Author: Chronicle Editor

At last, the British High Commission has issued visas to some Nigerian athletes listed for the London 2017 World Athletics Championships, which begins today. This is coming just as the world athletics governing body, IAAF, has appointed immediate past president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, as Chief Scrutineer for the 51st IAAF Congress holding today in London. For the past few days, AFN officials had been lamenting the delay by the British High Commission to issue visas for the athletes and their coaches to enable them jet into the championship venue in London. The Guardian learnt yesterday…

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode disclosed that the reconstruction of Oshodi-Ikeja International Airport Road will begin in September. The governor disclosed this at the 3rd Quarterly Town Hall Meeting at Badore area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. The governor said the road would be developed into a 10-lane road befitting an international road. Ambode also disclosed that the the planned construction of 181 roads across LGs/LCDAs of the State would now begin in September. He said the construction of the roads had been delayed because of the exchange rate, saying that by the time the projects were advertised in January 2017,…

Former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing – ruling out a rematch with Britain’s Anthony Joshua. The Ukrainian, 41, was knocked out in the 11th round by current champion Joshua at Wembley Stadium in April. Joshua, 27, had hoped Klitschko would sign his rematch clause for a proposed fight in Las Vegas on 11 November. “I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports,” said Klitschko. The two-time former champion, who held the unified title from 2006-2015 before losing to Joshua’s fellow Briton Tyson Fury, ends his career…

Neymar’s imminent 222m euro (£198m) transfer to Paris-St Germain is “not expensive” but the consequences will cause “problems”, says Jose Mourinho. The Brazil forward, 25, told Barcelona he wanted to leave on Wednesday. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp criticised the proposed world-record deal in light of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules. “I thought Fair Play was made so that situations like that can’t happen,” said Klopp. “That’s more of a suggestion than a real rule.” Neymar’s transfer would top Paul Pogba’s then world-record move from Juventus to Manchester United last summer by more than £100m. READ: FA Introduces Retrospective Action And…

The Federal Government has commenced consultations with stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, aimed at re-activating Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO), the Bonga oilfield. At the bi- annual stakeholders engagement meeting in Abuja, Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, said the oilfield is very important to Nigeria, and both should implement its mandate for the sustainability of the project. Represented by the Director of Environmental Assessment, John Alonge, he urged SNEPCO to make integrity, transparency as its watchword, in all transactions. He stressed that there must be compliance because both have lots of issues to…

Two people were killed when a small plane made an emergency landing at a beach in Costa da Caparica in Portugal. The victims were an 8-year-old girl and a 56-year-old man, the Portuguese National Maritime Authority said on Wednesday. The two were not related. Both victims were caught by surprise on the beach and unable to avoid the impact when the aircraft made the emergency landing, officials said. A teenage girl was also slightly injured while dodging the plane, said Cmdr. Jose Isabel of the Portuguese Maritime Police. All the victims were Portuguese, Isabel said. Two men who were on…

• Says economic rebound can’t tackle unemployment • Lauds apex bank’s tight monetary policy The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the Bretton Woods monetary institutions with a focus on global economy, has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against continuous interventions in the country’s move to address her infrastructural challenges. The advice by the IMF, which just concluded her Article IV Consultation (country’s economic policies review), is based on the argument that continuous intervention (spending outside government’s budgetary provisions) is encouraging a lot of laxity and indiscipline in fiscal administration of the country thus exposing the economy to…

Neymar has agreed a five-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain and is due in Paris within the next two days to finalise the most expensive transfer in world football history, according to Sky sources. Sky Sports News understands that Neymar decided to leave Barcelona following talks on holiday near Rio de Janeiro in early July, before he joined the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. He is expected to arrive in the French capital by Friday at the latest to complete his move. It is understood the total value of the deal is worth nearly £450m (€500m), which includes wages,…

President Donald Trump has signed into a law a bill which imposes new sanctions on Russia for their alleged meddling in the 2016 election. The bill, which was signed in private at the White House, also imposes sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Mr Trump accused Congress of overreach on the legislation, which “handcuffs” him from easing Russia penalties. Moscow denies interfering in the US election, and Mr Trump has denied colluding with the Kremlin. Hours after the US president signed the bill, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This isn’t news. “The thing is, the bill was approved and was…

Adamawa Government has confirmed the death of seven people in an early morning attack on Midlu village of Vapura ward in Madagali Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday. The community hosts Sukur World heritage site which was destroyed by the insurgents in 2014. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Malam Ahmad Sajoh, confirmed the development to newsmen in Yola. He said the insurgents attacked the village and killed six people while one of the attackers was also killed. Read Also Gunmen Carryout Another kidnap In Lagos “They (insurgents) attacked around 2 a.m. killing six people while one of…