Author: Chronicle Editor

Striker Diego Costa has been left out of the Chelsea squad to face Leicester on Saturday after a dispute with a coach over his fitness. The Spain international has not trained for three days and has not travelled for the Premier League leaders’ match with the champions (17:30 GMT). The news comes amid reports he is the subject of an offer to move to China that would be worth £30m a year. Costa, 28, has scored 14 goals and provided five assists this season. Chelsea declined to comment. It is understood Blues owner Roman Abramovich is not interested in releasing…

A Police Inspector, an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and a civilian were on Thursday night killed in a clash between herdsmen and farmers in Sabon Daga Village in Niger. Bala Elkalla, the Public Relations Officer of the Niger Police Command, confirmed the deaths to the News Agency of Nigeria in Minna on Friday. Mr. Elkalla, however, said that police had contained the situation which occurred in Bosso Local Government Area of the state. “We have stationed sufficient number of policemen in Sabon Daga village as well as six neighbouring villages to prevent any further…

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Friday said the vision of his administration to create a more prosperous and safer Lagos and transform the State into the hub of commerce and tourism in Africa remained on course and all efforts would be geared towards achieving the desired result. Governor Ambode, who spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja when he received on courtesy visit the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, said he remained committed to transforming Lagos from being the commercial hub of Nigeria to that of Africa just like London is the hub of commerce and…

The African Union (AU) will cease to recognise Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh as the nation’s legitimate president as of Jan. 19. It is the date he is due to hand power to Adama Barrow, the winner of 1 December election. The AU’s Peace and Security Council made this declaration after a meeting in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. The council also warned of “serious consequences in the event that his action causes any crisis that could lead to political disorder, humanitarian and human rights disaster, including loss of innocent lives and destruction of properties”. The AU declaration came on a day…

Former tennis world number one Rafael Nadal said Friday that US President-elect Donald Trump was not quite to his taste while lamenting Spanish politics has also, in his view, become too razzmatazz. “It’s not my style. I was in the United States when Trump was on the campaign trail,” Nadal told Spanish online site El Espanol as he limbered up for the Australian Open. “It is true that I don’t care for his manner of speaking — his way of expressing himself is not a style I appreciate,” added Nadal, while conceding he was no expert on the US political…

The Lagos State Government says it has commenced the second phase of the Alapere Redevelopment Project to ease the gridlock in Ketu, Alapere and Mile 12 axis of the state. The state’s Acting Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Anofiu Eleguishi, made the disclosure at a meeting with residents of Agboyi/Ketu on Friday. Eleguishi said the project entailed the upgrade and dualisation of Kazeem Junction by Alapere Estate up to the roundabout among others. “Our intention is to give a proper link between communities around the area and to reduce the pressure on the expressway,’’ he said. Eleguishi appealed to the residents…

Sudan President Omar Al Bashir left hospital after undergoing a cardiac catheterisation according to agency report on Friday. “The Presidency confirmed that Al Bashir has undergone an exploratory cardiac catheterisation at Royal Care hospital and the results were very reassuring,’’ a presidency official told the news agency, He said that the president left the hospital immediately after the procedure. The office of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had in November 2016 denied rumors that the president has passed away of a heart attack. Taha Othman, the director of Bashir’s office, told Al-Arabiya.net that the president is in good health and is…

The Ekiti Sector Command of the FRSC says 19 persons died in the 49 road traffic crashes recorded in the state in 2016. The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr Ismaila Kugu, made this known on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti. He advised drivers and other road users to refrain from using cell phones while driving or walking on the road. Kugu also warned against the use of fairly used tyres, especially at a period of unfriendly weather. Motorists, he added, must also be cautious on the roads in view of…

Manchester United have a golden opportunity to haul themselves into the Premier League title race at the expense of bitter rivals Liverpool this weekend, while leaders Chelsea will look to steady their nerves at Leicester. United go into the Old Trafford showdown in fine fettle after beating Hull in the League Cup semi-final first leg in midweek to extend their winning streak in all competitions to nine matches. Jose Mourinho’s sixth-placed side still trail Chelsea by 10 points and lag five behind second-placed Liverpool. But victory on Sunday, with Mourinho calling for United fans to raise the roof, would be…

Several people are feared dead in an early morning bomb blast in Madagali town in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa. An eye witness who simply identified himself as Baba, said the blast occurred near a checkpoint at the entrance of the town. “We heard three blasts near the checkpoint where people gathered to be screened before entering the town as you know today is market day. “The suicide bombers blew themselves up alongside the two vigilante members that approached them,” Baba said. Speaking on the development, the member representing Madagali/Michika Federal Constituency, Mr Adamu Kamale, said he got the…