Gist Arena

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says militant groups operating in the Niger Delta region are confused. According to PUNCH , Mohammed Garba-Deen, spokesman of the corporation, said this while responding to inquiries on the federal government’s negotiation with the militants. He was quoted as saying the inability of the militants to abide by the ceasefire agreement announced earlier in the month, and the dissenting voices among the various agitating groups in the region were proof of confusion among them. Garba-Deen reportedly said the confusion has triggered serious concern in the ministry of petroleum, making made government to be cautious. “There is no confusion on the part of the federal ministry of petroleum resources. If anybody is confused, it is the militants that are confused because they are disorganized,” he was quoted to have said. “They have refused to organise themselves into one, instead they have NDA, ME...

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Wednesday admitted that Nigeria is in its worst possible time with the Gross Domestic Product figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics which confirmed the nation’s economy is in recession. She said the nation has a long way to go and the government was not deceiving itself that all was rosy. Adeosun spoke with State House correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “It’s the worst possible time for us. Are we confused? Absolutely not,” the minister said. She identified some of the ways the country could get out of recession to include diversification of the economy and investing in capital projects. She said, “How are we going to get ourselves out of this recession. One, we must make sure that we diversify our economy. There are too many of us to keep on relying on oil. “We can see what happe...

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His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of a substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and two Executive Directors for the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC). The new appointees are: (i) Joseph Chiedu Ugbo​-​Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (He is currently acting in the same capacity). (ii) Mallam Babayo Shehu​-​Executive Director (Finance and Administration). (iii) Engineer Ife Oyedele​-​Executive Director (Engineering and Technical Services). 2.​ Mr. Ugbo is a legal practitioner and infrastructure regulations specialist with extensive experience in electricity industry reform and privatization. He has Bachelor and Master of Law Degrees from the University of Lagos and was admitted to practice Law in Nigeria in 1991. For over 15 years, he provided legal advisory services to public sector power entities including legal support to erstwhile National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and t...

President Buhari is scheduled to pay a one day working visit to Osun state tomorrow September 1st. A statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Semiu Okanlawon states that President Buhari during his visit, will commission some new projects including the newly built 3,000 students capacity Osogbo Government High School, Osogbo.

Former Adviser on Food Security to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof Ango Abdullahi, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to fight the Niger Delta Avengers before taking on Boko Haram. Abdullahi, who also blamed politicians for political instability in the country, said the greatest challenge to national security was activities of the Avengers.  He made this known during a book launch, titled: “The life and times of Umaru Turakin Bauchi at 2015 and Boko Haram: The charade versus the reality at 2016” in Abuja. He said: “If we find truly that we cannot peacefully develop this country, the solution is to go our separate ways, why not? “Even now, we are not happy with the kind of standard of security that is being applied in the country.  If you are not going to fight Avengers, you should stop fighting Boko Haram.” While blaming politicians for the country’s woes, Abdullahi said: “Any government that fails to ensure the well being of its p...

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria released official Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the second quarter of 2016 on Wednesday, confirming that the Nigerian economy is in recession. According to the statistics released, the GDP contracted by 2.06 percent in the second quarter of 2016, following a contraction of 0.36 percent in the first quarter. This officially places Nigeria in a recession, which is defined by two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. This news, which was not unexpected, follows mounting criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ability to manage the economy. Everyday Nigerians are struggling with the cost of basic amenities as prices soar and the value of the naira depreciates compared to the US dollar. “In the Second Quarter of 2016, the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by -2.06% (year-on-year) in real terms,” the NBS report stated. “This was lower by 1.70% points from the growth rate of -0.3...

Jonah Okah, a loyalist of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Timipre Sylva, was arrested in Bayelsa State on Wednesday on the orders of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, according to sources speaking to SaharaReporters. Mr. Okah was found to be commenting on the social media platforms regarding the arrest of Richie Etonye, Chief Accountant of the Bayelsa State government, on issues bordering on money laundering. He also criticized Mr. Dickson resulting later in his arrest. Confirming his arrest, Doifie Buokoribo, Mr. Sylva’s media adviser, said Mr. Okah sent him a text that read, “I have just been picked up by the police from the office of the Commissioner of Police from the Bayelsa State Command on the order suspected to be from the Bayelsa State Government. I'm being taken to SCID led by one SP Ani.” When contacted, Asinim Butswat, Bayelsa State Police Command spokesman, said he was not aware of the development but he would look...

After over five years of been in murky waters due to the diversion of funds and inflation of aircraft price by its the management, Aero Contractors has finally announced its plans to suspended flight operations from tomorrow, Thursday, September 1, 2016. The airline, which was taken over by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) Saharareporters gathered took the decisive decision when its current management led by Capt. Fola Akinkuotu as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), could not rescue the airline from going further down. A source close to the airline confided in our correspondent today that AMCON debt in the troubled airline has grown to N20 billion from the initial N11 billion in 2011 when AMCOM took it over. The source said that with the initial N14 billion, AMCON had 60 per cent shares in the airline and with the current N20billion, the source said AMCON had completely taken over the running of the airline and decided to liquidate it. Bes...

A video which is making the round on social media shows a man being roughed up by a woman said to be his wife, along a crowded street in Nairobi, Kenya. According to Mpasho News, the man had 'disappeared' for a whole weekend, his phone had also been switched off for the two days that he was away from their house in Mathare. This prompted his wife to confront him at the ever busy Tom Mboya street before attacking him.  The woman is seen punching him while hurling unprintable insults at him in addition to accusing him of infecting her with sexually transmitted diseases. The man, surprisingly chose not to retaliate. He instead walked away  with the crowd mocking him for being a weak man. The man said that he was arrested on Friday 26th August as he was on his way home and was detained at Central Police Station for the whole weekend and was only released on that morning . Watch the video below...

According to International business site  Bloomberg , Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has lost more than a third of his wealth this year alone. According to the article, Dangote has lost 35% of his wealth which sums up to $5.4 billion. The losses are attributed to commodities slump and the devaluation of the Naira in June. Dangote's net worth is $9.9 billion, a 62% drop since January 2014, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He wrote: Quick run this morning across the Ikoyi Bridge with entrepreneurs in the Lagos Road Warriors running club. Best way to see a city!

The District Head of Jiwa, (Hakimi Jiwa), in the Gwagwa ward of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi, is not mincing word that he is at war with gays. His mission is to stop such practice in his domain. And he is beating his chest that he has achieved exactly that: “For me, there is no hiding place for those indulging in sexual perversion within the Jiwa Chiefdom again. The traditional institution and security agencies are determined to deal with such perverts.” The Hakimi Jiwa, spoke on the heels of the February 6, 2016, foiled gay wedding in the community by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command. An hotel, (name witheld), was hosting the absurdity choreographed for a weird couple, Ibrahim (husband) and Umar (wife), both from Kaduna State, when the police acting on a tip-off stormed the venue and arrested over 20 persons involved in the ceremony including the “couple” and the hotel manager. The FCT Police Public Relations ...

The Presidency says it expects a better economic outlook for Nigeria during this second half of the year. Read a statement released from the presidency below...  The just released GDP figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics while confirming a temporary decline, has also indicated an hopeful expectation in the country's economic trajectory. Besides the growth recorded in the agriculture and solid mineral sectors, the Nigerian economy in response to the policies of the Buhari presidency is also doing better than what the IMF had estimated with clear indications that the second half of the year would be even much better. The Buhari presidency will continue to work diligently on the economy and engage with all stakeholders to ensure that beneficial policy initiatives are actively pursued and the dividends delivered to the Nigerian people. The following statement was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic M...

The leadership crisis rocking the Assemblies of God took a criminal dimension yesterday, as the the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice [AGF], Abubakar Malami (SAN), took over the prosecution of former General Suprintendent of the church, Professor Paul Emeka, for alleged forgery of his professorial certificate. The church has been embroiled in leadership crisis for more than two years, culminating into the emergence of two factional leaders and multiple court actions. Emeka was alleged to have forged a University of Derby Professorial Certificate, which he purportedly claimed was awarded to him by the authorities of the University of Derby, Derbyshire, England on the 24th day of August 2005. According to the direct complaint filed before the court, he was alleged to have presented himself to the Assemblies of God Nigeria, as a professor from the university and based on his claim, he was made one of the trustees of the church. The Federal M...

According to Efe Okposio , the man who broke the news of how Esther Samuel the fuel attendant, who returned his N30,000, he has once again shared a post on how he was called by Mr Reuben Aaron the owner of the Mobil filling station Esther works to inform him of their intention to make a presentation. Below is what he wrote Matters arising on Esther Samuel the fuel attendant 2 I got a call from Mr. Akin Fatunke of Mobil Nigeria on Monday afternoon. At first I was weary of the call because this could be another scam job. So I was on my guard to deflate any lie. Then Mr Reuben Aaron the owner of the Mobil filling station Esther works in called me to inform me of their intention to make a presentation on Wednesday. Then Mr Fatunke sent me a whatsapp message to confirm what Mr. Aaron said that was when I lowered my guard. This morning the Chairman/MD of Mobil Oil Nigeria plc Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, Mr. Ani Ufot the Supply Manager, Mr. Oladapo Oladeji the Ar...

Back in May, it was reported about an Abuja based man, Gaius Chibueze, who said he wants to make history by being the first (and probably the only) person in the world to meet all his 5000 Facebook followers one-on-one. Gauis then claimed he was determined to achieve this feat and had a roaster for the dates his followers can meet him in different states. After news broke that Mark Zuckerberg had arrived in Lagos yesterday, Gaius shared a screenshot of a supposed chat he had via Facebook with him, where he requested for a one-one-one meet.  Although the billionaire Facebook founder didn't agree at first due to his busy schedule, he eventually gave a slight nod of approval when Gaius promised to get 100,000k shares to raise awareness on the social media site. However, Gaius hopped on a night bus and should have arrived Lagos by now. The 100k shares hasn't also been achieved yet.

Islamic terrorist organization, ISIS also known as ISIL has announced that it's founding member and chief strategist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani who urged followers to carry out attacks on Western civilians while serving as the terrorist movement’s chief spokesman and propagandist has been killed by airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria. A statement from Isis said that Adnani had been killed while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo. A US defence official said on Tuesday night that a coalition air strike earlier in the day had targeted Adnani in the town of al-Bab. Adnani was "martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo", Isis' Amaq news agency said, without giving details about how he died. Adnani started one of Isil’s most notorious threats, intended to inspire Muslims living in Europe to turn on their adopted countries, particularly France. He urged Muslims to “k...

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the total number of Nigerians who became unemployed within the first and second quarter of 2016 now stands at 2.6 million. According to the bureau, about 1.46 million Nigerians became unemployed in the third quarter of 2015, while another 518,102 became unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2015. This brings the total freshly unemployed persons in the economy to a record high of 4,580,602, since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May 2015. In its second quarter unemployment and underemployment report released on Wednesday, NBS said the country’s unemployment rate grew from 12.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to a record high of 13.3 percent in the second. “During the reference period, the number of unemployed in the labour force increased by 1,158,700 persons, resulting in an increase in the national unemployment rate to 13.3% in Q2 2016 from 12.1 in Q1 2016, 10.4% in Q4 2015 from 9.9% in Q3...