Gist Arena

Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Wednesday, chided the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Ajjampur Ghanashyam, over his allegations that as former minister, Alison-Madueke ‘sat’ on a $15 billion oil deal. Alison-Madueke who spoke through her lawyers, Messers Chike Amobi and Co., dismissed the allegations, describing it as spurious, unfounded and libelous. According to her, the High commissioner, Mr. Ghanashyam’s acrimony towards her is due to the refusal of the Federal Government of Nigeria to allow the Indian company, Oil and Gas Commission Videsh Limited (OVL), default on its contractual obligation to provide a $6 billion investment, (around RS36, 600 crore) in an 180,000 barrels (bpd) Greenfield refinery and 2,000 megawatt power plant or railway line from East to West of Nigeria. In a release made to journalists in Abuja on behalf of the former minister, she said the publication by Mr. Ajjampur R. Ghanashyam to the effect th...

Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, has accused the founder and head pastor of Household of God Church, Chris Okotie, of being behind the plot to destroy his marriage at all cost. Emeka Ike, in a statement, said he was crying out because of the “desperate desperation” of Okotie to destroy his home. The feud between the actor and his wife, Suzanne, had degenerated almost beyond resolution, with the wife filing a divorce suit before a Customary Court in Lagos.\ Emeka Ike said he was compelled to alert the whole world of the “devil” behind the plot to destroy his home, after all efforts to beg his wife to drop the divorce bid failed. The actor accused Okotie of hiring a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for his wife just for the purpose of destroying his home. He alleged that Okotie gave his wife about N500, 000 for her mother’s burial and also bought her a blackberry passport phone. Emeke Ike further said every Sunday, Okotie would call his wife out in church with other single ...

An evangelical pastor arrested for raping his faithful, after convincing them that his penis contained “sacred milk” Sobrino Valdeci Picanto, an evangelical pastor from Brazil, persuaded his followers that he practiced oral sex because it was the way he preached the word, saying that his ‘milk’ was sacred. And this pastor said his penis was blessed and that “the Lord had consecrated with divine milk of the Holy Spirit” and of course, had to go around evangelising. “He convinced us that only God could come into our lives through the mouth”, a follower said, “Often, after worship, Pastor Valdeci asked us to do oral sex on him until the Holy Spirit came through ejaculation and delivered funds to the church.”  Sobrino Valdeci Picanto, 59, was arrested in Apore, Goiás, Brazil, for raping several women attending his church. He gave as an excuse that his penis had been consecrated with “divine semen of the Holy Spirit.” Valdecir came to abuse some elderly, and defend...

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Ibe Kachiukwu today announced that the Port Harcourt refinery has resumed operations and produces 5 million liters of petrol per day. While addressing journalists in Port Harcourt Kachikwu said this recent development will help to stop the era of fuel shortage in the country. He says the plan is to ensure that all the refineries function optimally. He also revealed that there are plans to engage the services of the Nigerian Air force using drones for surveillance of the petroleum pipelines across the country. Kachikukwu also revealed that the Warri refinery will begin full operation before this week ends.

President Buhari says the change he promised during his campaigns will soon come to fruition. Buhari said this when the members of the National Association of Nigerian Students NANS marched to the Presidential Villa to pledge their full support for his anti-corruption campaign earlier today. President Buhari spoke to them through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina . "Everything you have asked for are the things that will make for a good country, and what we are after is a good country, a country where our youths can have a future and a hope. We are totally committed to building a country where our youths can realize their full potential. You can be assured that your welfare and well-being are topmost in our minds and very soon you will see the things we have promised come to fruition. During the campaigns, change was our slogan, but today it is no longer a mere slogan, it is now a reality and we will see it in every facet of our lives. The you...

This is a press statement from the Nigerian police. Please read below... The Lagos State Police Command, in the early hours of today the 2nd of September 2015, conducted a massive raid on identified criminal hideouts within Festac axis. The raid which was an intelligence-driven one is designed to proactively deal with some emerging security threats, including lawlessness amongst Okada riders and other hoodlums within the State.   The joint raid which is still on-going has so far led to the arrests of twenty (20) male suspects and the seizure of seventy-two (72) motorcycles. The Lagos State Police Commissioner, CP Fatai Owoseni wishes to use this opportunity to inform the members of the public that the exercise will continue until the set objectives are achieved.

Kanye West announced that he would be running for president in 2020 after an 11-minute speech during MTV’s Video Music Awards. During the speech West also insinuated that he was high on marijuana. Only time will tell whether West was serious about his presidential ambitions, but in the meantime the first political action committee has been formed in his name. "Ready for Kanye" was registered with the Federal Election Commission just a few hours after West’s announcement by Eugene Craig, a young republican from Maryland. Craig, who is currently the 3rd vice-chair of the Maryland Republican Party and the president of the Young Minority Republican Fund, supports Rand Paul for 2016 but will support West in 2020 if there isn’t already a republican in the White House. West has openly supported President Barack Obama and asked his fans to vote Democrat. Kim Kardashian, West’s wife has been vocal in her support for Hillary Clinton. Still, Craig believes that West’s id...

Disgraced NFL star O.J.   Simpson has fallen even further behind bars! RadarOnline learned he recently had an epic prison meltdown, complaining bitterly to pals that female fans are no longer sending money for goodies. Simpson is currently serving up to 33 years in prison at Lovelock Correctional Facility, in Nevada for kidnapping and armed robbery. Recently, an insider told Radar, “O.J. has called friends begging for money to de deposited into his commissary account!” “In the first few years, O.J. was in prison, there was a steady stream of letters and money from women,” the source said. “His family is responsible for replenishing the commissary account, but it’s not a huge priority for his kids. And O.J. just isn’t getting the letters and money from women anymore. He needs that money because he also uses it to keep other inmates happy and off his back,” the source continued. In fact, earlier this year, prison officials broke up a fight betw...

Remember the pics of Ekiti state workers begging on their knees that went viral? Well, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has pardoned the 31 civil servants who resumed late to work that day. According to Punch, the governor announced this at a meeting with public servants in Ado Ekiti  “I am begging workers to get to work on time. If we are paying salaries on time, then civil servants must also reciprocate by coming to work on time. Also, people must be ready to pay rates, taxes and levies. If civil servants are paying taxes, others should pay as well. Our IGR must improve.” he said at the meeting today...

Governor Fayose distributed rice to the people of Ekiti state and pardoned the civil servants who were late to work on Monday. More photos after the cut..

Kim Davis, a 44 year old Rowan County clerk, is refusing to surrender in a battle over who can and can't be wed. She invoked "God's authority" on Tuesday as she defied a series of federal court orders and once again denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation, couples have stood in her office and wept. They have shouted and called her a bigot. They have tried to reason with her. But Davis, who usually wears a skirt that reaches her ankles and her hair to her waist, refuses to relent, even under the threat of a contempt of court charge, steep fines or jail time. "She has found herself in a situation she never envisioned," said Mat Staver, founder of the Christian law firm Liberty Counsel that is representing Davis in her bid to refuse marriage licenses. After the Supreme Court's landmark decision in June, Davis announced she would issue no more marriage licenses. F...

The Peoples Democratic Party says the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, does not want former Governor Babatunde Fashola to be appointed as a minister by President Muhammadu Buhari. Tinubu had, in a statement last week, denied reports that he was the one sponsoring reports of Fashola’s excessive spending. He subsequently accused the PDP of sponsoring the reports of Fashola’s N78.3m website. However, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Lagos State, Mr. Taofik Gani, said in a statement that Tinubu’s feud with Fashola was an open secret. He, therefore, urged Tinubu to be truthful to the people of the state. He said Tinubu chose to deny being the one behind Fashola’s attacks because Fashola had threatened to expose his (Tinubu’s) alleged acts of corruption. The statement partly read, “It is laughable that Tinubu can now blame the PDP for disseminating information which, no doubt, emanated from the office of the state governor and which was...

A suspected suicide bomber seeking to blow up the Yankari motor park in Bauchi, Bauchi state, has been apprehended.  According to a security source who confirmed the arrest to TheCable, the man was trying to gain admittance into the park when the explosives on him were spotted by metal detectors fixed to the entrance. “The man came very early in the morning, around 6am, and was trying to enter. But he was unable to achieve his aim,” the source said.  “Security at the gate detected the bomb, and they caught him. Most of the parks now have metal detectors since Boko Haram has been targeting crowds of people that can usually be found at parks.”  The suspect, described as “a grown man”, was handed over to the police. The man must consider himself lucky to have been turned in to the police, as a suspected woman bomber arrested in similar circumstance in March was set ablaze. A mob at the Muda Lawal market was infuriated by the woman’s refusal to su...

This horrible incident happened around 4.45pm. A trailer skidded off the Ojuelegba flyover and landed on top of a car and an SUV, crushing some occupants in the vehicles. Can't these trailers and tankers be banned from driving during the day? They carelessly drive around without their locks being hooked, putting lives in danger. See photos from this horrific accident below  

On-line media practitioners and users of the social media platforms would now be on the radar of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission, ICPC, for checks against malicious petitions and mudslinging, the Chairman of ICPC Barrister Ekpo Nta has said. He said ICPC is worried given the fact that the social media platforms are now awashed with malicious petitions and mudslinging that are largely motivated by selfish interests. Barrister Nta spoke with reporters in Abuja yesterday shortly after declaring opened the capacity building workshop organised by Anti-Corruption Academy for members of States Houses of Assembly from the North-Central geopolitical zone of the country. He said the ICPC Acts empowered the body to investigate, arrest and prosecute masterminds of malicious petitions and urged law-makers in the country to take up the responsibility of whistle blowers in the fight against corruption. His words: “ Everybody suppose to be...

Nigeria Football Federation NFF welcomed Nigerian goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme , yesterday Sept. 1st.

Super Eagkes goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama has pulled out of this Saturday's 2017 Nations Cup qualifier match against Tanzania billed for Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh confirmed the recent development at a press conference today and said Enyeama's withdrawal has complicated things for the team. Enyeama reportedly pulled out for personal reasons. Femi Thomas of Enyimba Football club is being tipped to replace Enyeama.

Signs and symptoms of liver cancer often do not show up until the later stages of the disease, but sometimes they may show up sooner. If you go to your doctor when you first notice symptoms, your cancer might be diagnosed earlier, when treatment is most likely to be helpful. Some of the most common symptoms of liver cancer are: Jaundice  Jaundice is is when the skin and the whites of the eyes start turning to yellow. It’s caused by a build-up of a substance called bilirubin in the blood and body’s tissues. Some of the signs of jaundice include: dark-coloured urine pale-coloured stools yellowing of the skin, eyes and the lining of the inside of parts of the body, such as the mouth and nose (mucus membrane) Loss of appetite This condition is medically known as anorexia. This conditions can sometimes be temporary and reversible. It can also be a symptom of a more serious disease like liver cancer. It is advisable that any persisting lack of appetite should be re...