Author: Vardiafrica

Three months before Ivory Coast’s presidential election, long-standing leader Alassane Ouattara has announced he will be standing for a fourth term in office, ending months of speculation. “I am a candidate because I want our beloved Côte d’Ivoire to continue to remain a prosperous country, in peace and security,” he said in a televised address on Tuesday. The 83-year-old president said both his health and the country’s Constitution allows him to serve another term. Ouattara, who has been president since 2011, said the country was facing “unprecedented security, economic, and monetary challenges. “Indeed, the terrorist threat is growing in the sub-region and…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Wednesday charged outgoing trainees in bag-making to establish cooperatives and business hubs to bolster their performance and productivity and engender an ecosystem for a thriving bag-making industry in the country. Speaking at the close-out ceremony of a bag-making training and empowerment programme at the UNDP Multipurpose Vocational Training Centre, Warri, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, advised the start-ups to shun the temptation of operating in isolation to enable them develop the requisite clout for credit facilities and wide patronage. According to him, “With a cooperative you’ll…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed the Pro-Chancellor, governing council members, and principal officers of the Federal University of Environment and Technology, Koroma/Saakpenwa, Ogoni in Rivers State. Prof. Don Mon Baridam, from the South-South, is the pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, while Prof. Chinedu Mmom, also from the South-South, will serve as the vice-Chancellor. Baridam is a professor of Management with a specialisation in Organisational Behaviour. He previously taught at the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State. Mmom is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Port Harcourt. He was…

A total of 51 trainees on Friday completed an intensive training programme on solar panel PV installation at the Standard Institute of Technology (SIT), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, as part of capacity building initiatives of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). The training which covered areas such as procurement and maintenance, in addition to installation, is one of such initiatives taking place simultaneously at six different centres across the country. Speaking at the SIT, Uyo, close-out ceremony on Friday, the Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Board is deliberate in its capacity building programmes, to help…

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has dissolved the state executive council, retaining only the office of Chief of Staff, which will now be occupied by former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Moses Atagher. Atagher, a seasoned administrator and former acting Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank, was announced as the new Chief of Staff with immediate effect at the close of the 12th executive council meeting of 2025. Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terso Kula, disclosed that the dissolution affects only the commissioners. Governor Alia expressed appreciation to the outgoing commissioners for their two…

Nigeria’s Government has commenced plans to support light rail projects in key Northern States, starting with Kaduna and Kano, as part of efforts to enhance public transportation and boost economic productivity in the region. Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Saidu Ahmed Alkali stated this while chairing a discussion on infrastructure at the ongoing 2-day interactive session organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation in Kaduna, North West Nigeria. Speaking on the Renewed Hope Cities (RHC) Project, the Minister revealed that 3,112 housing units have been completed in Abuja, while Kano has 1,500 units and an additional 500-unit estate. In other states,…

The Minister of State Education, Dr. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, has announced that the guidelines for accessing intervention funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) are currently being reviewed to make them more flexible for state governments. She made this known on Wednesday during the ongoing government-citizen engagement organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation in Kaduna. Dr. Ahmad further stated that, going forward, the disbursement of funds to state governments would be tied to performance metrics to ensure quality control and value for money

The Federal Government has announced the end of the era of “briefcase farmers” benefitting from agricultural interventions, unveiling a sweeping reform agenda aimed at identifying and supporting only genuine farmers across the country. Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, made this known on Wednesday in Kaduna during a technical session at the Government-Citizen Engagement Forum organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation. He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu, which inherited a food crisis, is deploying data-backed strategies to revive Nigeria’s agricultural sector, ramp up production, and eliminate elite capture of farming incentives.…

The Federal Government has introduced the Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) programme, a nationwide initiative aimed at providing learning opportunities for 80 million underserved non-literate Nigerians, including out-of-school youths and adults who lack access to basic literacy. The programme was unveiled on Wednesday by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, during a National Stakeholders Engagement Meeting on Youth and Adult Literacy in Abuja. It is designed to deliver inclusive and adaptable learning across the country’s six geopolitical zones, focusing on reaching learners in their communities without compromising educational quality, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). While…

The Federal Government is set to introduce compulsory drug testing for university students and revise the secondary school curriculum to include drug education, as part of a broader initiative to combat the growing problem of substance abuse among young Nigerians. This was disclosed in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja. According to the statement, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Federal Ministry of Education have reached an agreement to integrate drug education into secondary schools and enforce mandatory drug testing in tertiary institutions The agreement was reached…