Author: Chronicle Editor

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has trained more than 1,400,000 ex-corps members on its skill acquisition entrepreneurship programme that was launched in 2012. The Director-General of the scheme, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim said this in Abuja on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen. The interview was conducted during the 2020 Batch A pre-orientation meeting of management with Area Coordinators, State Coordinators, camp directors, camp commandants and collaborating agencies. Ibrahim said the programme was meant to enable ex-corps members to be self-employed and employers of labour. Ibrahim said: “NYSC has a programme called “Skill Acquisition Entrepreneurship Training. The programme was launched…

Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday tasked top security officials to beef up the security measures at the National Assembly to avert any threat. Lawan, who is also the chairman of the National Assembly, disclosed that he has received report of security threat to the Assembly. Lawan made this disclosure in his opening remarks at an emergency meeting the leadership of the Senate had with top security officials. “Personally I had a report from the DSS that we had a security threat. Many unknown and uninvited people came or are coming into the National Assembly complex and we felt we…

Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to correct some of his lapses through appointment of successor of the outgoing President of Court of Appeal. Chief Clark, represented by a former Nigeria’s ambassador to the Scandinavian countries, Ambassador Godknows Igali, who gave the charge in Abuja, at a book launch also advised the President not to delay the sack of service chiefs. News Agency of Nigeria reports that Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa is due for retirement on March 4. “The whole country and indeed the international community is watching how Mr President will handle the next appointment…

The United States has listed conditions for it to lift the visa ban slammed on Nigeria and four other countries by President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said the issue could be resolved if the conditions that necessitated the ban are met by the Federal Government. She listed information sharing goals as one of the terms that must be fulfilled before the US government can reverse the ban. Speaking during a visit to Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige in Abuja, the envoy said the ban was based on her country’s concerns over the need…

A Kosovo female police officer on Tuesday shot and killed four in-laws, then committed suicide, prosecutors said in Gnjilan, a town 50 kilometres south-east of the capital Pristina. The killer, an officer with the local police precinct, shot her husband’s parents and two brothers, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s was quoted as saying. Families of fallen heroes receive cheques from Defence ministry All the five people dead at the  scene, it said, adding that an investigation was still under way, and the  motive for the murders was not immediately clear.

Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd), on Tuesday presented cheques to next-of-kins of the deceased officers and men of the armed forces who died in battle front in 2019. Magashi personally presented the cheques to all of the 184 beneficiaries of the group life assurance of the armed forces. He said the token was for them to settle down, adding that the government could not compensate them adequately. “We will continue to pursue the welfare of those in battle front and the families of the deceased. “We are here to ensure the welfare and progress of your children especially…

Nigeria rakes in between N5 billion and N6 billion daily from imports since the closure of its land borders with neighbouring countries. Prior to the closure in August 2019, daily duty collections hovered between N4 billion and N5 billon, said the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos on Tuesday. The NCS Comptroller-General Col. Hammed Ali (retd.) attributed the rise to increased activities at the nation’s seaports. ”The NCS daily collection before the border closure ranged between N4 to N5 billion but now, the NCS collects N5billion to N6 billion daily as a result of the rise in activities at the nation’s…

Katsina State House of Assembly chamber was turned into a weeping arena on Tuesday over recent killings of over 30 villagers in Batsari Local Government Area of the state. Alhaji Jabiru Yau-yau, the member representing Batsari constituency raised the issue at plenary under matters of urgent public interest. NAN reports that the member representing Jibia constituency, Alhaji Mustapha Yusuf, opened the flood gate of tears while contributing to the motion and other members joined in, shedding tears over the killings. “This situation is frightening because we don’t know what can still happen in that place. “Many people were locked up…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says the nation lost about 750 million dollars to oil theft in 2019. The NNPC Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, disclosed this in a statement signed by the acting spokesman for the corporation Mr Samson Makoji, in Abuja on Tuesday. Kyari said this when members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 13 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) visited the NNPC Towers. He decried the growing activities of oil thieves and pirates which he described as a threat to the operations of the corporation. The GMD who spoke on the topic:…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecast for Nigeria this year to 2% from 2.5%, reflecting fears the coronavirus outbreak in China will hit demand for oil. Nigeria has been grappling with low growth since exiting a recession four years ago. President Muhammadu Buhari, who began a second four-year term in May, has vowed to revive the economy, but investors have been waiting for policies. Nigeria’s growth rose to an annual rate of 2.28% in the third quarter of 2019 after production of its main export, crude oil, rose to a more than three-year high. On Tuesday,…