Author: Chronicle Editor

Canadian Senate has passed a law legalising the recreational use of marijuana nationwide in what has been considered a close call. The Cannabis Act passed its final hurdle on Tuesday in a 52-29 vote in the Senate. The bill controls and regulates how the drug can be grown, distributed, and sold. Canadians will be able to buy and consume cannabis legally as early as this September. The country is the second worldwide to legalise the drug’s recreational use. Uruguay became the first country to legalise the sale of cannabis for recreational use in December 2013, while a number of US…

German ambassador to Nigeria Bernhard Schlagheck has confirmed to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that the west African country is “a more investor-friendly destination”. Schlagheck who was attesting to the developmental strides of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration commended the economic policy initiatives. Osinbajo received the German delegation was led by Ulrich Konstantin Rieger, Head of Division, Internationalization Department Africa, Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, alongside the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. “After difficult years, Nigeria is facing an upward trend, the investment climate seems to be improving. For foreign companies, Nigeria is one of…

The US has pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling it a “cesspool of political bias”. The “hypocritical and self-serving” body “makes a mockery of human rights”, said US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley. Formed in 2006, the Geneva-based council has been criticised for allowing countries with questionable human rights records to be members. But activists said the US move could hurt efforts to monitor and address human rights abuses around the world. Ms Haley announced her country’s intention to quit the council at a joint news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who called…

A truck loaded with boards and plywood fell off the Ojuelegba Bridge, Surulere, Lagos State late on Tuesday evening killing two persons. Two other persons were also injured, according to an update provided by the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Adesina Tiamiyu. JUST IN: LASEMA Response Unit Currently on scene at Ojuelegba. We would share more with you shortly. Please share a prayer for the affected victims and their families. #LagosCares #Call112 pic.twitter.com/0NEQxPJxis— LRU #Call112 (@lasemasocial) June 19, 2018 The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accident occurred at 8 p.m. Similar accidents had…

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere says he will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of June. The 26-year-old England international made his Gunners debut in 2008 and has made 197 first-team appearances. However, his future at Emirates Stadium was in doubt following the arrival of new manager Unai Emery. “I felt that I was ultimately left with little choice but to make the decision that I have due to purely footballing reasons,” he wrote on Instagram. “Such was my desire to stay that I had in fact recently agreed to sign a financially reduced contract in order…

United Bank for Africa (UBA) is leading Nigeria’s banking presence across Africa as it aims to make half its profits in other parts of continent by 2022. In a report published by The Economist titled ‘As Western lenders retreat, African banks see an opportunity’, the magazine explained the role of UBA in providing banking services across Africa. Explaining the vision of UBA chairman, Tony Elumelu, the report noted that African bankers have long preached some version of what Elumelu calls “Africapitalism”: the idea that far-sighted, home-grown businesses can drive development. With the Nigeria banking reform in 2005 surviving banks have…

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun has mandated all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to authenticate all Tax Clearance Certificates (TCCs) presented by companies and individuals engaged in public procurement processes. Adeosun explained that the directive is in response to the proliferation of forged TCCs purportedly issued prior to the automation of the certificates from 22 August, 2017. The validation of the TCCs will enhance the integrity of the tax system. “A circular issued on Tuesday by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, requires the MDAs to authenticate all TCCs…

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has commended the federal government’s decision to shut down a neighbouring country through which rice is smuggled on a large scale into Nigeria. Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, President Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the closure of the border would encourage the patronage of local rice. “If adequate measure is not taken to stop the activities of the smugglers, it would have adverse effects on the bumper harvests expected from the rice revolution and create rice glut,” he said. Chief Audu Ogbeh,…

Being a customer of the numerous banks in Nigeria comes with different perks and challenges, as the sector itself is bedeviled with the infrastructural lapses inherent in Nigeria, however, of all the commercial banks; Zenith Bank has proven to be the pace setter not only in terms of innovation and infrastructural capabilities; the bank has remained shoulder high above them all since it was founded in 1990. Zenith Bank currently ranks as the number one commercial bank in Nigeria not only in terms of customer deposits and profits, but in several other aspects of banking. Little wonder, retail and commercial…

The Kano Police Command has denied a media report alleging that its officers shot four persons at Shoprite located in Ado Bayero Shopping Mall Kano on June 17. The denial is contained in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Magaji Majiya and issued to newsmen in Kano on Tuesday. “The attention of Kano police command is drawn to a media publication by Solacebase media that police on guard duty allegedly shot four persons at Shoprite Kano on June 17. “The reporter did not verify nor balanced his story but went on to publish.” READ: FRC investigating…