Author: Chronicle Editor

Mr Tunde Lemo, Chairman, Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), on Monday said that the agency had started the rehabilitation of bad spots on federal roads across the country. Speaking during a Leadership Mentorship series at Caleb British International School, Lekki, Lagos, Lemo said that FERMA was responsible for only 20 per cent of about 200,000 kilometres of roads across the country. “We have started work to fix the bad roads and even clearing bushes of about 10 to 15 meters on both sides of the highways to enable travellers to see far ahead of them while travelling,” he said.…

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has retained power but a narrow election win means he is forced to lead a minority government as prime minister. His party will claim the most seats in parliament but their second term will be much harder, relying on other parties to pass legislation. The Liberals are expected to claim 156 seats, 14 short of a majority. His centre-right Conservative rivals are heading for 122 seats, a marked increase from the 95 it held before. Monday night’s results could be good news for the country’s left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) and its leader Jagmeet Singh, who…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday charged two Britons for alleged money laundering in connection with an ill-fated gas deal that has left Nigeria facing a disputed bill of over $9 billion. James Richard Nolan and Adam Quinn pleaded not guilty in an Abuja court to 16 counts of money laundering put forward by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judge remanded Nolan in prison until his application for bail is considered. Quinn is at large and Nolan’s defence lawyer entered a plea on his behalf. The EFCC said in a statement that the two…

Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are three of seven Liverpool players named on the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or. Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alisson have also been chosen from the Reds. Five Manchester City players – Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero – are on the list. Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min are also included. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, again feature among the contenders. Some of the biggest omissions from the list include Paris St-Germain…

Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has apologised to Patrice Evra for wearing T-shirts in support of Luis Suarez after the Uruguayan racially abused the Frenchman in 2011. After a two-month investigation, Suarez was given an eight-game ban by the Football Association on 21 December. A day later, Liverpool wore ‘Suarez 7’ T-shirts in the warm-up before their Premier League game against Wigan. Carragher said the club “got it massively wrong”. The former England defender was working in his role as pundit on Sky Sports on Monday alongside ex-Manchester United full-back Evra. Carragher said: “There is no doubt we made a massive…

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has said he will challenge the forfeiture order by Justice Liman on two of his properties on Monday. Saraki said the judge was not furnished with an order that barred anti-graft agency, EFCC from taking any steps on seizing his properties because they were not acquired through illicit funds. “My attention has been drawn to an order granted by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos pursuant to an ex-parte application by EFCC. “It is my belief that the judge was misled into granting this Order and was not presented with the full position of…

The Accountant -General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, has said that the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has saved the country over N230 billion in three years. Idris made the disclosure on Monday at the budget defence before the Senate Committee on Finance. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IPPI’S is an information Communications Technology (ICT) project initiated by the Federal Government to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of payroll administration for its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). According to Idris, Nigeria gained over N50 billion, N100 billion and N80 billion in 2017,…

By Oraye St. Franklyn The travails of Dr. (Mrs.) Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs is nothing strange. As Africans we are accustomed to these things. Stepmothers are often the ‘cause’ of the estrangement of stepchildren with their fathers. The matter is made worse if the age difference of the children and their stepmother is not much. You know the typical Nollywood script. This is not to say some stepmothers are not truly bad. No. But not all stepmothers are evil. First off, Dr. Mrs. Seinye Lulu-Briggs is not within the age range of Dumo Lulu-Briggs, her stepson and Accuser in Chief.…

Former Governor of Kano State and the immediate past Senator representing Kano Central, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was attacked by thugs who are yet to be identified in Kano, Monday. The attack, which followed the former governor’s visit to his hometown, Madobi where he had gone to open a midwifery school, was said to have been carried out around the state underpass. Eight persons were said to have been critically injured while several cars were damaged beyond recognition. However, Hajiya Binta Sipikin, Kwankwaso’s media aide, linked the attack to thugs loyal to political oppositions She said, “This attack was preplanned…

A political group in Nigeria, Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) has alerted the public on attempts by some elements to rehash old, baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The group said one of such pattern was the allegations by Mr Junaid Mohammed in a recent interview with an online newspaper over the weekend. The group described the allegations as baseless, untrue and laughable, adding that, it is just another attempt to disparage a good, upright and honest man who is committed to the true progress of the country. The Publicity Secretary of the group, Peter Oladele said…