Gist Arena

Sacked Chairman of the House committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, was at the EFCC headquarters today to deliver a petition against Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, three principal officers and nine other chairmen of some of the House committees. Watch a video shared by EFCC below...

President Buhari has approved the appointment of 17 new CEO of Parastatals & agencies under Fed Min of Edu. A statement by a deputy director in the ministry, Benjamim Goong, said the new chief executives had been invited to meet with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu tomorrow Tuesday August 2nd.List of the new CEO's and their offices below... S/No Parastatal Name 1. Nigeria Educational Research & Development Council (NERDC) Prof. Samaila Junaidu 2. Nigerian French Language Village Badagry, (NFLV)   Prof. Raauf Adebisi 3. National Board For Technical Education (NBTE) Dr. Mas’ud A. Kazaure 4. National Arabic Language Village, Maiduguri, Borno State (NALV) Prof Muhammad Mu’az S/No Parastatal Name 1. National Universities Commission (NUC) Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed 2. Nigerian Institute For Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Prof. Mrs Lilian Salami 3. Universa...

Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has released a statement denying claims that he is working with sacked chairman of the House committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin to unseat Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Gbajabiamila was in a tight race for the seat of speaker of the House of Representatives with Yakubu Dogara last year.... Gbajabiamila's statement, which he forwarded as an email only to his colleagues in the house, comes after a text message from an anonymous number was forwarded to House members indicting him in the budget padding allegations from Jibrin. Read his statement and see the text message being circulated after the cut Femi Gbajabiamila's statement below... “Since the budget controversy that engulfed the House about a week ago, I have pointedly maintained a dignified silence. I did this for the sake of the institution I represent and which I have laboured hard to grow and protect, knowing that whatever I say could...

Three of the ex-agitators of the Niger Delta under the Presidential Amnesty Programme have graduated from universities in the United Kingdom with First Class degrees. The Media and Communications Consultant of the Amnesty Office, Mr. Owei Lakemfa, said in a statement on Monday that 19 other students under the programme completed their academic programmes with Second Class Honours Upper Division. He said that a total of 144 students of the Amnesty Programme successfully completed various academic programmes in 17 UK universities. Lakemfa said that three of the ex-agitators made First Class from Liverpool and Bedfordshire Universities. According to him, ‘Lucky Azibanagein had a First Class in Mechatronics and Robotic System Engineering from the University of Liverpool’while Messrs. Torubein Fawei and Nicholas Nathaniel Goodnews made First Class in Telecommunications and Network Engineering, and Public Relations respectively, at the University of Bedfo...

The London Telegraph’s article  "Children Face Death by Starvation in Northern Nigeria"  (30th July, 2016) repeats a claim from an earlier piece  "Nigeria Using UK Aid to Persecute President's Political Foes"  (12th April, 2016) - that Nigeria is diverting UK aid monies away from defeating the Islamist terror group, Boko Haram towards those the newspaper identifies as political opponents of the Administration. This is as incorrect as it is unhelpful. These claims in both articles are attributed to an unnamed “source” in the United States, and “Western officials”. Yet when the first article was published it drew the condemnation of the US Embassy in Abuja as having drawn conclusions directly opposite to the position of the US government. To state the facts: the UK government does not give development aid to the Nigerian administration for use in military operations against Boko Haram. Where British military support – such as intelligence - is pr...

A 34-year-old Kenyan man allegedly chopped off the hands of his wife of seven years with a large knife because she cannot have children, in what is said to be the most atrocious cases of domestic violence. 28-year-old Jackline Mwende from Kathama Village, Masii in Machakos County, had her hands chopped off at the wrist by her husband, Stephen Ngila Thenge (right) on July 24.  She is also nursing injuries on her head and neck from the gruesome attack. Relatives say the couple had been having issues and Ms Mwende wanted to leave her husband but was advised against it by "their pastor" Ms Mwende, who spoke told the Nation Kenya at her father's Kathama home, where she now stays after her discharge from the hospital on Friday, July 29, said that before the attack, they had separated for about three months over failure to have children "I could not understand why he was blaming me yet we had gone to hospital last year and the doctors h...

Niger Delta militant group, Adaka Boro Avengers, has said it cancelled its planned declaration of a Niger Delta Republic after appeals from Ijaw leaders, including ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. A statement issued by the spokesman of the group, Edmos Ayayeibo, reiterated its determination to cripple the nation’s economy until President Muhammadu Buhari showed a sincere desire to dialogue and restructure the country. ABA, which is also an affiliate of the dreaded Niger Delta Avengers, also warned the federal government against entering dialogue with the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta if the government wants peace in the oil-rich region. The statement reads in part, “We adhere to the voice of our people, because our struggle is for the Niger Delta people and not for selfish reason. But this is not the end. More has yet to come. Our mission to cripple the economy of the Nigerian nation will not stop until the Nigerian government is re...

According to story by Mr Jasper Ndubuaku, who narrates how his son was almost killed by radiation heat of a 33 Kv armored cable which Eko Discos left uncovered at Cele Bus Stop Lagos. He went ahead to narrate that his son just escaped death and is lying critically ill in a hospital in FESTAC town.  According to Mr Jasper, he said, "The devil came calling. And GOD said NO. I've been in Lagos since Monday 25th July looking after my Son Who just escaped death and is lying critically ill in a hospital in FESTAC town.     My sons Obioha and Toby who are students of Kings college Lagos boarded an ABC bus to Owerri on Sunday the 24th of July at the Amuwo odofin park of the company. The bus which was supposed to leave did not depart until about 9 30 am only to break down at Cele bus stop, less than 5 km away. Passengers in the vehicle testify that the motor mechanic in the bus confessed that he told the management that the bus was faulty and can ...

After submitting his petition at ICPC headquarters against Speaker Yakubu Dogara, three principal officers of the House of Representatives and nine chairmen of different committees in the House, Abdulmumin Jibrin told newsmen that he hopes to see quick investigations into the matter so that the people he indicted can be investigated and sent to jail if found guilty. “I am here to submit a formal petition and give further clarification and insights on allegations of corruption abuse of trust and office by Mr speaker Yakubu Dogara, the deputy speaker of house, Yusuf Lasun, the whip of the house, Alhassan Doguwa and the minority leader of the house Leo Ogor and nine other members of the House who are also chairmen of different other committees. We have submitted the petition. The chairman of the commission received us in person and we exchanged a couple of ideas on how to move forward. I hope to see a very quick commencement of investigation so that these corrupt set of...

Speaking with journalists on Sunday aboard the papal plane during the return journey from his 5-day trip to Poland for a Catholic youth festival, Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, said that Islam can not be equated with terrorism and warned that Europe was pushing its youths into the hands of extremists. “It’s not true and it’s not correct (to say) Islam is terrorism. I don’t think it is right to equate Islam with violence,” the pope said. The pope defended his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in France in the latest of a string of recent attacks in Europe claimed by the Islamic State group. “In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too. If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptised Ca...

THE National Council on Establishment has approved the postgraduate diploma (PGD) as the bridge programme for holders of the Higher National Diploma (HND) to rise to the peak of their career just like their degree holders counterparts. In a meeting which lasted five days last week in Minna, the Niger State capital, it was resolved, among others, that the entry point for HND holders into the civil service would henceforth be Grade Level 08, like their bachelor degree holder counterparts. This, it is hoped, will effectively and finally resolve the discrimination and career limitation that graduates of polytechnic institutions had for years been subjected to in the workplace, especially the states and federal civil service. The National Council on Establishment meeting comprised the Head of Service of the Federation; Heads of Service (HoS) of the 36 states of the federation; representatives of the federal and states Ministry of Education (who were rep...