Author: Chronicle Editor

• He won’t resign, he hasn’t violated the constitution, says presidency The exact date of President Muhammadu Buhari’s return to the country is still a top secret of the presidency. ‎This is just as the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari at the weekend travelled to London where her husband is said to be recuperating. It was learnt that Mrs. Buhari left for the UK on Sunday and there exists a likelihood of her returning to Nigeria with her husband at ‎a time yet to be officially confirmed. The president’s wife returned from London last Thursday and proceeded to Owerri,…

• MASSOB condemns call for boycott of Anambra election • FG plans to engage 50,000 youths for pipeline surveillance Niger Delta militants under the aegis of the Niger Delta Volunteers (NDV) have stated that arrangements have reached an advance stage with other agitators to declare a Sovereign Republic of Niger Delta (SRND) on October 1, 2017. Besides, the group has called on International Oil Companies (IOCs) to relocate to the region before the set date, failure, which would attract resumption of hostilities against oil and gas infrastructure in the region. These threats were contained in a statement signed by the…

Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos today ordered permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government of a $37.5m skyscrapper A on the highbrow Banana Island, Lagos, belonging to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. The Presiding Judge (Professor) Chuka Obiozor, also ordered that the sums of $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70 realised as rents on the property should also be forfeited to the Federal Government. Justice Chuka Obiozor made the order following a motion on notice argued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s counsel (EFCC). The anti-graft agency had on July 19, 2017, obtained a court order to temporarily seize…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Monday the nation’s current crude oil production had risen to 2.35 million barrels per day. Its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru, said this at the inauguration of the members of the corporation’s re-constituted anti corruption committee in Abuja. He said : “In the upstream, we have also been making strides in the stability and security in the Niger-Delta and production is coming back steadily. “At one point, we have reached the level of almost 2.35 million barrels per day, including condensates, which accounts for about 400,000 barrels per day. Baru…

Russian billionaire and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and his wife, gallerist Darya or “Dasha” Zhukova, have separated, a spokesman for Abramovich confirmed to AFP. “After 10 years together, the two of us have made the difficult decision to separate, but we remain close friends, parents, and partners in the projects we developed together,” the two said in a statement sent to AFP Monday by Abramovich’s spokesman John Mann. Abramovich, 50, is Russia’s 12th richest businessman, according to Forbes magazine, with a fortune of $9.1 billion made from steel, mining, real estate and telecommunications. The oligarch has owned Chelsea…

…says action embarrassing, disgraceful, capable of causing anarchy A civil society group, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) on Monday faulted the call by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) on operators in the sector to disregard a 7-day ultimatum issued on them by the Lagos State Government to comply with the relevant laws, describing it as embarrassing, disgraceful and capable of leading to anarchy. The State Government, following the judgment of Appeal Court which upheld its powers to legislate on intra-inland waterways within the State, had called on operators in the sector especially dredgers and boat operators,…

Philippe Coutinho would like to move to Barcelona if a deal can be done amicably with Liverpool, according to Sky sources. Sky Sports News has been told Coutinho will not rock the boat at Anfield and he would only leave Liverpool for Barcelona. Coutinho signed a new five-year contract at Liverpool in January and the club remain adamant he is not for sale. Sky Sports News understands Barcelona have not contacted Liverpool since their initial £72m offer was firmly and immediately rejected 18 days ago. Barcelona are “looking for alternatives” after Neymar’s world-record departure to Paris Saint-Germain, according to president…

Bitcoin’s value has jumped to a record high, following a month of turmoil. The virtual currency reached $3,451.86 (£2,651) per coin in Monday trade, according to the Coindesk Bitcoin Price Index. It had never crossed the $3,000 mark until the weekend. The market value of all bitcoins in existence has now surpassed $56bn (£43bn). The surge followed the creation of a spin-off crypto-currency, Bitcoin Cash, last week. The new asset is trading well below the peak price of $727.54 (£557) per coin it attained on 2 August. However, Bitcoin Cash’s future does appear to be more assured after Coinbase, one…

Africa’s leading Internet Platform, Cape Town-based Silvertree Internet Holdings has recently reached the milestone of over USD 15m channeled into African consumer-focused technology companies since inception in 2014. The portfolio has achieved an average 200% annual revenue growth, helped by fast-growing companies like car buying site carzar and meal-kit delivery company ucook. To build on this success, Silvertree is excited to announce the appointment of Freddy Caspers as non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Caspers has been one of the core team members behind the phenomenal success of Reckitt Benckiser (RB), as executive board member and CEO of Emerging Markets.…

The Director of Primary Health Care in Akoko-Edo Local Government Council of Edo, Dr Sunday Yerumoh, on Monday confirmed two cases of Lassa fever in the locality. Yerumoh made the confirmation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Igarra, the administrative headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area. He disclosed that the patients were quickly admitted in the Surveillance Unit of the local government health care centre, when health personnel noticed that they displayed symptoms of Lassa fever. “The patients were brought to the surveillance unit of the local government and their blood samples were positive. “And…