Anambra governorship election has been fixed for November the 6th, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the guidelines, timetable and schedule of activities yesterday.

In a statement by INEC’s national commissioner in charge of voter education and publicity, Festus Okoye, the electoral body said the guidelines and schedule of activities are in line with the constitutional provisions.

Okoye says the election into the office of a state governor should hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.

The commission has also advised that the primaries be rancour-free, and should guarantee level playing field for all aspirants.  It also calls for due diligence on all forms and documents that will be submitted to the commission.

The Federal Executive Council has approved the harmonised retirement age for teachers bill, 2021 which adjusts the teachers retirement age from 60 to 65.

The bill, which is on its way to the national assembly, also seeks to change the years of service for teachers from 35 to 40.

Other highlights of the bill include the introduction of bursary awards, special rural posting allowances, and other measures to attract the best brains to the profession.

Adamu says the bill seeks to enhance the teaching profession in the country.

The federal government is putting funds behind its call for local production of covid-19 vaccines.  The ministry of finance has released ten billion naira to support the effort and is exploring options to kick-start the vaccine production in Nigeria.

The government has also instructed each local government area in the country to conduct at least four hundred fifty covid-19 tests in line with its testing plans.

During the Monday briefing by the presidential task force on covid-19 in Abuja, health minister, Osagie Ehanire said the government was considering collaborative efforts with recognized institutions for vaccine production in the country.

He said the government is looking at ways to augment the one hundred thousand vaccine doses it would receive by the end of this month, the ten million doses it had requested from the African union, and the more than forty million doses from COVAX.  He says those would only cover one fifth of the population, but the government plans to cover an additional fifty percent of citizens.

The health minister says the ministry will hold a national vaccine conference in preparation for mobilizing experts, role players, development partners and stakeholders to deliberate on the nation’s COVID-19 response strategy, especially now that there is a spike in cases.