Gist Arena

T he family of Abdulraaheed Maina, the embattled former chairman of the Presidential Pension Reform Task Team, has promised to expose the cabal at the presidency who they alleged are responsible for the ordeal Maina is going through over his return to the civil service. Addressing the media Wednesday in Kaduna, spokesman of the Maina family, Malam Aliyu Maina, who was flanked by Salihu Maina and Ladan Abdullahi, said the family is worried that the image of the entire family has been tarnished following the sealing of properties belonging to the Maina by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and promised to take legal action on it. They said that Abdulrasheed left Nigeria following threats to his life, only for President Muhammadu Buhari to invite him to come and help his administration.  "You must have noticed the recent attempt by some cabal to ridicule and tarnish the image of the Maina family in the media. Where our brother, Abdulrasheed Maina ...

E kiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, narrowly escaped death yesterday as his official car, a G-Wagon, went up in flames along Oshodi road in Lagos moments after leaving a radio station. His brother, Isaac Fayose, shared the news online....

T he President of Association of Retired War Affected Police Officers (ARWAPO), Chief Matthew Udeh has thanked President Buhari for his forthrightness and believing in one Nigeria saying the war is over and over forever. The war-affected police officers from the Old Eastern Region who were pardoned and retired from the Nigeria Police Force through a Presidential Amnesty granted on May 29, 2000 by the administration of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and were recently given approval for the payment of pension entitlements. In his words, 'we believe we are all one, one Nigeria forever. The war is over and over forever. God will continue to bless President Muhammadu Buhari for looking at the nation as one indivisible entity. I feel fulfilled today. The whole ARWAPO members are full of gratitude to Mr President for hearing our cry for over 40 years and running," Udeh, who was an Assistant Superintendent of Police before the war, said.  Also the Preside...

T he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plan for prison inmates to start exercising their voting right from the 2019 general elections. The electoral body said it is making arrangements with prison authorities on the possibility of creating polling units in Nigerian prisons to allow some categories of inmates vote. INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at a dialogue session with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue – a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in Nigeria. “We have already engaged the Comptroller General of Prisons and we have statistics on the number of prisoners nationwide and the number of inmates that are registered. “We are looking at the possibility of creating polling units in the prisons and to enable some categories of prisoners vote. Ghana does it but there are some categories of prisoners who by the nature of crimes committed, lose the right to vote. “Whatever we can do to open u...

F ormer military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has given insight into what happened at the Aburi Conference, in Ghana, convened to resolve Nigeria’s civil war. The civil war started in 1967 and ended in 1970. Gowon became head of state in July 1966. The former leader declared that the Federal Government, under his leadership, went to Aburi unprepared, following a disagreement which broke out between the Supreme Military Council (SMC) and the Eastern region, led by late Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu. He was, however, quick to add that their decision to go to Aburi was borne out of the desire of leaders on both sides, at the time, to win back the trust and confidence of Nigerians and insisted that secession was never part of the resolutions they agreed on. Gowon disclosed this, yesterday, on an Africa Independent Television (AIT) programme “People, Politics and Power,” monitored in Lagos. “We agreed to put our heads together, to regain the trust and confid...

T he Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has ordered its bailiff to ensure the service of its subpoena on former President Goodluck Jonathan within five days from Wednesday. The subpoena is to make Mr. Jonathan appear as a defence witness in the ongoing trial of former Peoples Democratic Party spokesperson, Olisah Metuh. Mr. Metuh is facing trial for alleged diversion of N400 million from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. The defendant had also obtained a subpoena for the appearance of Mr. Dasuki in court as his witness. On Wednesday, the court registrar confirmed the service of the subpoena on Mr. Dasuki but noted that Mr. Jonathan was yet to be served, after a first attempt to serve him (Jonathan) by the bailiff. Consequently, Justice Okon Abang gave the court official five days to serve Mr. Jonathan with the subpoena. He added that in the event that the bailiff was unable to serve the former President with the subp...