Author: Chronicle Editor

A bill seeking to prohibit open urination and defecation in Nigeria on Wednesday scaled second reading in the Senate. The bill which seeks to establish the Clean Nigeria Agency was sponsored by senator Clifford Ordia (PDP, Edo). Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, the lawmaker recalled that on 20th November, 2019, the President issued a Presidential Executive Order on “The Open Defecation Free Nigeria by 2025 and Other Related Matters”. He added that pursuant to this Order, a secretariat in the Ministry of water resources called “Clean Nigeria Campaign Secretariat” was created to coordinate and drive…

The Presidency wishes to make it clear that there is no rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and his strong ally, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The President and the Asiwaju have a very strong commitment to the All Progressives Congress, APC towards bringing CHANGE and this is a commitment they have made to the Nigerian people. Recent reports of a rift between the two leaders of our party are false; the handiwork of some media mischief makers. It is quite unfortunate that certain sections of the media feed on birthing controversies, providing a nexus for naysayers who work behind the scenes…

The Senate, on Wednesday, considered a bill seeking to establish a fund specifically to cater for the welfare of families of dead military and security personnel. The bill for an Act to Establish the Families of Fallen Servicemen Support Fund, was sponsored by Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South). Leading debate on the bill, the lawmaker said, the piece of legislation, would, among other things, establish a Fund to be known as ’The Families of Fallen Serviceman Support Fund’ into which shall be paid all monies prescribed under the Bill and monies received as donations, bequeaths, trusts and contributions for…

The buyer of Twitter’s first ever tweet by its founder Jack Dorsey for $2.9m (£2.1m) sees it as a wise investment. “It’s a piece of human history in the form of a digital asset. Who knows what will be the price of the first tweet of human history 50 years from now,” Malaysia-based Sina Estavi said. Mr Estavi compared his newly-acquired tweet to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Experts agree that the first tweet from the Twitter founder on his own platform is a highly valuable asset. Jack Dorsey’s tweet, which said “just setting up my twttr,” was first published…

The Senate, Wednesday, mandated the Committees on Interior and Foreign Affairs to engage the Ministers of both the Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries, the Comptroller General of immigration, and Ambassadors and Consular Officers on the need to immediately introduce measures to make it easy for Nigerians abroad to renew their passports. The decision was reached amidst resolutions of the upper chamber after a motion titled: “Urgent need to remove the difficulty faced by Nigerians outside of the shores of Nigeria in renewing their Passport” was considered during plenary. Sponsor of the motion, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South), noted with…

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agricultural Development Fund. The passage of the bill followed consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Presenting the report, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) explained that the purpose for the establishment of the Fund is to provide finance to support the strategic aspect of Agricultural Development in Nigeria. He observed that to date, Nigeria is yet to fully implement the 2003 MAPUTO Declaration on Agriculture requiring State Parties to allocate 10 percent of its National budget to…

Myanmar freed more than 600 coup detainees on Wednesday, including an Associated Press photographer arrested while covering rallies, following fresh outrage over brutal crackdowns on protesters. The regime has unleashed a deadly wave of violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the February 1 ouster and arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The 75-year-old was due to have a court hearing on Wednesday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, on criminal charges that could see her permanently barred from political office. But her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said the hearing was adjourned until April 1 because of problems…

Gunmen have abducted three veterinary doctors at their commercial poultry farms in Pampo village of Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi said the incident happened around the Eyenkonrin area. While noting that the police operatives were on the trail of the kidnappers, Okasanmi said one of the three kidnapped doctors who escaped alerted the police. ‘Why we allowed Hijab-wearing in schools’ -Kwara governor On whether the kidnappers were dressed in military uniforms, the police spokesperson said that does not matter. He also assured that the remaining two…

Multichoice Nigeria has announced that the winner of this season’s popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija (BBNaija), will win a grand prize of N90m. MultiChoice Nigeria, on Wednesday, March 24, announced that it is offering customers on its DStv and GOtv platforms the opportunity to be among the first to be auditioned for the sixth season of the Big Brother Naija reality show. https://twitter.com/BBNaija/status/1374761726604931074?s=20 Court orders extension of NIN-SIM linkage by 2 months BBNaija hopefuls who are 21 years or older and of Nigerian nationality with a valid Nigerian passport, will get an early audition when they pay…

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) said on Wednesday it had extended the ban on its former president Sepp Blatter and former secretary-general Jerome Valcke by six years and eight months, in relation to the receipt of huge bonuses. Blatter, who is 85, received 23 million Swiss francs ($24.6 million) in “extraordinary bonuses” linked to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as well as the Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil that preceded it, FIFA’s Ethics Committee said in a statement. Valcke, the 60-year-old Frenchman who was Blatter’s right-hand man during his…