Author: Chronicle Editor

7.4m plunged into extreme poverty in 2020, says Oxfam Three Nigerian billionaires’ wealth increased to $6.9 billion during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, an Oxfam report said. The report did not however mention the three billionaires but Chronicle NG reports that the three billionaires made their fortune as more Nigerians slipped into poverty. According to the report, the total wealth of the three billionaires in Nigeria now equal $24.9 billion. The billionaires saw their wealth increase by 38.3 per cent during the pandemic while 7.4 million people were estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty…

France striker Anthony Martial, 26, wants to leave Manchester United but does not want to go out on loan to another English club. Barcelona, Sevilla and Juventus are three options for a January move. (Fabrizio Romano) Manchester United are targeting Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn, 27, in the summer transfer window. (Telegraph – subscription required) Newcastle United have offered a fee of over 30m euros (£25.1m) for Atalanta and Colombia striker Duvan Zapata, 30. (Daily Record) Rangers left-back Borna Barisic, 29, has confirmed a club made a move for him earlier in the transfer window, amid rumours linking…

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state says his administration has established village security structure as part of efforts to tackle insecurity in the state, especially banditry. Masari disclosed this on Sunday in Katsina when he received the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on a condolence visit over the recent murder of his Commissioner, Dr. Rabe Nasir. According to the governor, the village security structure consists of the village heads, the two religious leaders that are dominant in the areas and also the head of butchers. Other members of the structure are head of barbers, officials in the motor parks,…

The Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), an umbrella body for APC governors has given assurance that the party’s national convention will hold in February. Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Chairman of the PGF gave the assurance while speaking with journalists at the end of a closed door meeting on Sunday night in Abuja. Bagudu, who did not give a specific date for the event, said the February date as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari was sacrosanct and still feasible for the conduct of the event. He added that the APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), as an organ…

Gunmen have abducted Da Gyang Balak, Gwom Rwei (District Head) of Vwang District of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau state. Major Ishaku Takwa, the Media Officer of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) maintaining peace in Plateau and environs confirmed the incident in statement on Monday in Jos. He said that the chief was kidnapped on Sunday night on his way to Vom. He said that troops of the operation and other security agencies have launched a manhunt on the criminals and to rescue the monarch. Gunmen kill eight in Plateau market attack “Troops of OPSH conjunction with other security…

The Nigerian government has warned citizens to beware of the activities of fraudsters claiming to be disbursing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Survival Fund of N80, 000. A statement issued on Monday by Mr Tola Adekunle-Johnson, Coordinator, Project Delivery Office (PDO) of the Federal Government’s MSME Survival Fund Scheme said the fraudsters try to steal from unsuspecting members of the public. “The fraudsters scam the public under the guise of the MSME Survival Fund Scheme,” he said. Adekunle-Johnson stated that tracks of the survival fund scheme have closed, but even the initial verification process did not require beneficiaries dropping…

Blue economy offers a new vista, says Osinbajo Bringing together top officials from Federal and State governments, international agencies alongside other stakeholders, the Buhari administration is set to further explore the economic opportunities available through oceanic and marine resources around the country. This is as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, inaugurated an Expanded Partnership Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy today at the Presidential Villa. The committee that is chaired by the Vice President is composed of state governors, several ministers, representatives of military and security agencies and other members from the private sector. The Blue Economy is the sustainable use of…

The Benin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, January 14, 2022 arraigned Anumati Stella Ojevwe before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State. Ojevwe was arraigned on a 14-count charge of money laundering. The defendant is alleged to have received the sum of N105, 000,000 (One Hundred and Five Million) from SA-FX Global investment. One of the charges reads: “That you Anumati Stella Ojevwe (f) on or about the 27th day of October, 2020 at Delta State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court directly took possession or…

Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski was named 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, while Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo landed the special award. Lewandowski, 33, claimed the prize for the second consecutive year after scoring 69 goals. He won ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Paris St-Germain’s Lionel Messi. Ronaldo was lauded for being the men’s international all-time top scorer. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas won the Best FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. Lewandowski broke the late Gerd Muller’s 49-year record for scoring the most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year with 43 in 34 league appearances. Chelsea…

Three fuel trucks exploded, killing three people, and a fire broke out near Abu Dhabi airport on Monday in what Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said was an attack deep inside the United Arab Emirates, the region’s commercial and tourism hub. If confirmed, a Houthi drone strike on the UAE capital would take the war between the group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to rescue a nuclear deal. The UAE, a member of the coalition, has armed and trained local Yemeni forces that recently joined…