Author: Chronicle Editor

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a reduction in the amount payable by citizens of the United States of America seeking Nigerian visas. The decision of the Nigerian government comes barely 24 hours after the US increased the cost of visa application for Nigerians to N99,000 citing its ‘Reciprocity Policy’. In a statement on Wednesday, Mohammed Manga, spokesman of the ministry of interior, announced that the visa fee of Americans had been reduced. “The attention of the Ministry of Interior has been drawn to the introduction of reciprocity of Visa Fees by the United States of America. The Ministry…

By Femi Adesina When we arrived Yokohama on Monday, among questions I was asked by Nigerian media here was whether the Presidency was worried by threats from a fringe and shadowy group, long outlawed in Nigeria, to cause commotion, and embarrass President Muhammadu Buhari and his team. I waved the question aside, saying we were in Japan for serious business. Well, the serious business began today, Wednesday, August 28. The less said about members of that proscribed group, the better. In paroxysm of pain and frustration, they had shot a video at the home of the Nigerian Ambassador to Tokyo,…

The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has disclosed that the agency is collating comprehensive data on the Nigerians indicted in the recently busted money laundering and cyber crime offences in the United States. Eighty suspects, most of them Nigerians, were allegedly involved in the crimes investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in the US. Magu who spoke through the Head of the Ibadan zonal office, Friday Ebelo, during a press conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, said the massive data collection was part of the collaborative activities between the EFCC and FBI…

The need  for West African countries to come together to  showcase the rich agricultural heritage of their sub-continent  and contribute to  its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are the focus of the West African Agribusiness Show scheduled for Nigeria in 2020, Mr. Idowu Asenuga, an agric expert and top agric equipment consultant in Nigeria has posited. Referring to a submission by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Asenuga who is the chief convener of the show declared that West Africa has an abundance of natural and human resources. “The agriculture sector represents approximately 35 per cent of the region’s…

Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the ninth National Assembly will give its maximum support to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to achieve a better, prosperous and secured Nigeria for the good of the citizens. “We will make sure the ninth National Assembly gives him (Buhari) the full support needed to achieve the Next Level agenda in the interest of our people and the country,” Lawan said in his native home, Gashua, late Tuesday at a Town Hall meeting to round off a thank you visit to his constituents in Yobe State. “Though there are pockets of opposition from other…

A European Central Bank (ECB) official has revealed that about 1.3 trillion euros ($1.44 trillion) worth of assets will be moved from London to the eurozone due to Brexit, according to document. Twenty-four banks will move, seven of which will be directly under ECB supervision, and 17 will be under national supervision where they chose to relocate to, said Andrea Enria, Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board, said. Enria said the banks were prepared. “We have done the best preparation we could, the banks did what we asked them to do and a contingency plan is in place,’’ he said.…

Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed what is believed to be the largest single mass child sacrifice in history. The bodies of 227 victims, aged between five and 14, were found near the coastal town of Huanchaco, north of Peru’s capital Lima. The children were believed to have been sacrificed over 500 years ago. The discovery comes barely a year after 200 child victims of human sacrifice were found at two other sites in the country. Archaeologists told AFP news agency that some of the bodies in this latest collection still had hair and skin when they were dug up. The children show…

Parliament will be suspended just days after MPs return to work in September – and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline. Boris Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October, to outline his “very exciting agenda”. But it means the time MPs have to pass laws to stop a no-deal Brexit on 31 October would be cut. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said it was a “constitutional outrage”. The speaker, who does not traditionally comment on political announcements, continued: “However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose…

The United States has agreed to give Tunisia financial aid worth $335 million over five years to support its democratic transition, the Tunisian Development and International Cooperation‮ ‬ministry said Wednesday. Tunisia has emerged as the one success story of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. While Libya, Yemen, and Syria have descended into civil war, and Egypt into military dictatorship, Tunisia has instead transitioned to and thus far maintained its democracy. Its transition has benefited from several structural advantages, including a homogenous population, a politically weak military, a strong civil society, and a relative balance of power between Islamists and secularists.…

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) says the newly-energised 11KV feeder in Abakaliki has increased and improved electricity supply in the commercial axis of Ebonyi. The Head of Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, made this known in a statement in Enugu on Wednesday. NAN reports that the EEDC is in charge of electricity distribution in the five Southeast states, which consist of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. Ezeh said that the newly-constructed feeder, known as Azuiyiokwu II, had improved power supply for more hours in Abakaliki. According to him, the newly-constructed feeder, which was energised and inaugurated on…