Author: David Great

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in Naira. Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, made this known in a post via his official X handle on Monday. Onanuga stated that the move, which is to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-Naira exchange rate, was adopted by the Federal Executive Council today. Dangote Refinery, at the moment, according to reports, requires 15 cargoes of crude, at a cost of $13.5 billion yearly. NNPC has…

The Super Falcons of Nigeria suffered a 1-0 defeat against Spain in their Group C match on Sunday evening during the ongoing Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football tournament in France. Spain’s Alexia Putellas secured the win with a stunning 85th-minute direct free kick that caught Nigerian goalkeeper Nnadozie off guard. This victory has guaranteed La Roja a spot in the quarterfinals with one match left to play against Brazil on Wednesday. Despite having several opportunities, the Falcons were unable to score. Team captain Rasheedat Ajibade notably missed a one-on-one chance at goal. With this loss, Nigeria finds itself at the…

French defender Raphael Varane has joined Como on a two-year deal with an option to extend the contract, the newly-promoted Serie A club said on Sunday. The World Cup-winner, who had spent the last three years at Manchester United after a trophy-laden career with Real Madrid, arrives as a free agent. “Raphael is a special player and his signing is proof of the ambition we have for this club,” new Como manager Cesc Fabregas said. Varane’s arrival adds to the growing list of Premier League players joining the Italians ahead of the season, including former Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and…

Tottenham Hotspur have signed South Korean winger Yang Min-Hyeok from K League 1 side Gangwon FC on a six-year deal, with the teenager set to join in January, the Premier League club said on Sunday. Having represented South Korea at Under-17 level, Yang scored eight goals and provided four assists in 25 appearances for Gangwon. Spurs did not disclose the financial details of the deal. Yang is Spurs’ second signing of the close season following highly-rated 18-year-old Archie Gray from Leeds United. Yang will join countryman Son Heung-min, who captains Spurs and South Korea, at the North London club. Tottenham…

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday vowed to “hit the enemy hard” after rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and again raised fears that the war in Gaza would spread. Iran warned Israel any new military “adventures” in Lebanon could lead to “unforeseen consequences”. Western powers, including France and Germany, condemned the attack and appealed for calm. The European Union called for an independent probe into what happened. Israel’s army called it “the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians” since the October 7 attack that began the war in Gaza and triggered regular…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “over the failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion ‘dirty and bad notes’ and ‘other large sum of cash awaiting examination’ which are kept in various branches of the CBN.” In the suit number FHC/L/MSC/441/2024 filed last week at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court to “direct and compel the CBN to explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion dirty and bad notes kept in various branches of the Central Bank of…

Manchester United’s US preseason game against Premier League rivals Arsenal ended in a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles, with striker Rasmus Hojlund and £52 million new signing Leny Yoro both injured in the first half. Hojlund gave his team the lead in the 10th minute when he rushed onto Marcus Rashford’s first-time pass, outmuscled teenage defender Ayden Heaven, and beat keeper Karl Hein with a shot through the legs. The Dane then turned a low Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross wide from close range before appearing to have a muscular injury after 15 minutes, rendering him unable to continue. Leny Yoro’s exit…

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca believes his players are still trying to adjust to his style and tactics after the Blues were thrashed 4-1 by Celtic in a pre-season game in Indiana on Saturday. Chelsea scored a late consolation goal when Christopher Nkunku scored from the spot in the 89th-minute at the University of Notre Dame. The heavy defeat was Maresca’s second game in charge following a 2-2 draw with League One side Wrexham in California on Thursday. “Off the ball we need to improve things,” Maresca said. “You can see sometimes we confuse when we need to play short and…

Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 27, is close to joining Sevilla following the expiry of his contract with Leicester City. (Sky Germany) Iheanacho joined newly promoted Leicester City from Manchester City in 2017. (Chronicle NG) Paris St-Germain are still working to sign Athletic Bilbao and Spain winger Nico Williams, 22. (RMC – in French) Aston Villa are aiming to bring in Barcelona and Brazil forward Raphinha, 27, this summer (Football Insider) Liverpool and Tottenham have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 26, from Sporting Lisbon. (Football Insider) The mooted deal between Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid is not done yet for Portugal forward Joao Felix, 24, with no formal proposal sent to the Spanish club. (Fabrizio Romano) Villa want Atletico to lower their…

Italian oil giant Eni, on Wednesday, announced that it had obtained approval from the Nigerian government to proceed with the proposed sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando, run by Wale Tinubu, President Bola Tinubu’s nephew. “Eni has received formal consent from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for the sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited to Oando Plc,” the oil company said in a statement. The Italian oil company said the sale would enable Agip focus on its onshore oil operations. The announcement followed an exclusive report by an online news platform (not Chronicle NG),…