North food traders insist on strike

• Some southern state governments and farmers have dismissed the blockade by northern food suppliers, saying it is an opportunity for the South to  boost its food production capacity.
• Officials of the states including Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Enugu and Ondo in separate interviews, on Monday explained their actions to ensure self-sufficiency in food and animal production.
• But Ondo and Cross Rivers states went further to take a swipe at the northern food suppliers, saying they would not beg the traders to end their blockade, which entered the fourth day on Monday.
• Recall that cattle and foodstuff dealers under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria on Thursday stopped supplies to the South.

• To enforce the strike, the union’s task force prevented the members from transporting livestock  and food from the north to the southern part of the country.

Nigerians scramble for fuel as price hike, scarcity spread

• Nigerians across regions, yesterday, lamented scarcity of petrol and the attendant price hike.

• Motorists and commuters have resorted to panicky measures to secure the product.

• Uncertainties, intrigues and the face-off between Federal Government and labour unions may have created an avenue for some marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol to return to smuggling or hoarding as Nigeria’s daily consumption witnessed over 25 million litre surge.
• With petrol selling for an average of N400 per litre in neigbouring countries, there are indications marketers have returned to smuggling or hoarding products in anticipation of price increase, which would enable them make arbitrary gain.
• That singular act has returned petrol queues and upsurge in the activities of black marketers across the country as well as over N62 billion monthly subsidy.

EFCC raises alarm over fake recruitment advert on WhatsApp

• The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called on members of the public to ignore an advert on WhatsApp purportedly seeking to enlist young Nigerians into the anti-graft agency.
• EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren said, in a statement, on Monday that the recruitment exercise was the handiwork of fraudsters.
• He urged aspiring applicants against fallen prey to the scam, he also pointed out that adverts for recruitment into the anti-graft agency was usually placed on mainstream media as well as the commission’s social media platforms.

Lawan, Gbajabiamila, others to get COVID-19 vaccines Monday

• THE Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaibu, on Monday unveiled the Federal Government’s rollout plan for the COVID-19 vaccines that would be arriving in the country on Tuesday.
• Shuaibu, who spoke at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, assured Nigerians that all necessary safety and quality control measures had been put in place for the arrival, storage and successful administration of the vaccine in the country.
• On Monday, March 8, 2021, more vaccination sites would have been set up at designated locations such as National Assembly Clinic, State House Clinic and Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, where strategic leaders such as the SGF, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police, ministers and ministers of states, senators, House of Representatives members, traditional leaders and religious leaders would be vaccinated.

Stock market begins March with N70bn gain

• The nation’s stock market started the month on a positive note on the back of price appreciation recorded by UAC of Nigeria Plc and 11 other firms on Monday.
• Investors in the market had recorded a total loss of N1.37tn in February as market capitalisation tumbled below N21tn amid profit-taking.
• The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed at 39,799.89 basis points in February from 42,412.66bps at the end of January, while the market capitalisation of equities tumbled to N20.82tn from N22.19tn.