1.561 trillion was received for the month of February 2026. This was lower than the sum of N1.957 trillion received in the preceding month by N395.138 billion.
Gross revenue of N668.450 billion was available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) in February 2026. This was lower than the N1.083 trillion available in the month of January 2026 by N414.710 billion.
The communiqué stated that from the N1.894 trillion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N675.088 billion and the State Governments received a total sum of N651,525 billion.
The Local government Council received N456.467 billion, while the sum of N110.949 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting State as derivation revenue.
On the N1.274 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N613.174 billion and the State Governments received N311,010 billion.
The Local Government Councils received N239.776 billion and the sum of N110.949 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.
From the N619.119 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N61.912 billion, the State Governments received N340.515 billion and the Local Government Councils received N216.692 billion.
In February 2026, Oil and Gas Royalty and Excise Duty increased significantly while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), CGT and SDT and Value Added Tax (VAT) decreased substantially.
Import Duty and CET increased marginally
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