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The National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja Division has instructed the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to shelve its ongoing nationwide strike, the Federal Government has said. An NIC judge, Justice John Targema, while ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Federal Government on Monday asked all parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. As a result of the ruling, the government believes the doctors have been directed to resume work immediately, but the national leadership of the association says they have yet to receive any court order.

The wife of late former President Shehu Shagari, Hajiya Hadiza Shagari, has died as a result of COVID-19 complications. The sad development was announced on Thursday in a statement signed by Capt. Muhammad Bala Shagari (rtd). It was also shared on Facebook by Bello Bala Shagari, grandson to the late former president. According to the statement the National Mosque in Abuja will hold a funeral prayer for Hadiza, who died at the age of 80. “We regret to announce the demise of our beloved mother, Hajiya Hadiza Shehu Shagari, the wife of H.E late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, GCFR (Turakin Sokoto),” the statement read.

The World Health Organization revealed it will soon commence a worldwide clinical trial of three new candidate drugs to find an effective treatment for COVID-19 treatment on Wednesday. The Global health agency under the Solidarity PIUS program, the therapies- artesunate, imatinib, and infliximab will undergo clinical trials on the hospitalized patients with COVID 19 virus in 52 countries after the world hit 200 million marks just last week.

The Federal Government has on Monday disclosed that the second batch of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise for the Moderna vaccines donated by the US government will commence on  August 16. The Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed made the disclosure on ta live National Television Authority (NTA) programme, saying the postponement of the vaccination exercise from August 10 to August 16 was based on administrative reasons. 

The Federal Government said it has invoked the “No work no pay” rule as contained in Section 43 of the Labour Act on striking doctors. Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said the position of the government has been communicated to the leadership of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). According to Ngige who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, an employer has every right to replace an employee who abandons their duties, especially as it pertains to essential services. “He will also withdraw your money and use it to pay those he has acquired during the period you were away,” he said. “If you go to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles at work, it guarantees a worker the right to strike but it has consequences”. He said, “Next week, I’ll escalate this issue because reconciliation has failed.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday recorded 747 fresh cases of COVID-19 infections as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic continued to ravage Nigeria. The health agency which revealed this on its verified website on Thursday morning stated that the 747 new cases were the highest in any single day in the last five months, with four COVID-19 related deaths recorded. NCDC said the new infection figure has raised Nigeria’s total infection number to 176,011 while the fatality toll now stands at 2,167. It disclosed that Lagos state, the epicentre of COVID-19 in Nigeria, recorded 488 followed by Akwa Ibom with 121 cases, Oyo 29, rivers 25, and Ogun 15. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna recorded 13 each; Kwara 11; Ekiti and Osun reported 10 each; Edo had six, Abia had three, Anambra recorded two and Plateau had a single case.