Nollywood Actress, Funke Akindele and her husband, AbdulRasheed Bello popularly known as JJC Skillz, have pleaded guilty to one-count of hosting a gathering of over 20 persons, contrary to the social distancing directives of the Lagos State Government. The actress and her husband were arraigned on Monday at the Samuel Ilori Courthouse of the Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos.

A guilty charge comes with one-month imprisonment or a 100,000 naira fine.

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Members of the Nigeria Governors Forum have urged the Federal Government to cancel all funds deductions from states. The governors also asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to restructure all commercial debt service payments from states.

NGF Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi said this at the governor’s COVID-19 teleconference meeting held on Sunday. According to the statement, released after the meeting, the NGF also commended the presidential task force for leading a national response team for COVID-19 but emphasised the need for a stronger collaboration with the states. They insisted that such collaboration should include the administration of palliatives to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

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Nigerian banks earned 212.66 billion naira in 2019 via increased investment in technology and introduction of new online payment channels. An analysis of the audited 2019 financial reports of 11 banks showed that their collective revenue from electronic transactions grew by 64 per cent year-on-year from 130.03 billion naira they earned in 2018. The analysis showed that incomes on electronic transactions were the highest of all the fees and commissions from various financial products of more than six banks.

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Nigeria and the United Nations, on Monday, launched the COVID-19 Basket Fund to harmonise investments for the National Pandemic Response Plan. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the COVID-19 Basket Fund is designed to serve as a Financing and Investment Platform for stakeholders to channel their financial contributions to the multi-sectoral efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Response. He said the One COVID 19 Basket Fund was robust and capable of rapid procurement of equipment and consumables as well supporting socio-economic interventions of vulnerable groups. Mustapha added that the Basket Fund would also fund socio-economic measures, such as cash transfers or food distribution to vulnerable groups.

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The Nigerian Governors' Forum has called on the Central Bank to suspend all funds deductions from states and restructure their debt repayments. The governors, in a communique, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the suspension of the deductions of debts owed by the states till the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also said they would meet with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to resolve the legality of the closure of interstate borders.

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Google says it is pumping 6.5 million dollars into fact-checkers and nonprofits as it ramps up the battle against coronavirus misinformation.

According to Alexios Mantzarlis of the Google News Lab, fact-checking organisations, which often operate on relatively small budgets, are seeing a surge in demand for their work. Mantzarlis said uncertainty and fear make us all more susceptible to inaccurate information, so people are supporting fact-checkers as they address heightened demand for their work.

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The International Air Transport Association says Nigerian airlines have airlifted 3.5 million fewer passengers resulting in a 760-million-dollar revenue loss since the onset of the disruptions caused by COVID-19. In a statement, IATA said the fallout of the setback would endanger 91,380 jobs and 650 million dollars in contribution to the Nigerian economy.

IATA said African airlines lost about 4 billion dollars, while Middle East airlines lost 19 billion dollars, which translates to a drop of industry revenue by 32 per cent for Africa and 39 per cent for the Middle East for 2020 compared to 2019.

IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Muhammad Al Bakri, urged governments to step up efforts to assist the industry.

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The OPEC-Plus crude oil exporter group is debating cutting global supply by 10 million barrels per day as further cuts must include producers from outside the alliance. This is according to an OPEC source that spoke to Reuters on the matter.

The source adds that OPEC-Plus is watching the outcome of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and the oil companies later on Friday and a final figure on cuts depends on participation by all oil producers.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had brokered a deal that could result in Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting output by 10 million to 15 million barrels per day, representing between 10 and 15 percent of global supply. President Trump said he made no offer to cut U.S. output.

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The United Nations food agency has negotiated a humanitarian corridor to keep food aid flowing in southern Africa after many countries shut their borders to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The World Food Programme's Director for southern Africa, Lola Castro, said South Africa had agreed to let vessels carrying food aid land on its shores and move it to countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia. Castro told reporters during a video conference that South Africa, which has declared a 21-day lockdown, had agreed to “a sort of humanitarian corridor”, a move that would help the agency continue its work.

Castro said more than 400 million dollars was required to import food aid for the next three months in southern Africa, which has received patchy rains this year.

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Ethiopia has signed a power purchase agreement worth 800 million dollars with the developers of a 150 MegaWatt geothermal plant.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the deal was the first such power purchase agreement to reach such an advanced stage in the country. Ethiopia’s Tulu Moye Geothermal plant, which signed the deal with the government, expects to start generating 50 MegaWatt of power when the first phase is completed in February 2023, rising to 150 MegaWatt at full completion in 2025. The plant, located in the Arsi Zone, is being developed by the Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations.

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