Author: Chronicle Editor

• Warns IGP against disregarding invitations • Reps investigate non-remittance of NSITF funds The Senate is set to commence an investigation into an alleged $1.35 billion fraud in the power sector. The upper chamber yesterday asked Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) to present a substantive motion on what it called a series of financial abuses in the sector, particularly since 2015. Citing Order 42 of the Senate Standing Rule, Melaye had requested that he be allowed by the Senate to present a motion containing the details of how $1billion Eurobond raised in 2013 to fund key power projects was…

Arsenal sealed their place in the Europa League round of 32 with an unconvincing goalless draw with Red Star Belgrade at the Emirates. The Gunners failed to replicate their victory over Red Star a fortnight ago, but a draw, coupled with Cologne’s victory over BATE Borisov, secured their passage to the knockout phase. A much-changed Arsenal side controlled possession but conceded the best chances as Richmond Boakye spurned a gilt-edged opportunity in either half to claim a famous Red Star victory. Having been omitted from the latest England squad, Jack Wilshere nearly gave Gareth Southgate food for thought with the…

Everton were dumped out of the Europa League with two games to spare after slipping to a 3-0 defeat against Lyon. Second half goals from former Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore (69), Houssem Aouar (76) and Memphis Depay (88) leaves the Toffees with just one point in Group E after four games and facing an impossible task to qualify. Everton are the first English side to not win any of their first four games of a Europa League campaign. Since taking over from Ronald Koeman, caretaker boss David Unsworth has failed to arrest their slide, losing all three of his games…

Bitcoin climbed past $7 000 for the first time, breaching another milestone less than one month after it tore through the $5 000 mark. Spot pricing for bitcoin climbed as much as 7.1% to a high of $7 045.46 before pulling back slightly to $6 977.40 at 10:27. The cryptocurrency is up as much as 640% this year and is now worth more than $100 billion. The digital currency got new impetus this week after CME Group, the world’s largest exchange owner, said it plans to introduce bitcoin futures by the end of the year, citing pent-up demand from clients.…

…Orders MDAs To Engage Informal Sector In Executing Govt Projects, Contracts …Vows Continuous Implementation Of Policies To Advance Sector Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday presented certificates to 1,500 artisans and traders in the State who were retrained on modular employability programme as part of efforts to scale up the informal sector with the view to making members meet up with current realities. The beneficiaries drawn from various associations under the auspices of the Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans (LASCOTA), were solely trained by the State Government for enhanced productivity in a total of twenty-four trades…

England have called up the uncapped Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil this month. Chelsea striker Abraham, 20, has scored five goals this season since joining Swansea on loan. Defender Gomez, 20, has been a Liverpool regular, while Chelsea midfielder Loftus-Cheek, 21, has played seven games on loan at Crystal Palace. The full squad will be announced at 14:00 GMT. England play Germany on 10 November and Brazil on 14 November at Wembley. READ: The result that makes Spurs Champions League contenders? Swansea boss Paul Clement said Abraham had been “picked on…

The main suspect in the New York truck rampage that killed eight people on Tuesday has told investigators he began planning the attack a year ago. Sayfullo Saipov, 29, said he intended to kill as many people as possible and “felt good” about the Halloween attack. The Uzbek immigrant, who faces federal terrorism charges, says he was inspired by so-called Islamic State. He was shot and injured by police at the scene. READ: Saraki directs MDAs to submit outstanding scholarships to Senate US President Donald Trump tweeted that he should receive the death penalty. The charges filed against Mr Saipov…

The Plateau Government says it generated N7.7 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from January to September 2017. Mr Dashe Arlat, Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos that the feat was due to hard work. Arlat described the collection of revenue as “huge’’ and “very encouraging” and attributed and also linked the development to the commitment of members of the staff of the service, coupled with the recent reforms in the organisation. The Chairman expressed happiness over the monthly collections which he said were in sharp deviation from…

Some street sweepers under the Edo Waste Management Board in Benin, on Thursday, staged a protest in Government House over non-payment of their seven months salaries. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions, “Gov. Obaseki hear our cry”, “Pay us our money” and “Commissioner for Environment where is our money’’? One of the protesters, Mrs Magdalene Osemwenkhae, said non-payment of their salaries had made life difficult and brought hard ship on the well being of their families. READ: Buhari to present 2018 budget on Nov 7 Osemwenkhae appealed to all relevant authorities in the state to urgently pay them without further…

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will present the 2018 budget to the national assembly on 7 November, he said in a letter on Thursday. Buhari is seeking to avoid the delays that have plagued previous budgets, not passed until well into the years they targeted. The letter was read in the lower house of parliament by the chamber’s speaker, Yakubu Dogara. Nigeria, with Africa’s largest economy, is seeking to spend heavily to promote growth. The country only just climbed out of its first recession in 25 years in the second quarter of 2017, but still grew at a slow clip. READ:…