Author: Chronicle Editor

President Donald Trump has agreed to give China’s ByteDance 45 days to negotiate a sale of popular short-video app TikTok to Microsoft Corp, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. US officials have said TikTok under its Chinese parent poses a national risk because of the personal data it handles. Trump said on Friday he was planning to ban the social media platform in the United States after dismissing the idea of a sale to Microsoft. But following a discussion between Trump and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the Redwood, Washington-based company said in a statement on Sunday…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar have warned that the loans agreements between China and Nigeria could jeopardise the nation’s sovereignty. They faulted some terms of the loans, saying they might lead to mortgaging Nigeria’s future to China, in the event of a default in repayment. In a statement on Sunday in Abuja by its spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said: “Nigerians can recall that our party had, on May 28, 2020, alerted that the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the APC had placed our nation on the international auction market with accumulation of foreign loans under…

US President Donald Trump will take action “in the coming days” against Chinese-owned software that he believes pose a national security risk, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Mr Pompeo said popular video app TikTok was among those “feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party”. His comments came days after Mr Trump said he was banning TikTok in the US. The company has denied accusations that it is controlled by or shares data with the Chinese government. Speaking to Fox News Channel, Mr Pompeo said the action would be taken “with respect to a broad array of national security…

Parents of private school pupils on Sunday in Ogun state protested the demand for N25,000 as COVID-19 testing fee. The government said it would bear the full cost of the test for boarding Senior Secondary Three (SS3) pupils in public schools. It asked private school owners to ensure that their boarding pupils are certified COVID-19-negative. The state said it negotiated a discount in the cost of COVID-19 test with some healthcare service providers, but that parents were free to use others. The state said private schools could also apply for a waiver. Osinbajo urges young Nigerians to use COVID-19 as…

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state says despite escalating killings by bandits, only 30 policemen provide security in 100 villages in the state. The governor has however stated that his state would amend its extant laws to give power to village heads and local authorities in the battle against the bandits. Masari, at a luncheon by Nigerian Air Force to celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir with frontline troops in Katsina, lamented that 30 policemen were “grossly inadequate” especially now that the bandits had become emboldened. “This would complement ongoing efforts to emplace a robust community policing structure, whilst addressing the gross deficit…

A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report has revealed that customers are paying more on loans and getting less on deposits from commercial banks. The report released over the weekend showed that customers paid between 15.01 per cent and 30.70 per cent on loans while accrued interest on deposits dropped by 1.46 per cent to 6.27 per cent. In the CBN’s economic report for the first quarter of 2020, the average prime and maximum lending rates rose by 0.02 per cent point and 0.47 per cent point, respectively, to 15.01 per cent and 30.70 per cent, in the review period. The…

The Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed more adjustments to Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), to enable it conduct of general elections and the supervision of parties’ shadow polls more independently. These proposals are in line with the vision of its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to address some of the lapses in the electoral law. The draft amendment has been submitted to the National Assembly  – due to begin its assignment after their return from annual vacation next month. Some of the highlights of the proposed amendment include: Election to hold on a date to be picked by INEC Primaries…

A former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Barnabas Gemade, has returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC), after a stint in Social Democratic Party (SDP). Hundreds of PDP and SDP followers joined him at his Mbawar Ward in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State where he said his return followed due consideration for his political environment and the state. The former PDP national chairman described his return to APC as home-coming. Between 2015 and 2019, Gemade represented Benue North East Senatorial District on the platform of APC. He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, APC…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for lacking the locus standi and moral right to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerians for obtaining loans to execute some developmental projects. Reacting to Atiku’s statement in a telephone interview, APC deputy national publicity secretary, Yekini Nabena, said the former Vice-President insulted the sensibility of Nigerians by his call. “This is the person that should apologise to Nigerians. His party plundered the fortunes of the country due to their recklessness,” APC said. It added: “Vice-President Abubakar is not in any position to talk about borrowing and…

Ka3na and Lilo have become the first evictions from Big Brother Naija lockdown season after they were sent packing on Sunday amid wild emotions. As is expected with every season, the eviction show which started around 7:00 pm took an unusual twist. Without waste of time, the show host, Ebuka announced the four housemates who polled the least votes; Lilo, Eric, Ka3na and Praise and asked them to stand up, after which Big Brother asked the remaining ‘safe’ housemates to select two persons whom they would love to evict from the show. One after the other, they were called into…