Author: Chronicle Editor

Africa must “wake up” to the coronavirus threat and prepare for the worst, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. The continent should learn from how the spread of virus has sped up elsewhere, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. He warned that while Africa’s confirmed cases were currently low – around 640 – there was no reason for complacency. “Africa should wake up, my continent should wake up,” said the Ethiopian, the WHO’s first African head. Health experts warn that strained public health systems in Africa could become quickly overwhelmed if the virus takes hold, especially in overcrowded…

California has issued a “stay at home” order to residents as it tries to stem the march of the coronavirus across the most populous US state. Governor Gavin Newsom told Californians they should only leave their homes when necessary during the pandemic. He earlier estimated more than half of the 40 million people in his state would contract Covid-19 in just the next two months. The virus has so far claimed 200 lives in the US and infected 13,678 people. US testing chloroquine as cure for coronavirus Governor Newsom said: “This is a moment we need to make tough decisions.…

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Federal Government will ensure that permanent peace and stability returned to the troubled northeast, and charged the armed forces to make clinical finishing of the remnants of Boko Haram insurgents. Speaking Thursday at the inauguration of the National Humanitarian Coordination Committee (NHCC) in State House, Abuja, the President said the rehabilitation of devastated communities is set to begin in earnest. “As a result of the mindless actions of the terrorists, many of our compatriots have been killed, maimed, or displaced from their communities. This necessitated the efforts of this Administration to develop immediate interventions…

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to embrace precautions and not fear as new coronavirus cases were announced in Lagos state on Thursday. The President explained that Nigeria, like every other country around the world, is dealing with the unexpected and unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Muhammadu Buhari administration has taken some steps to mitigate the effects on the Nigerian people,” his spokesperson, Garba Shehu said in a statement. “To prevent the spread of cases imported into Nigeria, the President has already ordered the restrictions of travel from 13 countries, each with more than 1,000 confirmed cases of…

…Seeks end to voting along ethnic, religious lines The Senate on Thursday began amendment to the Electoral Act to introduce electoral debate as a requirement to be fulfilled by candidates of political parties seeking to contest presidential and governorship elections in Nigeria. Sponsor of the Electoral Act Amendment bill 2020 (SB.176), Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (APC – Oyo North), in his lead debate said if passed by the National Assembly, the piece of legislation will put an end to voting based on ethnic and religious allegiances in the country. He added that when signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, the…

The US is fast-tracking the anti-malarial drug chloroquine for use as a treatment against the new coronavirus

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has decried Nigeria’s poor performance in the area of Agricultural Research and Development. Lawan made this known in his concluding remarks after the Senate considered a bill that seeks to amend the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act. According to the Senate President, given the number of specialized agricultural institutes in the country, Nigerian farmers should have access to technology needed to make farming easy. “I want to say that we are doing very poorly in the area of agricultural research and development. “It is a very bad commentary that our farmers have to still dry…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja directed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to work with all relevant government agencies to ensure full protection of critical national infrastructure. The President issued the directive at the unveiling of the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, commissioning of the Communications and Digital Economy complex, flag-off of the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training and launching of the Abuja Emergency Communication Centre and the National Emergency Toll-Free Number 112. The President also urged mobile network operators to ensure full attainment of the targets set in the National Broadband Plan by giving special attention to…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos zonal office, Wednesday, March 18, 2020 secured the conviction and sentencing of one Shobogun Olushola Emmanuel to nine months imprisonment before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos for his involvement in internet fraud. The convict was arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents, an offence contrary to Section 320 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. He however pleaded guilty to the charge preferred against him by the EFCC. The one- count charge reads: “That you Shobogun Olushola Emmanuel sometime in…

The Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday arraigned one Ope Saraki, a cousin of the immediate past president of the Nigerian Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki on two count charges bordering on contract scam to the tune of Two Hundred and Twenty Million Naira (N220, 000, 000). Saraki was arraigned before Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin. The EFCC alleged that the defendant, while serving as Special Adviser to the Kwara State Government, knowingly acquired a contract of the supply 13 Ambulances to General Hospitals into a company…