Author: Vardiafrica

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is set to take the global stage in New York as the financial powerhouse positions Africa at the center of international dialogue during the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). With a groundbreaking whitepaper on Africa’s economic future and a series of high-level engagements, UBA is reaffirming its role as a bridge between the continent and the world. At the heart of UBA’s presence this year is the unveiling of its first-ever whitepaper, “Banking on Africa’s Future: Unlocking Capital and Partnerships for Sustainable Growth.” The document lays out actionable strategies to mobilize investment and…

Global oil trader Vitol and North American fuel distributor Sunoco (SUN.N) received the first U.S. shipment of petrol (gasoline) from Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery on Monday, according to vessel-tracking data and two sources with knowledge of the delivery. The tanker Gemini Pearl delivered the cargo, marking a significant milestone for the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery, whose output energy market players had long awaited to see meet the stringent standards for U.S. motor fuels, according to Reuters. Vitol purchased about 320,000 barrels of petrol from Geneva-based Mocoh Oil and sold most of the cargo to North American fuel distributor Sunoco. Meanwhile, the consignment was…

Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace has announced the creation of 1,000 fresh graduate jobs through its 2025/2026 Graduate Trainee Programme, in direct reciprocation of the Federal Government’s suspension of the 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy on imports. The frontline airline disclosed this in a statement signed by its management and sent to Daily Sun on Tuesday. Chairman of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Ifechukwu Onyema praised President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, for listening to the concerns of industry stakeholders, and taking bold steps that safeguard millions of jobs…

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday evening returned to the nation’s capital, Abuja after a working vacation to Paris, France. The President who departed Abuja on September 4 for a 10-day working vacation in France had to cut short the vacation to return home on Wednesday. President Tinubu, whose official aircraft, Nigeria Air Force (NAF) 1, touched down at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 6.50pm, was received by top government officials including President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule; Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, and Minister…

Africa’s largest telecom operator, MTN Group, is in advanced talks with US and European firms to develop data centers across the continent to power artificial intelligence (AI) services. The move is part of the company’s strategy to fill Africa’s massive AI infrastructure gap and unlock new revenue streams, according to CEO Ralph Mupita. Mupita, who disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg, said MTN will directly fund part of the investment for the AI data center build-out while working with global partners, including co-investors, AI infrastructure firms, and hyperscalers such as Microsoft. The goal is to construct facilities, sign up…

The Federal Government on Tuesday announced fresh incentives to boost agricultural investment under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This is part of ongoing reforms to unlock Nigeria’s vast food production potential through new policies that serve as a game-changer for agriculture and infrastructure investments in the country. Vice President Kashim Shettima who made this public in Abuja during the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) National and Subregional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum stressed that while hunger poses a global security issue, Nigeria must mobilise its strengths to secure a future of abundance. According to him: “Nothing unifies…

Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) will host its 2025 Democracy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana, on September 17, bringing together prominent African leaders and global development experts to discuss the state of democracy in the region. According to a statement from Ikechukwu Eze, Special Adviser to former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, attendees will include Ghanaian President John Mahama, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and other notable figures such as Kadré Ouédraogo, former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso and ex-President of the ECOWAS Commission, as well as the current ECOWAS Commission President, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of…

The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a five-count charge at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore. It listed X Corp and Meta Inc. (Facebook) as defendants. A Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Muhammed Abubakar, as well as other lawyers for the DSS, filed the charges on behalf of the agency and the Nigerian government. The DSS had on September 8, handed Sowore a one-week ultimatum to delete what it described as a ‘false, malicious, and inciting’ social media post about President Bola…

A five-day training programme for 50 young facility engineers, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in conjunction with Ijalla Engineering Services Limited, reached the concluding phase on Thursday in Port Harcourt with special focus on project cost management in oil and gas, and maintenance records and documentation. The engineers, shortlisted from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content (NOGIC) Joint Qualification System (JQS) Portal of the NCDMB, were introduced to costing for a structured Field Development Plan (FDP) Programme over four phases (2026-2029), centring on activities such as well intervention, drilling campaigns, flowline installations, surface facility…

Donald Trump will get the red carpet treatment this week on an unprecedented second United Kingdom state visit, as Britain counts on royal pomp and circumstance to woo the unpredictable United States president. From a flyby and carriage ride with King Charles III to a grand state banquet at historic Windsor Castle, Britain is pulling out all the stops to flatter Trump, who has long been fascinated with the monarchy. The aim is to keep Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Trump’s good side when they meet at the British leader’s country residence for talks centred on trade, tariffs and the…