Author: Chronicle Editor

VP launches new manual to promote transparency, eliminate bottlenecks and illegal demands Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says aside the benefit of improved efficiency in the operations of the nation’s seaports, an effective implementation of innovative ideas in the port sector will rapidly change the narrative, the perception, and the ranking of Nigeria in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International. Prof. Osinbajo stated this Wednesday at the launch of the Process Manual on Port Operations in Nigeria, at a brief ceremony held at the Presidential Villa. The manual was developed by stakeholders led by the Technical Unit on Governance and…

Hunter Biden, the son of US President-elect Joe Biden has said his tax affairs are under investigation. The investigation is being conducted by federal prosecutors in Delaware. US media quote sources saying it relates to business dealings with foreign countries including China. Hunter Biden said he was confident he would be shown to have done no wrong. The Biden-Harris transition team said the president-elect was “deeply proud of his son”. A statement from the team said Hunter had “fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger”. Biden picks Lloyd Austin as defence…

The former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina on Thursday collapsed in court. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting Maina on a 12-count charge of fraud and money laundering before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The former pension boss collapsed when his counsel, Anayo Adibe was addressing the court on his no-case submission before Justice Okon Abang. Prior to Maina’s collapse, his counsel, Anayo Adibe had sued for adjournment on the basis that he was yet to be availed with the copies of the proceedings from the date of his…

The Federal Government on Thursday said that data prices has been reduced by more than 50 percent following a directive to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. Accordingly, the price of data of 1GB has been reduced from 1000 naira to 487 naira beginning from last week in November. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami who broke the news, said it was in line with the directive he gave to the regulatory agency (NCC) to put measures in place to reduce the average cost of data in the country. “The average cost of 1GB of data…

The Nigerian Army has cancelled the 2020 Chief of Army Staff’s annual conference after a participant tested positive for COVID-19. The army in a statement on Thursday explained that it cancelled the conference because of the second wave of the pandemic in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform members of the public that due to resurgence of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja in what appears to be a second wave of infection cycle,” Brigadier General Sagir Musa, acting director of army public relations said. He noted that, “The unfortunate incident on Tuesday 8 December…

Justice C.A. Balogun of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, adjourned to December 16, 2020 to rule on the admissibility or otherwise of two documents sought to be tendered in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against Abubakar Ali Peters, Chairman, Nadabo Energy, and his company, who are standing trial for an alleged N1.4 billion subsidy fraud. Peters alongside his company, Nababo Energy Limited, were arraigned on December 10, 2012 for offences bordering on obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and use of forged documents to the tune of N1,…

Two World Boxing Federation (WBF) title bouts will headline GOtv Boxing Night 22, the organisers have announced. The event, scheduled to hold 1 January in Lagos, will take place behind closed doors in line with the dictates of COVID-19 protocols and will feature a total of seven bouts. The welterweight category will see Nigeria’s Rilwan “Baby Face Babatunde, West African Boxing Union (WABU) champion fighting Tanzania’s Mkalekwa Salehe Omari for the WBF (International) title. The lightweight division will see the exciting Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu, WABU lightweight champion, taking on Ghana’s Emmanuel Quartey for the WBF (International) lightweight title. The…

Italy’s 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi has died aged 64, his family has disclosed. Rossi became a household name across the world after leading the Azzurri to victory at the tournament in Spain, finishing as top scorer and being named best player. After becoming a prolific scorer for Vicenza, he earned a move to Juventus and later played for AC Milan. His death was announced on Thursday, following what Italian media report had been a long illness. Rossi’s wife Federica Cappelletti posted a picture of them together on social media with the words “Per sempre” (“forever”). Maradona’s doctor under…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated the Process Manual on Port Operations in celebration of the 2020 International Anti-Corruption Day. Osinbajo, while performing the inauguration on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the manual would ensure predictability, promote efficiency and accountability as well as reduce corruption in the port processes. He said that the process would eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks faced by port users and reduce the opportunity for illegal demands in the ports. “In 2017, Executive Order 1 was issued, essentially to address, promote transparency and efficiency in the business environment, designed to facilitate the ease of doing…

The trial of Atiku Abubakar Kigo for police pension fraud, before Justice Hussien Baba of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, continued on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 with the testimony of the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Mustapha Sani Gadanya. Kigo, a former director in the Police Pension Office, is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside five others on amended eight-count charges, bordering on money laundering and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N24 billion. At today’s sitting, Gadanya, who is a staff of Ecobank in his testimony against the third defendant, Veronica Ulonma…