Author: Chronicle Editor

A mass burial of more than 70 people is under way in Nigeria’s central Benue State. Dozens have been killed in conflicts between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities in three states – Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba – in recent weeks. The Nigerian army says it has deployed special forces to all three to “stem the menace”. Herders, mostly from the Fulani ethnic group, and farmers often clash over land in the region. Since the New Year, the number of clashes has intensified, with more than 100 deaths reported in Benue and Taraba states. Fighting has been particularly heavy in Benue…

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday said that the state generated a total of N503.7billion revenue in 2017 despite the harsh economic climate in the country. Ambode spoke at the state’s first quarter 2018 Town Hall Meeting in Ikeja. He did not indicate whether the whole amount was for IGR (Internally Generated Revenue). The governor said that he would vigorously pursue all infrastructure projects and remain focused to the task of building a virile Lagos. “Despite the harsh economy, our state budget performed at 82 per cent. “Total revenue generated was N503.7bn representing a performance of 78 per…

Yohana Luka, District Head, Dako community in Gwagwalada Area Council, FCT, on Thursday urged herdsmen in the area to refrain from encroaching into farmlands to prevent clashes with farmers. Luka made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to him, the frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen around the country are affecting the nation’s unity and development. “No nation can achieve meaningful development in an atmosphere of rancour and confusion, just like it is happening in some parts of the country. “It is very unfair to see innocent people…

Cell phones have long surpassed being just a device to make calls and receive messages. Our dependency on its numerous features has got us enslaved. Today, almost all of us can’t survive without our indispensable communication gadget. And it has gone a step further, whether single or not, mobile phones have becoming a sleeping companion to people globally. There’s hardly any of us who goes to bed without it. Despite health warnings of radiation, we still keep it next to our faces near the pillow or at the most, within an arm’s reach on the bed side table. Well, it’s…

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday reshuffled his cabinet, dropping three members and appointing five new ones. Mr Tunji Bello, the Secretary to the State Government, in a statement, named the three dropped cabinet members as Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, Mr Femi Odubiyi and Mr Abiola Anifowoshe. Akinsola was Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Odubiyi was Commissioner of Science and Technology, while Anifowoshe was Commissioner for Physical Planning. The newly appointed cabinet members are Mr Hakeem Fahm (Ministry of Science and Technology); Mr. Ladi Lawanson (Ministry of Transportation); Mr Segun Banjo (Ministry of Economic…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has advised motorist against panic buying, saying it has adequate fuel supply across Nigeria that can serve citizens for 30 days. In a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs division Ndu Ughamadu, on Thursday in Abuja, it said the corporation had product that would last for over 30 days. “NNPC wishes to enjoin motorists in Abuja, its environs and other parts of the Country not to engage in any panic buying of petroleum products. “NNPC assures motorists that the Corporation has robust stock of PMS, otherwise called petrol, which is sufficient…

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has arrested two suspected traffickers among Nigerian returnees repatriated from Libya. The Director General of NAPTIP, Ms Julie Okah-Donli disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. Okah-Donli said that two of the suspects were currently under investigation as one of the suspected traffickers; a female, was transferred to NAPTIP’s Lagos Zonal command for questioning. She stated that the agency had set machineries in motion to fish out those involved in the trafficking or smuggling of Nigerians and would be prosecuted accordingly. According to her,…

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba on Thursday said the organised labour would not be intimidated by anybody in the pursuit of its legitimate rights. Waba who led thousands of workers to Government House, Kaduna said the union would not back down in its opposition to the sack of 36,000 workers by Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The NLC president accused the governor of disobeying court order and using the security agencies to intimidate the workers who were on peaceful protest. According to him, information about competency bandied by the governor as excuse for the sack was false but…

Over 15,000 Cameroonian refugees have fled to Nigeria amid a crackdown on Anglophone separatists, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency and Nigerian government officials said on Thursday. The once-fringe English-speaking movement in majority French-speaking Cameroon has gathered pace in the last few months after a military crackdown on protests, leading it to declare independence in October for a breakaway “Ambazonia” state it wants to create. The move poses the biggest challenge yet to the 35-year rule of President Paul Biya, who will seek re-election this year, and the violent repression he has unleashed has driven thousands of people from English-speaking…

Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne have both been named in the UEFA Team of the Year for 2017 after 8.8 million votes were collected by the European governing body. According to a statement on UEFA.com, “a host of stellar names feature in a star-studded UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year 2017. “A grand total of 8,779,639 million votes were cast by supporters around the world, an increase of over 1.6 million on the previous year’s tally of 7.15 million.” Players from the Spanish league dominated the final XI, with a total of six making the team. There was a…