The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has discovered a new variant of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

According to the centre of disease, aside from Nigeria, the new variant was found in 15 other countries.

The new strain, B.1.2.5 which is different from the highly infectious B.1.1.7 has, however, not been described as a variant of concern.

Disclosing this at the press briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the NCDC Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Iheakwazu said researchers and scientists were still working hard to understand if this variant had any effect on the virus transmissibility, immunity, as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.

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He stated, “There is a new variant, the B.1.2.5 which we have begun to detect in Nigeria and 15 other countries.  It is important to note that this variant has not been described as a variant of concern yet.

“Researchers and scientists are still working hard to understand if this variant has any effect on the virus transmissibility, immunity, as well as diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics.

“This is because the variant has some similar mutations with the B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 variants first detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, respectively.”

Iheakwazu stated that the NCDC was scaling up its sequencing capacity to have a better understanding of the burden of variants of concern in the country.

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According to him, the risk of virus mutation was higher when there is a high transmission of the virus.

The DG said the  September and October 2020 household prevalence surveys carried out in Lagos, Enugu, Nasarawa, and Gombe States revealed the level of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among the population.

The hassles encountered by Nigerians in registering for the National Identity Number (NIN) were further reduced on Tuesday as Globacom launched an app that makes it possible for people to choose a day, time and location convenient for them to undergo the process.

According to Globacom, the app, tagged Appointment Manager, was “unveiled to help our numerous subscribers and Nigerians in general to reduce the stress involved in the NIN registration process”.

The Company added that, through the utilization of the app, customers will go through the process hassle-free, which saves them time and also ensures the registration is done in a safe and Covid-19-compliant environment, with fewer people in attendance.

READ ALSO: NIN Registration takes Off At Globacom’s Service Centers

To use the app, Glo said the customer will “Enter the URL https://ninappt.gloworld.com/  on any browser and enter phone number in this format: 08050000000. This will be followed by clicking on the date icon to select available dates for the month, followed by selection of desired state and shop. Next is the selection of the desired time to be followed by entrance of the number provided by the app to ensure the customer is indeed a  human being, after which he or she will click on Submit.”

The company added that, “Customers will then receive an SMS notification with an ID, Scheduled date and shop to visit which he will present at the shop”.

Globacom which urged its subscribers to make utmost use of the app for the registration, also advised those who are yet to link their NIN with their mobile numbers to text their NIN to 109, adding that they can also dial *109*NIN# to submit their NIN or  call 109 to update their NIN via voice call.

For further enquiries, the company urged members of the public to contact its customer contact channels, 121 for prepaid and 200 for post paid, or to visit https://www.gloworld.com/ng/nin

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it has brought a high level of sanity on Nigerian roads since its inception 33 years ago.

Mr. Olusegun Ogungbemide, the FRSC Lagos State Sector Commander, made the assertion on Thursday during the first Quarter Capacity Building Workshop for FRSC Desk Officers tagged: ”Safe-to-Load” Operation.

He said that part of the FRSC’s strategic goals was to build the capacity of the personnel through quarterly workshops and enlightenment programs to prepare them for the year.

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He said that the officers converged quarterly to review the previous operations, cover up the gaps and build a better one for the new year.

“We are so passionate about the workshops and the best topic is being put in place to fortify the personnel,” he added.

According to him, in the cause of the previous workshops, the corps discovered so many infractions which have ended up helping the system to reduce the rate of crashes.

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He said that an example of such discoveries was the braking system of vehicles which had caused many crashes, especially with tankers and trucks.

The sector commander said that the intervention of the corps has gone a long way in reducing the rate of crashes involving brake failure.

“The personnel’s insistence that at the point of loading,  no vehicle with such fault would be allowed to load without being ratified, has helped in reducing crashes,” he said.

Ogungbemide affirmed that FRSC had done very well in the last 33 years.

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“I know it is subject for assessment from the public and I am also a member of the public;  I have eyes, ears and I know where we are coming from, where we are today, and which operations have taken a greater transformation.

“About our expressway, especially Lagos-Ibadan expressway, when the road was good, bad and when the road was under rehabilitation, every session has its characteristics and challenges.

“When the road was good, the recklessness of the drivers could not be overemphasized, we usually had a human error as a result of fatal crashes.

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“When the road became bad, some of the drivers could not control themselves despite the status of the road, we are still having some measure of crashes.

“And now that rehabilitation is going on, you still see drivers who have no regard for rehabilitation, thereby running into other oncoming vehicles as a result of speeding.

“To God be Glory, in all the sessions, we have our personnel on standby for a prompt response to whatever incident that comes up,” he said.

Ogungbemide, however, advised motorists to adhere strictly to traffic rules and regulations to ensure sanity on the road.

He said that efforts had been put in place to commence the 2021 sensitization and enlightenment program for motorists especially tanker and truck drivers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FRSC is celebrating its 33 years of its existence in Nigeria having been established on Feb. 18, 1988.