Author: Vardiafrica

Labour Party’s Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, on Wednesday formally declared his interest in contesting the presidency in 2027, amid ongoing realignments within Nigeria’s opposition space. Baba-Ahmed, who was the running mate to former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, made the declaration at a rally held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. His announcement comes barely one week after Obi announced his departure from the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress. This move has triggered intense debate over the party’s future and the direction of the wider opposition ahead of the next…

Burkina Faso’s military government has announced that it has thwarted an alleged plot to assassinate the country’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, accusing his predecessor, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Henri Damiba, of masterminding the plan. In a late-night national broadcast, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said intelligence services uncovered the operation in its final stages, claiming the plot involved plans to kill the head of state and subsequently attack key institutions and prominent civilian figures. “Our intelligence services intercepted this operation in the final hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then strike other key institutions, including civilian personalities,”…

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have raked in $80,000 for their efficiency in front of goal at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, had promised the team $5,000 per goal during the group stage, with the Super Eagles having scored the most goals in the tournament so far, with 12 goals. The team earned $40,000 for the eight goals they scored in their three group games against Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda. For the Round of 16 encounter against the Mambas of Mozambique, they got $40,000 for the four goals scored. Nigeria will…

The Trump administration is nearly tripling the number of countries whose passport holders will be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States. Less than a week after adding seven countries to the list of nations subject to visa bonds, bringing the total to 13, the State Department on Tuesday added 25 more. The bond requirement for the latest additions will take effect Jan. 21, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website. The move means that 38 countries, most of them in Africa but some in Latin America and Asia, are now on the list,…

Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, admitted the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and one of Malami’s wives, Hajia Asabe Bashir, to bail in the sum of N500 million naira each. Justice Nwite in his ruling in the defendants bail application stated that he based his decision on the interest of justice despite the seriousness of the allegations against the defendants. Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had last week arraigned the trio on a 16 count criminal…

US President Donald Trump has said Venezuela “will be turning over” up to 50 million barrels of oil – worth about $2.8bn (£2.1bn) – to the US, after a military operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power. The oil will be sold at its market price, Trump posted on social media, adding he would control the money raised and use it to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.His comments come after he said the US oil industry would be “up and running” in Venezuela within 18 months and that he expected huge investments to pour into the…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Olugbemisola Titilayo Odusote as the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, making her the first woman to hold the position since the institution was established in 1962. The appointment takes effect from January 10, 2026, and is for a four-year tenure. Dr. Olugbemisola Odusote, 54, is currently the Deputy Director-General and Head of the Lagos Campus of the Nigerian Law School. She will succeed Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, whose eight-year tenure ends on January 9, 2026. Odusote earned her LL.B degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and was called to…

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Tuesday paid courtesy visits to former Heads of State, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, as well as Governor Muhammed Umaru Bago of Niger State, reaffirming the commitment of Nigerian Army to operational excellence, enhanced security and collaboration with state governments and national leaders. Lieutenant General Shaibu highlighted the ongoing initiatives by the Nigerian Army to strengthen training, doctrine and operational readiness across formations. He briefed the former leaders and the state government on exercises being conducted across Army training institutions, aimed at ensuring personnel receive practical and…

The national working committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, is currently meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. The meeting is taking place at the former president’s office in the Maitama area of the nation’s capital. The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, but TheCable understands the discussion is linked to the leadership within the opposition party and the state of the nation. In November, a faction of the party backed by the PDP governors, including Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo, held a convention and elected new NWC members,…

Venezuela’s parliament on Monday formally swore in Delcy Rodriguez as interim president, two days after US forces captured her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, and flew him to New York to face trial on drug trafficking charges.Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, took the oath of office before the National Assembly, addressing lawmakers: “I take this oath in the name of all Venezuelans. I am in pain over the kidnapping of our heroes, the hostages in the United States,” she said, referring to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The session also saw the reelection of Rodriguez’s brother, Jorge Rodriguez, as parliament speaker, consolidating…