Author: Vardiafrica

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania was today elected President of the African Development Bank Group at the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Tah was elected by the Bank’s Board of Governors, comprising Finance and Economy Ministers or Central Bank Governors of the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries. The board is the highest decision-making authority for the Bank Group. The results were announced by Niale Kaba, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Bank Group. The winning candidate is required to obtain at least 50.01%…

The court of appeal in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the Edo state governorship petitions tribunal, which affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo as governor of the state. Delivering judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo. Mohammed Danjuma, who delivered judgment on behalf of the panel, held that the appeal was devoid of merit. Danjuma said both PDP and Ighodalo failed to establish their claim that the tribunal erred in its judgment by affirming Okpebholo’s election. However, the appeal court held…

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, has called for a structured joint document with the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, through a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to establish operational standards, strengthen accountability, and check the incidence of corruption in the Commission. Aliyu who made the call when the Executive Management Committee of the NDDC, led by the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, paid him courtesy visit in the office in Abuja, insisted that if there was any Federal Government agency that needed strengthening of its transparency policy it should…

In a historic shift within Africa’s energy landscape, Nigeria long the continent’s largest importer of refined petroleum products has relinquished that title to South Africa. This development signals a critical transformation in regional trade dynamics, driven largely by the operational ramp-up of the Dangote Refinery, now the largest single-train refinery in the world. Located on the outskirts of Lagos and costing an estimated $20 billion, the Dangote Refinery began large-scale production in 2024. With a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the facility is now steadily altering the continent’s crude oil trade by reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels…

A former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, has approached the Court of Appeal in abuja, praying it to set aside a judgment granting the government full control of a substantial estate in abuja comprising 753 housing units. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier obtained a court order to seize the estate, situated in the Lokogoma district of Abuja. The estate was originally linked and recovered from an unnamed former government official. However, Emefiele, through his legal representative, A.M. Kotoye, filed a motion as an interested party in the suit. He contends that he ought to…

Chelsea roared back to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw on Wednesday, becoming the first club to claim all four major European trophies. Manuel Pellegrini’s enterprising Betis caught the favourites cold in Poland through an early goal from Abde Ezzalzouli but Enzo Maresca’s team were a changed side in the second half. Two goals in five minutes changed the complexion of the game, with man-of-the-match Cole Palmer creating both openings for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson. Substitute Jadon Sancho made the game safe in the 83rd minute, finishing from an tight angle and Moises Caicedo…

Nnamdi Kanu is the defendant’s 1st witness in the trial within the trial as ordered by the court. He told the court that the statements he gave at the DSS HQ were under duress, as he was coerced into it. He alleged that coercion started from Lagos when they were transporting him from Lagos to Abuja where a DSS officer struck him. He claimed he was transported in chains, blindfolded. Describing his cell, Kanu said he knew it was underground because they kept telling him to mind the steps as he climbed lower and the lightning there was horrible and…

United States will impose visa bans on foreign nationals it deems to be censoring Americans, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said yesterday, suggesting the new policy could target officials regulating U.S. tech companies. Rubio did not name specific instances of censorship, but U.S. tech companies and the Trump administration have challenged U.S. allies in Europe, alleging censorship of social media platforms, but restricting officials from visiting the U.S. appeared to be an escalation by Washington. Rubio said in a statement that a new visa restriction policy would apply to foreign nationals responsible for censorship of protected expression in the…

The  Senate on Wednesday approved the harmonised version of the tax reform bills put forward by President Bola Tinubu.  The decision followed the consideration of the recommendations from the conference committee of both chambers, which was tasked with reconciling differences between the earlier versions of the bills. Presenting the harmonised report, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, outlined the final agreements reached. The move represents a major step in reforming Nigeria’s tax administration and revenue generation system, aligning with the Tinubu administration’s broader fiscal reform agenda. The four tax reform bills, transmitted to the National Assembly…

Billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday announced he was leaving his role in US government, intended to reduce federal spending, shortly after his first major break with President Donald Trump over his signature spending bill. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote on his social media platform X. “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” he added. The South African-born tech tycoon had said Trump’s bill would increase the deficit and undermine the…