Gist Arena

Buhari today May 20th received some of his old classmates from Katsina Middle School. They all gained admission into the secondary school in 1953. More photos below.

President Jonathan today called on the global community to show president-elect, Buhari the same amount of support shown him. He made the call when he received members of the African Ambassadors Group in Abuja today May 20th. "The President-elect is not new to governance in Africa ​,​ so I want you to show the same commitment to him as you have to me. The President-elect knows that our commitment is always to project Africa. I am urging you to extend the same warmth and solidarity you have shown to me to him,’’ he said. President Jonathan in his remarks stated that he decided to concede defeat because of his commitment to always put the country first before his personal ambition. According to him, a country must exist first before a President can rule. "I have been involved in solving many problems in African countries for more than five years and I know the enormity and cost of conflicts, especially on the citizenry. We cannot afford that in Nigeria. If we w...

Over the weekend, a number of foreign media platforms reported that a restaurant in Anambra was shut down for selling human flesh (read  here ). Well, the originator of the report, BBC Swahili have retracted the story and apologized (see here ) . Daily Mail also pulled the story down.

Marina Abramović, the famous performance artist who collaborated with Jay Z on his Picasso Baby video two years ago, says Jay Z completely used her and that she would never work with him again...   In an interview with  Spike Magazine  Marina said  "There was one reason I agreed to work with Jay Z that I can't talk about. I am very pissed by this, since he adapted my work only under one condition: That he would help my institute. Which he didn't." "The day before, he came to my office and I gave him an entire power point presentation and said: okay, you can help me, because I really need help to build this thing. Then he just completely used me. And that wasn’t fair. This is very different from Lady Gaga, for example, who has done great work for me. Just by having 45 million followers, she brought all these young kids into my public." "And in the end it was only a one-way transaction. I will never do it again, that I can s...

Former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair has asked the incoming Nigeria’s president, General Mohammadu Buhari to overhaul the Nigerian National Petroleum corporation, NNPC, saying it was one sure way of tackling corruption and saving more money for infrastructural development. Blair also asked the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC to switch from its opposition status and assume the posture of head of an organization, stressing that the days of persuasion and agitations were over. He further stated that Buhari and the APC must be true to their words at all times, saying that the action of the incoming government within the first 100 days in office would determine the kind of goodwill it would eventually have. Blair spoke at a two policy dialogue themed “Implementing Change: From Vision to Reality”, organized by the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Wednesday. Represented...

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has directed the chairman of the party in Osun state to take disciplinary action against the Director of Media and Publicity, Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode. This was contained in a statement signed by the National Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, which urged that proper disciplinary actions should be meted against Fani-kayode through the ward for engaging in acts contrary to section 56(1)(b) of the party constitution. “The NWC at its meeting held on Wednesday, 20th May, 2015, reviewed the press war mounted against the NWC by Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode,” he said.

The National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said it has received the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Tony Anenih. In accepting the resignation, the NWC noted the outstanding contributions of Mr. Anenih in the party over the years especially in his capacity as the Board of Trustees Chairman. “As one of the founding fathers of the PDP, the NWC appreciates Chief Anenih’s guiding role in the party in the last 16 years and wish him well in his future endeavours,” the party said late Wednesday. The party in a statement by its national secretary, Wale Oladipo, also said “consequent upon the resignation, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin holds forth pending the election of a new BoT Chairman”. The party said Mr. Anenih resigned “on personal grounds”. The PDP has been hit by a wave of crisis since losing the recent national elections. Its national chairman, Ada...

Chinedu Echeruo Apple has bought Mr. Chinedu Echeruo’s Hopstop.com for one billion dollars, The Wall Street Journal’s publication, AllThingsDigital has reported. Founded in 2005, Hopstop.com makes mobile applications for both iOS and Android that covers over 300 cities and that helps people get directions or find nearby subway stations and bus stops. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed as at the time of this report. Echeruo, formerly an analyst at the investment banks and hedge funds, founded Hopstop.com in 2005. Echeruo is now Chairman of the Board for Hopstop, has been compared to Israel’s Waze, which was recently acquired by Google for $1 billion. The move is seen as Apple’s plan to bolster its map offering, especially given Google’s recent acquisition of Waze. A serial entrepreneur, Echeruo grew up in the Eastern part of Nigeria and attended Kings College, Lagos. He attended Syracuse University and the Harvard Business School in the United Sta...

The ousted Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has appointed Uche Secondus as acting national chairman having confirmed the resignation of the embattled chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu Olisa Metuh, the party’s spokesperson, who confirmed the resignation to journalists in Abuja, said Mr. Mu’azu resigned to continue to attend to his health. “The National Chairman went through the party primaries and campaigns in spite of some health challenges. Immediately after the election, he travelled abroad for medical attention,” Mr. Metuh said. Mr. Metuh said the party’s deputy national chairman, Uche Secondus, has already taken over as the acting national chairman, pending the election of a new chairman. He said a new chairman will also emerge from the North East, as Mr. Mu’azu. Mr. Metuh said the National Secretary of the party, Wale Oladipo, would address a press conference to address the issue and other matters concerning the party.

Former President Obasanjo says the outcome of the recent Presidential election in Nigeria has proved to African leaders that securing a second term in office 'is no longer a right.' He said this at a press conference organized as part of events to mark African Day in Berlin Germany yesterday. According to Obasanjo, Nigeria has gotten it right this time around with this election. "The peoples wish prevailed. I am proud to say it here that Nigeria got it right this time around. The elections may not have been perfect, but it was a reflection of the people’s wish. Even where there were manipulations, it did not affect the results.   Attempts to rig did not yield any positive results. I think with what happened, people will no longer be eager to manipulate elections. When we started PDP many people thought and even voiced it, that the party will rule forever, but look at it today. It is only 16 years down the road and the PDP is already an oppositi...

Vice President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo says the incoming government will be inheriting an economy that is currently in perhaps its worst moment in Nigeria's history. Professor Osinbajo said this during the opening of a two-day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda for change in Abuja today May 20th. "We are concerned that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment in history. Local and international debt stands at $60 billion. Our debt servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, about 21 per cent of our Budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure. The figures of extreme poverty in our society- 110 million by current estimates- makes it clear that our biggest national problem is the extreme poverty of the majority. Thus, no analysis is required to conclude that d...

News flying around is that FFK and his ex beauty queen girl friend are engaged to be married. They were spotted at the miss United Nations pageant in Abuja which bae organised and she was introduced as Mrs FFK whilst flaunting a ring on her engagement finger. The new light skinned bae is really having roses with FFK and i am happy that love has tied his tongue...I mean when did we hear him rant in the media last? SDK

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has made yet another shocking revelation about his new wife, Lara Fortes, saying he met her as a virgin. The Comrade governor made the revelation during their wedding thanksgiving service. He said, “I can boldly tell all of you that I was a very principled man during my first marriage. I didn’t succumb to the worldly pleasures of this lustful environment, even though I had lots of opportunities. And it was this principled sobriety that made me fish for a virgin wife. “I can boldly say to you all that I was the first man to know her (Lara Fortes) and initiated her into the worldly ways. “This is the kind of spirit I want Edo youths to inculcate, instead of messing around and engaging in different shades of adultery and fornication.” - Dailypostng

Twenty-One candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who lost the April 11 House of Assembly election in Anambra State, have withdrawn their petition from the Election Petition Tribunal. After the PDP candidates withdrew the case, they pledged to support Governor Willie Obiano’s administration. They had lost to the candidates of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) the same party that the Governor belongs to. The PDP candidates said their action was in the spirit of moving the state forward, citing the exemplary approach of President Goodluck Jonathan in conceding defeat to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, as their inspiration. Receiving the 21 man delegation at the Governor’s Lodge, Awka, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, commended their resolve to sheathe their swords saying, they have done noble in placing the interest of the state above their personal gains. The Leader of the delegation and former House of Assembly mem...

The singer stepped out in NYC with her husband wearing a 'Lone Star Beer' T.shirt, a Stella Jean checked midi skirt and carrying a $20k Hermes Birkin bag. Beyonce reportedly has $5million in bags alone.. More photos below

More stills from Beyonce's video 'Feeling Myself' featuring Nicki Minaj. More photos below

Two cousins of President Jonathan, Patience Egbeni and Kate Eni were kidnapped by 6 unidentified gunmen dressed in military uniform in Akimpelai, Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State yesterday May 19th. According to a source who spoke with  The Nation , the women who are maternal cousins of President Jonathan were abducted at about 8.30am from their provision stores located along the riverbank. “The victims are two maternal cousins of the President. We know that they have been preparing to welcome the President after the May 29 handover. Unless they are rescued before then, their dream of welcoming their brother will be a mirage.”the source said Confirming the incident, the Bayelsa state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Butswat Asinim, said the gunmen were dressed in military camouflage. “The gunmen were dressed in military camouflage. They went to the provision stores of the victims at the riverside and abducted them into a waiting speedboat,” he said. ...

Nigerian prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew murder charges against a 15-year-old girl who was accused of using rat poison to kill the 35-year-old man she had married. Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the High Court in Gezawa, Kano state, to “terminate the case of culpable homicide against Wasila Tasi’u”, who was 14 when she married Umar Sani. “With a heavy heart, I apply that the accused be discharged,” he added. Legal sources in Kano told AFP separately that Nigeria had faced pressure to drop the case which has angered rights activists.

Ibrahim Mai Riga (alias Kawulala), the 30 year old man who trekked from Taraba to Borno state to show appreciation to the Nigerian military over their efforts at liberating captured territories from Boko Haram, has been awarded for his effort. Riga received a traditional title as well as a Peugeot 406 car and N250,000 from the Borno state government The government said they were rewarding him for his efforts at encouraging other fleeing residents of the state to come back home. Riga trekked for 11 days and covered a distance of over 800km He was received in Maiduguri by the GOC 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Lamidi Adeosun, in company of other officers and soldiers on Monday May 18th. General Lamidi Adeosun said he personally received Kawulala in order to identify with his feat. Riga also visited the emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Mustapha Muhammadu Idrissa Timta, who bestowed the title of ‘Sarkin Tafiya’ (Master Trekker) on him “We are proud of you becaus...

Pius Ikem had his arm chopped off by cultists Delta State Police Command has arrested no fewer than 15 suspected cultists terrorising Ogwashi Uku and its environs in Aniocha South Local Government Area. This came even as a wave of crackdown on cultists and criminal gangs in Delta North and other parts of the state has heightened. Among those arrested were alleged masterminds (names withheld) of activities of the gang operating in the Ogwashi Uku and Issele Azagba axis. They are alleged to be involved in acts of kidnapping, murder and maiming of villagers who resisted their acts of intimidation. Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Alkali Usman, confirmed their arrest to Vanguard in a telephone interview. He said similar arrests had been made at Aladja and Uwvie as part of the renewed efforts by police to curtail the activities of cultists in the state. He said: “We have made a lot of arrest and we are still going ahead with the clampdown on the fleeing cultis...

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered INEC to immediately nullify the election of Benue politician, Christian Abah after allegations of certificate forgery leveled against him by his political rival, Mr. Hassan Saleh, was established to be true by the court. Christian Abah was elected in the just concluded general election to represent the Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal ‎Constituency in the forthcoming 8th National Assembly. In his judgement, the presiding judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola said investigations so far carried out by the court showed that Chris Ada presented a forged Ordinary National Diploma certificate in Accountancy he said he obtained from the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, in 1985. According to the judge, an earlier judgment of the National/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal ‎sitting in Makurdi delivered on September 6, 2011, and a letter by the Registrar of the polytechnic, Mr. Suleiman Buba, proved that the certificate presen...

Femi Adesina  Less than 10 days to the inauguration of his administration, the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, may have made his first official appointment by naming the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Sun newspapers, Mr. Femi Adesina, as his Special Adviser (SA) on Media and Publicity. Adesina's appointment, though yet to be formally announced, is said to have been concluded but merely waiting for some formality before the official announcement. Already, the management of The Sun Newspaper, it was gathered, is concluding plans to re-organise its management structure following Adesina's impending departure. Adesina was recently re-elected as the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) for another term of two years. The NGE president was returned unopposed at the 2015 bi-ennial convention of the Guild which held in Lagos by his colleagues, most of whom described his tenure as the “best the Guild has ever had.” With his new...

Kanye West seems obsessed with his wife but Kim says she was the one who made the first move, about six months aft er her marriage to Kris Humphries ended.  Speaking to Access Hollywood Kim said; 'I think it was six months after I was newly single in like 2012, I was like why not? Like, what am I waiting for? I called Kanye because I'm sure it was really hurtful that I got married and, even though it's not like we communicated all the time, I knew what he was thinking .And then - he's always been a good friend to me, like, we've always been there for each other - then he invited me to a fashion show of his in Paris and I went, and then the magic happened.'  She said she was at first hesitant to start dating so soon after her marriage ended but decided why not? "But then in my head I was like, "You know what? Screw it. Like, this is probably what I've been waiting for, it's been in front of my face.'"  Speaking o...

Minister of Aviation, Chika Chidoka took to his twitter handle to make the announcement but didn't say if the service will be free.