Author: Chronicle Editor

Nice will head into the winter break on top of Ligue 1 but their goalless draw at Bordeaux enabled both Monaco and Paris St-Germain to make up ground. It was a frustrating night for Nice, who were unable to break down Bordeaux and had Mario Balotelli and Younes Belhanda sent off in injury time. Radamel Falcao scored again for Monaco as they beat Caen 2-1 to narrow the gap at the top to two points. PSG hammered Lorient 5-0 and are now five points behind the leaders. The reigning champions took the lead through Thomas Meunier’s lob from inside the…

Emmanuel Fagbenle, the Nigerian-born chief justice of The Gambia will decide the fate of President Yahya Jammeh when the Supreme Court rules on 10 January. The Gambia is facing prolonged political deadlock after strongman Jammeh, defiant despite his election defeat, said he would await a court ruling delayed until January before ceding power. Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years, stunned observers by initially accepting his defeat in the December 1 vote by opposition candidate Adama Barrow, but then flip-flopped a week later, rejecting the results and filing a court challenge. His stance has stoked international concerns about…

Nigeria is trying to import more aviation fuel but air travelers tired of delays must be patient as a shortage of foreign currency will continue to hurt the airline industry, the minister of aviation said. “The flight has been delayed due to a scarcity of aviation fuel,” has become a standard announcement at Nigerian airports, where passengers spend much of the day waiting as the recession-hit West African nation struggles to buy jet fuel in from abroad. Most domestic flights have been delayed for hours or cancelled in the past two weeks, with airlines unable to get jet fuel and,…

The Federal Government on Wednesday declared Monday, December 26 and Tuesday, December 27, 2016 as public holidays to mark the Christmas and Boxing Day celebrations. It was also reported that January 2nd, 2017 was also declared as public holiday to mark the New Year celebration.

The Federal government has released the postings of the 47 Ambassadors recently appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Ambassadors are currently undergoing a four-day induction which ends on Thursday. Here are the Ambassadors and their postings: Abia: Obinna Chukwuemeka Agbugba (Togo), Adamawa: Salisu Umaru (Senegal), Paragalda Ilyasu Audu (Turkey), Akwa Ibom: Inyan Udo-Inyang (Gabon), Anambra: Okeke Vivian Nwunaku (Spain), Nonye Udo (Austria). Bauchi: Liman Munir (Congo), Benue: Ndem Jane Ada (Sweden), Demenongu A. Agev (Equatorial Guinea), Borno: Mohammed Hassan Hassan (Kenya), Toko Ali Gongulong (Sao Tome & Principe), Lawan Abba Gashagar (Mali), Cross River: Martin Nyong Cobham (Thailand), Odeka Janet…

The former governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, has reportedly been released from the UK prison where he has spent four years and eight months. Ibori was accused in February 2012 of stealing $250m from the Delta State public purse. Ibori, who was governor of of the state between 1999 and 2007, admitted to fraud totalling nearly £50million. He was jailed on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, for 13 years by the Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to ten counts of money laundering and conspiracy to fraud. Fifty-seven year old Ibori was jailed for using UK financial institutions to…

The main separatist group in northern Mali, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), has suspended its participation in a committee charged with implementing a 2015 peace accord, according to a statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The document, dated Dec. 19 and signed by CMA President Alghabass Ag Intalla, an elder of the Tuareg ethnic group cited rising violence and a lack of progress on reforms among other reasons for its decision. However, it was stated that the suspension might be temporary, Ag Intalla also called for a high-level encounter with mediators in order “to save the accord and preserve…

Sporadic gunfire echoed across Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital on Wednesday, the day after security forces killed at least 26 protesters demanding President Joseph Kabila step down after his mandate as elected leader expired. A government spokesman could not be reached to comment on the nationwide death toll, compiled by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), which said it was yet to give a final tally. The United Nations human rights director for the vast central African state said it had “solid” reports of at least 20 dead civilians in the capital, Kinshasa. Some Kinshasa residents ventured from their homes…

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh said he would not step down and condemned mediation by West African regional bloc ECOWAS that aims to get him to leave power after he lost a Dec. 1 election to challenger Adama Barrow. The comments on state television late on Tuesday were a hardening of the veteran President’s position after days in which hopes mounted he could be persuaded to hand over power at the end of his mandate on Jan. 18, when Barrow is due to be inaugurated. “I am not a coward. My right cannot be intimidated and violated. This is my position.…

On Tuesday, the Sultan of Sokoto, Dr Sa’ad Abubakar III, said the various ethnic and interest groups in the country can co-exist peacefully if there is justice. He spoke during a civic reception organised in his honour by the Nsukka Socio-Cultural zone. Abubakar regretted that contemporary Nigerians had failed to build on the foundation laid by the country’s founding fathers. He said that there were more cohesion and integration between preceding generations than the new generation. The sultan attributed the seeming mistrust among Nigerians to misinformation and ignorance. “We have refused to come together as a nation due to ignorance…