Author: Chronicle Editor

A member of the House of Representatives, Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP), has said that the N125 billion appropriated to the National Assembly is not adequate to carry out its functions effectively and efficiently. Ossai made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja. He insisted that the legislators need more funds to discharge their duties. NAN reports that the National Assembly on Thursday published its 2017 budget of N125 billion, which was higher than the N115 billion approved in 2016. Ossai, however, said that the additional N10 billion inserted in the budget would…

The 2017 budget passed by the National Assembly will galvanise economic growth and pull the country out of recession, Dr Abubakar Amuda-Kannike, member House of Representatives, has said. Amuda-Kannike (APC-Oyo state), made the statement on Friday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in his reaction to the passage of the budget. NAN reports that on Thursday, the National Assembly passed the 2017 Appropriation Bill of N7.44 trillion. The amount is N143 billion more than the N7.30 trillion presented to the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 14, 2016. Amuda-Kannike said: “what is giving…

The acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN today gave some glimpses into the personal and official relationships he has shared with President Muhammadu Buhari. On a visit to Katsina to launch the state’s Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Clinic, Prof. Osinbajo disclosed that ” the President has been treating me as a brother. In fact the President has taken me as a son in the way he treats me.” The Acting President noted that going by the amount of responsibilities President Buhari has given me, it shows that he seriously believes that we can live as brothers in this country.…

Olaniyi Babatunde John had to flee Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State after he was accused of promoting homosexuality and standing up to community leaders in his community

Security is tight in and around Katsina metropolis following the arrival of the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for a one-day working visit to the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that joint security personnel have been posted to various strategic places in the state capital, Katsina, including the Emir’s palace. A combined team of armed soldiers and mobile police has been posted to the Emirs palace, Government House and the State Secretariat where the Acting President is expected to visit. Some of the security personnel were seen patrolling major streets of Katsina metropolis, while others were stationed…

By Ulf Laessing Large billboards at Lagos airport urge travellers to call a hotline to report officials asking for bribes. But there is a problem with this attempt to fight the corruption that plagues Africa’s biggest economy. The phone number does not work, an indication of how little progress President Muhammadu Buhari has made in tackling a problem he promised to address when he was elected two years ago. The government has fired customs and immigration officers accused of corruption, introduced staff rotation at passport and customs desks at Lagos airport to disrupt cosy networks, and set up the phone…

Nigeria’s Senate and House of Representatives have passed the 2017 budget, set at 7.44 trillion naira ($24.4 billion), on Thursday, lawmakers said. Both chambers had agreed to a higher volume than the draft worth 7.298 trillion naira budget submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to lawmakers in December. The 2017 budget now awaits the assent of Nigeria’s acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. 2017 budget padded with N143bn – National Assembly The Appropriation Bill assumes an oil price of $44.5 a barrel and foreign borrowing of 175.9 billion naira and domestic borrowing of 1.488 trillion naira, lawmakers said. #PromiseKept breakdown of @NGRSenate…

North Korea said on Thursday it was its sovereign right to “ruthlessly punish” American citizens it has detained for crimes against its government system. Pyongyang also said that US media’s description of such arrests as a bargaining ploy was “pure ignorance.” The North’s KCNA news agency said the crimes of recent Americans detained by its authorities will soon be revealed. Two American citizens affiliated with a private university in the North’s capital have been detained in the past month. On May 7, Kim Hak-song became the fourth American citizen currently detained by the repressive regime, on charges such as espionage…

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says they are a better side when injured forward Gareth Bale plays. Bale, 27, came off with a calf injury after 39 minutes in Real’s 3-2 El Clasico defeat by Barcelona in April. FIFA probe Paul Pogba’s transfer to Man Utd Real beat city rivals Atletico Madrid on aggregate on Wednesday to reach the Champions League final for a second successive season. “He’s recovering and there’s time for him to be ready for the final,” Zidane told the Real Madrid website. “I hope he’s ready before and I hope he can be with us more…

Mr Gbenga Olorunpomi, Senior Special Assistant on Electronic Media to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi, has said that the State Government is not owing salaries of civil servants. Olorunpomi told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the government had paid the salaries of all workers cleared by the recently concluded civil servants verification exercise. “This government came to power at the time civil servants were on strike; the issue that led to the strike was that of the salaries owed to the workers for many months. “At that time, all schools in the state were shut…