Author: Vardiafrica

Amid the controversy trailing the interview by Senator Abdul Ningi, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday said the integrity of the Senate has been totally damaged. Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, claimed in a recent interview with BBC Hausa that the National Assembly passed a budget of N25 trillion for 2024, which is in contrast to the N28.7 trillion being implemented by the federal government. Speaking during an open session he president on the floor of the Senate, Akpabio said the upper chamber has been subjected to ridicule as Nigerians are bashing the parliament Akpabio faulted Ningi’s earlier interview…

The senate has suspended Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, for alleging that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion. The matter was debated in line with the standing order of the senate during plenary on Tuesday which lasted more than three hours. The upper legislative chamber suspended the lawmaker after a motion on privilege moved by Solomon Adeola, senator representing Ogun west. At the weekend, Ningi stirred a discourse when he made the allegation and said a “huge damage” has been done to the north and the entire country through the budget. The national assembly had passed a budget of…

The Senate was in a rowdy session on Tuesday as the lawmakers demanded answers from their colleague Abdul Ningi over his claims about the 2024 budget. Senator Ningi had accused the National Assembly of padding the 2024 budget, claiming the country was running two appropriation acts with one passed by the lawmakers. Senator Ningi had told the BBC Hausa service that the president was reportedly running two budgets with N3.7tn yet to be accounted for. Irked by the comment, the Senate during plenary on Tuesday, demanded answers from Senator Ningi over his remarks. Before the plenary, an angry Senator Olamileken…

The Federal government has disclosed plans to increase the country’s power generation from around 4000 megawatts to 6500 megawatts in the next five to six months. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this while meeting with Agency heads and stakeholders in the Nigeria Power industry. According to him, the current 4000 megawatts of power generation is not acceptable and there is infrastructure in place to increase it significantly. He stated, Low gas supply He attributed the low power generation to gas supply issues noting that from the power generation companies he had visited, the capacity to do 6000 MW…

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…