Gist Arena

D iezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, is no longer the woman she used to be. The multi-million dollar jewelry and multi-million dollar houses are fading into history as she comes to terms with the new realities of her life. TheCable understands that with her UK property worth over £11 million now treated as “proceed of crime” and subject to forfeiture, she has had to “step down” her taste: she now lives in a rented flat in the same London building housing the $2.8 million property allegedly bought for her by Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko, her business associates. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen accounts linked to the former minister, including those belonging to family members and known associates. This makes it virtually impossible for her to access money from any source and she is now living off the goodwill of those who still remember her. Nigerian courts have already forced Alison-Madueke to forfeit her prop...

T he meeting to resolve the strike by resident doctors, NARD, is ongoing in Abuja. The meeting is being attended by the leadership of the NARD as well as the Ministers of Health, Isaac Adewole; Labour, Chris Ngige, and the representative of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA. Before the meeting started, the government officials held their own meeting. At the end of that first meeting, Mr. Ngige slammed the resident doctors for embarking on the strike despite pleas from the federal government. “The doctors have breached section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act, which states that ‘once a conciliatory starts between the government and its employee, no party is allowed to take any further action,” he said. Mr. Ngige added that he was disappointed that the resident doctors still embarked on strike as threatened, despite reaching an alleged agreement with them on Thursday, August 31. It was after Mr. Ngige’s briefing that the meeting with the striking doctors bega...

T he attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been drawn to a story entitled, CJN, Okonjo-Iweala, Fayemi, Fayose, Others Under Probe- EFCC, which appeared in The Punch Newspaper of today Wednesday September 6, 2017 regarding a list of high profile persons, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi and Justice Abdu Kafarati of the Federal High Court, who are said to be currently under investigation by the Commission. According to the newspaper, “The list, sighted by one of our correspondents via an EFCC source on Monday, was recently sent by the anti-graft agency to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), based on request. It is important to state that this report did not emanate from the EFCC and the allusion to “an EFCC source” is diversionary and mischievous. For the avoida...

T he Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has arrived the camp of internally displaced persons in Makurdi for a first-hand assessment of damages caused by the August 27 flood. He was accompanied by two ministers, Tunde Fashola and Audu Ogbeh. Mr. Ogbeh hails from the state. They were received at Makurdi airstrip by Governor Samuel Ortom, who immediately took them on a tour of the disaster areas on the plains of River Benue in Makurdi. They are expected to tour the IDP camp afterwards, where the vice president will inspect conditions of those taking shelter there. The camp was opened on August 31, after heavy downpours chased about 110,000 people from their homes. About 46,000 homes were reported affected by the ensued flood, which occurred August 27, according to locals. The state government, in collaboration with the Red Cross, opened an international market in downtown Makurdi, which was hitherto not in use, for flood victims to take shelter in lock up stalls...

T he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen; Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State; his predecessor and the current Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and the immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, are among high-profile personalities currently under its investigation. The names are contained in the list of high-profile cases involving over 100 politically-exposed persons and top-ranking public officers still being investigated by the EFCC as of August 2017, The PUNCH reliably learnt on Monday. The list, sighted by one of our correspondents via an EFCC source on Monday, was recently sent by the anti-graft agency to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), based on a request. Sunday PUNCH had reported that the list, sent to the AGF’s office earlier in August, comprised over 100 high-profile cases including t...

T he President of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Shetima Yerima, has assured Igbos resident in the North of their safety. Yerima said with the withdrawal of the October 1 quit notice, “no evil will befall” Igbos resident in the North. Speaking with the Sun, Yerima maintained that IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was not speaking for majority of the people of the South East. According to Yerima, “Did I do it for him or in the interest of the country? His rejection of the suspension of the quit notice is not important to me. “What we did was to demonstrate that we have a culture. We give respect to our elders and it was to ensure that the country remains together. “The country is above anybody. On that basis, his acceptance or not is not important but I know that he also is not speaking for the Igbo. It is a minority view of few people making all sorts of noise. “It is not really important to me and I do not want to join issues with them. Nigeria is above everyb...

B oko Haram terror leader Abubakar Shekau has released a new video stating that the recent 40-day ultimatum issued by Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Buratai had no effect on him. In a 38-minute video obtained by SaharaRerporters, Shekau bragged in Hausa language and Arabic that he is well and alive.