Gist Arena

T he Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday urged the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to appear before an ad-hoc committee of the Senate set up to investigate various allegations of official impropriety and corruption leveled against the police boss by a lawmaker. The committee had invited Mr. Idris to answer questions on allegations of fund diversion, official impropriety and other corrupt practices leveled against him by Isa Misau, Bauch-APC as well as issues of virement in 2016 and 2017 appropriation act among others. The cop failed to show up on Wednesday as he informed the committee in a letter by his lawyer, Alex Iziyon, that it would be subjudice to speak on the matter as there were pending cases before the court. Reacting to this however, the senate president urged Mr. Idris to appear before the committee in line with the provisions of the law. “As the chief law enforcing officer, we will expect that he should know what the law is and he

T he senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye of the All Progressives Congress, on Thursday called the attention of the Senate to alleged “monumental fraud” in the Ministry of Power, Work and Housing headed by Babatunde Fashola. Mr. Melaye alleged that the Ministry squandered $385 million on projects not appropriated in the budget between 2013 and 2016. He said that $300 million of the fund was given to IBEX while another $35 million was paid to General Electric and some others. “Mr. President, in line with the anti-corruption posture of this chamber and especially now that our cries, observations are yielding dividends as expressly manifested in the case of Babachir Lawal, today, I bring to the attention of this Senate a monumental fraud in the power sector. “In July 2013, the federal Government raised $1 billion from Eurobond issue. From the proceeds, $350 million was given to IBEX in 2014. “Mr. President, this money was stolen in installments. As I sp

P resident Muhammadu Buhari has said he will present the 2018 budget before the two chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday. In a letter read on the floor of the House on Thursday, the president said he will present the budget at a joint session by 2 p.m.

A former Abia governor and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Orji Kalu, has distanced himself from campaign posters pasted along Airport Road, Abuja, with the inscription: “Vote Orji Kalu for President on the platform of the APC.’’ According to Mr. Kalu, who is also a supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, the posters are the handiwork of political jobbers and speculators, who are afraid of his political feat.‎ In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, Mr. Kalu insisted that he was solidly behind the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari, if he so desires to run in 2019, adding that the North should be allowed to complete their eight years tenure. He said, ”after a two-week business trip to China, to my surprise on my way from Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, this morning, I sighted the malicious posters in my name with the caption: ‘Kalu for President.’ “It is definitely the

T he Christian Association of Nigeria has responded to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s explanation of the federal government’s adoption of Sukuk bonds. Speaking during a pastors’ conference in Lagos on Friday, Mr. Osinbajo said CAN was wrong in its conclusion that the federal government’s adoption of the Sukuk bond was a ploy to Islamise Nigeria. Mr. Osinbajo criticised CAN for what he described as the association’s constant alarm about Islamisation, which he said was comparable to a fruitless search for invisible demons. “Part of the problem is the failure of Christian leadership to take its rightful place. We focus our minds on something we call the Islamic agenda. We look for it everywhere as if we are looking for demons,” he said. “The Sukuk is an Islamic concept, which enables people to have access to credit. It is essentially like a bond. The US, UK, China, South Africa have all used the Sukuk. Once there is money in the market, let us not get sentimental. T

F estus Keyamo, SAN, has faulted how the Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, confronted President Muhammadu Buhari over the reinstatement of former Chairman of the Pension Reforms Commission, Mallam Abdulrasheed Maina, into the civil service. Keyamo said the HoS was dodgy in the role she played in the saga. He also criticised Oyo-Ita’s claim that she called the president aside after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on October 11, where she vervbaly warned Buhari against bringing Maina back to the service. Keyamo said the HoS breached the standard bureaucratic practice by calling Buhari aside and whispering to his ear, rather than putting her views in writing. “I have read her memo very well where she said after the FEC meeting, she called the president aside, and spoke to him orally. Government is all about bureaucracy and not oral communication,” Thisday quoted him as saying. “If she had reservations about Maina recall, she should have put it

T he new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has described ‘Executive Governor’, ‘Your Excellency’ appellations commonly used in Nigeria as unconstitutional. He also said he would prefer to be addressed simply as ‘The SGF’ without the prefix of ‘Your Excellency’. Boss Mustapha stated this yesterday as he received handover documents from former acting SGF, Dr. Habitat Lawal. He described some nomenclatures used to glorify high offices in Nigeria as banana peels. “I will make a passionate appeal. I don’t know where you people get this ‘Your Excellency’ from. Some of the nomenclatures are banana peels. “I often hear people say ‘Executive Governor,’ I say look at the constitution, there is nothing like executive governor. It is Governor of a state,” Mustapha said. According to him, when political office holders begin to apply executive tag, they begin to softly conceptualise the people to take absolute authority. “I wan

T hree suspects were on Wednesday arrested by the Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for drug trafficking. Two suspects: John Ifechukwu and Victor Anadu were intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja while Omotayo Anifowoshe was arrested at Lagos Airport. They reportedly swallowed 65 and 54 wraps of substances to conceal the drug. Spokesperson for the NDLEA, Jonah Achemah, confirming their arrest said a 37-year-old woman, Omotayo Anifowoshe, was arrested at the local wing of the Lagos airport with 3.0 kilogrammes of ephedrine and 1.9kg of cocaine. Achemah said, “Ifechukwu flew in from Lagos and was intercepted at the airport in Abuja. He excreted 65 wraps of substances weighing 864 grammes out of which only one wrap tested positive for methamphetamine. He was on his way to Indonesia. “Anadu was intercepted on his way to Indonesia. He excreted 54 wraps weighing 1,073.4 kilogrammes of suspected substances out of which 700

T he police in Anambra State the killing of worshippers at St Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Ekwusigo local government of Anambra State on Sunday, 6th August, which left 18 people dead and many others injured, has been traced to two South African prisoners. The State commissioner of police, Mr Garba Umar who disclosed this to journalists at the state police command on Wednesday gave the names of the suspects as Prince Charles Obi, a.k.a Gozila and Dickson Nwodi a.k.a Afam. He said the command has involved the Interpol with the hope of extraditing the suspects to Nigeria to face criminal charges. Umar who read out a press release to journalists stated that the suspects had sent one Quintus Anayo, alias Obasanjo who is also based in South Africa to Ozubulu to see the elders of the town to alert them of more attack if their demands were not met. He said, “The two indigenes from Nnobi and Oba towns respectively had vowed that there will be attacks if their financi