Big Gist Africa

A socio-cultural organisation, the Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID), has cautioned against what it described as attempts to politicise the annual Okeaku (New Yam) Festival of the Ezza Ezekuna people, urging individuals and groups to respect established cultural traditions. In a statement signed on Saturday by its President, Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, the group expressed concerns over it called a departure from the customary process of fixing and celebrating the festival, which it said traditionally marks the beginning of a new calendar year for the Ezza nation. AEISCID alleged that a gathering organised on June 30, 2026, at the ancestral Okpoku Ezekuna (Nchionu) ground by a group identified as “Ezza Elites” was held without the guidance or approval of recognised traditional custodians of Ezza cultural heritage. According to the association, while every group has the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom of associati...

*Urges US, EU, other international community to uncover truth in the appointment, bribery scandal  Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank has called for a thorough forensic probe of how the principal intermediary in the appointment and bribery scandal Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola died mysteriously.  Frank said for accountability sake, the parents, family members, relatives and the nation at large, the public deserve to know what led to Tanimola's death at a time when his presence would have helped to uncover the truths in the current scandal rocking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government.  The presidency had in a statement by Bayo Onanuga dismissed allegations against the Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the scandalous activities of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its Director General, Adeniyi Adeyemi.  In the said statement, the presi...

*Commends Apapa Command  The Comptroller-General of Customs, CGC  Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has warned criminals planning to bring in illicit items into the country to have a second thought, as the officers and men are well equipped with intelligence and technology to beat them to their game. CGC Adeniyi gave the warning, while speaking at the handover of seized narcotic drugs to the NDLEA and expired/unregistered pharmaceutical products to NAFDAC on Wednesday July 1, 2026.  "However, these interceptions equally demonstrate that the Nigeria Customs Service possesses the intelligence capability,  technological capacity and operational readiness to detect, intercept and  dismantle these criminal enterprises," he said. He said that the importation of expired pharmaceuticals  and controlled substances poses a direct threat to public health, while the  sophisticated concealment methods adopted by the criminal networks  demonstrate their deter...

*Accuses presidency, INEC, judiciary of conspiracy to keep Atiku off  ballot  Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Monday, alleged a fresh plot by the Presidency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and elements within the judiciary to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from the ballot ahead of the 2027 general election. Frank warned that any attempt to exclude the ADC and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from the election would amount to an assault on democracy capable of plunging the country into chaos and anarchy. In a strongly worded statement, Frank claimed that credible information available to him indicated that the ADC had become the principal target of a coordinated plan aimed at crippling the opposition and entrenching a one-party state. According to him, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is merely being used as a decoy while the real obje...

After an intriguing 13 days of exciting  action, the First Phase, Third    Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Volleyball Premier League ended at the Indoor Sports Hall, National Stadium Abuja  on Saturday. As expected, two teams that showed strength from Day 1, Nigerian Customs Service and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) teams, did not leave their fans disappointed. On Day 13,  CNS Spikers spanked  Offa VC 3-0,  25-23,  25-12 and 25-12 in the male fixtures. Nigeria Police Force shot down  Sunshine Spikers 3-0,  25-20,  25-11 and 25-14. NSCDC wasted no time in dismantling UCEM 3-0, 25-21,  25-16 and 25-22. Defence Spikers could not survive and were punished by Nigeria Correctional Service 1-3,  19-25, 15-25,  25-23 and 20-25. Hard fighting Kano Pillars lost to  Life Camp VC 2-3,  24-26, 16-25,  25-17, 25-21 and  13-15. In what was expected to be the star match of the male fixture, COAS Spik...

Farmers in Bunkure, Kano State, are optimistic about improving their harvests and cutting production costs following a community sensitisation programme by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) alongside Mastrotun Global Agro Allied Limited that introduced the benefits of TELA maize technology. The engagement brought together farmers, traditional leaders, and community members to learn how the new TELA maize hybrids can help address some of the biggest challenges facing maize production, including devastating Fall Armyworm infestations, stem borer attacks, and increasingly unpredictable weather. Leading the sensitisation, AATF's Hybrid Seed Market Development Manager, Mr. Olawale Ojo, explained that the same advanced biotechnology that has helped farmers protect their cowpea crops is now available in TELA maize.  He said the improved hybrids combine resistance to destructive insect pests with drought tolerance, enabling farmers to achieve higher yields w...