Covid-19: WHO warns the world faces catastrophic moral failure due to vaccine nationalism
Will the world of business change for good?
LPG: Nigerians paid more to refill 12.5kg gas cylinders in December
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1
Analysis: Japaul, Ardova, Champion Breweries; What is behind the deals?
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1
Reps oppose school resumption date, ask for 3 months extension
Crypto investors lose $530 million within a day
Naira remains stable across forex markets as external reserve continues to rise
Business News
LCC strikes back, says many e-tag users owe money from February glitch
If you are a regular commuter along the Lekki Expressway who uses the electronic toll on Admiralty Way but sometime in March noticed your e-tag was no longer working, the truth is that you might have racked up a negative balance with the LCC (Lekki Concession Company).
If you are a regular commuter along the Lekki Expressway who uses the electronic toll on Admiralty Way but sometime in March noticed your e-tag was no longer working, the truth is you might have racked up a negative balance with the Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
As seen in the image above, the negative balance of N14,510 was provided by the LCC office located on Admiralty Way to this writer. This happened after an enquiry was made about the e-tag no longer working.
Commuters in Lekki that have been complaining about traffic at the toll recently are likely affected by e-tag users migrating to the regular toll.
How did this happen? Back in March, Nairametrics reported a system glitch that prevented commuters’ balances from being updated in real time as they passed through the toll. Following the incident, LCC sent an email apologizing for the inconvenience and also included this ominous warning:
“Please bear in mind that the systems will be updated accordingly and affected accounts once synchronized, will be charged for the passages made previously which were not immediately debited as it should.”
Judgment day is upon us: This writer met a full house at the LCC office on Thursday, June 6th, as several commuters were greeted with some shocking negative balances. One quoted balance was as high as N44,000. Without paying off the balance, it is impssible to use the e-tag toll gate.
Is LCC reflecting the correct balances or adding “jara” on top? LCC claims to have records supported by license plate numbers that show the date and time each vehicle passed through the toll. If you want access to those records, you can request for them at the office and they will be sent within 24 hours. However, we feel that in this day and age, such reports should not take more than a few minutes to be generated and sent to commuters.
Could this have been avoided? Yes, LCC should have sent frequent reminders to commuters about the need to top up their accounts following the glitch correction. Follow-up emails should have been sent after the initial one on March 7th. Also, emails should have been supported by text messages, as some people don’t check their emails often.
Most importantly, as we reported in our last article on this matter, LCC still does not have real-time balance updates for customers. If commuters had a way to check their e-tag balances in real time, those with a negative balance would have been able to pay them off before they grew larger.
Next steps: Go online to https://www.lcc.com.ng/contactus.asp to find the LCC Customer care office closest to you. Then brace yourself in case you haven’t topped up in a long time.
Coronavirus
Covid-19: WHO warns the world faces catastrophic moral failure due to vaccine nationalism
The WHO has said that the prospects of equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines were at serious risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure due to the fear of Covid-19 vaccine nationalism by the wealthy countries, while the poor countries are left behind.
This is as the UN health agency revealed that the prospects of equitable distribution of the vaccines were at serious risk just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme plans to start distributing inoculations in February.
According to a report from Reuters, this disclosure was made by the Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyrsus, at the opening of the body’s Annual Executive Board virtual meeting.
He pointed out that 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.
What the WHO Director-General is saying
Tedros warned against vaccine nationalism to avoid making the same mistake during the HIN1 and HIV pandemic.
The WHO boss in his statement said,
- “This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption. Such a ‘me-first approach’ left the world’s poorest and most vulnerable at risk.
- “Ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, countries should avoid making the same mistakes made during the H1N1 and HIV pandemics.’’
He expressed his reservations over the ‘me-first’ attitude of the rich countries and the vaccine manufacturers who prioritize going for regulatory approval in wealthy countries rather than submitting their data to WHO for approval of the vaccines for use globally.
The global scramble for shots has intensified, as more infectious virus variants circulate.
Tedros said more than 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries, whereas just 25 doses had been given in one poor country.
Observers say this board meeting, which lasts until next Tuesday, is one of the most important in the U.N. health agency’s more than 70-year history, and could shape its role in global health long after the pandemic ends.
What you should know
- The WHO and health experts had severally warned against nationalism as a serious threat to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
- They had called for an equitable distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine amongst all countries globally, as the wealthy nations will still be at risk of the pandemic if the poor countries are still battling with the disease.
Energy
LPG: Nigerians paid more to refill 12.5kg gas cylinders in December
Nigerians paid more money to refill their 12.5Kg gas cylinder in December than they did in November 2020.
The average price for refilling 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by 1.75% in December compared to the month of November, according to the NBS report for December 2020.
The average cost of refilling the 12.5kg gas cylinder moved from N4,082.97 in November to N4,154.28 in December 2020.
According to the NBS report, the average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 0.12% month-on-month to N1,949.75 in December 2020 from N1,947.47 in November 2020.
Key highlights
- Bauchi (N2,489.12), Borno (N2,396.69) and Adamawa (N2,392.88) recorded the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the month of December 2020.
- Enugu (N1,563.75), Imo (N1,678.89) and Oyo (N1,691.67) recorded the lowest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- Delta (N4,838.46), Cross River/Sokoto (N4,800.00) and Akwa Ibom (N4,614.49) recorded the highest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- While, Kaduna (N3,191.67), Zamfara (N3,462.50) and Niger (N3,500.00) recorded the lowest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
LPG is fast becoming an alternative to firewood and kerosene as a means of cooking for most homes especially in urban areas in Nigeria. LPG is cleaner and more efficient than kerosene in cooking.
Coronavirus
COVID-19: FG to launch Rapid Response Register for urban poor
The FG has moved to inaugurate an emergency intervention database for the poor residing in urban centres and affected by the pandemic.
The Federal Government has announced that it would inaugurate a COVID-19 Rapid Response Register (RRR), which would be a health emergency response for the poor living in urban centers that have been affected by the pandemic.
This was disclosed by Mr. Joe Abuku, Communications Manager, National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Abuku said the register would identify Nigerians that have been made poorer due to the pandemic, targeting mainly Traders and SME Owners.
He added that the scheme was designed by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, through NASSCO, in partnership with the World Bank, and will be inaugurated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
What Joe Abuku is saying
- “This register is being built by NASSCO as an expansion of the existing National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP). It targets small business owners, street vendors, petty traders, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and service providers.
- “Others are low wage employed individuals and families, including daily wage-based laborers, urban poor and destitute (persons with disabilities), and vulnerable families in slum areas, affected by the pandemic.
- “The category of Nigerians who will be in this register is typically the urban/semi-urban poor engaged in the informal sectors of the economy, who lost their source of livelihood due to the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and jobs. The Federal Government plans to extend cash transfers to households in this register for a period of 12 months.”
He also stated that NASSCO would use geographical satellite sensing to locale the wards where the urban poor live, as the targeting of the poor would be done via cell phone Short Messaging Service (SMS) technology that allows residents of targeted communities register to be assisted by following simple steps using USSD codes.
The SMS approach would be integrated through data gathered by the National Living Standard Survey Assessments and would be complemented by existing databases of Non-Governmental Organisations and local self-help-support groups.
- “Mobile phone numbers of those deemed eligible for assistance will be linked to digitized bank accounts to receive cash support, under an expanded cash transfer program of the Federal Government. These cash payments are designed to boost consumption for these households, build their resilience, and in some cases, inject fresh capital into small businesses.”
What you should know
- Nairametrics reported last year that the World Bank said the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic could make an additional 5 million Nigerians poor.
- The Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report 2020 by the World Bank Group indicate that between 88 million and 115 million people could fall back into extreme poverty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- This is in addition to an increase between 23 million and 35 million in 2021, potentially bringing the total number of new people living in extreme poverty to between 110 million and 150 million.
Ade
June 7, 2019 at 9:41 am
I am quite shocked how the company has failed to improve their operations over the years. I can confirm a few tech companies had approached them in the past to offer some sort of improved services that will save commuters time at the toll but I think the management is still very interested in the amount of cash they can collect daily while Banks and other financial services are working to keep transactions cashless.
Banks Offer contactless cards today and all terminals can be enabled to allow people tap directly using their bank cards and save more time at the toll.
Just a line of two at the toll should be left for those willing to pay cash like its done in other country. Balances running into negative position should never happen on a stored value account. It shows some of the records need a proper audit internally.
I was charged for some day I was out of the country and I wonder if they will be able to provide evidence of my vehicle driving past the tolls on such dates.
The toll management needs to give room for innovation and improve the service they offer and save people’s time.
Time is the new Money.
dapo osunkoya
June 16, 2019 at 5:59 pm
It is only in a country like this such thing happens.