Author: Chronicle Editor

A prosecution witness in the on-going trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday said that he had no knowledge that the defendant was earning double salaries. The witness, Michael Wetkast, told the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) at the resumed hearing, in the case false declaration of assets, while being cross examined by the defence Counsel, Mr Paul Usoro (SAN). Part of the 16-count charge before the CCT against Saraki is that he earned double salaries between 2007 and 2011. Count 16 of the charge reads “that you, Dr Bukola Saraki while being Senator of the Federal Republic of…

Showbiz superstar and social activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charlie Boy, on Tuesday said that he would, on November 15, lead a 10,000-man anti-corruption protest within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that : “In the life of every human being, there comes a moment when we must take a stand on certain matters. “Beginning from Nov. 15, 2016, we, about 10,000 ordinary people with no political affiliations, will begin a series of mass protests and will occupy the nation’s capital. “We are a coalition of people with no political…

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers was the Senate to prevail on the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to allow the rescheduled parliamentary re-run elections in the state to hold in an atmosphere of peace and devoid of bloodshed and falsehood. The party made the appeal while reacting to efforts by the Senate to ensure that the polls, which have been overly delayed because of fear of violence orchestrated by Wike and his PDP hoodlums, are held soon so as to avoid the denial of the electorate in the affected areas their right to choose their representatives in both…

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has won re-election, along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president. Although electoral authorities said the former Sandinista revolutionary won a landslide 72.5 per cent of votes, with 99.8 per cent of ballots counted, the opposition denounced the poll as an “electoral circus.” Ortega will be inaugurated in January 2017 for his third consecutive term and fourth overall, alongside his wife, principal spokesperson and now vice-president Rosario Murillo. Analysts believe the family ticket is a move to further consolidate power and control succession after Ortega, who is nearly 71 and rumoured to be ill. In…

Online retail company, Jumia Nigeria has announced the date and categories for the 2016 Black Friday sales event. This year, Black Friday will take place for 12 days, starting from Monday, November 14 to Friday, November 25 2016 on all Jumia websites. Big brands like AXA Mansard, MTN, Binatone, Innjoo, Infinix, Poly Star, HP, Intel, Etihad airways have partnered with Jumia to bring to Nigerians the largest shopping event of the year. Shoppers should expect increased sales inventory in all categories including – fashion, electronics, phones, computers, home, baby, health and beauty – up to 70 per cent discount of…

A trio of small towns in a remote corner of New Hampshire cast the first election day ballots for US president early Tuesday, with Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton 32 to 25 in the overall count. The three communities’ small handful of residents voted at the stroke of midnight, in an quadrennial election ritual that goes back to the first half of the 20th century. Members of the media far outnumbered the eight eligible voters in Dixville Notch, nestled in New Hampshire’s Great North Woods about 30 kilometres from Canada. Clinton, the Democratic Party’s nominee, beat Republican Trump four votes…

Militants in Nigeria have bombed a state-run oil pipeline near the southern port city of Warri, a community leader has said, AFP news agency reports. Four guards based at the Trans Forcados export line narrowly escaped death after the militants opened fire on them, Batan community chairman Dickson Ogugu told AFP. An army officer confirmed the attack, the agency reports. Last week, the line was bombed soon after President Muhammadu Buhari met with representatives of militant groups in the Niger Delta in a bid to end the unrest in the oil-rich region. The militants are demanding that the government spend…

A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) report has shown that nine in 10 Nigerian women that are smuggled to Europe come from Edo State. Edo is a predominantly Christian state with a population of 3 million. In a report by Reuters – Cycle of exploitation turns Nigerian sex slaves in Italy into traffickers – traffickers in Nigeria are exploiting Europe’s migration crisis, moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, anti-slavery activists say. “Edo women started going to Italy to buy gold and beads in the early 1980s and saw a thriving market in…

The Appeal Court in Lagos has nullified the monthly environmental sanitation in Lagos State, saying it is illegal and ordered the Lagos State Government not to restrict people’s movement on that day. The court which delivered its judgment at the weekend banned the state government from further restricting anyone’s movement within Lagos State at any time or day whatsoever on the basis of environmental sanitation as there is no written law to that effect. Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division held that in the absence of a written law prescribing the same, the governor’s directive for…

New facts have emerged about the indebtedness of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Plc, twenty months after its sale to core investor – Natcom Consortium – at the sum of $252.25 million. (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mtel, has put Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government debts to the defunct telecoms firm at N7.984 billion as of July 13, 2016. Private sector debts to the firm as of same date are put at N597 million. Detailed disclosures pertaining to assets and liabilities of the firm were contained in a report prepared by the liquidator, Otunba…