Gist Arena

B otswana's government has termed the comments made by US President Donald Trump, calling African countries "shitholes" as "irresponsible, reprehensible and racist". Mr Trump made the comments while discussing a US immigration policy, which he thought citizens from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries should be excluded from. Botswana said in a statement that it had summoned the US ambassador in the country to ask if the US considered the southern-African nation a "shithole". It said the phrase was derogatory from a country it has cordial relationship with. It also called on on regional body Sadc and the African Union to condemn Mr Trump's remarks.

T he African Union on Friday blasted President Donald Trump for his profane comments about African countries and other nations, and recalled America’s history of importing slaves from the continent. Trump used the words “shithole countries” to describe Haiti, El Salvador and African countries in response to lawmakers’ suggestion that America restores protection for immigrants from there, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The White House has not disputed the report. Responding to the remarks, AU spokeswoman, Ebba Kalondo, reminded Trump that many Africans “arrived in the U.S. as slaves,” adding that Trump’s “profane statement flies in the face of all accepted behaviour and practice.” She described the U.S. as “a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on strong values of diversity and opportunity.” In her statement, Kalonda said the African Union and its partners would continue to address the causes of migration, while also fighting a...

T he health of Yusuf, son of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was admitted into Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja, on December 26, 2017 following injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, has improved remarkably and he is ready to be discharged. This cheery news contained in a statement dated January 12, 2018, by the Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Felix Ogedegbe, is reproduced below. “Mr. Yusuf Muhammadu Buhari, son of His Excellency President Buhari, was admitted into Cedarcrest Hospitals Abuja in the late hours of the 26th of December 2017, following injuries sustained as a rider of a motorcycle. Following initial stabilization, he was taken into intensive care. He underwent successful emergency surgical operations the following morning carried out by our team of neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons. “Over the following week, his condition improved remarkably and he was transferred from intensive care to the ward. He has remained stable ever since and has contin...

T he Nigerian stock market rose to a nine-year high on Thursday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation hit a record high of N15.317tn from N14.880tn reported on Wednesday. The NSE All-Share Index rose to above 43,041.54 basis points, a level last seen in October 2008, after local and foreign investors bought shares across several sectors. A total of 1.162 billion shares worth N17.375bn exchanged hands in 8,968 deals. Stocks have gained strongly in January, extending 2017’s 43 per cent rise. Equities rallied for the sixth day on Thursday, climbing 2.9 per cent, to take the rise since the start of the year to 13.5 per cent. Last year’s gain was the biggest since 2013, and traders had said they expected further advances fuelled by hopes of lower interest rates and a more stable currency. On Wednesday, stocks posted their biggest one-day gain in seven months. Likewise on Thursday, investors recorded gains to the tune of N436.1bn as market capita...

T he Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee (LPPC) has suspended the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun over her refusal to pay rent for nine years on a rented property she occupied. The committee also announced the withdrawal of the rank from Mr. Kunle Ogunba.  The decisions were announced in a statement signed by Mrs. Hadizatu Mustapha, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and Secretary to the LPPC.  The suspension of the conferment of the rank on Mrs. Bashorun was a sequel to an investigation of a petition filed against her. According to the LPPC, the investigation, during which Mrs Bashorun was given a fair hearing, was carried out by a sub-committee of the LPPC.  At its 129th Plenary Meeting, the LPPC upheld the recommendations of the sub-committee, which said the petitioner's complaints were meritorious, having found that Mrs. Bashorun stayed in a rented property for nine years without payin...

P ower generation in the country may have hit a fresh snag following the explosion that ruptured the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline on Thursday, even as generation from hydropower plants dropped by 494 megawatts in six days. There was pandemonium as a heavy explosion rocked the pipeline criss-crossing the Ugbokodo community near the Warri refinery in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State. The incident, which sources said occurred around 4am, forced residents of the community to scamper for safety in the bushes when they discovered that the inferno that resulted from the explosion was advancing towards their homes. It was gathered that some residents, including children, who fled into the bushes, were still missing as of 4:30pm when one of our correspondents left the community. The PUNCH learnt that the explosion was as a result of leaks from a gas pipeline in the community, which had earlier been reported to the management of the NGC. According to the Nigerian N...