Author: Chronicle Editor

Kogi State Government has approved the appointment of Mercy Johnson and that of 53 Senior Special Assistants to the Governor into the various offices in the administration. A statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Mrs. Ayoade Folashade Arike, in Lokoja, said the appointments are effective from 1st of April, 2017. Mercy Johnson was appointed SSA to the Governor on Entertainment, Arts and Culture. The rationale for the dditional appointees at the state level, the statement read, is to “plug identified gaps in service delivery, fill key positions with the right people and to broaden inclusiveness in governance…

An oil tanker has been hijacked by suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, reports say, the first such hijacking in the region in five years. The ship sent a distress signal on Monday evening, saying it was being approached by high-speed boats. The gunmen have told a local official they are fishermen whose equipment was destroyed by illegal fishing vessels. Piracy was rampant off the Somali coast until increased patrols by European naval forces contained the problem. The vessel was en route from Djibouti to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and was then diverted towards the port of Alula in…

Nigeria’s inflation rate bucked the trend in February to fall to 17.78 per cent, its lowest level in 15 months, driven by a slower rise in general price levels, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. Inflation had risen to 18.72 per cent in January, its 12th monthly rise and its highest level in more than 11 years, as Africa’s biggest economy grapples with an economic recession, a currency crisis and dollar shortages, brought on by low oil prices, its mainstay. The central bank, under pressure to narrow the gap between the official and black market rates, has devalued…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday held a meeting with Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. The meeting is holding inside the president’s office at the Aso Rock presidential villa. The two leaders of the legislature arrived the president’s office at exactly 12 midday. The meeting is still ongoing as at the time of filing this report. It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari resumed work on 13 March 2017 after spending 51 days in London on a medical vacation. While there, Saraki and Dogara paid him a visit and stated that…

London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham have been drawn against each other in the FA Cup semi-finals. Arsenal, who will play in a record 29th FA Cup semi-final, face Manchester City in the other last-four tie. Both semi-finals will be played at Wembley on the weekend of 22 and 23 April. Chelsea knocked out holders Manchester United in a hard-fought 1-0 win on Monday, with Spurs thrashing League One side Millwall on Sunday. Arsenal, who lifted the trophy in 2014 and 2015, proved too good for non-league Lincoln City in a 5-0 home win on Saturday. Manchester City are playing in…

Chelsea capitalised on Ander Herrera’s sending-off to win a hard-fought FA Cup quarter-final with holders Manchester United and maintain their pursuit of a domestic Double. Herrera’s dismissal for two fouls on Eden Hazard gave the advantage to the Blues midway through the first half. The brilliant N’Golo Kante fired home the only goal – his second this season, both of which have been against United. Chelsea dominated thereafter but spurned chances to add to their lead. United, who were without forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial, produced just one clear opportunity – Marcus Rashford denied by Thibaut Courtois.…

Not many know that using Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) Plc products such as Fanta and Sprite with Vitamin C is poisonous to the human body. But a Lagos high court sitting at Igbosere, Lagos State southwest Nigeria has opened the eyes of many to this dangerous trend. Led by Justice Adedayo Oyebanji, the court ordered National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and control (NAFDAC) to forthwith mandate Nigeria Bottling Company Plc to write on all bottles of Fanta and Sprite a warning that the content of the said soft drinks cannot be taken with Vitamin C as same becomes…

Judge John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital has adjourned the court case in which Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to have a government seizure of a long-disputed oilfield lifted. The case was adjourned until March 17. The court in January ordered the temporary seizing of assets and the transfer of operations of the OPL 245 field owned by Shell and Eni, among others, to the federal government on request of the EFCC financial crime agency. The inquiry is investigating whether the $1.3 billion purchase of OPL 245 involved “acts of conspiracy, bribery,…

The Police in Kaduna State, on Monday, said they have arrested three suspects that allegedly killed two Fulani herdsmen on Saturday. The Commissioner of Police, Agyole Abeh, told journalists in Kaduna that the two Fulani herdsmen were grazing their livestock when they were killed on March 11 at Unguwan Luka in Jema’a Local Government Area. Abeh said the three suspects were arrested after a tip-off by Good Samaritans. The police commissioner claimed that the suspects had made confessional statements and would soon be charged to court. He declared that peace was gradually returning to southern Kaduna, and urged the general…

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday he had handed back work to President Muhammadu Buhari following the latter’s return from medical leave in Britain. “We just had a very long meeting … basically trying to bring the president up to speed as to some of the things we have done while he was away‎,” Osinbajo told reporters. “By and large, practically everything I discuss fully with him and have his endorsement before we are able to go on and do anything at all,” he added. My message to you: I'm glad to be back home, & grateful for…