Gist Arena

Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, has given an insight into the power play at the Nigerian seat of power in the wake of a sickness that has kept her husband out of the country for over two months. President Muhammadu Buhari had flown to London 63 days ago to resume medical treatment after an earlier round early this year. In a Facebook post on Monday, Mrs. Buhari took a cue and alluded to some elements around her ailing husband as “the hyenas” and “the jackals,” hoping that they would soon be sent out of “his Kingdom”. Mrs. Buhari who is presently in the United Kingdom to see her ailing husband, made the post while responding to a proverbial Facebook post by the senator representing Kaduna Central District, Shehu Sani. Mr. Sani’s post read: “Prayer for the absent Lion King has waned; until he’s back then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple. Now the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to e...

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the election of Godwin Obaseki as the elected governor of Edo. This followed a judgment delivered in an appeal brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the decision of the Appeal Court which had also upheld Mr. Obaseki’s election. The panel of seven justices led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, however, said the Supreme Court will give reasons for dismissing Mr. Ize-Iyamu’s appeal on July 21. Mr. Ize-Iyamu first challenged Mr. Obaseki’s victory in the governorship election conducted on September 28, 2016, at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Edo. He lost that bid. He then proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Benin, where he also lost and thereafter proceeded to the Supreme Court. (NAN)

Youths in Kwara state under the aegis, Kwara Youths Stakeholders Forum (KYSF), have threatened to initiate the process to recall senate president, Bukola Saraki, from the senate. A statement released today and jointly signed by the leaders of the group namely Mr. Charles Olufemi Folayan, President; Ahmed Alanamu, Deputy President; and Abolarin Olusola, Secretary, says Saraki who represents Kwara Central in the Senate is working for his personal interest and not that of the state and the country in general. The group said the state has not felt the impact of producing the senate president in this administration. According to them, they have been subjected to perpetual ridicule by Saraki's obscene display of "affluence through multi-billion naira convoys before unemployed youths in the state and oppression of civil servants, whose salaries have not been paid for months". According to the youths, they have resolved that if the senate president does no...

Former First lady, Patience Jonathan, has accused acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, of writing to the British consulate in Nigeria to deny her visa to the United Kingdom. In a petition which was signed by her counsel, G.I. Abibo (SAN) and sent to the House of Reps last week, the former first lady who is currently being investigated by the anti-graft agency for issues bordering on fraud and abuse of office, said Magu in a letter written to UK authorities, made spurious allegations against her all in a bid to stop the UK government from renewing her visa. She said the allegations were however investigated by the UK authorities and found to be baseless and false. “In February 2017, the EFCC through its acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, made a spurious report against our client to the United Kingdom authorities and other international bodies – all in a grand design to forestall the renewal of her visa and other travel documents. The allegations against ...

Barring any last minute change, INEC will today begin the recall process of Senator Dino Melaye from the senate. On June 21st, INEC released 188,588 signatures from registered voters in Kogi West Senatorial district seeking the recall of their senator, Dino Melaye. Melaye has maintained that the process for the collation of signatures was flawed as some of those who signed the recall registers were dead. He has insisted that the Governor, Yahaya Bello was behind the recall process and last week, he failed to secure an injunction from the Federal High Court Lagos to stop INEC from going ahead with the recall process. INEC also last week released the schedule and timetable for his recall. The exercise will begin today July 10th and end on August 19th. See copies of the timetable below...

Once again, London is in the news and its another fire incident but no life is reported lost at this time. According to the London Fire Brigade, 'Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters and officers were called to a fire in Camden Lock Market at just before midnight on Sunday evening. The first, second and third floors, plus the roof, of a building within the market had caught fire and damaged by the blaze. The building contained a number of different businesses'. The Brigade's 999 Control Officers took 37 emergency calls to the fire which was highly visible across the area during its early stages.  Station Manager David Reid who was at the scene said: "Crews worked hard to get the fire under control and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring buildings."  The Brigade was called on Sunday night and the fire was under control by 3am on Monday morning. Crews from Kentish Town, Euston, Soho, Paddington, Hollo...

National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, last Friday, poured encomiums on former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, who is also a top chieftain of the party, over what he referred to as Kalu’s good job in enlarging the coast of the ruling party, especially in the South East. He said Kalu’s strides, nationally and internationally, has brought fortunes for the party and prayed for God’s wisdom to sustain his good works for the party and the nation. Oyegun made the remarks in APC national secretariat, during a press briefing organised to welcome Chief Mark Wabara, into the party last Friday. He said Kalu is one of the true leaders from the South East who knows the importance of the zone being a major player in the enterprise called Nigeria. “His Excellency, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu has done so much for us and I can’t thank him enough. APC is now vibrant in the South East and our challenges has been taken care of...

Senator Ifeanyi Ararume has advised Igbos who are agitating for an independent state of Biafra to first hold their governors accountable over how they spend the funds they generate internally, from the federal allocation, and from local governments on a monthly basis before complaining of being marginalized. According to him, Igbo people can still achieve their dreams without a state of Biafra. In an interview with VANGUARD, Ararume said he believes there is no justification for any group in Nigeria to seek to break away as the Buhari-administration is working hard to meet the aspirations of all Nigerians. He said: “I can say categorically that there is no deliberate attempt by this government to deny the South-East of what rightfully belongs to the zone. “In any case, each state in our zone has its own government that generates internal revenue, gets allocation from the Federation Account every month; gets fund for the local government councils. “And for those...

The Indigenous People of Biafra on Sunday insisted that the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State would not hold. It said the group would not allow any election process that would perpetuate slave status and misery among the people of the area. In a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful in Awka, the Anambra State capital, IPOD said it had not shifted ground on the issue contrary to insinuations in some quarters. The group said it would use the Anambra poll to demonstrate to the world that IPBO would not make empty threats. The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Garba Umar had warned that it would deal ruthlessly with any group that would threaten the Anambra poll. He said, ” The election had been scheduled by an authorised government agency; nobody, including IPOB, has the capacity to stop it. He said the police in the state had the capacity to suppress such threat, warning that those nursing s...

The Head of the Enugu Province of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma has sounded a note of warning to the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, over the statements he had made since he was released from detention on bail. According to him, Kanu must watch his utterances. In an interview with the SUN newspaper, Chukwuma advised the IPOB leader to seek the advice of elders so as not to derail even as he reviewed the the polity and declared that nobody should drag the country into another war. He said: “IPOB should know that if they want to get the blessings of the elders and some of us, they should be cautioned in the way they act. Otherwise, if we back out from them, they will lose relevance. “Since Kanu came out, has he come to see me? But we fought and talked about him. All he does is to be talking about Judaism. Where do we have Judaism in the East? He shouldn’t be a religious bastard. Has he come to see me? “And ma...

The President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nwodo has explained the reason why the top Igbo organisation prefers restructuring of the country to total break up despite the relentless agitation of its youth. According to a statement from his office on Friday, Mr. Nwodo told a cross section of Ndigbo leaders in Abuja on Thursday that no ethnic group has more stake in the Nigeria project than the Igbo and as such Igbos cannot consider a break up as a viable option. The Ohanaeze boss said that there is no part of this country where Igbos have not invested their resources even without any corresponding investment from others in Igboland. He said that while Ohanaeze understands and appreciates the circumstances that prompted the youth agitations under the MASSOB and IPOB platform, the elders do not believe that leaving the country is a reasonable option at this time. Mr. Nwodo said that the various segments of Igbo leadership comprising the Ohanaeze le...

A former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, says the Bill before the House of Representatives seeking amnesty for treasury looters would only legitimise corruption. Musa said that he was disappointed with the lawmakers for even discussing the bill. “Honestly, I am terribly disappointed that a bill like that is being discussed at the National Assembly. “The bill is immoral and it shows the level of moral degeneration the country has attained especially at the leadership level. “The proposal to me, is a way of legitimising corruption because you are telling people to loot and declare may be part of the loot, then you are set free. “This is not good for Nigeria, for development and for the fight against corruption,” he said. The bill, sponsored by Linus Okorie (PDP Ebonyi) was read for the first time on the floor of the House on June 14. It seeks to allow those who looted public treasury to return certain percentage of the money in...

A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, revealed on Saturday that the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha wanted him, the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and the June 12 hero, the late Moshood Abiola, dead while in prison. He stated this at a dinner programme organised by an inter-denominational Christian organisation, Christ The Redeemer’s Friends International of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos Province 39 Chapter. The former president alleged that Yar’Adua was poisoned by Abacha’s killer squad, adding that he was to be next victim, but that he was saved by God’s divine grace. Obasanjo said, “Two people had earlier told me Abacha promised that three of us would not come out of prison or detention alive; myself. Shehu Yar Adua and MKO Abiola. And two of them did not come out alive. So, that I came out alive, maybe God has a purpose. And therefore if the purpose is for me to serve the people and by so doing, serve God, then so be it. “Abacha clai...