Author: Vardiafrica

The US government has shut down for the first time in almost seven years after members of Congress failed to agree on a last-ditch funding deal. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers deemed not essential for protecting people or property, such as law enforcement personnel – could be furloughed or laid off after the shutdown began at midnight. Critical services, including social security payments and the postal service, will keep operating but may suffer from worker shortages, while national parks and museums could be among the sectors that close completely. It comes after rival Democrats and Republicans refused to budge…

Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, has become Nigeria’s all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League after scoring for Turkish side Galatasaray against Liverpool on Tuesday night. Osimhen scored from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, taking his tally in the competition to 10 goals. The strike moved him past former Inter Milan and Newcastle United forward Obafemi Martins, who scored nine goals in the competition. Osimhen’s journey in the competition began with Lille, where he scored his first Champions League goal against Chelsea on 2 October 2019.He became the first African to win the Serie A Golden Boot…

The three Executive Orders issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the Oil and Gas Industry in March 2024 did not erode the relevance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act on the operations of the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has said. This was one of key messages from the Local Content Masterclass and panel discussion, held on Monday at the African Energy Week, which started in Cape Town, South Africa. Discussions at the panel highlighted Nigeria’s local content’s milestones and processes, provided local lessons for other African…

Guineans will hold a presidential election on Dec. 28, its first since the country’s leader Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya took power in a 2021 coup, according to a presidential decree read on state television. The announcement was made on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court validated the results of a constitutional referendum that could allow Doumbouya to run for president. Guinea is one of several West African countries where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, in power since 2021, agreed in 2022 to launch a democratic transition after a Dec. 31, 2024, deadline. The ruling junta’s failure…

The national industrial court in Abuja has issued an interim order stopping the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) from proceeding with its nationwide industrial action against the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Emmanuel Sublim, presiding judge, granted the order on Monday. The judge granted the order on the premise that the strike, intended to disrupt the operations of the refinery by cutting crude and gas supplies, could cause serious damage to the nation’s economy, therefore directed the association to stop immediately. The decision of the court followed an ex-parte application filed by George Ibrahim, the refinery’s counsel.…

The federal government has announced the cancellation of the Independence Anniversary parade, previously scheduled to mark the 65th Independence on Wednesday, 1st October. The cancellation was communicated via a statement issued yesterday by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to Government of Federation, Segun Imohiosen. The statement stated that, while the cancellation was in no way a diminishment of the significance of the milestone anniversary, the federal government remained committed to celebrating Nigeria’s 65th year of independence with dignity and enthusiasm. It stated that all other programmes scheduled for the Independence Anniversary would remain in effect.…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued an urgent red alert to all its affiliated unions amid escalating tensions between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). PENGASSAN accused the refinery of illegally dismissing over 800 Nigerian workers, prompting nationwide industrial action. On Monday, union members barricaded the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) premises in Abuja as part of their protest. NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned the refinery’s actions, describing them as violations of Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. “The Dangote Group has operated as a state within…

South Africa’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup have suffered a major blow after they were sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player. Teboho Mokoena played in the 2-0 win over Lesotho in March despite the 28-year-old midfielder being due to serve a suspension after accumulating two yellow cards. A Fifa disciplinary committee has ruled that South Africa breached competition rules, and has imposed a 3-0 forfeit. The country’s football association (Safa) has been fined 10,000 Swiss Francs ($12,500, £9,340), while Mokoena has been issued with a warning. The decision has blown Group C of African World Cup qualifying wide…

MTN Group has taken up a call to action from Nigeria to support the collection of datasets of African languages. These are required to develop the continent’s own large language models (LLM) to power AI-driven solutions for Africa’s 1.5 billion people, who otherwise risk being sidelined by the global AI ecosystem. Speaking on ‘The Y’ello Chair Vodcast: Your link to the African continent’, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani said that to leapfrog AI in Africa, a collaborative public/private effort was urgently needed to fund the academic research into the continent’s many languages. He challenged…

Trump prompts Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar for bombing its capital The Israeli prime minister expressed regret about the strikes and, specifically, “that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty.” President Donald Trump facilitated a phone call from the Oval Office today in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to his Qatari counterpart for the missile strikes earlier this month that targeted Hamas officials while they were engaged in peace talks in Doha. Netanyahu expressed regret about the strikes and, specifically, “that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty,” according to…