Gist Arena

A group of senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress has rejected the senate adoption of the conference committee report on amendment to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act. Specifically, the senators said they were opposed to the amendment to section 25 of the Act which re-arranged the order of the 2019 elections. The House of Representatives was first to amend the Electoral Act to change the order of the 2019 general elections putting the election of federal lawmakers first before that of the state lawmakers and state governors, with the last being the presidential election. The senators, 10 in number, left the chambers to address the press while plenary was still on. They described the amendment and process of passage as ‘illegal’, vowing that it would not stand. Leader of the dissenting group, Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-APC), questioned the conduct of the senate president, Bukola Saraki, in the passage process. “We are pa...

A s part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress, the National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has arrived the party’s National Secretariat. He is expected to meet with the Chief John Odigie Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the party…

A s part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress, the National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has arrived the party’s National Secretariat. He is expected to meet with the Chief John Odigie Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the party…

A s part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress, the National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has arrived the party’s National Secretariat. He is expected to meet with the Chief John Odigie Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the party…

A s part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress, the National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, has arrived the party’s National Secretariat. He is expected to meet with the Chief John Odigie Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the party…

T he recent reinstatement of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, stirred nationwide controversy and left some staff of the agency bemused. Some of the staff protested at the premises of the agency Thursday last week when Mr. Yusuf reported back to his office. During the protest, the workers complained about alleged highhandedness of Mr. Yusuf before his suspension. The workers’ complaint, which they claimed had not been addressed, was one of the 12 allegations over which Mr. Yusuf was suspended by the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, who also set up a panel to investigate the allegations. Some newspapers reported, quoting anonymous sources at the presidency, that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered Mr. Yusuf’s reinstatement because he found the allegations against him largely unsubstantiated after evaluating the report of the panel that probed the offences. The Presidency or the Ministry of Health has yet to make th...

G overnor Samuel Ortom is currently meeting with the Senate in the ongoing probe by the upper chamber of the National Assembly into the killings by herdsmen in Benue State. The governor is appearing before the joint Senate Committee on Police Affairs; and National Security and Intelligence, especially on his indictment by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, over his alleged culpability in the security crisis in the state. The meeting is now behind closed doors. Source: Punch

S enator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi west, is in for a long battle with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, TheCable can report. The senator, who is very close to Senate President Bukola Saraki, will soon be charged to court by the attorney-general of the federation for allegedly operating a US account in violation of the code of conduct act, TheCable understands. He is said to have used the account to remove the tattoo of his ex-wife on his body. The details of the impending charges are still sketchy. TheCable also learnt that the Kogi state government is planning to charge him to court over allegations of supplying guns to hoodlums. Some hoodlums who were arrested recently allegedly claimed he was the one that supplied the guns. The federal government recently charged Melaye with allegedly framing Edward David, chief of staff of Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state. Melaye had accused David of being behind an alleged assassination atte...

T he upper legislative chamber adopted the timetable after it considered the recommendations of a conference committee report on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act. The house of representatives had changed the order of the timetable for the election by amending the act. On the floor of the senate on Wednesday, after Suleiman Nazif, chairman of the committee on INEC, presented the report, Senate President Bukola Saraki put it to a voice vote. Before he put it to vote, he said: “Let me remind us on where the procedures are for conference report, very simple and straight forward. You either adopt the report or you reject the report.” After it was adopted, Ovie Omo-Agege, senator representing Delta central, stood up to give a personal explanation on the matter but was ruled out of order. Also, Kabiru Gaya, senator representing Kano south, wondered why the issue of the amended timetable would be brought up when it was never discussed at the s...

T he management of Chrisland Schools has sent an email to parents reassuring parents of their children's safety. This comes after reports surfaced online two days ago of a 47-year-old supervisor in the school, Adegboyega Adenekan, who allegedly sexually molested a 2-year-old girl in the school. Ade was accused of molesting the little girl who was in the Lekki branch of the school in November 2016. A video recording of the little girl describing how the school supervisor molested her was played at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday February 12th. Nigerians on social media had called on parents that stiill have their wards in the school to remove them and boycott the school after it was alleged that the school had hired a SAN to defend the accused in court. In the email sent to parents, the management of the school stated that their school has an untarnished image it has maintained since its inception 40 years ago. The school said the sad inc...

T his morning, Chrisland School issued an official statement assuring parents of their children's safety and accusing the press of being paid to tarnish their hard-earned image. This comes after reports surfaced online two days ago of a 47-year-old supervisor in the school, Adegboyega Adenekan, who allegedly sexually molested a 2-year-old girl in the school. Ade was accused of molesting the little girl who was in the Lekki branch of the school in November 2016. A video recording of the little girl describing how the school supervisor molested her was played at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday February 12th. See Tope Delano's analysis below... To say that my entire being bleeds at the thought of this alleged heinous crime, will be an understatement. Hours ago, the nation was greeted with the news of a Chrisland school supervisor Mr. Adegboyega Adenekan, who has been accused of raping a 2-years old on multiple occasions, a...

A national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), to join what he called the retirees’ club and be collecting pensions. Tinubu spoke with State House correspondents shortly after he and a former interim chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, met President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He was reacting to separate statements by the two leaders who recently advised Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019. While saying he does not address “those shadows,” the former Lagos State governor urged Obasanjo and Babangida to allow the present crop of leaders to move the country forward. “I don’t address those shadows. We should let our former Presidents join retirees’ club and take pensions but they can participate in our politics if they are interested. “It is a free world but this freedom is not s...

A ccording to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, With joy and praise to the Lord, Dolly and I announce the betrothal of our daughter Oludamilola Osinbajo to Oluseun Bakare.

D elta officials confirm an Atlanta-bound flight from Lagos, Nigeria was forced to turn back Tuesday after the plane experienced engine issues. According to Delta, flight 55 from Murtala Mohammed Internationl Airport in Lagos took off from the airport around 10:50 p.m. Nigeria time. Flight tracking website FlightAware indicates the flight had only been in the air for a little less than an hour and a half, and had only traveled 29 of its roughly 5,800-mile journey, before one of the A330-200's two engines reported issues. Delta said the flight landed safely shortly after midnight, but passengers had to use the emergency slides to exit the plane onto the runway. Airport fire crews met the plane on arrival, and passengers were bussed back to the terminal. At this time, Delta said it is aware of five customers who reported non-critical injuries during the evacuation. The company said it's now focused on trying to find overnight hotel accommodations for customers...