The militant groups also declared their readiness to form an alliance with the umbrella body of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), while threatening to shut down major oil exploration flow stations and oil wells in the area.
•Africa CDC: Nigeria’s variant different from UK, S’Africa’s
Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja, Eromosele Abiodun and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos
The federal government yesterday allayed fears over the discovery of a new variant of COVID-19 virus in Nigeria.
A senior official of the Federal Ministry Health told THISDAY that the new COVID-19 variant has not yet become a major threat.
Also, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, has said that the PTF is in touch with Professor Christian Happi, who alongside Ify Aniebo led a group to carry out a study, where they found that the United Kingdom’s ‘lineage B.1.1.7,’ a mutant variant of the virus, has been existing in Nigeria for months.