Author: Vardiafrica

The US Director of Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former American President Donald Trump. Many Republicans had called for her to step down since the incident. US lawmakers and an internal government watchdog were investigating the agency’s handling of Mr Trump’s protection and how a gunman came close to killing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month On Monday, Ms Cheatle appeared before the US House Oversight Committee. The lawmakers were frustrated by her lack of specific answers about the assassination attempt. By the end of the…

The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, has announced a slash in allowances of foreign scholars who are currently stranded in Russia, Morocco, and Algeria, among others by 12.7%. The ministry attributed the development to economic crises. The PUNCH had earlier reported that Nigerian students studying in Russia, Morocco, Algeria, China, Hungary, and other countries, on the Federal Government’s scholarship lamented their unpaid stipends for eight months running.The students are studying under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship. The BEA scholarship is for the purpose of education exchange between Nigeria and the partnering countries. The Federal Scholarship Board…

President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon has urged President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, to explore investment opportunities in Gabon, a country known for its abundant oil resources. During their meeting in Libreville, yesterday, Nguema emphasised potential investments in cement and fertiliser production, specifically urea and phosphate. President Nguema expressed enthusiasm about the potential partnership, highlighting Gabon’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for foreign investments. He noted that the collaboration with Dangote Industries would bring significant mutual benefits, including job creation, technology transfer, and enhanced industrial capacity. President Nguema expressed enthusiasm about the potential partnership,…

After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh (alias Olowoidiogede, populary known as Temo), has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at his enclave after an initial resistance from him and his horde of hoodlums. In the last two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo but he has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in gunfight.…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Senate Committee on Local Content on Sunday began a 3-day retreat at Abuja, aimed at forging closer collaboration between the two entities, to achieve improved implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.The theme of the retreat is creating synergy for sustainable local content development and was attended by members of the committee and some senior management of the NCDMB. Speaking at the opening ceremony on Monday, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe underscored the importance of collaboration with relevant stakeholders in managing and…

President Bola Tinubu has appealed to Nigerians to shelve a planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month. Information Minister Mohammed Idris, who briefed selected State House correspondents after a meeting with the President on Tuesday, said Tinubu urged the organisers of the protest to shelve the plan and await the President’s response to their complaints. “The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He’s asked them to shelve that plan. He’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas,” the minister said. The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining…

France on Tuesday called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Niger’s ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, almost a year after he was overthrown in a coup. Bazoum has “been held prisoner for a year in scandalous conditions”, foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. “We have always condemned this detention, we still strongly condemn it and continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release,” he told reporters in Paris. France is concerned about a decision to lift Bazoum’s immunity from prosecution “which could have consequences for the conditions in which he is detained”, Lemoine added. Elected in 2021, Bazoum was…

President Bola Tinubu is set to commission the newly built Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja. A statement on Tuesday via X, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Tuesday, said the facility will be commissioned on Wednesday.

The Nigeria Senate has approved the bill to increase the national minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, effectively making it a law. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the approval following the third reading of the bill during a plenary session in Abuja on Tuesday. The bill, which was proposed by President Bola Tinubu after meeting with the heads of organized labour last week, also included a reduction of the review timeline of the minimum wage from 5 years to 3 years. Speaking at the plenary session on Tuesday, Akpabio read out the intent of the bill and ruled for…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which measures interest rates by 50 basis points, from 26.25% to 26.75% amid soaring inflation and skyrocketing food prices. CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced this after the apex bank’s 296th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. The MPC adjusted the asymmetric corridor around the MPR from +100 to -300 to +500 to -100 basis points. The MPC also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of deposit money banks at 45% and merchant banks at 14% and retained the Liquidity Ratio at 30%. Cardoso…