Author: Vardiafrica

Nigerian doctors seeking greener pastures abroad will benefit from Canada’s latest plan to open a new express entry pathway for foreign doctors in 2026. The Canadian government announced this in a statement by its Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Office, saying the move followed persistent physician shortages and is part of broader efforts to stabilise Canada’s health system while attracting high-skilled professionals. Under the new measures, Canada will introduce a dedicated express entry category for international doctors who have accumulated at least one year of eligible Canadian work experience within the last three years. The category targets physicians currently in Canada…

Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has described the late Paramount Ruler of Ayakoro Community, King Righteous Inegbagha, as a man whose name truly reflected his character. Jonathan made the remark at the weekend when he joined the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, at the funeral service of the monarch held in Ayakoro, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. He said the late ruler lived a righteous life and that his reign brought significant development and progress to Ayakoro Community. The former President noted that King Inegbagha was not only a…

Two key agencies of The Presidency, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Service Compact with All Nigerians (SERVICOM) on Friday attested to the operational soundness of strategies and processes of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as the agency inches towards 70 per cent local content level by 2027 as set out in its Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Road Map.    In the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report released on December 2 by the PEBEC Secretariat, the NCDMB emerged as Number One with 90.6 per cent among 69 Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs)…

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Refinery, has promised that petrol from his company will be sold at N739 per litre even at filling stations from Tuesday, December 16, 2025. The business mogul disclosed this in Lagos on Sunday while speaking on new developments in the refinery. According to him, the new price will make a remarkable drop from the old and reflect the new pricing regime which fixed the new ex-depot price of N699 price litre. Dangote gave assurance that the new price would be reflected by MRS and other retail outlets lifting petrol from the refinery rom Tuesday. Meanwhile,…

Prominent opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and PDP elder statesman Bode George, on Sunday, accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of deliberately undermining opposition parties ahead of future elections. In a joint statement released on Sunday, also signed by ADC National Chairman David Mark, former APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun, and Lawal Batagawara, the opposition called for an independent audit of federal, state, and local government accounts from 2015 to 2025, alleging that state authority is being weaponised against political opponents rather than used to combat economic crimes. The statement follows…

Founder and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, of corruption, alleging that he spent about five million dollars on secondary school education for his children in Switzerland. Dangote made the allegation on Sunday during a media briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant in Lekki, Lagos. He described the alleged expenditure as inconsistent with the earnings of a public servant and said it raises serious concerns about transparency and integrity within regulatory institutions. According to Dangote, the alleged five million…

The Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional power of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state to prevent a breakdown of law and order or a descent into chaos and anarchy. A split decision of six to one Justices of the apex court on Monday, December 15, 2025 upheld the President’s authority under the Constitution to proclaim a state of emergency and further held that, during such a period, the President may suspend elected officials, provided any such suspension is for a limited duration. In the lead majority judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, the apex…

The education ministry has banned student transfer into SS3 classes across all public and private secondary schools. The directive, the ministry disclosed in a statement on Sunday, will take effect from the 2026/2027 academic year. Boriowo Folasade, the director of press and PR, said the measure is to curb the “increasing incidence of examination malpractice” that continues to undermine the integrity of Nigeria’s education system. The PRO said it was necessitated by the growing concern over the use of “so-called special centres” during external examinations. From the 2026/2027 academic session, admissions and transfers will be strictly limited to SS1 and…

Presidents and their deputies from across West Africa met Sunday in Nigeria for a regional meeting whose agenda was dominated by two recent coup attempts. A successful putsch in Guinea-Bissau in November and a foiled military takeover in Benin a week ago have rattled the regional bloc ECOWAS. The bloc was previously hit with a string of coups between 2020 and 2023 in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger — all of whom are still under junta control. “The events of the last few weeks have shown in concrete terms what regional solidarity means,” ECOWAS commission president Alieu Touray said…

Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State on Sunday received his All Progressives Congress, APC, membership card, marking his official registration with the party. The membership card was presented to the governor by the Chairman of the APC Hospital Ward in Wukari Local Government Area, Umaru Tanko, during a brief ceremony at the TY Danjuma House in Jalingo. Speaking after receiving the card, Kefas said his registration in the APC had officially validated his status as a member of the party, thereby enabling him to participate fully in all party activities. He disclosed that the official defection ceremony, which was earlier…