Author: Vardiafrica

President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, approved the appointment of Dennis Otuaro as Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). In a statement, the President’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said, “The President anticipates that the new Administrator will bring his requisite experience and know-how to this role to revamp the Amnesty Programme and advance the realization of its founding purpose and vision.” “Otuaro holds a PhD in Comparative Politics & Development Studies; an MSc in Public Administration, and a BSc in Education. “He had previously served as a top-level executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a surfeit of experience…

President Bola Tinubu has called on state governors to set aside political differences and collaborate with the federal government to build the nation. Speaking during the breaking of Ramadan fast with governors at the State House in Abuja, on Thursday, President Tinubu emphasized the importance of transitioning from politics to governance, noting the need for unity and cooperation among all stakeholders. ”Since we recognize the need to build our nation together, the time for politics is over. It is now time for governance. ”We are of the same family and parents; living in the same house, but sleeping in different…

UTM Offshore Limited, promoters of Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility has requested the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to invest equity in the project and to accelerate key approvals that would fast-track the project’s development. The request was made on Wednesday at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State when the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe hosted the management of UTM Offshore Limited led by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Julius Rone.The target completion date of the FLNG project is 2028 and it hopes to contribute about 450,000 tonnes of liquified…

Damage to at least three subsea cables off the West Coast of Africa on Thursday disrupted internet services in Nigeria, Ghana and other countries across the continent. Telecommunications subscribers and bank users were stranded for hours as the disruption paralysed digital transations and internet communications. According to one of the world’s leading financial news organisations, Bloomberg, the West Africa Cable System, MainOne and ACE sea cables — arteries for telecommunications data — were all affected on Thursday According to data from internet analysis firms including NetBlocks, Kentik and Cloudflare, the cut triggered outages and connectivity issues for mobile operators and internet service…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Temitope Ilori as the new director-general (DG) of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA). In a statement on Thursday, Toyin Aderibigbe, NACA head of public relations, said Ilori’s initial term of four years began on February 22. She takes over from Gambo Aliyu, who was the DG of the agency, from June 2019 till February 2024. Ilori is the first female to be appointed as the director-general of the agency “Up until her appointment, Dr. Ilori was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine, University of Ibadan, and a Consultant…

The Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Alli Bello, and one Daudu Suleiman have been re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly diverting about N100 billion belonging to the state government in September 2015. The immediate past governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, was also indicted in the fraud allegation said to have been committed months before he assumed office as governor. However, Bello and Suleman pleaded not guilty to the 17 counts amended charge before Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Earlier, Bello’s counsel, Abubakar Aliyu, had objected to the reading…

President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a letter to the House of Representatives seeking the repeal and reenactment of the Student Loan Bill. During plenary on Thursday, the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, read the letter transmitting the Student Loans Repeal and Enactment Bill from the President. According to the letter, President Tinubu explained that the request for repeal of the Student Loans Act 2023 and a fresh enactment is to address some challenges with the earlier Act and to enhance the implementation of the student loan scheme by his administration. “Pursuant to Section 58(2) of the Constitution of The…

The military has vowed to rescue the over 200 schoolchildren who were recently abducted by bandits in Kaduna State. While addressing a press conference in Abuja on the activities of the Armed Forces in the last two weeks, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, says the military is committed to rescuing all kidnapped victims unhurt. The defence spokesman during the Thursday event, however, blamed school owners for failing to report cases of abduction to security agencies on time. He also blamed the recent kidnapping of some internally displaced persons in Gamboru-Ngala, Borno State on their disobedience…

President Bola Tinubu has said that no ransom will be paid for the rescue of the children abducted from Kuriga in Kaduna State. The President stated this today at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which held at the Presidential Villa Abuja. Briefing State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris, said President Tinubu also reiterated his directive to the defence to ensure that the children are rescued and brought back safely to their homes He also said the President made his stance against payment of ransom to kidnappers and that the…

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Solid Minerals Development, Commerce, Industry and Special Duties to investigate the arbitrary increase in the price of cement by manufacturers in the country like Dangote Cement and BUA Cement.  This followed a motion by a lawmaker, Jonathan Gaza. A 50kg bag of cement is currently sold for N10,000 in most parts of the country, about 100% increase from its initial price of N5,000 in the last three months. Cement manufacturers in Nigeria had met government representatives in February and agreed to bring down the price of the product to between N7,000 and…