Author: Chronicle Editor

Newcastle United clinched the Championship title with victory over Barnsley, after Brighton conceded a late equaliser at Aston Villa. Ayoze Perez, Chancel Mbemba and Dwight Gayle scored in a comfortable victory, but it was Jack Grealish’s 89th-minute goal which sealed the Magpies’ title. Perez’s flicked finish made it 1-0, before Mbemba smashed in to double the lead from a Perez rebound. Gayle added a late third before Grealish’s goal handed them the title. It was a comfortable win for Rafael Benitez’s side – yet it looked like it would not be enough to seal top spot, after Glenn Murray’s penalty…

Danny Welbeck helped end Manchester United’s 25-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, scoring Arsenal’s second in a 2-0 win over his former team which handed Arsene Wenger a first top-flight triumph over Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese coach tempted fate by making eight changes from Thursday’s Europa League win over Celta Vigo and it ultimately backfired, with the hosts consigning them to their first league defeat since losing 4-0 to Chelsea in October. After a particularly frenetic start which saw each side waste good opportunities, Arsenal looked the more purposeful going forward and spent long periods probing a stubborn United…

James Milner missed a second-half penalty as Liverpool’s hopes of securing a Premier League top-four spot suffered a blip in a goalless draw against Southampton. It was a terrible spectacle for the supporters inside Anfield. Liverpool rarely tested Saints keeper Fraser Forster, bar the penalty and Marko Grujic’s header late in the game. The visitors, meanwhile, failed to muster even one effort on target. The Reds’ best chance to score came in the 66th minute when they won a penalty after Southampton’s Jack Stephens was judged to have handled Lucas’ delivery. Milner, who had not missed from the spot in…

The Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) on Sunday applauded the Federal Government and security agencies on the release of the 82 Chibok girls. The commendation came in a statement signed by the Convener of the group, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili on Sunday in Abuja. “The Nigerian Presidency has confirmed that 82 of our missing 195 Chibok Girls have been released via a negotiated deal. “The efforts were through the combined effort of security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international NGOs.” She said the group members were delighted by the good news which followed…

French voters headed to the polls Sunday to pick a new president, choosing between centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a crucial election for the future of the country and Europe. Polling day follows a rollercoaster campaign marked by scandal, repeated surprises and a last-minute hacking attack targeting Macron, a 39-year-old former investment banker who has never held elected office. Angry youths burn down houses in Rivers The run-off vote pits the pro-Europe, pro-business Macron against anti-immigration, anti-EU Le Pen, two radically different visions that underline a split in Western democracies. Le Pen, 48, has portrayed…

Irate youths in Mgboshimini Community in Rivers State, yesterday razed down buildings and damaged property worth millions of naira following the murder of a chief, Charles Minikwu. The Guardian gathered that unknown gunmen, Friday night, invaded Orokpor Village in Mgboshimini, Rumueme Community, Obio/Akpor Local Council of the state, where titled chiefs were meeting and shot Minikwu dead. Even though the motive for the murder is not known, the angry youths believed to be the slain chief’s supporters, went on rampage burning down houses. The violence that erupted forced many to abandon their homes as they feared the violence could escalate.…

• Wants Life Sentence For Drug Counterfeiters Fake products from Benue and Nasarawa States worth over N105 million were yesterday, destroyed by the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Speaking at the dumpsite in Lafia, the Acting Director General, NAFDAC, Mrs Yetunde Oni, represented by the Director of Special Duties, NAFDAC, Alhaji Abubakar Jimoh, said the periodic destruction exercise was one of NAFDAC’s strategies in preventing circulation of fake, counterfeit medicines and unwholesome products in the country. “In NAFDAC, zero tolerance is what we are out for. A drug counterfeiter is worst than an armed robber. That…

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of state for Defence, may have made up his mind to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, which he joined while in the Senate more than 10 years ago. According to The Nation, Obanikoro who ran in 2011 as governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State will soon pitch his political tent with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The Nation quoting reliable sources said Koro, as he is fondly called, has been making overtures to leaders of the ruling party as part of efforts towards his joining the APC. The Newspaper said baring…

Barring any changes, President Mohammadu Buhari will on Sunday receive the 82 Chibok girls released by Boko Haram on Saturday following fruitful negotiations facilitated by international organisations. A statement by Senior Special Adviser on media and publicity, Garba Shehu last night said “after months of patient negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these abducted girls in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities. “The Girls are due today [Sunday] in Abuja to be received by the President,” Shehu said. Meanwhile, President Buhari has expressed gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red…

Former member of National Economic Management (EMT) and immediate-past Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has picked holes in the recently released Nigerian Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP), describing it as timid, not bold and audacious. Peterside, who was keynote speaker at the 2017 1st Quarterly dinner organised by the Abuja Branch of Kings College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA), said the plan, rather than solve Nigeria’s economic problems, would end up creating more. Delivering a paper titled, “Evolving Economy, Good Governance and Repositioning Nigeria,” Peterside said, NERPG that came though belatedly, was not a bold, holistic…