Author: Vardiafrica

The federal government has partnered with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to launch land trust fund for youths in agribusiness. Speaking at the launch on Monday in Abuja, Ayodele Olawande, minister of youth development, said the initiative will help transform 42 youth development centres into vibrant agribusiness hubs. Olawande also said six million youths will be trained and empowered in agribusiness in the next three years, adding that Nigeria’s success in agriculture is linked to access to finance, land, technical training, modern technology, mechanisation, climate-smart solutions, value chain integration, and reliable markets. “Through this initiative, we aim to transform…

Jide Idris, director-general (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), says the country is just 59 percent prepared for a potential Ebola outbreak. Earlier, the NCDC said that it had strengthened disease surveillance following the recent outbreak of Ebola in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The agency said Nigeria faces a high risk of an Ebola outbreak due to the ongoing transmission of the disease in the DRC and Uganda, as well as increased cross-border movement and international travel. Speaking on Arise TV on Monday, Idris said a recently conducted risk assessment of Nigeria’s readiness revealed some critical gaps…

Bauchi governor Bala Mohammed has dismissed reports linking him to a potential vice-presidential slot alongside former President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that his political ambition remains strictly focused on a senatorial contest. The clarification follows social media claims suggesting that Governor Mohammed was being considered as a running mate after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party allegedly adopted former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate during a convention in Abuja. Reports had circulated that Mr Jonathan was picked as the faction’s flag bearer at a special national convention reportedly organised by a PDP…

The United States Department of State has announced a $3.5 million funding initiative aimed at strengthening the monitoring, documentation and reporting of religious freedom violations and faith-related violence in Nigeria. The programme, unveiled through the Office of International Religious Freedom under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, seeks to support organisations capable of gathering credible evidence of abuses linked to religion and belief for purposes of accountability, advocacy and historical documentation. According to the funding notice, the project will run for between two and four years and is expected to focus on improving the documentation of violations committed…

Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has apologised to Nigerians for the team’s failure to qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup and for not winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title. Speaking in a post-match interview made available by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after Nigeria’s victory over Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz in London, Chelle expressed his disappointment at missing out on football’s biggest tournament and thanked Nigerians for their unwavering support. “I’m sorry we are not at the World Cup and also sorry we didn’t win the AFCON as many expected. I have always wanted the best for this team,…

Nigerian sprint star Kanyinsola Ajayi has rewritten the country’s athletics history after blazing to a sensational 9.84 seconds in the men’s 100 metres at the NCAA East Regionals in Lexington, Kentucky. The Auburn University athlete produced the performance of his career to win his race, secure qualification for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and eclipse the long-standing Nigerian record of 9.85 seconds set by Olusoji Fasuba nearly two decades ago. Ajayi’s remarkable run officially makes him the fastest Nigerian man ever and marks the end of Fasuba’s reign as the nation’s record holder, a title he had held since 2006. Competing…

President Bola Tinubu yesterday said the removal of fuel subsidy by his administration three years ago saved the country from imminent bankruptcy and laid the foundation for the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy. Tinubu spoke in Ikoyi, Lagos, while hosting state governors who came to celebrate with him the Sallah and the third anniversary of the administration. In attendance were the Governors of Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Ogun, and Kogi States, as well as the deputy governors of Borno and Kano. The President acknowledged that the decision to remove…

Speaking during a meeting with Environmental Impact Assessment consultants at the Commission’s headquarters, the Director, Environmental Protection and Control, Mrs Anthonia Akpan, said the Commission had recorded significant progress in resolving long-standing EIA certification issues affecting projects awarded in the 2014, 2016, and 2022 fiscal cycles. Akpan noted that delays in obtaining environmental approvals and certificates from the Federal Ministry of Environment had slowed down project delivery and negatively impacted communities expected to benefit from the projects. She explained that following a formal appeal submitted by the Commission to the Minister of Environment, the Ministry approved waivers and concessions to…

The Economic Community of West African States has made a bold move to accelerate regional economic integration, with a high-level delegation making a working visit to one of Africa’s most powerful business figures — Aliko Dangote — at the Dangote Group headquarters in Lagos. The ECOWAS Commission delegation was led by Commissioner of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Kalilou Sylla, alongside Commissioner of Internal Services, Habib Yaya Bappah, and Gerard Amoi Amangoua, Technical President of the Technical Working Group for the ECOWAS Business Council — signaling just how seriously the regional bloc is taking this initiative. At the heart of the…

The World Health Organization on Friday announced the first recovery of a confirmed Ebola patient in the outbreak raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “The DRC has said that on May 27, a patient recovered and left the hospital and has been discharged into the community,” the WHO’s Anais Legand told reporters. She said it marked the “first” among patients who had been confirmed to have Ebola, but stressed that she expected there had been other recoveries among people who have not yet received laboratory confirmation of test results. “This is the first one” to be discharged from a…