Author: Vardiafrica

Joe Biden on Sunday dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee, in a stunning move that upends the 2024 race for the White House. The 81-year-old Biden stepped aside after weeks of pressure from Democrats following a disastrous debate performance, throwing the election battle against Republican Donald Trump into unprecedented turmoil. “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President…

Donald Trump has declared that the bullet he took during his assassination attempt was for democracy. In a rally held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, former President Donald Trump addressed thousands of supporters, declaring that he “took a bullet for democracy” after surviving an assassination attempt last week. This event marked his first rally with new running mate JD Vance and the first public appearance since the incident. Trump, speaking to a packed arena at the Van Andel Arena, emphasised his resilience and readiness to “take back the White House.” He criticised Democrats for labeling him a “threat to democracy” and…

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, in a groundbreaking judgment, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold Nigeria’s state governors, their deputies and others to account over cases of electoral violence, bribery, vote-buying, and conspiracy during the chaotic 2023 general elections. In a first, the court ordered INEC to ensure “the appointment of independent counsel to investigate cases of electoral violence and other electoral offences against state governors and their deputies during the 2023 general elections.” The court also ordered INEC to “to promptly, thoroughly and effectively investigate cases of electoral violence and other electoral offences…

President Bola Tinubu will depart Nigeria for Ghana to attend the sixth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union on July 20. In a statement on Friday, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the meeting will involve Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and the African Union member states. Ngelale said the meeting will be held in alignment with the AU’s 2024 theme, which is ‘Educating and empowering Africa for the 21st century’. He said Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will be presenting the 2024 report on the state…

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has charged managers of Africa’s extractive industry to adopt some of the local content initiatives that have worked well in the oil and gas industry as they seek to develop the mineral and mines sector to deliver optimal value for their economies. Particularly, he charged them to integrate local capabilities and resources into the delivery of opportunities and projects in a safe and environmentally responsible manner to achieve a high level of economic success, unfettered freedom to operate, improved health standards, and longer life expectancy. He…

The Chief Executive Officer of Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, Dr Sania Nishtar, has disclosed that cholera vaccines would arrive in Nigeria soon. Nishtar who announced this on her X handle on Thursday, said the vaccines would help curb the deadly and ongoing disease outbreak. The development follows the outbreak of the deadly disease across the country. Nishtar tweeted, “Encouraged to learn that #Cholera vaccines from the #Gavi-funded global vaccine stockpile will soon arrive in Nigeria to help curb the country’s deadly and ongoing outbreak. We stand ready to work with our partners #UNICEF and #WHO to support Minister #muhammadpate, #Fmohnigeria, and…

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has released more photos of the inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State. About 119 inmates fled from the correctional centre in April after rainfall destroyed the walls of the Suleja prison. While 18 of the inmates were captured in June, the NCoS late Thursday post on its X account released the names of more escapees and their photos He gave their name as Tasiu Mohammed, Philip Ola, Mohammed Lawal, Buba Bello, Biyo Flamingo, Onyedikachi Emeka, Augustine Uden, Gambo Lamido, Sani Muhajid, Abubakar Hashiru, Haruna Salisu, Solomon Gkwangurum, and Aliyu…

Businesses including banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets have been taken offline after blue screen of death error screens were seen on Windows workstations across the globe Users on the subreddit for cyber security firm Crowdstrike reported issues in India, the United States and New Zealand. Major US Airlines Ground All Flights Over ‘Communication Issue’: FAA Major US air carriers including Delta, United and American Airlines grounded all flights early on Friday over a communication issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. “All… flights regardless of destination” were grounded due to the “communication issues”, the FAA said in a notice…

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says the Dangote refinery is still at the pre-commissioning stage and has not been licensed. Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, said there are numerous concerns regarding petroleum products’ supply nationwide. “Well, just like you rightly asked, there are lots of concerns about the supply of petroleum products nationwide and the claims by some media houses that we were trying to scuttle Dangote refinery; that is not so,” he said. “Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has…

The Minister of Information Mohammed Idris says the Federal Government and the leadership of the Organised Labour have agreed on ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. The minister said the agreement was reached at a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday in Abuja. “We are happy to announce today (Thursday) that both the Organised Labour and the Federal Government have agreed on an increase on the N62,000 minimum wage. The new national minimum that Mr President is expected to submit to…