Author: Chronicle Editor

Ross Barkley will spend the remainder of the 2020/21 season on loan in the Premier League with Aston Villa. The midfielder joined Chelsea from boyhood club Everton in January 2018 and has made 86 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 11 goals. That includes the one he netted during the current campaign, in the 6-0 Carabao Cup win over Barnsley at Stamford Bridge. However, with competition for places in our midfield particularly fierce, that was his only start in the opening matches of the season, as his two Premier League appearances both came from the bench. Man United…

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday directed the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to suspend the Sept. 1 new tariff. The commission’s suspension order of the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2020 signed by Prof James Momoh, NERC’s Chairman was released on its website on Wednesday. The suspension, which followed a joint communique issued by the Federal Government and the labour unions, is for 14 days. Recall that the Federal Government had agreed the suspension is in order to further consultations and finalisation of negotiations between the parties. The order by NERC said that from Sept 28 to…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 187 confirmed new coronavirus cases in the country on Tuesday. The 187 cases announced by the Centre for Disease Control takes the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 58,647. The NCDC also announced the discharge of 42 patients from isolation centers across the country with no new death reported. Lagos state, the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria reported 74 new confirmed cases taking the total number of confirmed cases in Lagos alone to 19384. Nigeria announces 136 new coronavirus cases Plateau state reported 25 new cases, Rivers state recorded…

Manchester United have had a £91.3m bid rejected by Borussia Dortmund for 20-year-old England forward Jadon Sancho. (Sky Sports) And United fear losing face if another offer for Sancho is rejected by Dortmund. (Mail) They have also joined the race to sign Real Madrid and Serbia international striker Luka Jovic, 22, on loan. (AS – in Spanish) And are close to landing 23-year-old Barcelona and France forward Ousmane Dembele – giving Barca the financial leeway to sign Lyon’s former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay. (AS – in Spanish) Pep Guardiola wants to sign a new left-back before the transfer window shuts with Bayern Munich and Austria’s David Alaba, and Ajax and Argentina’s Nicolas Tagliafico, both aged 28, on Manchester City’s…

Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who represented Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the at an interdenominational church service to commemorate Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary in Abuja has stated that he was quoted out of context by the media. In a statement on Tuesday, the SGF noted that the Prof. Osinbajo never suggested that Nigeria will break up, instead the Vice President is committed to a united Nigeria. “I have observed with concern the apparent sensationalisation of the remarks I made at the 60th Independence Anniversary Church Service, where I stood in for His Excellency, the…

President Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden have gone head-to-head in the first of three televised debates before the US election in November. During a heated 90 minutes, the nominees clashed over everything from the state of the economy to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Reality Check has unpicked some of their claims. Trump: “We built the greatest economy in history” Verdict: That’s not right – there have been times in US history when the economy was stronger. President Trump claimed that, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, “we built the greatest economy in US history”. He claims to…

The Senate on Tuesday received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari to approve the sum of N148,141,969,161.24 as promissory notes to Bayelsa, Cross River, Ondo, Osun and Rivers State Governments for Federal Road projects executed by the States. The request was contained in a letter dated 13th August, 2020, and read by the Senate President Ahmad Lawan during plenary. The letter reads: “The Senate May wish to be informed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its meeting of June 3, 2020 approved the reimbursement of N148,141,969,161.24 through the issuance of Promissory notes to the Bayelsa, Cross River, Ondo, Osun…

President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden have fiercely clashed in one of the most chaotic and rancorous White House debates in years. Amid angry shouting and name calling, the two fought over the pandemic, race and the economy during the 90-minute forum in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr Biden called the president a “clown” and told him to “shut up”. Mr Trump brought up his rival’s son’s drug use. Opinion polls indicate Mr Biden has a steady single-digit lead over Mr Trump. But with 35 days until election day, surveys from several important states show a closer contest. The forum…

Manchester City have signed Benfica defender Ruben Dias for £65m, with Nicolas Otamendi moving in the opposite direction. The deal for Dias is worth an initial £62m, with a further £3m subject to add-ons, and was confirmed in a statement from Benfica on Sunday night following City’s 5-2 defeat at home to Leicester. In the statement, the Portuguese club said they had agreed a separate fee of 15m euros (£13.6m) to sign Otamendi. Dias, who becomes City’s third signing of the summer following the arrivals of Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres, has signed a six-year deal at the Etihad, where he…

Tottenham reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup after beating Chelsea on penalties following a 1-1 draw on Tuesday. Timo Werner struck his first Blues goal 19 minutes into the contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it looked to be enough to send them into the last eight for the 14th time in the past 20 seasons. However, Erik Lamela, who started as a makeshift striker, drilled past debutant Edouard Mendy to give Spurs a deserved equaliser with seven minutes of normal time remaining. Tottenham Interested In Rudiger, Lyon To Sell Aouar The first nine penalties of the ensuing shoot-out were converted before Mason Mount clipped…