Author: Chronicle Editor

Nigerian banks are opposed to converting the dollar portion of a $1.2 billion loan to Etisalat Nigeria into naira and will push for an equity injection as part of new terms after the mobile telecoms operator missed a payment, a banker with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters. The dollar portion of the loan is about $235 million, the banking source said. Etisalat Nigeria will meet with lenders on Thursday in a debt discussion mediated by the central bank and the telecom regulator after authorities agreed with local banks to end the prospect of a receivership for the mobile operator.…

The Senate on Thursday sent the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) away for not wearing uniform as he was instructed. The senators were angry that Ali did not put on Customs uniform, saying that as the head of Customs, he should live by example. Senate in a voice vote mandates the CG @CustomsNG to come in uniform on Wednesday 22nd March, 2017. #TodayInPlenary— Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 16, 2017 Ali, who appeared in ‘kaftan’ defied the lawmakers’ order that he should come in uniform. Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu had asked the Customs boss why…

A Christian pastor has discovered one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds in Sierra Leone’s Kono district. The diamond, weighing 709 carats, is now locked up in Sierra Leone’s central bank in Freetown. It is one of the 20 largest diamonds ever found. Freelance, or artisanal, miners are common in Sierra Leone’s diamond-rich areas, reports the BBC’s Umaru Fofana. But there are questions over whether the community will benefit from the gemstone, he adds. Pastor Emmanuel Momoh’s discovery, which has not yet been valued, is the biggest diamond to be found in Sierra Leone since 1972, when the 969-carat Star…

Middlesbrough have sacked manager Aitor Karanka after three and a half years at the club. Boro are winless in their last 10 Premier League games and currently sit in the relegation zone, three points from safety with 11 games remaining. They are also the league’s lowest scorers with just 19 goals and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last weekend. Assistant head coach Steve Agnew will take control of the first team. “This club will always hold a special place for me,” said Karanka, 43. “I’d like to thank Middlesbrough for a wonderful opportunity and the…

Madagascar Football Association chief Ahmad has been elected Confederation of African Football president, ending Issa Hayatou’s 29-year reign. Ahmad won 34 of the 54 votes in the election, which was held in Addis Ababa on Thursday. The result means a change in leadership for the first time since Cameroonian Hayatou took charge in 1988. Ahmad becomes only the seventh Caf president in the governing body’s 60-year history. The departure of Hayatou is a huge change for African football and the 70-year-old will also lose his Fifa position and his place on the ruling council of world football’s governing body. He…

A letter bomb has exploded at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) office in Paris, injuring the employee who opened it, police say. The IMF employee received hand and face injuries, and staff were evacuated. IMF director Christine Lagarde condemned the “cowardly act of violence” against IMF staff. In another development, the German finance ministry in Berlin intercepted a parcel bomb sent to Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Wednesday. A Greek far-left group, the Conspiracy of Fire Cells, said on a website that it had sent the German device. Mnuchin visit Ms Lagarde said in a statement that the IMF was…

A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, hours before it was due to begin after midnight on Thursday. US District Judge Derrick Watson cited “questionable evidence” in the government’s argument that the ban was a matter of national security. President Trump described the ruling as “unprecedented judicial overreach”. The order would have placed a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations and a 120-day ban on refugees. Mr Trump insists the move is to stop terrorists from entering the US but critics say it is discriminatory. An earlier version of the order,…

A 14-year-old foster child who hanged herself in a shower stall and broadcast it on Facebook suffered years of sexual abuse, was beaten and rejected by her mother and bounced between more than 14 foster homes, according to a 20-page report released by the Florida Department of Children & Families. The report released late Monday concluded that while state welfare authorities could have done a better job, Naika Venant’s relationship with her mother Gina Alexis played a significant role in her death. “Despite everything that had occurred between Naika and her mother, Naika longed to be home,” said the report,…

This appears to be the biggest upset for Issa Hayatou since he became CAF president some 30 years ago. And the whole of Africa football is heart-thumping as the continent decides its future in football. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has only ever had five presidents in its 60-year history and the last time a new leader was appointed was way back in 1988. Thursday’s election in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, could herald a change, but long-time incumbent, Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou, is not giving up without a fight. Hayatou, in charge for nearly three decades, has often been re-elected…

Nigeria telecoms subscribers spent a staggering $6.6 billion on services in 2016, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said. Danbatta disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the launch of the NCC Year of Consumer. He said that in 2015, the Nigerian telecom consumers spent 5.6 billion dollars, adding that consumers’ contribution had made the success stories possible in the sector. “That’s why today’s event is remarkable. More remarkable is that the year 2017 is dedicated to the Nigerian Telecom Consumer,’’ he said. He said that NCC this year intends to inform and…