Author: Vardiafrica

The recently held 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference in Abuja highlighted the pivotal role of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in advancing local content policies and driving Nigeria’s energy sector transformation. At different sessions at the conference, leaders of the of the Nigerian oil and gas industry lauded the contributions of NCDMB and highlighted the impact the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act has played in transforming the oil and gas landscape, emphasising the need for continued support by Government and other stakeholders Through strategic initiatives, partnerships, and policy advocacy, NCDMB has empowered indigenous companies, fostered economic resilience, and…

President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 17th BRICS summit. The presidential aircraft, which took off from Saint Lucia earlier on Friday, touched down at Rio International Airport around 8:45pm local time. On arrival, Tinubu was welcomed by Carlos Sergio Sobral Duarte, Brazil’s secretary for Africa and the Middle East. The Nigerian leader is one of four African presidents attending this year’s summit. Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said Tinubu’s participation follows an invitation from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil. He said Nigeria is attending the meeting as a “partner country”, which ranks…

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has urged President Bola Tinubu to make public the long-suppressed forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), insisting that the document contains damning allegations against former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. Wike, who appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme monitored in Abuja on Friday, said he would resign from office if the report does not indict Amaechi as he claimed. “If what I am saying is not in the document, I will resign as Minister of the FCT. I said I will resign. I don’t worship office,” Wike…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has pledged its full commitment to implementing the recently introduced “Nigeria First” policy, a key directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration aimed at boosting local production and patronage of locally made goods and services, reducing dependence on imported items. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe made this commitment at the opening ceremony of the ongoing NOG Energy Week in Abuja on Monday. He described the policy as a strong reinforcement of the Board’s core mandate of promoting Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry. “For Nigeria, energy sufficiency goes beyond…

Mali’s military leader Gen Assimi Goïta has been granted a five-year presidential term by the transitional parliament, which is renewable without elections. The junta leader, who has seized power twice, had promised the return of democracy last year, but it never materialised. The bill granting his new mandate said it could be renewed “as many times as necessary” and until Mali was “pacified”. It clears Gen Goïta to lead the West African country until at least 2030, with many fearing the move could lead to the repression of the opposition or dissenting opinions. The 41-year-old military leader was named transitional…

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Senate to recall the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Delivering judgement, Justice Nyako described as excessive the six-month suspension that was imposed on the lawmaker by the Senate. The judge faulted the provision in Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules, as well as Section 14 of the Legislative Houses, Powers, and Privileges Act, declaring both to be overreaching. The court also held that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was not wrong to have denied Senator Natasha, who was not in the official seat that was allotted…

Burkina Faso has withdrawn the licences of four foreign NGOs to operate in the junta-led country and suspended two other associations, according to decrees seen by AFP on Friday. The decrees dated mid-June cited a government minister as saying the decision against the four NGOs was due to formality breaches. Burkina’s military junta, which seized power in a September 2022 coup, has made the return of national sovereignty one of its priorities. Authorities regularly repress dissent, notably within civil society and the media, claiming it as part of the battle against jihadist violence that has plagued the west African country…

The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, found suspended Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt on Friday, July 3. In a ruling delivered this morning, the court held that the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, went against its order by publishing a satirical apology to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. LIB had reported that on April 7, Akpoti-Uduaghan had shared a satirical apology on her social media handles. The court held that the post made a mockery of a gag order that was placed on the parties by the court Consequently, the court ordered Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan…

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that even though former President Muhammadu Buhari did not achieve everything, he still did better than the current administration of President Bola Tinubu. Amaechi stated this on Thursday during an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television. “Not everything was achieved. Buhari will tell you that he did not achieve all that he planned for. But then, he was better than the current government by all standards,” he said. The former Rivers State Governor said Buhari outperformed Tinubu in security and institutional independence areas “In terms of security, Buhari focused…

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that he won’t disclose details of the recent truce brokered between him and suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, saying that the most important thing is that peace has returned to the state. Wike stated this on Thursday during a media chat at his residence in Abuja. He said that rather than disclose details of the peace deal, he would instead allow people to speculate. “I will allow you to speculate, it’s not my business. All I know is that peace has come,” Wike said. “If you are…