ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: TUESDAY

06 Oct ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: TUESDAY

• Aso Villa Stories: President Buhari to present N13.09tn 2021 Appropriation Bill to National Assembly on Thursday * Buhari approves a special salary scale for teachers and extends years of service from 35 to 40 years; also approves N10 billion for the continuation of Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in 546 local government areas in the country.
* At a Joint Executive-Legislative Leadership Retreat held at the State House, Abuja, Buhari urged Nigerians to be patient with government over any legislation they have misgivings about but rather engage the process in line with democratic processes.
* VP Osinbajo says Buhari understands pains of Nigerians, and is working out more palliatives to provide succour to the people; says the conversion of commercial vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas will start soon.

• Oil prices gained on Tuesday amid supply disruptions in Norway, a new hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House after being treated for COVID-19 in hospital; Brent crude futures were up 38 cents, or 0.9%, by 0949 GMT at $41.67 a barrel.

Shell to inject 50m scf of gas to boost industrialisation in Oyo

• General Electric has announced that it has completed the gas turbine rehabilitation project at the Niger Delta Power Holding Company’s (NDPHC) three power plants located in Nigeria.

• Five Borno State government officials abducted last month by members of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) have been freed.

• Gunmen kill monarch, four others in Plateau.

• The APC Governorship candidate in the Edo September 19 poll, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, says he won’t contest his defeat in court because of the desire not to further heat tension in the state.

• COVID-19 Update: There were no new cases in Lagos and Plateau states on Monday as NCDC reported 120 fresh infections, with Rivers accounting for 65 of the number. So far, 59465 cases have been confirmed, with 50951 recoveries and 1113 deaths.
* FG has deployed 60,000 Environmental Health Emergency Volunteer Corps to cover schools as they re-open across the country.
* The World Health Organization has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic is having a “devastating impact” on mental health services globally.

• Trump Update: After a three-night stay in the hospital, US President Trump made a dramatic return to the White House. He is expected to continue his treatment for coronavirus.
* “Feeling really good!” he tweeted earlier. “Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life.” That was even as the US at the time had 7.4 million cases of Covid-19 and 210,000 deaths.
* The tweet incensed many people, families of coronavirus victims slammed him, and the opposition latched on to it.
* Shortly after arrival in the White House, he was pictured alone on the Truman Balcony where he removed his protective face mask, before giving a thumbs-up and a military-style salute.
* Although his doctor sounded optimistic at a press briefing earlier at the hospital, he said “Trump may not be entirely out of the woods yet.”
* President Trump returned to a White House that has become a hotspot for the virus, but it was not clear if he had learned anything as he claimed.