Author: Chronicle Editor

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will not attend the African Union summit in Rwanda this week, an official statement said Sunday, in a blow to plans to launch a major free trade treaty across 54 countries. The meeting in Kigali is intended to formally launch the African Continental Free Trade Area Treaty, which Nigeria’s cabinet endorsed last Wednesday. Buhari was scheduled to leave Abuja on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s launch but pulled out to allow for more consultations. “Mr President will no longer be travelling to Kigali for the event because certain key stakeholders in Nigeria indicated that they had not…

Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is holding off on a deal to become the new Chelsea manager as he is waiting to see what will happen at Arsenal. (Sunday Star) Neymar has put his future at French club Paris St-Germain in doubt by saying “five months have felt like five years” at the club since the 26-year-old forward joined from Barcelona for a world record £200m last summer. (UOL Esporte, via Sunday Express) Brazil international Neymar, who is out injured, wants a pay rise to stay with PSG next season. (Sunday Times – subscription required) PSG boss Unai Emery has…

The Brazilian senator and former football star Romario de Souza is to run for election as governor of Rio de Janeiro in October. The state has been racked by violence and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The 1994 World Cup winner – known simply as Romario – says his campaign will focus on tackling those problems. He will stand as a candidate for the centrist Podemos party. He has been praised as a senator for his battle against corruption in football. READ: SERAP writes UN, says Buhari failing to protect citizens from herdsmen “In these chaotic times, change is…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the UN Security Council and its members notifying them of President Muhammadu Buhari’s inability to protect Nigeria citizens from herdsmen attack. It also urged the UN to “urgently hold a special session on Nigeria and to visit the country to press the authorities to end continuing killings and destruction of property by suspected herdsmen across Nigeria, particularly in the North-Central of the country.” The organization also asked the Council to: “treat the atrocities by herdsmen as terrorist acts, in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2349 (2017),…

Russians are voting in an election that is likely to return Vladimir Putin for a fourth term as president. Voting began in the Russian far-east at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, and opened in Moscow nine hours later. More than 100 million people are eligible to vote. Exit polls are expected late on Sunday. Mr Putin is hoping for another six-year term and faces seven other candidates. He said he would see as a success any result that gave him the “right to perform the duties of president.” His comments were carried on national TV as he voted in Moscow. Mr…

Florida officials were told “there were no safety concerns” about a crack in a Miami university bridge, hours before it collapsed killing six people. Florida International University said a meeting on Thursday morning involved the engineering and construction companies, as well as Florida’s transport department. An engineer told officials it “did not compromise the structural integrity”. The bridge fell on eight vehicles about three hours later. In a statement, the university said the “engineer of record” from the contractor FIGG gave a technical presentation regarding the crack, in a meeting which lasted about two hours. It comes after it emerged…

Russia is to expel 23 British diplomats in a row over the nerve agent attack on an-ex spy and his daughter in the UK. The Russian foreign ministry said the UK staff would be expelled from Moscow within a week in response to Britain’s decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats. It also said it would close the British Council in Russia, which promotes cultural ties between the nations, and the British Consulate in St Petersburg. Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain critically ill in hospital. They were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 4 March. The…

Africa’s only remaining female president Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of Mauritius has resigned, over a credit card scandal, according to her lawyer. The move came after Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth accused her of backpedalling on a promise to quit amid allegations of misconduct and threatening unspecified actions if she did not step down. The dispute between the two leaders has ratcheted up uncertainty on the Indian Ocean island, which has been politically and economically stable since it gained independence from Britain in 1968. The World Bank ranks the country as the easiest place to do business in Africa. Gurib-Fakim, the country’s first…

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of Senator Ali Wakili from Bauchi State as “an incalculable loss to Nigeria’s democracy whose dedication to duty was remarkable and worthy of emulation.” Wakili, 58, and a member of the All Progressives Congress, was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Poverty Alleviation and represented Bauchi South. The President said that the death of the senator came as a great shock to him, adding that his dedication to duty would remain one of the greatest virtues for which the deceased would be remembered. According to President Buhari, “the passion for duty was…

Christian Eriksen scored twice as Tottenham reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a comfortable victory over Swansea at Liberty Stadium. The midfielder hit a stunning strike early in the first half and hit the bar before Erik Lamela’s curling effort doubled Spurs’ lead. Eriksen made it three after the break with a powerful low drive. Tottenham’s last-four opponents will be revealed in the draw on Sunday following Leicester’s tie with Chelsea. Eriksen could have had an assist in the first half when he played in Son Heung-min but the striker’s goal was ruled out for offside – which was confirmed…