Author: Chronicle Editor

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says President Muhammadu Buhari’s assumption of office in 2015 prevented Nigeria from becoming a failed state, after a long stretch of rapacious and rudderless leadership. In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister said President Buhari came into office at a time that a swathe of the country’s territory was under occupation, a period when many Nigerian towns and cities, including the capital city of Abuja, were a playground for insurgents and a moment that the nation’s wealth had been looted dry, with little or nothing to show for…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 79 confirmed new coronavirus cases in the country on Sunday. The 79 cases announced by the Centre for Disease Control takes the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 56,256. The NCDC also announced the discharge of 64 patients from isolation centers across the country with four new deaths reported. Lagos state, the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria reported 30 new confirmed cases taking the total number of confirmed cases in Lagos alone to 18611. Nigeria records six new coronavirus deaths Kaduna state reported 17 new cases, Ogun recorded 7…

Tottenham are interested in signing Southampton and England forward Danny Ings, 28. (Football.London) Manchester United will only have to pay about 20m euros (£18.5m) if they want to sign Real Madrid and Wales winger Gareth Bale, 31. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish) Manchester United are ready to walk away from a deal for Borussia Dortmund’s English forward Jadon Sancho, 20, and have made enquiries over alternative players, including 31-year-old Inter Milan and Croatia forward Ivan Perisic. (Telegraph – subscription required) Douglas Costa has been put up for sale by Juventus. Manchester United have previously been linked with the 29-year-old Brazil winger. (Goal) Spanish left-back Sergio Reguilon, 23, would prefer a loan move to Sevilla over Manchester United as he aims to…

Neymar was one of five players sent off after an injury-time brawl as Marseille beat Paris St-Germain in Ligue 1. As he left the pitch, PSG’s Brazil forward told the fourth official he had heard a racist comment. Florian Thauvin scored the only goal as PSG lost their opening two league games for the first time since 1984-85. Home substitutes Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa, and Marseille’s Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto, were dismissed along with Neymar. The referee watched a video assistant referee (VAR) replay of a punch by Neymar before showing the 28-year-old a straight red card. After…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday inspected a new school which consists of six blocks of classrooms built at Gui, Sauka, FCT, the village of his late outrider, Inspector Ali Gomina. The school was built under the aegis of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs). Gomina, 45, died in a road accident while on official duty enroute Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on March 13. Leaders and residents of the community trooped out to welcome the vice president who was represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Ade…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila over “their failure to publish reports of all completed public hearings and corruption probes by the National Assembly since 1999, and failure to disclose the number of probes that have resulted in any indictment of suspects, and to name such suspects.” The suit followed recent public hearings by the National Assembly on corruption allegations in ministries, departments and agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). Reports…

Naomi Osaka demonstrated her growing maturity to fight back against Victoria Azarenka in a compelling US Open final and claim her third Grand Slam title. Japanese fourth seed Osaka, 22, won 1-6 6-3 6-3 for her second US Open title. Osaka was overwhelmed in the first set and in danger of trailing 3-0 in the second but then won 10 of the next 12 games to seize the momentum. The Belarusian, 31, in her first major final since 2013, was broken for 5-3 in the decider before Osaka served out. Osaka shrieked with joy as she took her second match…

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has made Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 28, his top transfer target. (Sunday Express) Manchester United could move for Real Madrid and Wales winger Gareth Bale, 31, as an alternative to Borussia Dortmund and England forward Jadon Sancho, 20. (Sunday Express) Spain left-back Sergio Reguilon, 23, would prefer a loan to Sevilla over a move to Manchester United. (AS – in Spanish) Tottenham have had a loan bid rejected for 26-year-old Torino and Italy striker Andrea Belotti. (Sky Italia – in Italian) Manchester United are prepared to pay £23m for Monaco’s French defender Benoit Badiashile, 19. (L’Equipe, via Sunday Express) Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte wants to bring Chelsea and Spain full-back Marcos Alonso, 29, to the Serie A club. (Sky…

Nnamdi Obanya, a sports broadcaster, has said the new broadcasting code recently announced by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) carries the potential to hurt local sports in the country. Obanya, a media enterprise consultant, made his view known in a chat with ThisDay. He noted that the section of the Code that seeks to compel content providers airing foreign sport content to spend a percentage of what they spend on such on a local equivalent may not be practicable in Nigeria. Obanya explained that Nigeria lacks the equivalent of popular foreign sports to compete for sponsorship with their foreign counterparts.…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 160 confirmed new coronavirus cases in the country on Saturday. The 160 cases announced by the Centre for Disease Control takes the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 56,177. The Federal Capital Territory and Plateau state both recorded the highest confirmed cases of the day with 39 cases each. Lagos state, the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria reported 30 new confirmed cases taking the total number of confirmed cases in Lagos alone to 18581. Nigeria records six new coronavirus deaths Kaduna state reported 23 new cases, Katsina recorded 7…