Author: Chronicle Editor

The nation’s power generation capacity has dropped from 4,285 megawatts recorded on September 16 to 3,321 megawatts on December 1 due to dearth of gas, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. NAN reports that this figure was obtained from the website of Nigerian Electricity System Operator on Thursday. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), puts the total output of all the generation companies at 3,321.50 megawatts, which had been transferred to the 11 distribution companies across the country. An official of TCN, who preferred anonymity, told NAN that electricity generation had been dwindling due to challenges of accessing gas…

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River says the only way to end the HIV scourge in Nigeria is for married couples to remain faithful to their partners while young people abstain from sex. Ayade said this on Thursday in Calabar at the commemoration of the 2016 World AIDS Day celebration. He said: “The absolute factor that can put an end to HIV/AIDS spread is total loyalty and abstinence. “Married couples must be faithful to their partners. “Young people must remain virgins until they get married and never allow any barber to use unsterilised clipper to barb your hair. “Whatever the…

The government of Ethiopia has arrested the opposition leader, Merera Gudina, based on the allegation that violated the state of emergency. Mr. Merera was detained after returning from a foreign trip where he attended a briefing given to European parliamentarians in Brussels about the situation in Ethiopia, which was also attended by opposition activists in exile. An EU parliamentarian, Ana Gomes, expressed her dismay about the arrest of Mr. Merera. She said the discussions in Brussels had been very “fruitful and frank” about the state of emergency in Ethiopia and she had petitioned the EU leadership to immediately demand for…

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is the only English player named on the 55-man shortlist for the Fifa FIFPro team of the year. Vardy, 29, is included after scoring 24 goals to help the Foxes win the Premier League last season. Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is overlooked for the first time in the competition’s 12-year history. Wales and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale makes the list for a second consecutive year. Bale’s Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon are included, making them the only ever-presents for an award based on votes from professional players from…

On Wednesday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olawale Oluwo, expressed the commitment of the State Government to generate 3,000 megawatts off the grid. He stated that they are working with regulators and stakeholders in the power sector to actualise this vision and ensure that they provide sufficient energy for Lagosians. Oluwo, who made this disclosure at the Price Water Cooper (PWC) annual power and utilities roundtable, noted that the administration is focused on ensuring that between the next five to seven years, Lagos state would be in a position to generate enough power for Lagosians…

On Thursday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed that over 50 per cent of Nigerian children suffered physical violence in schools. This was disclosed by Ms Ladi Alabi, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, on Thursday at the ongoing Child Protection System Strengthening (CPSS) meeting in Gombe. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was at the instance of UNICEF with support of European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and other relevant international organisations. Alabi stressed that the statistics emanated from the 2014 survey that was conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC), which…

Confusion exists among many of the 200,000 university and polytechnic graduates employed by Nigeria’s government to start work today as teachers, agricultural and health workers, the BBC has reported. Many of them have not yet been told where they would work but the government insists that the scheme is going ahead as planned. They are the first batch of 500,000 graduates the government plans to recruit in a bid to tackle high levels of unemployment. The government has promised to pay each of them a flat rate of about $100 (£80) a month. Only last month, the government said the…

On Thursday, the Bornu state government said it had launched HIV/AIDS screening for individuals, under its Status Assessment programme, in liberated communities in several Local Government Areas of the state. The Executive Secretary, Borno Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Malam Barkindo Saidu, disclosed this in his visit to Malam Babakura Jatau, the Sole Administrator of the state Radio/Television Authority in Maiduguri. He stated that the objective was to determine the status of the individuals in these communities and provide adequate counselling where necessary. He also said the Local Government Areas are Monguno, Bama, Gwoza, Damboa, Kala-Balge, Kaga and Dikwa.…

The Gambia has banned the internet and international phone calls as presidential elections are held in the West African state. Officials have also banned demonstrations to prevent unrest after the elections. Estate agent Adama Barrow is challenging President Yahya Jammeh, who says divine intervention will give him a fifth term. The Gambia has not had a smooth transfer of power since independence. Observers say Mr Barrow, who according to British news reports was once a security guard in the UK high street store Argos, has generated fresh enthusiasm among opposition supporters. Human rights groups accuse Mr Jammeh, who has in…

kanu Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday rejected the bail applications filed by leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and three others with whom he is being prosecuted by the Federal Government for offences including treasonable felony and an act preparatory to act of terrorism. Nyako, in her ruling held that they were not deserving as most of the charges preferred against them were “ordinarily not bailable”. Earlier, Justice John Tsoho, who was handling the case before Kanu accused him of bias, had earlier refused to grant bail to the accused…