Author: Vardiafrica

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States greenback. Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) boss Zack Adedeji disclosed after a FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday. He said the measure would reduce the strain on the country’s foreign spendings and stabilise the pump price of petrol, diesel and other products in Nigeria. Adedeji said FEC ordered that the state-owned NNPCL immediately begin the full implementation of the directive to boost local…

President Bola Tinubu has signed the minimum wage bill into law, ending months of deliberations between government authorities, labour unions, and the private sector. He signed it at the State House in Abuja on Monday days after the National Assembly National had passed the Minimum Wage Act, 2019 to increase the National Minimum Wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000. A National Assembly delegation led by the President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio and some members of the House of Representatives were around to witness the ground-breaking event. Following the signing, the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters Basheer Lado…

Some youths have taken to the streets of Niger state to protest the pervasive economic hardship and spiralling inflation in Nigeria. The protest was reportedly billed to commence on August 1 nationwide. However, on Monday, some youths in Niger trooped out with placards bearing inscriptions like ‘Fuel subsidy must be back’, ‘Enough is enough’, ‘Stop anti-masses policies’, ‘We are not slaves in our country’, ‘Hardship is unbearable’. The protesters are currently marching through the Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Suleja LGA of Niger state, while chanting anti-government slogans. State governors and President Bola Tinubu have repeatedly appealed to youths to shelve the August 1-10…

The D’Tigress of Nigeria have defeated the Opals of Australia in their first match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.  The Rena Wakama-led ladies pulled off a spirited performance to beat the Australians 75-62 at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Monday. The victory was the team’s first win in an Olympic match since Athens 2004, when they defeated South Korea in an inconsequential classification game after crashing out. The Australians were listed as third on the competition’s power ranking, while Nigeria was named 12th But the gulf in quality that was suggested by the ranking was lost immediately after the match started. D’Tigress were…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday directed telecommunication companies to reactivate all lines blocked because they weren’t linked to the National Identification Numbers (NINs). A spokesman for the regulatory body Reuben Muoka said the order to reactivate the lines was in view of “the challenges the blockages have caused”. Millions of phone users had their lines blocked over the weekend with speculations rife that the disconnection of SIM cards was one of measures of the government to stifle a planned #EndBadGovernance protest against hunger and economic hardship widely publicised by displeased youths and scheduled for August. Human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa…

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has called for an emergency meeting of the Senate. A circular seen by Channels Television and signed by the Clerk, Chinedu Akubueze on Monday, said the meeting was of “National Importance”. The internal circular did not give further details on the emergency meeting. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, just one day before the commencement of the nationwide planned protest against hunger and hardship. The memo wrote, “Dear Distinguished Senators, the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, has directed that an emergency plenary sitting of the…

Ahead of the planned nationwide protest, the Minister of Education Tahir Mamman has directed vice-chancellors of universities to take proactive steps to ensure the security and safety of the university community, including staff and students. A Monday statement by the acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Chris Maiyaki asked vice-chancellors to issue specific statements to assure staff and students of their safety. “Consequently, the Honourable Minister has directed that Vice-Chancellors of all Nigerian Universities should take proactive steps to ensure the security and safety of the university community, including staff and students,” the statement read. “In addition,…

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has assured Nigerian oil and gas service companies of continued support to sustain the impressive growth in local content and to boost their production operations. Speaking during a facility tour of the 10,000-square-metre fabrication yard of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited, Warri, Delta State on Friday, he recalled similar visits he had made to other service companies across the country, stating that he was highly impressed with facilities and competencies acquired in the pursuit of local content development. Amazed at the assortment of top-grade engineering…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled plans to create a dedicated office to manage dormant accounts and unclaimed balances. This was contained in a recently issued document, “FAQs – Guidelines on Dormant Account and Unclaimed Balances –issued by the apex bank. It would be recalled that the CBN earlier disclosed that it may invest funds from Dormant Accounts, unclaimed balances in Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and other government securities. To this effect, the apex bank disclosed plans to create the office to oversee the management of the funds. “The CBN shall establish a dedicated office for this purpose.…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed fuel supply and distribution challenges in some parts of Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but promised to work on restoring normalcy. “The NNPC Ltd. wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels,” the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL Olufemi Soneye said in a Saturday statement. “The Company further states that it is working round the clock with all stakeholders…