Author: Vardiafrica

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has sought assistance from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to combat crude oil theft, highlighting the deterrent effect this crime has on investment in the oil sector. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, appealed for support during a meeting with EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday. According to Olufemi Soneye, the spokesperson for NNPCL, the company’s leader discussed the measures being taken to eliminate corruption and address crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.  Mele Kyari, the NNPCL boss, spoke with intensity…

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has inaugurated a $1.2m standards trade development facility in Nigeria to strengthen food safety, among others. The standards trade development facility is a global initiative that seeks to strengthen food safety, and animal and plant health capacity in developing countries by encouraging the use of good practices. While speaking during the event on Tuesday, the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, explained that although Nigeria has huge potential in the production and export of Cowpea and sesame, the rejection of the two products remains a huge challenge owing to poor transportation…

The Senate on Monday inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to investigate the Ways and Means and the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Led by the President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio and other senators to the inauguration, the move comes after a decision by the Red Chamber to probe details of the programmes based on monies given to state governments, manufacturers, aviation, banks, excess funding in the power sector, amongst others which raised the current debt profile of the country. This was part of resolutions of the Senate after a debate over the report of the…

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union have declared a 7-day warning strike – beginning March 18, 2024 –  to demand the payment of four months of their members’ withheld salaries after the 2022 nationwide strike. The decision was part of the resolution of the joint action committee of the two unions, after a meeting which held in Akure at the weekend. According to the SSANU president, Mohammed Ibrahim, who read the communiqué of the meeting to journalists in Abuja on Monday, the decision to embark on the warning strike was taken as a…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has introduced a self-registration module on the Tax-Pro Max platform as part of reforms towards improving the ease of doing business and matching customer-centric approach. This was disclosed in a public notice signed by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, PhD, where he encouraged businesses to take advantage of the new feature. According to the notice, every newly registered business entity can now complete their registration with the FIRS by following the prompt for self-registration. It noted that the new feature will enable an efficient and transparent tax system that benefits both citizens…

Less than two weeks after a building collapse at the Oduigbo section of the Ochanja market, Onitsha, a five-storey building, on Sunday morning, collapsed at on Garden Street Fegge, Onitsha, Anambra State.  Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board, Chike Mmaduekwe, decried the development and expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost as the collapse was a partial one. He, however, disclosed that the approval given was for the construction of a three-storey building but the developer went contrary to plan and started erecting a five-storey building. The building was meant to serve…

Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were on Sunday thrown into darkness as sabouteurs vandalised the Shiroro-Katampe 330kV transmission line.  According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the vandalism of the transmission line makes it the fifth of such incident within February and March this. The incident happened at 9am on Sunday. “Following initial investigations, TCN engineers attempted to restore operation but were unsuccessful,” said a spokesperson for the TCN, Ndidi Mbah. Mbah, in a statement, said efforts were made to identify the fault location, while linesmen were dispatched to physically patrol the suspected area. “During the…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is partnering the Training Arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in risk assessment of procurement and human resources processes at the Board in a push for excellence and transparency Initiated by the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the NCDMB as part of its 2024 Action Plan, the Comprehensive Risk Assessment in the Procurement and Human Resources (HR) Departments is intended to identify and assess corruption risks in processes within those two critical functional organs, “evaluate the effectiveness of existing control mechanisms,” “recommend improvements to mitigate identified risks,” and “promote a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour.” In…

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to give back the food items they seized at the border communities to the rightful owners, with the requirement that the items should be sold in Nigerian markets. The Customs Chief, Adewale Adeniyi, talked about this in Katsina yesterday while meeting with people from border areas at Kongolam and Mai’Adua border stations. The Customs chief mentioned that President Tinubu had made a decision to use his authority not based on legal guidelines, “but rather reflecting the deep sense of generosity he holds towards Nigeria.” Adeniyi said: “In doing so, he has…

Troops have killed 20 members of IPOB/ESN during a raid/clearance operation in Mother Valley, Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. The operation which occurred on March 7 involved troops of Operation Udo Ka, the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Confirming this in a statement on Sunday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said the security operatives “cleared about 50 IPOB/ESN hideout tents in the valley including terrorists Supreme Headquarters and their Command and Control Centre as well as its Military Council Headquarters.” “Troops also,…