Author: Chronicle Editor

National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dayo Adeyeye, has declared that former vice president Atiku Abubakar will not be allowed to vote at the national convention of the party on Saturday in Abuja. Adeyeye told newsmen that the constitution of the party barred any new member from voting at the party’s convention for at least one year unless a waiver is given to him by the leadership of the party. Atiku returned to the party on Sunday from the All Progressives Congress (APC). ”All you need to do is pick up the constitution of the party and…

Nigeria called for an end to violence in neighbouring Cameroon, where a crisis sparked by a separatist drive in English-speaking areas has forced thousands of people to seek sanctuary across the border. “The Nigerian state by no means supports the secessionists,” Nigerian ambassador Lawan Abba Gashagar said Thursday, after a meeting with Cameroon’s President Paul Biya. “The Nigerian government supports a swift return to peace in Cameroon and the preservation of its territorial integrity,” said the ambassador, who is also a special envoy of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The meeting came as thousands of Cameroonians fled across the border into…

Justice Adeniyi Ademola pulled a fast one on the National Judicial Council, by hurriedly announcing his resignation, a spokesman for the council revealed today. According to Soji Oye, NJC’s Director of Information, the council recommended on Wednesday the compulsory retirement of Ademola, along with Justice O. O. Tokode, both of the Federal High Court, for misconduct. The decision was taken at the Council’s 84th meeting on December 6, chaired by the Chief Justice Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghe. Ademola apparently getting wind of NJC’s decision, hurriedly notified the council of his decision to voluntarily retire from the bench. Ademola was due…

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the actual buyer of a painting of Jesus by Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record-breaking $450 million at auction last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The young crown prince, known by his initials MBS, used an intermediary to buy the much-sought-after painting of Christ, “Salvator Mundi,” the newspaper reported, citing US intelligence and other unnamed sources. The son of Saudi King Salman is seen to be progressively consolidating his power, and is the architect of a wide-ranging plan dubbed Vision 2030 to bring social and economic change to his…

Nigerians wishing a quick end to the scarcity of fuel across the country may have more days to wait going by the explanation offered by Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu. Kachikwu at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday blamed the fuel crisis on gap in supply of petroleum products. His explanation, however, seemed to contradict one earlier given by government. Following a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had blamed the fuel scarcity on demand by nations in temperate regions, saying: “This is winter…

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), has blamed the current fuel crisis on hoarding of the commodity by some depot owners and petroleum products marketers. In a statement by its National Secretary Mr Danladi Pasali on Thursday in Abuja, it lamented that in spite the availability of the products in the country, some depots owners took advantage of the high demand of the commodity to create artificial scarcity in order to dupe Nigerians. According to the statement, Pasali, speak after a brief meeting with officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He called on the Department of…

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or award for the fifth time – and the second year in a row. Victory took the 32-year-old Portugal international level with 30-year-old Argentine Messi, who won the most recent of his five awards in 2015. Messi’s ex-Barcelona team-mate Neymar, now at Paris St-Germain, was third. Last season, Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and their first La Liga title since 2012. Ronaldo added the 2017 Ballon d’Or to those he won in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and Messi is the only other recipient…

Ademola Lookman scored twice as a weakened Everton team beat Apollon Limassol to end their failed Europa League campaign with their only win. With Sunday’s Liverpool derby in mind, the Toffees made 11 changes from the victory over Huddersfield, while manager Sam Allardyce did not travel because of a medical appointment. Lookman headed in Nikola Vlasic’s cross from close range and fired in a 25-yard second for the already eliminated Toffees, who gave debuts to five youngsters. Vlasic added a late third, nipping the ball past Apollon’s defence to slot home. Everton have won three games in a row, all…

Rail and ferry travel has been disrupted and dozens of schools have been shut in Scotland due to Storm Caroline’s strong winds. The Met Office has amber “be prepared” and yellow “be aware” warnings in place for Thursday’s storm for Scotland. Yellow warnings have been issued for snow, ice and wind on Friday and Saturday for large parts of the UK. Scotland’s transport minister, Humza Yousaf, said the country faced “challenging conditions”. Warnings were issued earlier this week of winds reaching 90mph over parts of Scotland during the storm. Mountaineering Scotland has reported gusts reaching 116mph on the summit of…

Nigerian States, the Federal and Local Government in October shared N532.7 billion a decline of N25.3 billion when compared to what they shared in September. The Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Mr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse said this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the monthly Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Isa-Dutse attributed the decline to the decrease in revenue from export sales of 42.94 million dollars due to a decrease in crude oil production by 1.25 million barrels. He said that even though, the average price of crude oil increase from 46.29 dollars per barrel…