Gist Arena

The Presidency has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will not interfere in the ongoing probes being carried out by the National Assembly. It said the Senate’s probes of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, and the power sector from 1999 to 2015, were purely legislative matters and that the President could not stop them. The Senate Committee on Business and Ethics is currently probing an allegation of diversion of N1tn proceeds of corruption recovered by the EFCC. The Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, Mr. George Uboh, had, in a petition submitted to the committee, accused Lamorde of diverting the money. Also, the Senate Ad-hoc committee on power is investigating expenditures in the power sector under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.

There were strong indications that the recent audience between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo centred on national issues, especially the choice of ministers. It was gathered that Buhari opened up to Obasanjo on the criteria for choosing his ministers. It was learnt that the president said he was thinking of trying “new hands” instead of recycling the same old ones. But findings confirmed that the president may send the list of ministers to the National Assembly in batches because of the likely merger of some ministries, departments and agencies. The first batch is likely to meet the September deadline set by the president. Investigation revealed that the meeting between the two leaders focused on what Buhari had done in the last 100 days, the challenges at hand, and the composition of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). A highly-placed source said: “Apart from other national issues, the president took time to explain the...

Veteran journalist, Donu Kogbara who was kidnapped for nearly two weeks by some unknown men has explained to journalistsher 13 days experience in the kinappers den. Kogbara, who tried to laugh at the situation inbetween as she answered some questions from journalists, said it was not a good experience, but her kidnapper were fair to her. She said when they called Vanguard publisher and asked for a big ransom, she told them she wasn’t worth the amount they demanded. Below is how Vanguard reports her narration. The state Police Commissioner, Mr Musa Kimo, was probably her first visitor about 6:30 am when Sunday Vanguard got there. It was clear she had just finished sipping a cup of Lipton tea. The empty tea cup was still on the table by her side. Occasionally, she laughed as she tried to make light her experience in the hands of the kidnappers. “I was dumped in the middle of the creeks, leading to nowhere around 10 pm on Friday. And they forced an innocent f...

President Muhammadu Buhari must decide how he plans to deal with Nigeria’s agents of darkness – past leaders who mismanaged trillions of Naira while claiming to be attempting to solve the nation’s power problem. With the on-going anti-corruption war, Mr. President would need to pay more attention to revelations from the Senate probe while at the same time not sparing those who would be indicted. August 25, 1985, Lagos, South West, Nigeria  In the wee hours of August 25, 1985, a young man was dragged to Dodan Barracks and beaten mercilessly. His name is Muba, a station officer of the then National Electric Power Authority, NEPA. He was a victim of the coup that had just deposed then General Muhammadu Buhari. Citizen Muba’s only offence was that he was in the Ikoyi office of NEPA when a power surge from Kainji Power Station in the North Central go-political zone, occurred and caused a sudden power outage at the Barracks which was Nigeria’s seat of power at t...

In the past few days, there have been speculations that the president’s ministerial list had been forwarded to the Department of State Security Services (DSS) for screening of the nominees, a ritual that usually precede the dispatch of the nominees’ list to the Senate for screening. President Buhari is currently facing the hard task of choosing his ministers, having raised the bar on the calibre of those that would make his cabinet list with his avowed determination not to have anyone with a whiff of corruption in his cabinet. But his strong stance against corruption, which had been widely applauded, may have created a dilemma for him as he juggles the names on a list which has kept close to his chest. Many of the people that had been touted in the past as likely nominees have had their integrity and character savagely impeached by negative news reports on their stewardship in government or in private enterprise, prompting an endless search for saints and lately, the pro...

A Nigerian pilgrim from Kaduna State, Adamu Kargi, is among the 107 people killed in the crane collapse at holy site of Ka’aba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. The spokesperson of the Kaduna State Task Force on Hajj, Saidu Adamu, said on Sunday in Mecca that the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON, has confirmed the death of the Nigerian pilgrim. “NAHCON has confirmed the death of one Alhaji Adamu Shuaibu Kargi from Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State among the 107 killed as a result of the collapse of a crane due to strong wind storm in the Holy Mosque in Mecca,” Mr. Adamu said. Earlier on Sunday, the Gombe State Amirul-Hajj, Abdullahi Mai-Kano, said four female pilgrims from Gombe State were missing after the incident. Mr. Mai-Kano said that the four pilgrims were from Akko, Dukku and Nafada local governments areas of the state. Authorities in Saudi Arabia had earlier on Saturday confirmed that 107 people died in the tragedy. The spokesperson fo...

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Monday depart Abuja for Paris to begin a three-day official visit to France at the invitation of President Francois Hollande. The President will be accompanied on the visit by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno , the Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Defence, Finance, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade and Investment as well as the Chief Executives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said. As the composition of his entourage indicates, President Buhari’s talks in Paris with President Hollande and other senior French Government officials will focus on the further strengthening and consolidation of ongoing bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in the areas of defence, security, trade and investments, Mr. Adesina said. Apart from his scheduled meeting with President Holland...

A NORTHERN Christian group has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order an investigation of persons charged with national security during President Goodluck Jonathan administration to ascertain the truth behind the $9.3 million botched arms deal in South Africa. The group under the aegis of the Northern Christians Youth Solidarity Movement for Eman-cipation, Justice and Self Determination also condemned what it described as campaign of calumny against the leader of the Christian community and National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor over the deal involving a private aircraft allegedly owned by him, describing it as reprehensible. The group in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. James Gani, in Abuja, recommended that any-body found guilty after the probe should be punished in line with the law. “We demand that those saddled with the responsibility of security matters of the nation in the last adm...

In 2009, a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Hon Godwin Ndudi Elumelu, watched and almost shed tears as his colleagues on the floor of the House tore his report on the power sector to shreds. A member of his committee had written a minority report indicting him and the then Hon. Dimeji Bankole-led 6th assembly did not waste time setting up an adhoc committee to review his findings. The verdict of the review committee was a complete overhaul of Elumelu’s report. Out of 88 recommendations, the committee endorsed only four for implementation. The former Delta State-born lawmaker, last Wednesday, on a Channels Television programme, revealed how he painstakingly worked on the eight-volume report that could not sail through. He promised he would make available documented evidence to assist the on-going Senate investigative hearing on the power sector. Asked whether the report was still intact, Elumelu said, “We didn’t dilute it and...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the present crop of northern leaders is responsible for the backwardness of the region, saying they have abandoned diligence and selfless service and resorted to personal aggrandizement. Osinbajo made the remark at the opening ceremony of Northern Reawakening Forum (NRF) Summit, held under the theme “Building a Safe, Secure and Economically Inclusive Northern Nigeria” and held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Saturday. He regretted that the elite had jettisoned the foundation set by the founding fathers, leading to the challenges confronting the country. “Our history reminds us of the visionary leaders in Nigeria, who fired our imagination through their vision, diligence and selfless service, who did not live or fight to enrich themselves; they did not leave vast personal estates behind, but their names and legacies live in the hearts of the people”, the VP said.

Nigeria has 180 million birds which can meet its poultry needs, and has no need for imported poultry or poultry products, the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, said. NVRI Executive Director, Dr Ahmed Mohammed , made the disclosure in Vom, Plateau, on Sunday, in an interview. Mohammed said that 120 million of the birds were rural poultry in backyards, while 50 million birds were commercial poultry in formal poultry outfits. “`The commercial poultry are layers and broilers, while the backyard birds are usually for domestic consumption and small scale sales,” he explained. He said that Nigeria did not need imported poultry because more Nigerians were investing in the industry, which had made the country self-sufficient in that sector. “Aside the poultry, we have lots of livestock to complement our meat and protein needs. “From our latest records, Nigeria has 22 million cattle, 40 million ship, and 50 million goats. “So, the ban on ...

Floyd Mayweather earned a unanimous decision over Andre Berto on Saturday to claim his 49th and he says final victim in a glittering unbeaten ring career spanning two decades. All three judges ruled overwhelmingly in Mayweather‘s favor and afterwards the American welterweight world champion confirmed that he was retiring, saying: “My career is over. “It’s official.” He equals the perfect 49-0 record of heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano and retains his WBA and WBC titles, embellishing his reputation as the best boxer of his generation. Mayweather fell to his knees in the ring after the bell, taking in the moment. “I want to thank all the fans… for 19 years I would not be able to do it without these fans,” he said, after the judges ruled it 118-110, 117-111 and 120-108, all to the champ. “But you have to know when it’s time to hang it up. I’m knocking at the door; I’m nearly 40 years old now. “There’s nothing else to prove in the sport of boxing. I...