The Federal Government has just announced that schools under its control will not be reopening for the forthcoming West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams.

This was disclosed in a tweet post by the aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi from his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

According to Ogunlesi, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said that WAEC should suspend exams and also urges State Governments to toe the line of the Federal Government as this is not the right time to reopen.

According to the tweet post, ‘’Minister of Education has just announced that schools under control of the Federal Government will not be reopening for the forthcoming WAEC exams. Says WAEC should suspend exams and urges State Governments to toe Federal Government line. This is not the right time to reopen,’’

Adamu, while addressing state house correspondents after the virtual Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, said that none of the schools under the control of his ministry will resume until schools are considered safe enough

The Minister appealed to the State Governments that have already announced the resumption of schools to reconsider that as it is not safe and the students should be protected. He said that he would prefer that students lose an academic year than expose them to dangers.

He also debunked an earlier report that claimed that the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, announced that schools will be resuming on August 4, 2020. Adamu said that the Minister of State must have been misquoted as the schools under the supervision of the ministry will not be opening on August 4 or anytime soon.

Going further, Adamu pointed out that WAEC will not determine what Nigeria will do as he will rather have the country lose a school year than exposing the students to danger.

Following the conclusion of the independent special investigation, Tizeti Board of directors have reinstated Kendall Ananyi as Chief Executive Officer.

With this development, the interim Co-CEOs Ifeanyi Okonkwo and Patricia Aiyedun, will return to their respective positions as Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.

According to a statement published on its website, the company stated that investigations into the allegations of sexual harassment could not establish a case of sexual harassment.

The board had on June 7 appointed an Independent Special Investigation Committee of its Board of Directors to investigate allegations of sexual harassment made against Kendall Ananyi, the embattled CEO.

To ensure the independence of the committee, the CEO stepped down and was walled off from communications with the Independent Special Investigation Committee and any matters related to the investigation, the statement read.

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After a month of investigations, the committee led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Olumide Sofowora, SAN, C.Arb. of Olumide Sofowora Chambers, stated that no clear case of sexual harassment had been established, and recommended that the CEO be reinstated.

According to the statement, the committee researched “what actions would constitute sexual harassment, gathered relevant information from a number of sources in both Nigeria and Ghana, and conducted a number of interviews, including separately interviewing both the accuser and Mr. Ananyi”.

It was based on this that the independent legal counsel concluded that a clear case of sexual harassment had not been established.

The company promised that a sexual harassment policy would be put in place going forward.

“Tizeti remains fully committed to high ethical standards, gender equality, providing a workplace that is free from sexual harassment and ensuring that its diverse team feels comfortable and safe at all times.

“Tizeti wants to ensure that it has best in class policies and procedures going forward.  As a result, Tizeti will be updating its code of conduct and putting in place a sexual harassment policy that is in line with best practices and encourages the reporting of any potential incidents,” it said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reported a major explosion in one of its upstream facilities on Tuesday July 7, 2020. The explosion incident occurred at Gbetiokun, OML 40, which is operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), on behalf of the NPDC/Elcrest Joint Venture.  

The incident was confirmed in a press statement by the Group General Manager Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr Kennie Obateru, on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. 

He revealed that 7 people were killed in the explosion which occurred during the discharging of Gbetiokun production. 

In the statement, Obateru said, ‘’The incident, which occurred on Tuesday during the installation of a ladder on a platform (Benin River Valve Station) for access during discharging of Gbetiokun production, unfortunately caused 7 fatalities.’’ 

The release also stated that a detailed investigation of the cause of the explosion has started, while the Department of Petroleum Resources has been duly notified and Form 41 was being prepared for the Industry regulator as required in circumstances of this nature.  

The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers: Weld Affairs and Flow Impact, which are consultants to NPDC. 

The release stated that all personnel onboard the platform had been fully accounted for.  

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, in the statement commiserated with the families of the bereaved, praying that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss of their loved ones.