Author: Chronicle Editor

Sergio Ramos scored the only goal for a second consecutive game as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao to go seven points clear at the top of La Liga. Ramos slammed home a penalty – just as he did on Thursday against Getafe – after Dani Garcia fouled Marcelo in a decision given by VAR. He has scored five goals in seven matches – all wins – since the restart. Defending champions Barcelona visit Villarreal at 21:00 BST looking to bring the gap back to four points. Madrid beat stubborn Sociedad to go top Real Madrid’s win over Athletic Bilbao was…

Suspended management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has said all trainings, contracts and rehabilitation it carried out received the approvals of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Assembly. The organisation was responding to comment by Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, that the suspended Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NSITF, Adebayo Somefun and some members of his executive lavished N3.4 billion on “non-existent staff training split into about 196 different consultancy contracts in order to evade the Ministerial Tenders Board and Federal Executive Council (FEC) approvals.” Ngige had cited financial infraction…

Arik Air has announced the resumption of domestic flights from July 8, following the Nigerian government’s decision to re-open Lagos and Abuja airports for flight operations. The Arik Air Chief Executive Officer, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos on Sunday. Ilegbodu said that the airline would be operating three daily flights from Lagos to Abuja in the first phase of the restart. He said further that Port Harcourt would be added to the schedule from July 11 when the Port Harcourt International Airport would be reopened for operations. “Passengers have been assured of their safety and…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced new appointments and redeployments as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen and reposition for greater efficiency, transparency and profitability in line with the Next Level Agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD), Adokiye Tombomieye, has been appointed the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) Upstream while Mr. Mohammed Abdulkabir Ahmed, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC), has been appointed the new Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, following the retirement of Engr. Farouk Garba Sa’id, last week. A statement by the corporation’s Group…

Former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose has warned President Muhammadu Buahri’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, not to “wake a sleeping lion”. Reacting to Adesina’s opinion article, Fayose said failure to heed his warning could attract consequences that Adesina would be unable to cope with. The presidential spokesman said Buhari would have “dealt with” Fayose and Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike over their “combative remarks” but chose to tolerate the duo as a father of the nation. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Fayose said he decided not to comment about issues relating to Buhari because he realised that “Buhari’s presidency is deaf and dumb”.…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given President Muhammadu Buhari 14 days to “direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to urgently investigate allegations that over N300bn of public funds are missing, mismanaged, diverted or stolen, as documented in the 2017 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF).” SERAP also urged him to “ask Mr Malami and the anticorruption agencies to promptly investigate the extent and patterns of widespread and endemic corruption in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) indicted in the audited report.…

As part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness through information, the MultiChoice Group has joined the United Nations (UN) as an official supporter of the UN’s global COVID-19 awareness campaign, Pause, which launched globally on 30 June. announced its latest initiative in the fight against COVID-19. The Pause campaign aims to highlight the dangers of sharing false information related to COVID-19. The campaign asks people around the world to pause, think and take care before sharing information which could be inaccurate or a result of misinformation and may have harmful effects. “We are in a moment of global reckoning…

Chelsea’s hopes of signing Germany midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen have been boosted by Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying his club cannot afford a deal for the 21-year-old this summer. (Sun on Sunday) Inter Milan have started negotiations with Chelsea over buying Italy left-back Emerson Palmieri, 25, from the Stamford Bridge club. (Observer) Real Madrid want to sell Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, who has one year left on his contract, rather than lose him for free next year. Arsenal, Everton, Manchester United and Wolves are thought to be interested in the 28-year-old. (Marca) Manchester United and Spain midfielder Juan Mata, 32, wants to join Fenerbahce in Turkeythis summer. (Sansursuz Futbol, via Sunday Express) Arsenal could sell French midfielder Matteo…

Kanye West has returned to headlines again after he announced he would be running for President in 2020 polls in November challenging President Donald Trump. On Saturday night, the Fourth of July, West shared his most important news to date: he’s running for president in 2020. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States,” West tweeted around 9 p.m. ET. He completed the tweet with an American flag emoji, and the hashtag #2020VISION. Rumors of West running for president have circulated…

President Donald Trump is scheming to retain power in the event of an electoral loss in November, according to a former Senator from Colorado. Tim Wirth published an op-ed in Newsweek where he lays out his theory, apparently inspired in-part by HBO’s adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Plot Against America. The former Democratic senator begins with an allegation that Mr Trump will attempt to retain power through voter suppression. Mr Wirth alleges there is a strategy to suppress voter turnout by purging voters – especially inner-city voters – from registration rolls and to suppress mail-in voting. He also believes physical polling locations will be limited, especially in…