Gist Arena

Remember yesterday, I featured Nollywood actress and beautician, Susan Maxwell's interview, where she claimed she decided to bleach because most Nigerian men prefer light skinned ladies, and she wanted to be noticed. Checkout the before and after pic of her above and see her new pics below

A former militant leader in the Niger Delta, Ebikabowei Victor Ben, a.k.a General Boyloaf, speaks to PREMIUM TIMES ’ Aderonke Ogunleye about the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, and the incoming Muhammadu Buhari government. Boyloaf says the oil rich Niger Delta did not benefit from the Jonathan Presidency. He pledges to work with Mr. Buhari, and explains why former militants in the region did not carry out their threats to go to war if Mr. Jonathan lost the  March 28  presidential election. Excerpts: PT: Do you think the South West and the Northern part of Nigeria were marginalized under the leadership of Goodluck Jonathan? Boyloaf:  Did people from the South-South benefit? If you come to Bayelsa State, can you count how many people benefited? That is the president’s state. When the APC was going for campaigns, they made a statement that there is a town that they didn’t have light, and people said Otuoke. Then (Gov. Chibuike) Ama...

Read the EFCC press statement below... A 19-year-old suspected internet fraudster Ojosipe Adebayo, has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice A.O Ipaye of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on a two- count -charge bordering on possession of a document containing false pretences and forgery. The defendant is allegedly a member of a syndicate of internet fraudsters that specialize in using fake cheques and scam mails to defraud unsuspecting victims. When the charges were read to the accused person, he pleaded not guilty. One of the charges read: “That you Ojosipe Adebayo (a.k.a. "Marty Jason" and "Candice") on or about the 8th day of May, 2014 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division had in your possession a document in which you represented yourself to be a single lady called Candice from Trenton, New Jersey, United States who helps the needy to organise Charity concerts and also helps the homeless...

8 more Nigerians are reportedly waiting to be executed in Indonesia. This is according to the United Nigerians in Diaspora, a group of Nigerians living outside the country. The group at a press conference in Lagos yesterday May 5th, gave the names of Nigerians waiting to be executed as Michael Titus Igwe, Kingsley Okonkwo, Uchenna Onyewuru, Eugene Ape, Hunphery Ejike, Obinna Nwajiagu, Benjamin Onuoha and Ikenna Abanukwu. Chairman of the group, Mr Pascal Okolie while briefing newsmen, said Nigerians should rally round with other world leaders to stop the expected executions. "Considering that the next batch of execution will take place in no distant time in Indonesia, we urge the good people of Nigeria and our government to rise up with the entire world to stop further executions of Nigerians. Enough of the killings. Nigeria should leverage on the strong bilateral relationship it has with Indonesia and negotiate to stop the execution of the eight waiting t...

There was chaos at Iguodala Primary School in the Uhunduhun Oredo LGA of Edo State after a freshly dug grave with blood sprinkled on it was found in one of the classrooms on Monday May 4th. According to Punch , the Head teacher of the school, Mrs Georginia Ilongwo said the students and their teacher returned to their classroom after the morning assembly when they found the grave and immediately raised an alarm...  "After the pupils and teachers raised the alarm, people around trooped into the school premises. I informed the Odionwere community leaders, the Ministry of Education, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Parent-Teacher Association. All of them advised that we call the police. When policemen came, they said they would assess the scene today (Tuesday). We were all surprised because since I started teaching here, I have never experienced such a thing"she said Police officers from the Esigie Police Division who have been keeping watch of the sch...

Dear Prof. Wole Soyinka, It is with deep sadness that I read your remarks made during you lecture titled ‘Predicting Nigeria, Electoral Ironies’ at the Harvard University Hutchins Centre for African & African American Research, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, where you referred to the Igbos as “greedy”. During your lecture you were alleged to have said: “The Igbos are probably the only group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy whom they will vote for in an election, because they tend to put their votes where their stomachs take them; suffering as it were, from incurable money-mindedness, as they would stop at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.” Your statement is not only divisive based on ignorant stereotyping, it also is also racist, and capable of of flaring up tribal conflicts amongst Nigerians. Such a statement from a respected statesman and educated nobel laureate can cause unprecedented havoc in the ver...

President-elect Gen Buhari met with Mr Tunde Thompson, one of the journalists he jailed for disobeying Decree 4 during his administration in 1984. Decree 4 was enacted by Gen Buhari to checkmate the authenticity of press reports, a policy many believed was against the freedom of speech. Both men met at a media parley the president elect had with his media campaign team in Abuja yesterday May 5th. Mr Thompson now works with Gen Buhari's media team. Gen Buhari told him that jailing him, at that time was one of the challenges of his administration then. He appreciated his media team for carrying out a decent campaign for him during the election "I want to commend you especially for two things. First, is the decent media campaign you conducted despite the PDP’s dirty tactics, you stayed focused on issues and avoided the temptation to sling mud. I thank you for your uncommon motivation to do the work. Despite the lean budget on which we ran our campaign, you did no...