Author: Vardiafrica

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has received the Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award at the maiden edition of the inaugural Champions of Nigerian Content Award ceremony organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in partnership with Sweetcrude Ltd on Wednesday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The award recognized and rewarded individuals and corporate bodies that set the highest standards in deepening local participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and contributed significantly to national development. In his welcome address at the event, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe noted that the Board had come…

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that the Federal Government is open to receiving proposals to invest in a national carrier. Last Friday, Keyamo was reported to have said that the Federal Government has shifted its aviation strategy and will now be paying attention to policies that could strengthen local airlines against the widespread calls for a national carrier. However, posting on his X handle on Sunday, he said that the government is not totally against the establishment of a national carrier as being widely reported “The correct story should be that the FG will…

Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. The dead included three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr, local officials there said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the United States, which has taken a softer public line on Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, since President Donald Trump took office, to speak out. “The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” he…

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno has ordered the eviction of Channels Television’s correspondent and the cameraman from the Government House over a trending defection video. The video allegedly circulated by the Channels Television surfaced Friday where the governor was seen ordering his commissioners to either defect with him to the All Progressives Congress or resign their positions. The governor said in the trending video, “It’s no longer news that I am moving party, if you don’t know, I don’t know what else you know. I am told that some of you are saying you will not come, you are free, absolutely…

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian government, demanding the immediate implementation of the long-standing 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, or risk another nationwide industrial action that could disrupt academic activities across public universities. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, ASUU National President, Dr. Chris Piwuna, expressed deep frustration over the government’s persistent neglect of key issues affecting Nigerian universities, describing the situation as a betrayal of trust and a threat to the future of education in the country. Piwuna outlined nine critical issues that remain unresolved, including the stalled renegotiation…

In a bid to address the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), the party’s Special Reconciliation Committee chaired by a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, Friday, met with the Governor of Enugu State and leader of the party in the South East region, Peter Mbah. Other members of the committee present at the meeting, which was held behind closed doors at the Government House, Enugu, were a former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, and a former governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo. The leaders of the PDP in the zone had in a communiqué issued…

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has issued a firm directive to all commissioners and political appointees to either defect with him to the All Progressives Congress (APC) or resign from their positions. Speaking during the ongoing State Executive Council meeting, the Governor stated unequivocally that his decision to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was final. “Anybody who claims he is not aware of my intention to leave PDP is still living in the 18th century,” he declared. Governor Eno said his admiration for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership style has influenced his decision to align with the…

Harvard University has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to bar the institution from enrolling international students, calling the move an unconstitutional act of retaliation for resisting political pressure from the White House. The lawsuit, submitted Friday, May 23, in federal court in Boston, argues that the action violates the First Amendment and threatens to devastate the university’s operations and its international student population, which exceeds 7,000. “With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its…

The Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has hinted on taking over the possession of the 4,794 revoked properties over non-payment of ground rent between 10 and 43 years starting from Monday. The Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, disclosed this while briefing Journalists in Abuja on Friday. It could be recalled that the FCT Administration had on March 17 announced the revocation of the 4,794 land titles over non-payment of ground rent for more than 10 years. The Administration explained that the action contravened the terms and conditions of grant…

Denmark is set to have the highest retirement age in Europe, after lawmakers voted to raise it to 70. Parliamentarians passed a bill mandating the rise on Thursday, with 81 votes in favor and 21 against. The new law will apply to people born after December 31, 1970. The current retirement age is 67 on average, but it can go up to 69 for those born on January 1, 1967, or later. The rise is needed in order to be able to “afford proper welfare for future generations,” employment minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said in a press release Thursday. Denmark has a…