Author: Chronicle Editor

Premier League leaders Chelsea reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with victory over Wolves in an entertaining tie at Molineux. Wolves, just five points above the Championship relegation zone, took a positive approach in the first half as George Saville lashed an early strike against the post. Chelsea’s defence was repeatedly tested before the visitors finally upped the tempo, forcing them back and allowing Pedro to dart in and head home unmarked at the back post. Diego Costa sealed Chelsea’s place with his 16th goal of the season as he slid a low finish past Carl Ikeme. -Chelsea sparkle…

The Gambia has sworn in its new president, Adama Barrow, in front of a crowd of thousands. It is the second time President Barrow has taken the oath. The first time was at very low-key event at the country’s embassy in Senegal last month, after a lengthy power struggle forced him into exile. After his predecessor finally agreed to step down, Mr Barrow was able to arrange a stadium event back in his homeland, near the capital city Banjul. Crowds queued through the night to get a good spot inside the stadium. Brass bands prepared to play and flags waved.…

The wife of Zimbabwe’s 92-year-old President, Robert Mugabe, has said that he is so popular that if he died, he could run as a corpse in next year’s election and still win votes. Grace Mugabe, 51, was addressing a rally of the governing Zanu-PF party. Mr Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe since the end of white-majority rule in 1980 following a bitterly fought war. His wife, who has often professed her undying loyalty to her husband, has assumed an increasingly high profile. “One day when God decides that Mugabe dies, we will have his corpse appear as a candidate on the…

The Tor Tiv-elect, Prof James Ayatse, has appealed to Dangote Cement Plc to rehabilitate the Makurdi-Gboko road as part of its corporate social responsibility to the people of the area. Ayatse made the appeal on Saturday in Makurdi when the management of the company, led by its Plant Director, Mr Jasinto Leva, paid him a visit. He lamented that the portion of the road where the company was located had become “a death trap’’ hence the need for the repair. Ayatse noted that if the road was rehabilitated by the company, it would go a long way in improving the…

The Nigerian Army has accused some of its former officers of sponsoring a campaign of calumny against it on the social media and warned them to desist forthwith or be dealt with accordingly. Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman gave the warning on Saturday in Abuja in a statement. Usman said that the attention of the army has been drawn to the campaign by those “faceless persons.’’ He said that they had been making “spurious and unfounded allegations bordering on payment of troops operations allowances, rotation in the North East and comparing troops’ pay to what obtains in neighbouring countries.’’ “The fabricators are…

Tottenham Hotspur will win the Premier League within the next four years, says former manager Harry Redknapp. Spurs made the Champions League for the first time during Redknapp’s four-year tenure at the club, reaching the quarter-finals in 2011. The 69-year-old says he would not swap manager Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI for any other side in the division. “They have been fantastic under Pochettino,” Redknapp told BBC Radio 5 live’s Friday Football Social. “I have absolutely loved the way they have played – their football, the pace of the full-backs. “Tottenham will go on and win the Premier League in the…

The United States will be “unwavering” in its support for NATO, vice-president Mike Pence told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference. In the first major foreign policy address for the Trump administration, Mr Pence said the US would “stand with Europe today and every day”. But he told the gathered leaders that European countries were “failing to pay their fair share” on defence. That failure “erodes the foundation of our alliance”, he said. Apart from the US, only four other nations had met a commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence, “The time has come to do more,”…

The Commissioner of Police in Kwara state, Olushola Amore, has shut down a training camp of Peace Corps of Nigeria in Offa local government area of the state, describing it as illegal. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Ilorin. He said the Commissioner viewed the camp as illegal, hence the shut down. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Assembly had in November 2016 passed the bill establishing the Peace Corps of Nigeria and it is currently awaiting presidential assent. Also, Senate…

Kerosene explosions have killed at least four persons and have severely burnt 14 others in multiple accidents in the last 15 weeks in Akwa Ibom state, Dr Aniekeme Uwa, chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said. Uwah made this known on Friday in Uyo when he was speaking at stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on kerosene fire incidents organised by the office of the Senior Special Assistant on Petroleum Matters. The NMA boss said that within 15 weeks from September 22, 2016 to January 7 this year, 18 kerosene explosions occurred in the state. He said that statistics available at the…

Gareth Bale is set to make his first appearance since November after being passed fit for Real Madrid’s match at home to Espanyol on Saturday. The 27-year-old Wales forward has been out since having surgery on ankle tendon damage suffered in November. Wales’ next match is a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 24 March. “He will be in the squad and the plan is for him to have some minutes,” Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said. Madrid are top of the Spanish league by one point from Barcelona, but Zidane’s side have two games in…