Author: Chronicle Editor

Africa is on the verge of eradicating polio if the current momentum is sustained through improved surveillance, vaccination and public awareness, a WHO official said on Tuesday. WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said the majority of African countries are likely to be declared polio free by 2019 if they step up prevention of and treatment interventions for the disease. “The African region had made tremendous progress towards polio eradication, from accounting for almost half of the global polio burden with 128 cases in 2012, to four cases in 2016,” Moeti said in a statement released in Nairobi. She…

Ondo State police rearrested an armed robber awaiting trial, Kola Ogunbiyi, for committing a fresh robbery. Mr. Ogunbiyi was apprehended after robbing an Ondo State police inspector of his vehicle at gunpoint in Akure. The 35-year-old robber also robbed residents on the popular Mother and Child Hospital Road in the state. The culprit was apprehended alongside Oluwafemi Ayodeji by operatives from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Akure. Police sources told our correspondent that the duo were in a robbery gang that terrorized the people of Ondo and Ekiti states. They were paraded alongside twelve robbery suspects before journalists at…

Nigeria’s Senate has voted in favour of launching an investigation into the default on a $1.2 billion loan earlier this year by Etisalat Nigeria and into how the funds were used. Etisalat Nigeria, now called 9mobile, took out a syndicated loan from 13 Nigerian banks but failed to make repayments earlier this year. The motion to probe the $1.2 billion debt was raised by Senator Solomon Adeola representing Lagos West Senatorial District. “The Senate is aware of allegations that the loans had been diverted to other uses not related to the business, as there was no evidence of what the…

Six crew from a German container vessel have been kidnapped in Nigerian waters, a shipping company said on Tuesday. Four of those taken are Filipino, and one is a Ukrainian national, according to the Philippines department of labour and Ukrainian foreign ministry. Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in parts of Nigeria. A number of foreigners have, in the last few years, been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, source of most of the crude oil which is Nigeria’s economic mainstay. “The vessel was attacked by pirates on early Saturday morning when it was approaching one of the ports of…

The Nigeria Police Force, says it has sanctioned 20 personnel involved in corruption between Jan. 2016 and Jun. 2017 in four states. A report obtained from the Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) indicated that those sanctioned served in Enugu, Abuja, Ogun and Lagos commands. It indicated that 10 policemen were dismissed during the period, one given severe reprimand, one demoted, and eight given other forms of punishment. Read Also Senate, EFCC take action on Maina The report showed that 4, 342 complaints were received by the unit during the period under review, out…

Irked by the current controversy over the recall of run-away civil servant, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, the Senate has raised a committee to investigate the case just as EFCC sealed his $2 million mansion. The Senate on Tuesday made the resolution after a prolonged deliberation. The committee to carry out the investigation is comprised of the chairmen and vice- chairman of committees on Interior, Judiciary, Anti-corruption and Public Service Establishment. It is to “determine the circumstances surrounding Maina’s return to the country and how he was reinstated to the service and got promoted to the post of Director after dismissal.” Sen.…

Phil Neville is interested in the vacant managerial position at his former club Everton, BBC Sport understands. The Merseyside club sacked Ronald Koeman on Monday after their loss at Arsenal left them in the Premier League relegation zone. Ex-England international Neville, 40, made more than 250 appearances for Everton in eight years at the club. He was previously assistant manager at La Liga side Valencia. Everton confirmed on Tuesday that Under-23 manager David Unsworth will take temporary charge of the club, starting with Wednesday’s Carabou Cup tie against Chelsea. READ: Ryan Giggs interested in both Leicester, Everton jobs Neville, a…

Kwara State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Abdulyekeen Agunbiade, has called on the Federal Government to review the minimum wage in the country. The NLC chairman made the call in Ilorin on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen on the state of the nation. He added that according to Labour law, workers salaries should be reviewed every ten years. The labour leader explained that Nigerian workers would not settle for any amount less than N50, 000 as minimum wage. He declared that labour has not abandoned the call for upward review of the minimum wage for workers in…

Kwara State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Abdulyekeen Agunbiade, has called on the Federal Government to review the minimum wage in the country. The NLC chairman made the call in Ilorin on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen on the state of the nation. He added that according to Labour law, workers salaries should be reviewed every ten years. The labour leader explained that Nigerian workers would not settle for any amount less than N50, 000 as minimum wage. He declared that labour has not abandoned the call for upward review of the minimum wage for workers in…

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Tuesday advised the Federal Government to handover Federal roads to states governments for effective management of the roads. Tambuwal gave the advice when he received the Senate Committee on Works led by its Chairman, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, in Sokoto. He said: “There is the need for the federal government handover the roads to states, because states governments are closer to the people and we have more efficient methods of supervision. “If this is done, it will go a long way in ensuring that the vast majority of major roads and highways in the…