Author: Chronicle Editor

The Nigerian government on Monday raised the hope that it will exit its second recession in five years within a short time. It also listed measures that will take the economy out of the slowdown which it said was caused by the severity of the global downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs. Zainab Ahmed spoke in Abuja at the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). The President said the decline in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) came after 12 consecutive quarters of positive…

Apple’s head of global security Thomas Moyer has been charged with bribery. He is accused of offering bribes in the form of iPads worth $70,000 in order to obtain concealed firearms licenses. The charges were brought by a California grand jury on Monday. Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. Two police officers from Santa Clara County, California, have also been charged. County Undersheriff Rick Sung and Sheriff’s Captain James Jenson are accused of requesting bribes for concealed firearms licenses. Mr Moyer is accused of offering bribes to get them. Under state law, it is a crime to…

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry will act as climate envoy when US President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Mr Kerry was one of several people named for top positions by the Biden transition team on Monday. Other key picks included long-time Biden aide Antony Blinken as secretary of state, while reports say former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will be the choice for treasury secretary. Today, I’m announcing the first members of my national security and foreign policy team. They will rally the world to take on our challenges like no other—challenges that no one nation can face alone.…

Donald Trump has accepted a formal US transition should begin for President-elect Joe Biden to take office as Michigan certifies Biden’s election. The president said the federal agency overseeing the handover must “do what needs to be done”, even as he vowed to keep contesting his election defeat. The General Services Administration (GSA) said it was acknowledging Mr Biden as the “apparent winner”. It came as Mr Biden’s victory in the state of Michigan was officially certified, a major blow to Mr Trump. After the GSA announcement, the Pentagon said it would provide “support to the Biden team… in a…

Justice J.K Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has convicted and sentenced six foreigners and a Nigerian to seven years imprisonment for oil theft. They were jailed on Monday, November 23, 2020 after three years of diligent prosecution by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The foreigners are two Pakistanis: Mohammed Ejaz, Nasser Khan; two Ukranians: Oleksandr Nazarenko, Oleksandr Kashernvi; one Ghanaian: Romeo Annang, and one Indonesian: Fredrik Fatin Omenu. Their Nigerian counterpart: David Otuohi bagged same jail term with them in Port Harcourt. The convicts were…

Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development has supported a president of Igbo extraction. The coalition insisted that the presidency should rotate to the Southeast. The group, which said its support was borne out of the need for every zone to have a taste of the presidency, flayed the marginalisation of the Igbos since 1999. National Coordinator Zana Goni, and National Women Leader Maria Bichi, in a statement yesterday, appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to zone their tickets to the region. It emphasised the need for all political interest groups to allow…

The Federal Government has written Cable News Network (CNN) to explain that it violated the basic ethics of journalism in its report on Lekki shootings during the #EndSARS protests on October 20, 2020. It stated the investigation report was inaccurate and capable of pitching Nigerians against themselves. In a petition letter dated November 23 2020 entitled ‘Re: How a bloody night of bullets quashed a young protest movement’ signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the Federal demanded remediation from CNN management. The letter was addressed to VP Communication in CNN Centre Atlanta, Georgia, Jonathan Hawkins, VP…

The Kano Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday secured the conviction of one Rabiu Alhasan Dawaki before Justice Dije Abdu Aboki of the Kano State High Court on charges of conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. Dawaki was arraigned alongside two others Abdullahi Umar Rano and Samuel Obende who are now deceased on a 28 count charge bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of Trust. The three defendants, all former employees of an old generation bank, were responsible for receiving, processing and distributing of money to all their bank’s cash centres across Kano, Katsina…

Says this will reduce impact of inflation on ordinary Nigerians N15Trn Infrastructure company in the offing VP explains reduction of import duties on cars, says govt will buy locally assembled vehicles In order to reduce the impact of inflation on Nigerians, the Buhari administration through the 2020 Finance Bill is proposing the exemption of minimum wage earners from the Personal Income Tax. And when coupled with other items in the proposed Bill, and various economic policies of the Federal Government, these incentives would ensure the resilience of the Nigerian economy to exogenous shocks, according to President Muhammadu Buhari. The President…

Justice A.B. Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Minna, Niger State on Monday, November 23, 2020 adjourned till January 18 and 19, 2021 for continued trial of former Niger State governor, Muazu Babangida Aliyu and his then chief of staff, Umar Gado Nasko. Their trial could not hold today as it was noted that the representative of Nasko’s counsel, Mamman Mike Osman had on Thursday, November 19, 2020 filed an application for adjournment based on Osman’s ill health, which he served on the prosecution and first defence counsel. Though the counsel disclosed that he was in possession of Osman’s medical…