Author: Chronicle Editor

The United States government has described the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari as a dedicated public servant and respected interlocutor for the American government. In a condolence message to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, eulogized the important role played by Kyari in the repatriation of over $300 million in funds stolen by former head of state, Sani Abacha. “Kyari was a valued and respected interlocutor for the US government and particularly for our leadership team in Abuja. “We appreciate working with him on many important matters, including…

Louis Odion, FNGE On a good day, Abimbola Adelakun is a compelling read. But writers do have dry days, when the muse fails the quill abysmally. Such must have been the misfortune of the columnist in her April 23 outing. The tragedy was however not her failure to deliver; the real catastrophe was actually the pedestrian intellection unwittingly exposed within a spell of creative drought. In the said Punch column entitled “Why are Nigerians still so poor?”, Adelakun resumed her pillory of just any institution, idea – just anything Nigerian, other than her own fancy. The raging Coronavirus pandemic would…

US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body. He also appeared to propose irradiating patients’ bodies with UV light, an idea dismissed by a doctor at the briefing. Another of his officials had moments earlier said sunlight and disinfectant were known to kill the infection. Disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested. Even external exposure can be dangerous to the skin, eyes and respiratory system. What did President Trump say? During Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force briefing, an…

The first human trial in Europe of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford. Two volunteers were injected, the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study. Half will receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and half a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus. The design of the trial means volunteers will not know which vaccine they are getting, though doctors will. Elisa Granato, one of the two who received the jab, told the BBC: “I’m a scientist, so I wanted to try to support the scientific process wherever I can.” The vaccine was developed in under…

MTN Group Limited will push on with the plan to reduce its majority stake in the wireless carrier’s business in Nigeria, it was learnt on Thursday. But the turmoil caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may require the sale to be done in smaller chunks than anticipated. The impact of the pandemic on international financial markets has not changed the importance of selling part of the 79 per cent shareholding to local investors, Chief Financial Officer (CF) Ralph Mupita said in a chat. However, the rest of a three-to-five-year plan to dispose of 25-billion rand ($1.4 billion) of assets will…

By Mamman Daura Coronavirus is a law, yet lawless unto itself. As of yesterday it has claimed 183,424 lives worldwide and 28 Nigerians. One of those lives lost was Malam Abba Kyari’s, Chief of Staff to the President. Malam Abba succumbed to complications after contracting and recovering from coronavirus a week today. Malam Abba Kyari was a man blessed with mountainous gifts and uncommon attributes of intelligence, diligence, hard work, loyalty to friends and worthy causes. One could exhaust superlatives to do him full justice. I first set eyes on Malam Abba about 47 years ago. I was at my…

By Femi Adesina He told us he would be back at his desk soon. I believed it. But now, it would never happen. Not tomorrow, not next week, not forever. Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, has gone the way of all flesh. Our last contact was on Friday, March 20, 2020. President Muhammadu Buhari was scheduled to meet with the Chairman of ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, by 3 p.m. Such meetings hold in the diplomatic room of the presidential office complex. The protocol is that aides invited to attend any meeting must be seated 15…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced that 10,000 persons have been tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria. The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who disclosed this at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, on Thursday in Abuja, urged people to stop playing the game of numbers by comparing Nigeria’s testing capacity with that of countries like South Africa, Ghana etc. According to him, “We have a very good strategy around testing. Until recently, we had about 5,000 test but last week, we have moved from 5,000 to 10,000 tests. We are…

Africa registered a 43% jump in reported COVID-19 cases in the last week, highlighting a warning from the World Health Organization that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicenter of the global outbreak. Africa also has a “very, very limited” and “very, very strained” testing capacity, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in his weekly briefing on Thursday. The surge in infections on the continent is almost certainly under-reported and even higher in reality, say medical experts. WHO’s recent report painted a grim picture for Africa, one of the last…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 108 new cases of coronavirus in Nigeria as the numbers continue to swell in the last four days taking the new total to 981. The Centre for Disease Control also announced three more deaths on Thursday. “One hundred and eight (108) new cases of COVID-19 have been reported; 78 in Lagos, 14 in FCT, 5 in Ogun, 4 in Gombe, 3 in Borno, 2 in Akwa Ibom, 1 in Kwara and 1 in Plateau. “As at 11:30 pm 23rd April there are 981 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged:…