Author: Vardiafrica

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, says that stakeholders’ engagement is fundamental to the development of the Niger Delta region. Ogbuku stated this in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Rivers State Public Relations Week in Port Harcourt. Ogbuku, who was represented by the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Seledi Thompson-Wakama, highlighted the importance of reputation management and the critical role NIPR plays in maintaining a positive national image. He emphasised the importance of stakeholder collaboration to ensure projects meet people’s needs and…

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have finally arrived in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, after their flight from South Africa was forced to make an emergency landing in Luanda, Angola, on Saturday due to a cracked window, SaharaReporters has learnt. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed the team’s safe arrival in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday morning, writing, “Update: The @NGSuperEagles have finally arrived Uyo after a delay in Luanda, Angola due to issues with the aircraft conveying them back home after the win over Lesotho. Now to get one over Benin! Yes. We can.” This was…

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja today for Rome, the capital of Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process heads of state and government level meeting. The Aqaba Process meeting is a counter-terrorism initiative launched by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015. It is co–chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian government. A statement by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said the meeting focuses on security crisis in West Africa. The meeting, which will begin on October 14, will bring together heads of state and government, senior intelligence and military…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new draft guidelines compelling banks to provide instant refunds for failed Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions. The rules, released on October 9, 2025, are designed to strengthen consumer protection, improve service reliability, and ensure greater accountability in Nigeria’s financial system. The circular, signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of the Payments System Policy Department, was addressed to banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and independent ATM deployers. Stakeholders have until October 31, 2025, to provide feedback before the guidelines are finalised. Strict timelines for failed transaction refunds Under the draft framework, all…

The Federal Government and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on Friday began a nationwide distribution of Interactive Smart Board to public schools in the country. The launch of the digitalization of public schools initiative was performed at Queen’s College, Yaba, by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa supported by the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba and other senior management of the commission. In his address, Dr. Alausa, said that over 1,000 interactive smart boards will be distributed nationwide, with accompanying teacher training of primary and junior secondary school tutors. His words: Today’s event is more than a technological…

Nigeria’s total domestic debt service reached ₦1.707 trillion in the second quarter of 2025 (April–June). The Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed the latest figures on its official website on Friday. The data showed that the country spent ₦1.686 trillion on interest payments across multiple debt instruments and ₦20.14 billion on principal repayments, bringing the total to ₦1,707,087,151,475.90 for the three months. Nigeria’s domestic debt service peaked in April 2025 at ₦805.31 billion, before dropping to ₦423.10 billion in May and slightly rising to ₦478.67 billion in June. A breakdown of the figures indicates that Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds…

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has declared that the red chamber will not allow any lawmaker to hold it hostage, stressing that discipline, order and adherence to parliamentary procedure remain the bedrock of Nigeria’s democracy. Akpabio, in a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, titled ‘The Trials and Triumphs of a Resilient Nigeria’s 10th Senate,’ said the insistence of the 10th Senate on enforcing its Standing Orders was not aimed at silencing dissenting voices but at preserving institutional integrity and stability. He maintained that no democracy can thrive without order and…

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, has declared that the gale of defections by the members of the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won’t sink the main opposition party, insisting that PDP will remain strong and reclaim power in 2027. Speaking to journalists on Saturday in Abuja at the inauguration of the media sub-committee of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC), Mohammed, who also serves as Chairman of the PDP National Convention Publicity and Communication Subcommittee, described the defection to APC as an act of…

US President Donald Trump has said he would impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China from next month. In a post on social media, Trump said the US would also put export controls on critical software. In an earlier post on Friday, he hit back at Beijing’s move this week to tighten its rules for exports of rare earths, accusing China of “becoming very hostile” and trying to hold the world “captive”. He threatened to pull out of a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. He later said he had not cancelled it, but that he did not…

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to the people of Venezuela — and US President Donald Trump, for his “decisive support” for her country’s pro-democracy movement. “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” she wrote on X. “We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom…