Author: Chronicle Editor

Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to respect its zoning formula in picking its 2023 presidential candidate. He described the decision as the core of the agreement reached by APC founding fathers prior to the 2015 elections. Fashola (SAN), was Lagos State governor when the APC was founded and he was a critical stakeholder at the time. He has been serving as a minister since the party took over the Federal Government from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015. He spoke at a time there is controversy on whether power…

The UBA Foundation, the CSR arm of the United Bank for Africa, today, held its tenth annual National Essay Competition (NEC) in a virtual ceremony that was attended by high school students from across the nation. The UBA Foundation’s Education initiative has been changing lives for a decade as the tertiary education scholarship programme continues to impact the lives of many students and their communities. For the fourth consecutive year, the females have led this competition with14 year-old Eshiet Abasiekeme of Bright Stars Model Secondary School from Akwa Ibom state taking home this year’s winning prize. Eshiet received an educational…

Former African Boxing Union (ABU) light welterweight champion, Olaide “Fijaborn” Fijabi, who is set to have his first fight in two years, has warned his next opponent to expect a torrid time when they clash at GOtv Boxing Night 21 on 27 November. Fijabi, who has been stripped of his title, following his injury-enforced inability to defend his title in 2018 in Senegal when he was billed to fight Dennis “The Range” Mbat in a national challenge duel. Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the former West African and African champion, said he is happy to be back in the ring and…

Chelsea sealed their progress to the Champions League knockout stage with two games to spare as Olivier Giroud’s late header secured victory at Rennes. The French striker has played just 127 minutes for the Blues so far this season, but made the most of his time on the pitch here with an injury-time finish after Timo Werner’s effort had been blocked. Just six minutes earlier, Rennes looked to have denied Chelsea when Serhou Guirassy headed home from a corner to cancel out Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener. Frank Lampard’s side dominated the first half and could easily have led by more than…

The Senate has called on the Federal Government, to as a matter of urgency, reconstruct and rebuild infrastructure destroyed by hoodlums during the #EndSARS protest in Lagos and Calabar. The upper chamber gave the charge during plenary on Tuesday, following consideration of two separate motions brought to the floor by Senators Biodun Olujimi (PDP – Ekiti South); and Gershom Bassey (PDP – Cross River South). Coming under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, Olujimi noted that the #EndSARS protest, began on October 3, 2020, and assumed a global dimension following the alleged shooting of a young Nigerian in…

A Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Zenith Bank manager, (name withheld), in the custody of Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Alagbon, Ikoyi, till Tuesday, December 1, 2020, when his bail application will be heard and determined. The court court presided over by Justice Austine Chuka Obiozor, made the remand order against the Zenith Bank manager, after he pleaded not guilty to the three counts of conspiracy and fraud of N179, 498 million, made against him by the men of ForceCID, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos. Arraigning the defendant today, the prosecutor, Morufu A. Animashaun, told the court…

…confirms Code of Conduct Bureau nominees The Senate on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for a refund of N148,141,969,161.24 to Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Osun and Ondo State Governments for projects executed on behalf of the Federal Government. The approval was sequel to the consideration of a report by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts Chaired by Senator Clifford Ordia (PDP – Edo Central). Ordia in his presentation stated that most of the Federal highways in the beneficiary states where said projects were executed “were at a deplorable state before the intervention of the state governments.” According to…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday appointed Farouk Aminu as Commissioner of the National Pension Commission (NPC). Aminu’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, according to the constitution of Nigeria. The senate said President Buhari in a letter requested the upper chamber to confirm the nomination of Umaru Farouk Aminu as full-time Commissioner representing the North-West Geopolitical Zone in the National Pension Commission. Minimum wage earners exempted from tax – Buhari The request, according to the President, was in meeting with the provision of Section19(3) of the Pension Reforms Act, 2014. President Buhari also forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, his…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has restated its resolve to wield the big stick against tax evaders, noting that tax evasion is a financial crime that falls within the purview of the Commission. The Head, Kaduna Zonal of the EFCC, Sanusi Abdullahi made the disclosure on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, when he led his team on a courtesy visit to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Kaduna State Office. Abdullahi noted that the anti-graft agency, over the years, has assisted the FIRS in the recovery of taxes from tax evaders and has as well, prosecuted many of such…

As the year draws to a close with ministries and MDAs auditing past performance and defending their 2021 draft budgets it has become expedient to look at how effective the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was in its covid-19 response vis a vis its presidential charge as well as its unique position as Nigeria’s midwife of social safety nets for building resilience among the poor and vulnerable. Nigeria’s coronavirus index case was discovered on February 27, 2020 about three months after the emergence of what scientists called the novel coronavirus in Wuhan China. The news was…