Author: David Great

The Senate confirmed Ola Olukoyede as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday. The red chamber also confirmed Muhammad Hammajoda’s appointment as the anti-graft agency’s Secretary. Both individuals were confirmed after being screened by the upper chamber on Wednesday afternoon, almost a week after being nominated by President Bola Tinubu. The Senate also reviewed and approved Halima Shehu’s appointment as CEO of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). The President, on October 12, named Olukoyede and Hammajoda as chair and secretary to the commission, respectively. Since the election of President on May 29, 2023, the…

Ligue 1 side Nice suspended Algerian international Youcef Atal “until further notice” on Wednesday after he shared a controversial post on social media linked to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Even though he quickly deleted the post and apologised, the club said in a press release that, given the “seriousness” of the post, it was taking immediate disciplinary action “prior to any action that may be taken by the sporting and legal authorities”. French prosecutors on Monday launched a preliminary investigation into Atal on suspicion of “glorifying terrorism”. Atal, 27, was called into a meeting…

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been charged as part of the investigation into alleged bribes paid to referees, a Spanish court said on Wednesday. The club itself and two of its former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as the former head of Spain’s referees body, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, and his son have already been charged. Laporta has been charged in relation to his first spell as president of Barcelona from 2003 to 2010. Mainz suspend El Ghazi for ‘unacceptable’ Israel-Gaza post In his report published on Wednesday, the judge leading the investigation said, in his…

At least three people were killed and 11 others were injured in an armed bandits attack in the Bagega hamlet in Zamfara State’s Anka Local Government Area. During the attack, the bandits kidnapped the district head of the village, his eight-year-old daughter, and roughly ten others. Although the police in the state have yet to acknowledge the attack, the command’s spokesperson, ASP Yazid Abubakar, has stated that he will conduct an investigation and report back as at time of filing this report. Abdullahi Bagega, a member of the hamlet who fled during the attack, told Chronicle NG on Wednesday that…

The House of Representatives has instructed the Public Accounts Committee to investigate charges of illegal handling of COVID-19 intervention funding. Nyampa Zakari, a PDP member from Adamawa State, proposed the order at plenary on Tuesday. In his motion, Zakari claimed that various ministries and organisations misappropriated COVID-19 intervention funds throughout the pandemic. The legislator stated that the federal budget had set aside more than N183.9 billion for intervention funds, and that additional funds had been donated to the coffers by other international donors. “The disruption of economic activity made it necessary to implement several programmes, laws, and interventions to help…

A strike on a Gaza hospital compound which health officials there said killed at least 200 people has provoked outrage and condemnation from around the world, with protests on the streets of Amman, Tunis, Beirut and Tehran. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs the territory, accused Israel of being behind the strike. The Israeli army blamed it on a misfired rocket attack by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, which has described the accusations as “lies”. Here are some of the major reactions:  UN UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in…

…to present 2023 supplementary budget to State House of Assembly Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has approved the promotion of civil and public servants whose promotions were due in 2022. Speaking to journalists at the end of the State’s Executive Council meeting on Monday, Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade said the development is consistent with government policy on workers’ welfare in the past 4 years. According to Oyelade, the exercise which is the second of its kind in the Seyi Makinde-led administration will affect 7, 276 civil servants. Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof.…

Flooding after heavy rains in eastern Ghana has forced nearly 26,000 people to leave their homes at the request of the authorities, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said Tuesday. Crops have been destroyed and schools shut after two hydroelectric dams overflowed at Akosombo and Kpong. “We have moved most of the affected people to a safe haven. About 26,000 mostly women and children have been displaced, NADMO deputy chief Seji Saji told AFP. “What they need is water, food, and medicine and we’re working with the government to take care of that.” No deaths had been reported. Mercy Tamakloe,…

German football club Mainz on Tuesday said they had suspended player Anwar El Ghazi after the winger made an “unacceptable” comment on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on social media. “El Ghazi took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable,” the Bundesliga club said in a statement. Dutch international El Ghazi made the comments in a “since-deleted” post on social media on Sunday night, Mainz said. “Prior to making this decision, the club and the player had engaged in an in-depth discussion.” Israel-Hamas War: Biden to visit Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens Mainz…

Nine members of a local vigilante group were killed by gunmen believed to be bandits in Burra Forest, Ningi Local Government Area, Bauchi State. The vigilantes were reportedly killed when they were  on the trail of the bandits at their hideouts. Yahaya Shuaibu, the Public Relations Officer of one of the local security organisations known as ‘Yan Ba Beli,’ a member of which was also slain in the incident, confirmed the story to Chronicle NG on Monday “Of the nine people killed, only one is a member of our organisation.” The rest are members of another local security unit known…