Gist Arena

T he Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, on Friday told President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw Nigeria from international religious organisations, address insecurity in the country and ensure payment of workers’ salaries. The President of CAN, Sampson Ayokunle, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting of the leadership of the association with Mr. Buhari in his office. Mr. Ayokunle, who said the meeting was called by Mr. Buhari, long after the association complained that its request for an audience with the president had not been granted, said the meeting was “better to be late than never.” The CAN leadership has been critical of many actions of the government under Mr. Buhari, including the recent receipt of a N100 billion Islamic Sukuk bond, which the government distributed for the construction of some federal roads. CAN has also accused the president of plotting to Islamise Nigeria. Speaking with reporters after the meeting, however,...

M embers of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) on Friday marched across major roads in Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State ahead of the November 18, gubernatorial election in the state. Their key message is that Anambrarians should boycott the election, threatening that whoever votes will die. This development is arising when preparations for the Anambra polls are in high gear. A background voice in the video said: “Today, the 10th day of November, we are here to tell the people we are not afraid of the zoo. “We are not terrorists. As you can see, there will be no election. We are not going to vote. We are not going to participate. “As you can see, we are formidable. “We want the federal government to produce Nnamdi kanu with immediate effect or there will be no peace. “Come vote and die. If you vote, you will die.” Recall that the National Coordinator of the Election Monitor, Abiodun Ajijola, urged the Independent National Elect...

P resident Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja assured religious leaders, and all Nigerians, that his administration will address rising concerns about corruption, insecurity and injustice in various parts of the country. Mr. Buhari gave the assurance when he received a Christian delegation led by the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Olasupo Ayokunle, and a Muslim delegation led by the Secretary General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Khalid Aliyu, in separate meetings at the State House. The president told the CAN delegation that he had already given instructions for the submission of all the names of heads of parastatals in order to address the allegations of lop-sidedness in appointments. “On the question of one-sided appointments, we will look at it. I have given instructions that a list of all heads of parastatals be submitted to me and I know they will not delay in doing that,’’ he said. Mr. Buhari said his administration would ensure refo...

T here was a huge celebration in Lekki as Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel dedicated an N1 billion 1,000 seat chapel at Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Ajah, Lagos. Reports have it that the chapel was built single-handedly by a member of the Winners Chapel Church. Bishop Oyedepo commissioned the new Winners Chapel facility at VGC. Until now, the Oyedepo has maintained that a central church at Ota, Ogun State was the primary place of worship. It is reported that a pastor, who chose to remain anonymous, procured property, built and delivered the whole facility to the church for free as his contribution to the church. According to reports, the facility will continue to hold only weekly services until such a time as the Bishop Oyedepo receives divine instruction to allow satellite centers within Lagos to run Sunday services.

A Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan on Friday dissolved seven-year-old marriage between Omolara and her husband, Abiodun Ojeyemi, for adulterous lifestyle. Omolara had petitioned the court to dissolve the union over alleged threat to her life. Her concubine also told the court how he sleeping with the woman despite knowing she was married. The president of the court, Ademola Odunade, held that the society was fast undergoing an unprecedented decay in morality, especially how adultery was ruining marriages. “It is so tragic that a man can deliberately impregnate a housewife with children. “It has never happened in the history of this court that a concubine will accompany his mistress to the court with the intention of daring us, saying nothing will happen. “In the interest of peaceful living, the union between Omolara and Abiodun has ceased to be, henceforth. “Abiodun shall take custody of the two children produced by the union,” he said. Narrating his...

A lawyer to the whistle-blower that helped in the recovery of $43.5 million, £27,800 and N23.2 million at No. 16 Osborne Road, Flat 7B Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos, has said his client is yet to be paid his due reward five months after a court ordered a final forfeiture of the money. Reacting to a claim by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that his client is now a millionaire, the lawyer, Yakubu Galadima, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that several efforts to get the money have been unsuccessful. “The truth is that this guy has not been paid a penny,” Mr. Galadima said. “In fact, from April till date, the guy has been living under my meagre resources, his security was just zero. I’ve had to relocate this guy from one place to another so nobody knows his whereabouts.” The Nigerian government in December 2016 adopted a policy on whistleblowing to encourage citizens to report financial and other related crimes to relevant authorities. According to the ...

A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared as ILLEGAL the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume. He disclosed this in Abuja at a briefing on Friday. Though he has served out his suspension, Senator Ndume says it will serve as a lesson to the Senate Source; @Sumner_Sambo

C hairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, has vowed not to give up his constant attacks on the nation’s lawmakers so long as the finances of the country are continually wasted in taking care of them. Speaking at an interactive session with stakeholders in Abuja, Sagay said he shouldn’t be blamed for attacking the lawmakers as huge resources were being spent to maintain their affairs. Frowning at the alleged waste, Sagay said, “Why won’t I attack them? Is it a sin to attack them? “We pay them for the clothes they wear. We pay them for sitting comfortably in the Assembly. “We are paying them for hardship allowance. Yes, I came out and attacked them and I will attack them again. “And I will attack those APC ‘monsters’ making things difficult for us.” On Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and their role on corruption, Sagay insisted that the Bureau “is weak. Something needs to be done about them.” On the issue of Abd...

P resident Muhammadu Buhari on Friday met with members and leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the presidential villa, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, and Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita. The meeting, being held behind closed doors at the council chamber of Aso Rock, was also attended by ministers, while the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, was represented by the permanent secretary, Ecological Fund Office, Habiba Lawal. The president is also expected to meet with representatives of the Muslim community in Nigeria at same venue by 2 p.m. (NAN) Watch video below… President @MBuhari has just finished a closed-door meeting with members and leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), he will later hold a similar meeting with leaders of Muslims faithful at th...

T he Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has condemned what he described as ‘unverified allegations’ raised by a senator against his ministry. Dino Melaye, Kogi-APC, had first as a petition, and later as a motion, accused the ministry of mismanaging funds to the tune of $35 million and another attempt to break away with $350 million Eurobond. Reacting to these allegations, the minister in a statement he personally signed said he will cooperate with the Senate as he and his staff has done nothing wrong in management of the said fund. “With all emphasis, I state that there is no factual basis for the allegations,” he said. “The ministry, my staff and I have done nothing wrong and we will collaborate fully with the investigating committee when called upon.” Mr. Fashola noted that he was not a minister in 2013, the period for which the senator claimed the funds were received. He also said the responsibility of managing government debt like Eurobo...

T he Kaduna State government has released the answer scripts of some teachers who participated in the competency test set by the government. Basic questions like the full name of the governor, the three state of matter and so on were found difficult to answer by some of the teachers. The government said it plans to sack over 20,000 teachers who failed the test, a move opposed by the workers’ union. See some of the answer scripts as released by the government below.

T he Presidency on Thursday said the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu was “contracted to drown” the success of the people of the South East in the area of agriculture and production. President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie said this noting that it’s an “open secret that Ndigbo are very hard-working” set of people. In a post on her official Facebook page, titled: “When a Farmer Finds a Fertile Piece of Land, he Farms on It Twice,” Onochie also commended the Governor of Ebonyi, Dave Umahi for urging Buhari to seek re-election in 2019. She said the governor has experienced “first-hand, the fairness and the fatherly disposition President Muhammadu Buhari extends to all governors, irrespective of party affiliations.” According to Onochie, Umahi is one of the governors who will not “play dirty politics with the future of the people of his state.” The post reads, “The Governor ...

M uslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and leaders including General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, for calling on the Nigerian government to exit all international Islamic organisations it was part of. Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC Director, in a statement said the body is not a little amused by CAN’s latest demands. “CAN is hallucinating. It is laughable, untenable, kindergarten and quixotic. This is reminiscent of the eponymous hero of Don Quixote de la mancha. CAN is manifesting symptoms of orubebemantis”, it said. He said CAN wants Northern states to issue certificates of occupancy (C of Os) to churches in the North whereas South East and South South governments demolish mosques in their states, refuse to grant Muslims C of Os and infringe constantly on Allah-given fundamental human rights of Muslim min...