Author: Chronicle Editor

A consultancy firm, Afro Euro Con­cerns Limited has dragged the Zamfara State Government before a Federal High Court in Abuja over the gov­ernment’s alleged refusal to pay a debt sum of over N338 million owed the firm by the defendants as Consultancy fees. In the suit marked: FHC/HC/CV/1597/17, and filed on May 5, 2017, the plaintiff named the Zamfara State Govern­ment and the Attorney General and Com­missioner for Justice, Zamfara State as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively. The court, following a writ of summons, commanded the Zamfara State Government to appear before it within Eight (8) days to answer the…

Nigeria’s telecommunications sector contributed over N15 trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since the liberalisation of the sector, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made the disclosure at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday. Danbatta said the sector’s contribution to the GDP increased from eight per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 to nine per cent in the first quarter of this year. He said that since his assumption of office about 18 months ago, the industry had been adding between N1.43 trillion and N1.45…

Exemption of Customs, others from pensions passes second reading The House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement yesterday queried the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the payment of $163.7 million to pre-shipment inspection agents (PIAs) involved in the monitoring of crude oil and gas exports from Nigeria from 2009 to 2014 without the approval of the National Assembly. The committee, led by Mr. Wole Oke, also upbraided the Ministry of Finance for colluding with the CBN in the payment of the aforementioned. The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who testified at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee actually…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, before the Federal High Court, Abuja on eight-count charge bordering on money laundering. Aliyu was docked yesterday alongside his former Chief of Staff and the 2015 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Umar Nasko, over allegation of conspiracy and diversion of over N1 billion Ecological Fund received from the Federal Government in 2014 on behalf of the state. Both Aliyu and Nasko were alleged to have diverted the money into the account of a private company – D-Sabrin International…

The Federal Government recorded a deficit of $11 billion (N3.3 trillion using the official exchange rate of $305 per dollar) revenue from crude oil export in 2016. Specifically, the revenue fact sheet released on Monday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil revenue fell from the $37 billion recorded in 2015 to $26 billion in 2016. This comes as Nigeria had already earned $10 billion or N3.05 trillion from oil export between January and April this year, according to the oil and gas revenue fact sheet of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).…

Turkish aeroplanes and helicopters illegally entered Greece’s airspace 141 times on Monday, the Hellenic National Defence General Staff reported. According to Greek press reports, 20 Turkish F-16, 5 CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft and 19 helicopters entered the Athens flight information region (FIR) without submitting a flight plan. In all cases, Turkish aircraft were identified and intercepted by Greek fighters, while in nine cases the interception process resulted in near combat situations. In addition, two Turkish missile boats entered Greek territorial waters off the southeast Aegean island of Agathonisi. The vessels, which were taking part in a maritime exercise code-named Denizkurdu…

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 1,268 Nigerians have voluntarily returned from Libya from December 15, 2016 to May 16, 2017. Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, the Director General, NEMA, made the disclosure while receiving a fresh batch of 258 Nigerians who arrived on Tuesday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a chartered Libya Airlines Airbus A330-200 with registration number 5A-LAU at about 8:30pm. They were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency…

Dr Sunday Ochoche, the Executive Director, Victims Support Fund (VSF), said on Tuesday that the reconstruction of damaged infrastructures in Bama, Borno State, gulped about N368 million. Ochoche made this known during the inauguration of 10 VSF-funded projects by Gov. Kassim Shettima. He said that the organisation was proud of the outcome of the reconstruction work in Bama Local Government area, which he described as its biggest projects so far. According to him, the VSF engaged with the state Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) in the critical construction of Dikwa and Bama local governments. He said that the…

President Donald Trump came under pressure on Tuesday from U.S. congressmen to give a fuller explanation of why he revealed highly sensitive intelligence information to senior Russian officials at a White House meeting last week. U.S. officials said Trump discussed intelligence about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at last Wednesday’s talks in the Oval Office. The information had been supplied by a U.S. ally in the fight against the militant group, the officials said. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN identified the ally as Israel but two U.S.…

President Donald Trump asked FBI chief James Comey to end an inquiry into links between his ex-national security adviser and Russia, US media report. “I hope you can let this go,” Mr Trump reportedly told Mr Comey after a White House meeting in February, according to a memo written by the ex-FBI director. The memo was written immediately after the meeting, a day after Michael Flynn resigned, according to US media. The White House has denied the report in a statement. “While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected…