Author: Chronicle Editor

Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a world record fee of £160million for the signing of Kylian Mbappe from Monaco. The Spanish giants will pay €160m (£143m) up front and a further €20m (£17m) in add-ons for the young hotshot France international, according to Spanish newspaper Marca. Assuming Neymar does not leave Barcelona for a mooted move to Paris Saint-Germain, said deal would break the huge £89m figure that Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last summer. He would be offered a six-year contract by the Champions League holders and would earn €7m (£6.2m) annually in the agreement or £119,000-per-week. READ:…

The Kogi government on Monday distributed food, drugs, sanitary items and cash to 18 registered orphanages across the state. Mrs. Bolanle Amupitan, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, who handled the exercise, said that the gesture was aimed at improving the living standards of the orphans. “Government has resolved that the children must be well fed; we have resolved never to allow the circumstances of their birth to define their future,” she said. Mrs. Clara Owosagba, Matron, Stagi Orphanage, Lokoja, one of the benefiting Homes, while thanking government for the gesture, praised Gov Yahaya Bello’s efforts toward a…

Ibrahim Magu, the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the South-South to closely monitor contract awards and execution by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Magu made the call in Port-Harcourt at an interactive session with CSO leaders in Rivers and Bayelsa states on Monday. A statement issued by the commission quoted Magu as saying that proper monitoring of contract award and implementation by citizens is an effective way of fighting the evil of project abandonment in the country. “We must monitor how contracts are being given and how…

The Times of India has reported the arrest of five Nigerians and an Indian lady by the Indian police, the latest in the serial busting of Nigerian gangs either for drug related crimes or fraud. According to the newspaper, the Nigerians and their Indian accomplice were found in possession of a wide variety of drugs, including cocaine, brown sugar and amphetamine. They were also accused of human trafficking by way of offering Nigerian girls into prostitution. Arrested were by the Rachakonda Police in Hyderabad were Palaparthi Sangeetha, 35, a resident of Sun City, her partner Cosmas Ojukwu, 30, their associates…

Another Yoruba actor, Olurotimi Ayinde, a.k.a Abu Olododo, has died in Abeookuta, Ogun State, on Sunday night at the age of 51. His death came a few hours after the death of seasoned actor, poet and journalist, Adebayo Faleti, was announced. A friend and colleague of Ayinde, Waheed Ijaduade, brought his departure to the attention of the public in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday. Later, Ijaduade, in a telephone interview with the PUNCH, described Ayinde’s death as sudden. Claiming that he had a brief phone conversation with the deceased on Sunday night, he said, “We chatted for a…

Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday after OPEC moved to cap Nigerian oil output and Saudi Arabia pledged to limit exports next month to help rein in global oversupply. London Brent crude for September delivery was up 7 cents at $48.67 a barrel by 0039 GMT after settling up 54 cents or 1.1 percent on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 10 cents at $46.44. OPEC member Nigeria had been exempt from the cartel’s deal with non-OPEC producers led by Russia to cut oil output by a combined 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January…

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No fewer than 60 volunteers in the Federal Government’s job creation scheme for youths have had their payments withheld and may be prosecuted for fraud, the Presidential aide on Job Creation, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, said on Monday. He gave the indication while addressing 5,559 N-Power volunteers in Kwara at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Ilorin. At the event, he gave July ending as deadline for those experiencing payment issues to resolve them or be removed from the programme. Imoukhuede had led a team of Monitoring and Evaluation officials to assess the performance of the volunteers in the state…

The National Assembly is now set to begin a clause by clause consideration of the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution of which a report was laid last week. If the amendment sails, it would mark a great achievement for the 8th Senate going by the content of the alteration and the time within which the feat was achieved. The process began two years ago after the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly led by Dr Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. If the national assembly…

Alexis Sanchez is so willing to join Pep Guardiola and Manchester City this summer that he is prepared to take a lower weekly wage off them than rival clubs in for his signature, Independent reports. With just one year remaining on his Arsenal contract, the 28-year-old Chilean international is still refusing to renew as he also seeks to leave before the end of this transfer window. Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have been interested in making a move but The Independent understands that Sanchez favours City, even though they would offer a lower wage than all of those European…