Gist Arena

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has categorically stated that the library of former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is a product of fraud, extortion and corruption. Soyinka stated this in a press statement issued on September 11 in response to former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola over the chairmanship and origin of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU). Soyinka noted that he vehemently kicked against having the archives of Ulli Beier transferred to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, situated in Abeokuta, even though paid for with the funds of Osun State. In the statement titled: ‘PRINCE OYINLOLA in The REPUBLIC of LIARS’ he said: “The conspiracy by some parties to transfer the Ulli Beier archives to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, situated in Abeokuta, even though paid for with the funds of Osun State. He then stated why he kicked against the transfer: “The recognition of O...

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ) at the national level may soon consume it as the former National Chairman of the party, Ahmadu Adamu Muazu, may have concluded arrangements to form a new party with some notable chieftains of the party, investigations have revealed. Already, Muazu has allegedly succeeded in wooing some northern Nigeria power brokers as part of his agenda for 2019 Presidential election in the country, impeccable sources who pleaded anonymity have hinted. Investigations further revealed that, Muazu, otherwise known as “game changer”, has allegedly curried the support of some major northern leaders. Muazu who was said to have started consultation on his next political agenda may have recorded major achievements as he has also met with some leaders of the PDP who have consented to his plan and are a ready working together with for the realisation of his new dream to become the next President of Nigeria. Among the party’s big wigs ...

Just ahead of the fourteenth anniversary of al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the U.S., the leader of the terrorist group took aim in an angry speech at a mortal enemy -- but not American “crusaders” this time. Rather, the object of his tirade was the leader of ISIS in a declaration of war that will “irreconcilably” divide the two terror groups in a way the U.S. may be able to exploit, experts say. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor who replaced Osama bin Laden as the head of al Qaeda four years ago, in a new audio message accused ISIS top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of “sedition” and insisted the Iraqi terrorist recluse was not the leader of all Muslims and militant jihad as “caliph” of the Islamic State, as al-Baghdadi had claimed 14 months ago in a Mosul mosque. “It’s pretty interesting,” said former National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen. “Zawahiri until now has not been willing to openly condemn Baghdadi and ISIS. It highlights how deep the divi...

A San Bernardino woman slammed on her brakes and then stepped out of her car while it was still moving in a bizarre crash caught on a dashboard camera in Rowland Heights, California earlier this month. The crash occurred on Harbor Boulevard near Vantage Point at about 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 1. In the video posted to YouTube, the woman behind the wheel of the 2010 Hyundai Sonata exits the car and allows it to cross the center divider and crash right into oncoming traffic. Cars can be seen veering to get out of the way. The woman's vehicle finally stopped after hitting two SUVs.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law University of Calabar, Professor Cyril Ndifon has been suspended by the authorities of the school following an allegation that he raped a 20-year-old 400-level student(names withheld) in his office on August 29th.   Vanguard reports that the mother of the victim, Mrs. Irene Akpan had petitioned the Vice Chancellor of the school, Professor Ivara Esu over the allegations. A panel was set up and after much deliberation, suspended Professor Ndifon yesterday September 10th. Narrating her daughter’s ordeal, Mrs Akpan said Professor Ndifon had set a one-hour test for the students on August 29th, assigning two lecturers to carry out the supervision. She alleged that 20 minutes to the end of allotted time for the test, he entered the hall and ordered the students to stop writing. She said while the students were preparing to submit their answer sheets, Ndifon approached her daughter, tore her answer sheet and left the shreds on the seat. “He ...

Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose says contrary to popular belief, he does not hate President Buhari. He said this while receiving the state labour leaders, led by the Chairmen of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Raymond Ade-Adesanmi and Trade Union Congress, Ayodeji Ladeji, in his office in Ado Ekiti yesterday September 10th. He said: “I consider the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari as mere propaganda. If you want to fight corruption, you have to do it by example. President Buhari must start from his party men. He should probe how his campaign was funded because he told Nigerians that he is a poor man. Whatever I say about Buhari should not be mistaken for hatred, I don’t hate him. But, he has to desist from fighting corruption with political face. I differed seriously to his anti-corruption war because he has been protecting other former heads of state, except President Goodluck Jonathan, who contested against him.

A prophet, Muyiwa Adesoye, has been accused of having carnal knowledge of an auxiliary nurse under the pretence that he wants to anoint her private part.  It was gathered that Adesoye allegedly prophesied to the victim (name withheld) that she had spiritual husband who usually had sex with her in her dream, which had hindered her career progress. Adesoye, who resides at Ikotun area, allegedly informed her that she needed to be delivered through prayers so that her future will be brighter stating that such prayer and deliverance would involved him having sex with her in order to anoint her private part. Nigerian Tribune gathered that, Adesoye also told her that she would pay him N25, 000 for the prayers and warned her to do so to avoid further threat to her future. The victim accepted, paid the money and gave him her two phones and a gift.

The recharge card of one of the traders was also confiscated while the trader was allegedly beaten up and forced into the KAI van. Some of the traders and passersby who felt the recharge card seller was unjustly treated, started harassing the KAI officials who on seeing that they were being outnumbered, took to their heels. However one of the Kai officials was held on to by the traders and was beaten up . 

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has advocated life imprisonment for public officials found guilty of corruption. Governor Amosun made the call yesterday when he addressed members of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), at Arcade Ground, Oke-mosan, Abeokuta, during the union’s campaign for good governance held simultaneously in all 36 States of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. According to Governor Amosun, if he had his way, he would suggest capital punishment for both corrupt political office holders and government workers but since it was not in line with world best practice, life sentence and stigmatization should be the best for them

Governors of Ekiti and Rivers state have kicked against the suggestion that government officials found guilty of stealing the Nations treasury should be sentenced to death. The state governors spoke against this during the National rallies held by NLC members to canvass for support for the Buhari anti corruption drive as well as call for death penalty to be enforced on corrupt government officials. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose argued that death penalty which has been enforced in some other countries has not stopped the looting of public funds in those countries.  “In countries where death penalty was introduced, it has not stopped looting. In advanced countries like US, jail sentence is the penalty. What we need is proper moral education to change orientation of the people. Jail sentence is better; it can reform,” he told  Punch In the same vein, the Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike who spoke through his media aide...

Five minutes into Frank Edozie’s presentation on the challenges facing Nigeria’s power industry, the electricity cut out in the Jasmine Hall at the upmarket Eko Hotel in Lagos. “Very timely,” Edozie, a former power ministry adviser and a senior consultant to the U.K.-funded Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Facility , said over the low muttering and laughter of an audience of more than 100 people. “We probably ran out of gas.” There’s no end in sight to the daily blackouts that the government says are costing Africa’s largest economy about $100 billion a year in missed potential and that President Muhammadu Buhari calls a “national shame.” Gas shortages, pipeline vandalism, inadequate funding, unprofitable prices and corruption mean fixing the electricity cuts two years after a partial sale of state power companies to private investors won’t be easy. Generated output has never risen above 5,000 megawatts, which is about a third of peak demand, and if it did the sta...

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has said that he is hale and hearty, describing his purported collapse and near-death rumour as the handiwork of mischievous elements. El-Rufai said his rumoured collapse was a mere hoax designed by mischief makers for purposes best known to them. The governor stated this while receiving the members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House on Thursday. El-Rufai told the workers that he is as fit as a fiddle and ever determined to make Kaduna great again. He also assured the workers that under him the state’s treasury was safe. He promised the workers that their salaries would be paid before the Sallah festival, adding that the state will not wait for federal allocation from Abuja to pay salaries. The governor said, “You can say el-Rufai has collapsed and died, but here I am. I am alive. My deputy is here; he’s is alive and can continue the good work we are here to do for th...

MANY governors, who spoke with The PUNCH, on Thursday, out rightly rejected the suggestion that looters of the nation’s resources be sentenced to death. Organised labour- the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress-at the beginning of the week said looters should be given the death sentence in order to serve as deterrence to others. Labour said it was only by killing looters that the anti-corruption crusade being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari could succeed. But most governors, who reacted to the labour suggestion on Thursday, said the death sentence would be too harsh. Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun said he would rather canvass that looters be sentenced to life imprisonment, rather than the death sentence prescribed by the organised labour. Amosun said this while addressing the state workers who had marched to the Oke Mosan state secretariat in Abeokuta to give their backing to Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade. The state chapter...

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, seems to have joined the burgeoning league of “experts”, “analysts” and “opinion leaders” who erroneously attribute terrorism as championed by Boko Haram to bad governance and enduring privations. During his recent visit to the country, the UN chief reportedly said, “I think that (Boko Haram) comes from mismanagement, bad governance, inequality and injustice. When you have no hope for your future, when leaders do not care for inclusive government, people find other ways.” This is a misconception that is partly shared by the United States President, Barack Obama; but wholly embraced by his predecessor, Bill Clinton; and a former US Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, among others. They hold the view that economic empowerment is a weapon for fighting terrorism. This is why Obama’s speech at a three-day conference on “Countering violent extremism” organised by the State Department in February canvassed this viewpoint. Among othe...

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that it is not easy for his administration to fight terrorism, oil theft and corruption at the same time. But he said in spite of the difficulties being faced in fighting these scourge, his administration would not relent in eliminating the vices from the nation’s body polity. Buhari said this when the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, visited him in Abuja on Thursday. The President, who expressed appreciation for Gnassingbe’s visit and for his concern about regional security, said his regime was being challenged with the Boko Haram insurgency, oil theft, illegal fishing, oil pollution and illegal dumping of toxins in the country. Buhari said it was not easy for his administration, which he said, was fighting on many fronts. According to him, the government is contending with insurgency in the North-East and oil theft in the South-South while trying to provide infrastructure in the country at the same time. He said, “Hi...

Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State has said that the recent criticism of him by the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, over the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, was borne out of an alleged friction between him ( Soyinka) and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. There has been heated argument as both Soyinka and Oyinlola have laid claim to the chairmanship of separate boards for the UNESCO-approved centre. While documents of the agreement that established the centre make Oyinlola the permanent chairman of the board, the Rauf Aregbesola administration had established another board and chose Soyinka its chairman, upon succeeding Oyinlola. But apart from the fact that the matter has been a subject of litigation, Soyinka, last week, accused Oyinlola of illegally carrying on as the board chairman. At a press conference held in Oyinlola’s home town, Okuku, the former governor s...

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested the Group Managing Director of BGL Plc, a Lagos-based financial services company, Mr. Albert Okumagba, for alleged N28.9bn fraud. An operative of the commission, who confided in our correspondent, said that those investigating the matter had been grilling the BGL boss for allegedly obtaining money by false pretences. Though Okumagba on Thursday made a bid for his freedom but he failed to obtain an interim injunction barring the EFCC from arresting him. Justice Mohammed Yunusa refused to grant the ex parte application argued by Okumagba’s counsel, Kolawole Reheem. He also refused to order the EFCC to appear in court to justify why Okumagba’s prayers should not be granted. Rather than grant Okumagba’s prayers, Justice Yunusa asked that the processes should be served on the respondents in Lagos as prayed in reliefs 5 and 6. Our correspondents found that Okumagba was picked up by anti-graft...