Gist Arena

Professor Attahiru Jega's pictured handing over as INEC Chairman today June 30th. 

President Buhari has appointed Mrs Amina Bala Zakari as the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Mrs Zakari takes over from Professor Jega whose tenure as the Commission's Chairman ended today June 30th. Her appointment was contained in a statement released today from the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi. Her appointment takes effect from today June 30, 2015 until the appointment of a substantive Chairman.

Osun state governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved the payment of the December 2014 salary of the state civil servants. At a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital, the chairman of the state's NLC, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, said Governor Aregbesola approved the payment after a meeting between the state NLC leaders and some officials of the state government. Mr Adekomi also stated that the Governor has approved the payment of 30% balance of November salaries of some workers who were yet to be paid in full. The NLC boss said the strike action by the state workers will still continue despite the payment of the December salary. "We appreciate the efforts of the government to see that salary and pension arrears are settled without further delay . Our negation with government is that out of eight months owed us, the minimum we can take is Five months to resume work. As it is now, the strike continues while negotiations also continue. I appeal to all workers in the ...

The allegation by some governors that a former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, spent $2.1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account “without authorization” is false, malicious and totally without foundation, the minister’s spokesperson said Tuesday. The governors of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole; Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai, had said that the National Economic Council, at a meeting on Monday, found that $2.1 billion of the Excess Crude Account was spent without the approval of the council. The former minister said no unauthorized expenditure from the ECA was made under her watch in the Finance Ministry, and that decisions on such expenditure were discussed at meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) attended by finance commissioners from the 36 states. “It is curious that in their desperation to use the esteemed National Economic Council for political and personal vendetta, the persons behind these allegations acted as if the constitutionally recog...

Rivers State House of Assembly has given Governor Nyesom Wike the approval to borrow a loan of N20 billion for the completion of ongoing road projects in the state. Speaker of the House, Ikunyi Awaji-Igbani after hearing the debate and after taking vote by 29 members during plenary said the approval was not just a mere one but an action that is important to enable the Governor carry out projects in the state. He said the state Government will borrow loan from the Access Bank PLC and repay through Internally Generated Revenue domicile with the Access Bank. DAILY POST reports that other members who spoke during the House Sitting urged the House to approve the loan for the Governor to perform his job in order to complete the said projects.

Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe who is 90 years old recently asks for hands of United President, Obama in Marriage. This came after America legalise same sex marriage all over United State. Nigerians as usual pour out their mind on social media. Here are some See screen shots of their reactions on Twitter below; [img]

TW publisher Adesuwa Onyenokwe shares her thoughts on the recent legalization of gay marriage in the US and how it can catch on around the world. Read below... I wonder if people have really thought about the implications of the American Supreme Court judgement in favour of gay marriages across the USA. Before that decision and Obama’s accent to the law, it was illegal in only 37 of the 52 states!  However this development is a 'yes' that may ripple around the world because the USA is the world’s big brother. They sneeze the rest of the world catches a cold. So that’s where my concern lies. Being gay will soon become ‘fashionable’ Gay people are humans first and I respect that, but if it were a desirable state, then God wouldn’t have “created them , male and female” as the bible teaches! So I believe. Because God is all knowing and never makes mistakes, He also must have created gay people too, just like He created the sick and the poor that Christ says will always b...

The Government of the State of Osun has announced the commencement of the process of paying the salaries of civil servants in the state. In a statement issued by the Governor’s Office, the government said it is paying the balance of November and and full December salary arrears owed. We must assure our people that serious efforts are on to ensure the remaining months are also cleared. Also, the government has announced a 50% cut in salaries and allowances of all political office holders in the state. The statement further read that the government, while saddened and troubled by the turn of events in the financial status of the state and the country at large, is taking responsibility for the unfortunate problem and is prepared to meet the challenge head-on. “Since the inception of this government, we have treated the resources under our control with the utmost respect and disbursed them diligently for the greater benefits of our people. Our mandate had alwa...

The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Bala Ibn-Na’Allah says only a letter from the President of the country can be read on the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Na’Allah told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that it was the reason the purported letter written by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to the National Assembly was not read. According to him, it is for the same reason that the letter will not be read in the National Assembly “A lot of people do not understand; as a member of the National Assembly, the moment you step into the National Assembly, you either take the Bible or the Quran; and then you subscribe to the oath of allegiance and then take your oath of office. “The oath of office says that you will uphold, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Law and then the Rules of the Senate. “Outside these three documents, (a) senator does not have any leverage to do anything; there ...

An Ijede Magistrates’ Court near Ikorodu, Lagos State on Tuesday discharged a man, Kazeem Ajiga, who allegedly lynched another man for stealing his aluminium roofing sheets. Ajiga was arraigned on Tuesday for taking laws into his hands by executing jungle justice on a suspect, Raheem Omoyele, whom he accused of stealing his property.  The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Omoyele was on Monday brought before Olagbegi-Adelabu on a charge of stealing 25 aluminium roofing sheets belonging to Ajiga. The Magistrate, Mrs Jumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu ruled :“Since Ajiga has shown remorse, caution and did not waste this court’s time by pleading guilty, I hereby discharge him and strike out the case. I ordered the arrest and subsequent arraignment of Ajiga and his accomplices still at large for almost blinding a suspect they arrested and for obstructing the police from doing their job. This court is not against citizens arresting criminals in support of the course of ...

Baana Fanay, one of the key Boko Haram leaders, who has been coordinating trafficking of weapons in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad has been arrested in N’Djamena. This was disclosed by a Chadian Public Prosecutor, Alghassim Khamis, on Tuesday. Khamis said Fanay alias Mahamat Moustapha, was arrested by security forces after a fierce resistance on Sunday. He said Fanay, who was arrested with two other terrorists, was responsible for the purchase of weapons and recruitment of fighters for Boko Haram. The prosecutor said the a search in the suspect’s house led to the seizure of different weapons and documents written in Arabic by Boko Haram leader, Aboubakar Shekau, targeting the sect’s recruits. He said the arrest also led investigators to discover the location of seven other terrorists hiding in a house in Diguel, a Dinguessou suburb, on the periphery of N’Djamena. Khamis said a man believed to be the financier of the group was arrested is under invest...

A bloody encounter between operatives of the Department of State Security, DSS and Directorate of Military Intelligence, DMI was averted today at the presidential villa, Abuja when the DMI agents blocked an attempt by the DSS agents to gain access into the offices. The face-off came even as a comprehensive audit of security personnel deployed to the presidential villa commenced today. The DSS operatives were last week expelled from the villa and their services restricted to the outside corridors of the villa. ?A memo signed by the Aide-De-Camp to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lt.-Col. Lawal Abubakar, the exercise was needed for “accountability and deployment.” The memo dated June 25, 2015 was titled “Request for strength returns of security personnel/forces deployed within the Presidential Villa, Abuja.” The ADC requested that the required information should be forwarded to his office latest by today, Monday. The memo reads, “The need for proper accountability by all secu...

The hardline Islamic State group has beheaded two women in Syria, the first time it has decapitated female civilians, the founder of a group monitoring the war said on Tuesday. The beheadings took place in the eastern Deir al-Zor province this week said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict using sources on the ground. One of the women was beheaded along with her husband in Deir al-Zor city. In al-Mayadeen city to the south east, the group beheaded another woman and her husband. All of them were accused of sorcery, the monitor said. Islamic State has beheaded local and foreign men in Syria, including enemy combatants, aid workers and journalists as well as people it has deemed as violating its hardline interpretation of Islamic law. Several of the group’s female captives have been stoned to death previously after being accused of adultery and other offences. This is the first time it was reported to have behead...

Shops at Ladipo market in Mushin today were demolished. Armed men and officials suspected to be working for Mushin Local government and supported by a team of policemen invaded Ladipo Auto Spare Parts market in the early hours and carried out the exercise. As they demolished the shops, traders were barred from entering the market to remove their goods from the shops as the armed men were battle ready to forestall any resistance from the traders as demolitions were on-going. The traders have however started protesting the demolition and had moved to the Mushin council secretariat to complain of what they allege as illegal demolition.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday again reiterated his administration’s commitment to give the highest possible priority to the rapid improvement of power supply across the country. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the president spoke while granting audience to officials of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, working on the Mambilla Power Project. Adesina quoted the president as saying that it was quite regrettable that power generation in Nigeria had failed to keep pace with national needs over the years. To salvage the situation, the president said his administration would therefore ensure that the Mambilla project and other unfinished hydro-power projects in the country are completed expeditiously to boost power supply in the country. “I am very much interested in Mambilla and other hydro-power projects, not only for the improvement of power but also for irrigation as both ...

Information reaching us have it that the deadline for enrollment of BVN has been extended to 31st Oct. 2015. This was made know throiugh an official circular from CBN.

The fatal accident happened on Creek Road in Apapa Wharf around 2pm today. Two Okada riders collided and ended up under a moving tanker. One Okada man died and the second was rushed to a nearby hospital. The photos below are graphic *warning*

Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after starting the week with sizeable losses caused by Greece’s debt saga. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in August rose 29 cents to $58.62 a barrel compared with Monday’s close. Brent North Sea crude for August gained 77 cents to stand at $62.78 a barrel in London afternoon deals. WTI sank $1.30 and Brent lost $1.25 on Monday. Greece confirmed it would fail to make a key IMF repayment due on Tuesday, fanning fears of a chaotic eurozone exit on the same day the country’s international bailout expires. At the same time the European Commission said it had offered an eleventh hour deal to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to stave off a crisis which could rupture the eurozone and risks a knock-on effect on other troubled countries. Oil traders were meanwhile also waiting to see if Iran and major world powers can reach a deal on curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme by the end of Tuesday, a deadline set by both side...

Press statement from the office of the Senate President.. Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki today (Tuesday 30th of June 2015) gave assurance that there would be no delay in the confirmation of ministerial nominees once the list is sent to the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari.  The Senate President while receiving the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Denys Gaver, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, said it was to ensure that the suspension of plenary does not disturb serious government business like the screening of ministers that he has continued to reiterate the fact that the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly will resume plenary when there is any urgent matter of national importance. Responding to the comments by the French Envoy, the Senate President said that though the Senate is currently on break but “ we are working and we are ready to reconvene any time to attend to any national assignment, including the confirmation of Pr...

In this last day of BVN registration, all sorts of people are going to be seen in the various banks across the country. below are the lists of the type of people you will meet in the bank. 1-The fighters   First on our list, if u don't find this set of youths then no be naija u deh, they must fight n quarrel with u if u dare come and say 'I was standing at his back'... REPLY'''OGINI KI' NA ekwu 2-Beautifully beautiful girls  Always present right from the days of sim registration till now, this set of girls always give u hope of chykin u will never do if u no be sharp guy 3-Illiterates  I pity this set of people because they hardly spell their name correctly and they will stand in the queue for ages, on getting to the plc they will be attended to, the banker just angrily fling away their slip because of wrong spellings through out.  4-Sharp creatures  I name them creatures because they are too sharp, i think i would h...

A 15-year-old senior secondary school student, identified as Paschal Egbosimba, last weekend committed suicide at Uratta in Owerri North local council area of Imo State. Vanguard gathered that the deceased, who hailed from Ntueke, Ideato South local government area of the state, was living with his mother and siblings around Toronto Junction, Uratta, before the incident. “Paschal was a senior secondary school student of Passion Model Secondary School, Egbu. He used an electric extension cable to hang himself from a ceiling fan, when his mother was away for a night vigil,” a witness who pleaded anonymity, recounted. Although the remains of late Paschal had been removed to an unknown morgue when Vanguard arrived the scene, some sympathizers were seen taking turns to console the anguished mother. The late boy’s mother, who wept uncontrollably, was heard saying she never scolded the deceased, adding that there was no reason for him to have hanged himself. An...