Author: Chronicle Editor

Premier League clubs have voted to close next summer’s transfer window before the 2018-19 season starts. Managers have complained that signing players once the season is under way causes disruption to their squads and preparations. From next season, the window will close at 17:00 BST on the Thursday before the Premier League campaign begins. The vote was not unanimous and clubs will still be able to sell players until the end of the normal window. Fourteen Premier League clubs voted in favour of the amendment, which was the minimum total needed for the plans to be approved. Manchester United, Manchester…

An ecologist, Mr Abdullahi Aremu, on Thursday urged the Federal Government and other relevant stakeholders to adopt flood proof technologies that could minimise the effect of floods in the country. Aremu, who is the Director-General, Advocacy for Environmental and Sanitation Integrity, an NGO, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. The ecologist was reacting to the floods which recently destroyed many property and rendered thousands homeless in Benue and Katsina States. “Floods occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all the water. “Water then runs off the land in…

The Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to sign the Chartered Institute of Statisticians of Nigeria (CISON) Bill into law. The bill has been passed by the National Assembly for more than two years but has not been signed by the President. The National Secretary of NSA, Dr Olatunji Arowolo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos. Arowolo spoke on the sideline of a three-day maiden edition of International Statistical Conference, organised by NSA. He said that the association would transit from NSA to CISON, once…

Alexis Sanchez will have no problems reproducing his best form for Arsenal after an “uncomfortable” transfer window, says manager Arsene Wenger. Chile forward Sanchez, 28, came close to joining Manchester City on deadline day, but Wenger has “no doubt about Alexis’ mind and mentality”. Arsenal agreed a £60m deal with City but it depended on them signing Thomas Lemar, who decided to stay with Monaco. “He will be back very quickly to his best,” said the Frenchman. “The transfer market is over, there was a lot going on. It’s very difficult to speak about because Lemar is now at Monaco…

Hurricane Irma has caused widespread destruction across the Caribbean, reducing buildings to rubble and leaving at least 10 people dead. The small island of Barbuda is said to be “barely habitable”. Officials warn that St Martin is almost destroyed, and the death toll is likely to rise. Irma is a category five hurricane, the highest possible level. It is currently north of the Dominican Republic, heading towards Turks and Caicos. READ: #USOpen: Del Potro beat Roger Federer in four sets The most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, it has sustained wind speeds of 285km/h (180mph). What are the worst-hit…

The strike by resident doctors will continue despite a meeting between them and a federal government delegation, officials have said. The meeting in Abuja ended in the early hours of Thursday between the leaders of the striking doctors, NARD, and a federal government delegation that included the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and that of health, Isaac Adewole. A statement by the labour ministry after the meeting which lasted several hours said the strike would continue until at least Friday when the doctors are expected to meet to review the offer by the government on their demands including payment of…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday confirmed, at least one reported Lassa fever case, in each of 19 states in current the outbreak which started in December 2016. The development was published in a report on NCDC’s website. The 19 states are Ogun, Bauchi, Plateau, Ebonyi, Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kaduna, Gombe, Cross River, Borno, Kano, Kogi, Enugu, Anambra, Kwara and Lagos. Read Also Borno records 23 cholera deaths, 530 suspected cases, says UN agency The report said the outbreak was active in Ondo, Edo, Plateau, Bauchi, Ogun, Kaduna, Kwara and Lagos states. The report said…

First Bank of Nigeria Limited in partnership with Visa has introduced a Mobile Payments Solution – mVisa. This mobile solution allows customers pay for goods and services by scanning a QR code using the FirstMobile App on their smart phones. The QR Code is a trademark from a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs or other information for reading by the camera on a smartphone. Payment goes straight from the consumer’s FirstBank account into the merchant’s account and provides real-time notification to both parties. The launch of mVisa adds to…

Cholera has claimed no fewer than 23 deaths and 530 suspected cases in Borno, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday. The UN agency added in a statement that a cholera outbreak was first reported by the state’s Ministry of Health, adding that the first case was recorded on Aug. 16, 2017. “Over 530 suspected cases had been registered as of Sept. 5, 2017, including 23 deaths (4.3 per cent fatality rate).“The outbreak is mainly in Muna Garage, a camp hosting at least 20,000 internally displaced persons on the outskirts of the state capital,…

FIFA on Wednesday ordered a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal to be replayed after the referee was banned for match fixing. The November 2016 tie, which will be restaged in November, was won by South Africa 2-1 after Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded them a controversial penalty. Lamptey was initially suspended for three months by African football’s ruling body CAF for awarding a penalty for a non-existant handball”, with FIFA handing down the life ban in March. Read Also Russia funded divisive political campaign on facebook News of the rematch comes as a boost for Senegal, who…