Author: Vardiafrica

Dangote Refinery’s newly acquired Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, on Monday, began loading petroleum products at the facility for direct supply to filling stations nationwide. Our correspondent at the launch of the first batch of the trucks reported that the trucks have begun taking turns at the gantry to load products. The Refinery announced in August that it had received the first batch of its 4000 CNG-powered trucks for the fuel distribution programme, which was initially set to commence on August 15. During a courtesy visit by the AfricaRice Centre at his Lagos office on Sunday, Aliko Dangote reiterated that…

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has forecasted thunderstorms and moderate rainfall across various parts of the country for Monday, September 15, 2025 According to its daily weather outlook posted on its official X handle, northern states are expected to experience isolated thunderstorms with moderate rains in the morning over parts of Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Kebbi, Adamawa, and Taraba states. Later in the afternoon and evening, thunderstorms with moderate rains are anticipated in parts of Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, and Katsina states. In the central region, NiMet projects cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine in the morning, accompanied…

The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Angola have signed two agreements consisting of cooperation on combating illicit production, manufacture and trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychological substances and their precursors as well as on cultural cooperation and exchange. The event took place at the just held 5th Session of the Nigeria-Angola Bilateral Economic Joint Commission in Luanda, the capital city of Angola, from September 9th – 12th, 2025. The Joint Commission was revived after 24 years. The Nigerian government also facilitated a landmark twinning agreement on socio-economic and cultural development between Bayelsa State and Namibe, a province of…

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday he had appointed the world’s first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make it “corruption-free”. Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama introduced the new “member”, named “Diella” — “sun” in Albanian. “Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by artificial intelligence,” Rama said. Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them “100-per cent corruption-free and every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will…

One person has been confirmed dead after the collapse of a three-storey building in Alagomeji, located in the Yaba area of Lagos State. The ill-fated building, located at 333 Borno Street, Alagomeji, caved in on Friday night. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in its Day 2 incident report on Saturday, confirmed that the body of a male victim was pulled from the rubble during ongoing rescue efforts. The update shared on its official X handle disclosed that emergency responders, including officials of NEMA, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and the Fire Service, remain on-site. “So far, four…

Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda ‘Baci’ Bassey has completed her ‘World Record attempt for the largest pot of jollof rice’ during an eight-hour open cooking session at Eko Hotels and Suites, VI, Lagos. With more than five tonnes of rice, tomato concentrate, cooking oil, and onions, the 28-year-old chef seeks to clinch the title for the biggest jollof dish ever made. Baci said she poured 4,000 kilogrammes of basmati rice, 500 cartons of tomato concentrate, 750 kilogrammes of oil, and 600 kilogrammes of onions into a six-metre-wide steel cauldron. The Akwa Ibom-born chef explained that although she initially planned to cook…

As the six-month emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State on March 18 draws to a close five days from now, precisely September 18, all eyes are on the State’s Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), who yesterday insisted he has delivered on the president’s mandate. The administrator said this yesterday, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, when the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) presented a report of the recently concluded local government elections to him.Ibas pointed to restored order, relative peace, and critical interventions as evidence that the extraordinary measures taken under his watch have…

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has claimed that food prices across the country has crashed following President Bola Tinubu’s emergency measures on food security. Kyari stated this while speaking on Arise TV on Friday September 12. The Minister mentioned that President Tinubu inherited a difficult situation in 2023 when the president declared a state of emergency on food security, describing it as a “clarion call” to rescue the sector. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came at a time when there was huge structural default in terms of food security and that is why he had to…

An Air Peace pilot and a co-pilot have tested positive for taking hard drugs and alcohol, a report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), has shown. The Bureau said that the crew positive for the substances after the aircraft they flew was involved in a runway excursion at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025. “Initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption. A cabin crew member also tested positive for THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. These results are being reviewed under the human performance…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that 14 associations have been cleared to proceed to the next stage of their applications to be registered as political parties in Nigeria. The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this on Thursday, after the commission’s meeting, said that 171 applications were received. He explained that each request was assessed on the basis of its prima facie compliance with the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act…