Author: Chronicle Editor

The Vice-President of The Gambia, Mrs Fatoumata Tambajang, has said that The Gambia would ‘collapse’ if Nigerian professionals in the country withdraw their services or leave the country. Tambajang made the remark at a dinner organised for the Nigerian delegation to the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the Nigeria House, New York, on Thursday night. The vice-president, who was represented by Dr Mamadou Tangara, the Ambassador/Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the UN, commended Nigeria for its numerous support to her country. She said: Gambia is very grateful to Nigeria for its support. If Nigeria withdraws…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned Kayode Odukoya, Managing Director FirstNation Airways on a four-count charge of forgery, use of false information, perjury and stealing to the tune of N1. 7 billion. He was arraigned before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Friday. The defendant allegedly forged the Memorandum of Loss of Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy in respect of a property located in Lagos, so it could be acted upon as genuine. One of the counts reads: “That you, Kayode Odukoya, on or about the 21st day of March, 2013 in…

Striker Alvaro Morata has been left out of the Spain squad but Diego Costa, who he replaced at Chelsea, has been recalled for two friendly matches. The 25-year-old has made 39 appearances for the Blues this season but has not scored for them in 2018. Costa, who joined Atletico Madrid in September, has been recalled for the first time since June 2017. Spain play Germany in Dusseldorf on 23 March before hosting Argentina in Madrid four days later. READ: I’m not going to run away or cry because of a few boos – Mourinho Morata’s domestic team-mate Marcos Alonso is…

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said he is not “afraid of his responsibilities” during a 12-minute defence of his record in the wake of the Champions League exit to Sevilla. Mourinho was criticised for his approach to the match, prompting a wide-ranging monologue in the build-up to Saturday’s FA Cup tie with Brighton. He began by saying: “I am alive.” “I am not going to run away or disappear or to cry because I heard a few boos,” added the 55-year-old. Mourinho arrived at Friday’s news conference with a neat piece of green paper underneath his diary. On it was…

A don, Prof. Ifeoma Nwoye, has advocated implementation of poverty alleviation solutions that can foster and stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit in poverty–stricken areas of Nigeria. Nwoye made the call when she delivered the 10th Inaugural Lecture of Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai, Niger, with the title, “That Evil Called Poverty: Entrepreneurial Escape to Comfort Zone”. She said that if the government wanted to offer resource-assistance to the poor, “the leaders should do so not through handouts.” Nwoye said instead of handouts, the poor should be empowered through boosting of programmes to be “handled by the poor themselves and non-governmental organisations and…

South Africa’s former President, Jacob Zuma, is to face prosecution for 18 charges of corruption, the director of public prosecutions has confirmed. They include more than 700 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering. He denies the charges. Mr Zuma, 75, was forced to resign as president last month by his party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He was facing his ninth no-confidence vote in parliament before he left office. The charges against Mr Zuma relate to a 30bn rand ($2.5bn; £1.7bn) government arms deal in the late 1990s, before he became president. Zuma’s corruption charges: A brief history…

The chief executive of a company that created highly-secure smartphones allegedly used by some of the world’s most notorious criminals has been indicted. Canadian-based Phantom Secure made “tens of millions of dollars” selling the modified Blackberry devices for use by the likes of the Sinaloa Cartel, investigators said. The charges marked the first time US authorities have targeted a company for knowingly making encrypted technology for criminals. The Department of Justice arrested Vincent Ramos in Seattle last week. He was indicted on Thursday along with four associates. The BBC has been unable to reach Phantom Secure. READ: United Nations staff…

United Nations staff in Geneva have called a strike for Friday after winning support from 90 per cent of more than 1,000 employees who cast ballots, the staff council said. “The rare move will shut down the Human Rights Council and other meetings held at the UN European headquarters in the Swiss city,” it said on Thursday. Angry UN staff in Geneva began protesting in May against a 7.5 per cent cut to their salaries, the equivalent of almost a month’s pay, which has now taken effect for professional level staff. The salary cut was proposed by the International Civil…

The political atmosphere is charged in Kwara State as no fewer than 800 members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Iyiola Oyedepo, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, received the defectors in Ilorin on Friday during the visit of executive members of the party in the North Central Zone. Dr Hanafi Alabere, who led the defectors from Alanamu Ward in Ilorin West Local Government Area, said they were fed up with the APC. Oyedepo, in his remarks, told the visiting zonal executives that no notable member of…

Arsenal have been drawn against Russian side CSKA Moscow in the Europa League quarter-finals. The Gunners will host the first leg at Emirates Stadium on 5 April with the return leg in Moscow a week later. Spanish side Atletico Madrid, who are second in La Liga, face Sporting Lisbon of Portugal. In the other ties Germany’s RB Leipzig play Marseille from France, while Italian club Lazio face Salzburg of Austria. READ: #UCLDraw: Liverpool face Man City and Juventus entertain Madrid Arsenal beat AC Milan 3-1 on Thursday, for a 5-1 aggregate win, to reach their first European quarter-final since 2010.…