Author: Chronicle Editor

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has told of how some top Nigerian officials and a cabal within the former Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) never wanted the liberalisation of the telecom sector because they were benefitting from the corruption and the stagnation of the sector. The state-owned telecom company has now been acquired by NATCOM Development and Investment trading as ntel for $252million. Governor El-Rufai, who spoke Tuesday at the Nigerian Day in the ongoing International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, said insistence of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) and the visionary leadership of former…

Alexis Sanchez’s injury gamble paid off here Tuesday as the Arsenal striker scored twice to help Chile defeat bitter rivals Uruguay 3-1 in their World Cup qualifier. Sanchez had risked the wrath of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after playing in the Santiago showdown despite injuring a hamstring during training last week. Wenger had expressed fear Chile had made a “suicidal” decision by playing Sanchez against the Uruguayans after the injury. But the in-form striker showed no sign of ill-health with two second-half goals to seal Chile’s comeback victory after Edinson Cavani had given Uruguay an early lead at the Estadio…

As President Barack Obama bows out of the White House, thousands of Americans have taken to social media to say ‘Big’ thank you for his eight-year as number one citizen. Taking to Twitter to express their appreciation, Americans joined by others from around the world used the hashtag #ThankYouObama to shower encomium on the first African-American president of the United States and the 44th president of the country. Some who did not approve of his administration also got into the mix to express their ill feeling towards him but for this report on Chronicle NG, we will stick to those…

Lionel Messi scored a majestic free-kick and set up two more goals as Argentina got their faltering 2018 World Cup qualification campaign back on track with a 3-0 win over Colombia here Tuesday. Barcelona maestro Messi curled in a superb free-kick from 30 yards in the 10th minute before providing the cross for Lucas Pratto’s 23rd minute header. The tireless Messi then popped up in the 84th minute to set up Angel Di Maria’s late goal as Argentina secured all three points. The two-time world champions had taken just two points from their previous four games to leave themselves languishing…

Chelsea captain John Terry is wanted by Andre Villas-Boas for a reunion in China. Former Blues boss Villas-Boas is now in charge of Super League club Shanghai SIPG and hopes to sign the 35-year-old. (Mirror) Inter Milan are preparing to bid for Chelsea midfielder Oscar. The Serie A club tried to sign the 25-year-old when the London club acquired him for £25m in 2012 and Chelsea will expect to recoup their fee if he is to leave. (London Evening Standard) Sunderland manager David Moyes has revealed he will not leave the club to coach Scotland if Gordon Strachan leaves the…

Around 14 million people will need humanitarian help in the former northeast Nigerian stronghold region of Boko Haram militants and tens of thousands of children will be at risk of dying from famine, a United Nations official said on Tuesday. The Islamist militant group has killed 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million from their homes during a seven-year insurgency in Africa’s most populous nation and biggest energy producer. Nigerian military forces backed by those from neighbouring states have pushed Boko Haram back to the northeast’s vast Sambisa forest in the last few months, enabling aid workers to access…

Nigeria’s Senate, on Tuesday, rejected the entire list of 46 non-career ambassador-nominees forwarded to it for confirmation in October by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate, however, confirmed the nomination of 47 career ambassadors forwarded to it by the President in July. The rejection of the 46 non-career nominees was based on a report submitted by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Monsurat Sunmonu (APC-Oyo). Sunmonu said the imbalance of nominations observed in the list of career nominees was not corrected by the President in the non-career list. According to her, over 250 petitions were received by the committee from…

Pep Guardiola wants his Manchester City players to refrain from having sex after midnight, according to on-loan French midfielder Samir Nasri. The 29-year-old said the City boss imposed the rule, even if the team did not have a game the next day, so players get “a good night’s sleep”. Guardiola is also claimed to have said it helped Barcelona forward Lionel Messi avoid muscle injuries. Nasri was sent on a season-long loan to Sevilla on transfer deadline day. He told French TV programme L’Équipe du Soir that Guardiola “wants his players to be slim and fit”. Nasri added: “He banned…

Last week, the Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump stunned much of the world—and, likely, himself—by defeating his Democratic Party rival, Hilary Rodham Clinton, in one of the most contentious elections in American history. Trump’s triumph—considered highly unlikely by most pundits and pollsters—will be the subject of scholarly essays as well as popular and research tomes. Entirely unheralded, Trump’s election is certain to send students of American presidential politics back to the drawing board. For months, Mrs. Clinton—whose husband was a beloved president from 1993 to 2003—led in virtually all the reputable polls. The few polls that had Trump leading…

Lam Tungwar, Information Minister for Northern Liech State, South Sudan, on Tuesday confirmed that 21 humanitarian workers were abducted by gunmen over the weekend. Tungwar said in Juba that youths allied to opposition leader Riek Machar overrun the town of Nhialdiu on Sunday and abducted the aid workers who were residing in a UN compound. He said that the abductees included one Kenyan national while the rest were South Sudanese working for different aid agencies. “It was a surprise attack on Sunday where they overrun the town and looted property. “Twenty one humanitarian workers residing in the UN OCHA compound…