Author: Chronicle Editor

The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government’s policy to end importation of petroleum products by 2018. Mr Joseph Ogbebor, NUPENG’s General Secretary gave the union’s position in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos. NAN reports that the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, had said on Wednesday in Ebonyi announced that by 2018, Nigeria would stop the importation of refined petroleum products. Ogbebor said importation of petroleum products was unnecessary and called for, noting that previous administrations had failed to…

A Chinese rocket successfully sent three satellites into space in the country’s first commercial mission, a media report said on Monday. The rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) blasted off from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in central Gansu province at 12:11 pm (0411 GMT) with three satellites. The media report stressed that one of the satellites is expected to be used for land resource and forestry surveying, environmental protection, disaster prevention and relief purposes. It added that the other two satellites would test technologies of low-orbit narrow-band communication and data exchange. Report says a rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science…

The Presidential Amnesty Programme Office says it plans to establish 10,000 farms with an expected total revenue generation capacity of N58 billion annually under its agricultural programme for 2017. This was disclosed by the Coordinator of the programme, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd) in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja. According to Boroh, If 10, 000 Ex-agitators are successfully trained to be farm owners, they can employ 40, 000 farm workers and a logistics Processing Value Chain of 30, 000 Jobs across the Niger Delta. “The impact of this initiative on the economy is…

Pope Francis has condemned Islamist violence describing it as “homicidal madness”. While speaking before diplomats from 180 countries, Pope Francis urged World leaders to improve the social conditions in their countries as they serve as fertile ground for fundamentalism and radicalisation. He also restated earlier call for the total ban on nuclear weapons, saying experiments by North Korea to build long-range missiles risked setting off a new nuclear arms race. The Pope who was delivering the annual papal “state of the world” address, also spoke of the need to defend European unification and for greater unity in facing climate change.…

Thousands of teachers in public primary and Junior Secondary Schools in Kwara say they have embarked on fasting and prayer to ensure payment of their six months’ salary arrears by state government. The Deputy Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Alhaji Toyin Salihu, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in llorin on Monday. Salihu, who also the Principal of Sheikh AbdulKadir College, llorin, said that the teachers’ action was for God’s intervention for the payment of their salary arrears. He said that though the fasting and prayers were…

Brazilian midfielder Oscar scored on his debut for Shanghai SIPG following his move from Chelsea for a Chinese transfer record fee of £60m. The 25-year-old netted after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 friendly win against Saudi Arabian side Al-Batin in Doha, Qatar. He later won the free-kick from which Lu Wenjun struck the winner. “I only trained for two days,” he said. “This is the start of a new season – we have only one goal, which is to win.” Oscar added: “My team-mates played very well today. The Chinese guys tried to help us [to…

The Chairman of FCT Coaches Association, Godwin Bamigboye, on Monday in Abuja urged national female players to emulate Super Falcons’ Asisat Oshoala so as to flourish in their football career. Bamigboye told our correspondent that Nigerian female players also needed to be determined and focused to excel. “Asisat stood out to be the best African female footballer of the year with the Super Falcons’ excellent performance during the 2016 Women’s AFCON in Cameroon. “But this was because she was well composed, disciplined, determined and focused throughout the competition. She is a well-mannered, disciplined and hard working lady. “However, I am…

Delta Government has registered over 30,000 farmers across the selected enterprises of Cassava, Oil Palm, Rice and Fisheries for the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme. The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Austin Chikezie, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba. He said that the aim was to boost the production of Fisheries, Cassava, Oil Palm and Rice production under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)`s ABP in the state. The commissioner said that the state policy on agriculture was directed towards achieving agricultural growth and development. He explained that the government…

Eight persons were killed in two separate suicide attacks on Sunday night in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the state Police Command said on Monday. In the first attack, according to a statement by the police spokesman in the state, DSP Victor Isuku, three of the dead were male suicide bombers who were equally armed and a member of the youth vigilante group who tried to stop them from invading the town from Muna in the outskirts of Maiduguri. In the second attack at a highly populated part of the town, Kaleri in the Gwange area, two female suicide bombers…

Another private radio station has been shutdown by Gambian authorities, deepening the ongoing political crisis in the country, the AFP news agency reports Paradise FM is the fourth radio station to be ordered off air this month. Plain clothes policemen claiming to be acting on information ministry orders told the station to stop broadcasting late Sunday, sources told AFP. The station had hosted an opposition spokesman, Halifa Sallah, as well as to a ruling party spokesman, Yankuba Colley, to discuss the political crisis, the report says. Three other radio stations have been ordered off air in similar circumstances so far…