Author: Vardiafrica

The Senate has summoned the Minister of Federal Capital Territory and the Commissioner of Police in the FCT to brief the senate in a closed door session. The briefing will be on security in the FCT against the backdrop of the recent Galadima kidnap incident. The Senate announced the resolution after a motion moved by Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North on the need to urgently enhance security measures in the FCT during plenary on Wednesday. Among other resolutions taken by the Senate include calls on the Inspector-General of Police to urgently increase security patrols and surveillance within Abuja and…

President Bola Tinubu says the removal of petrol subsidy was a challenging but necessary decision to secure the country’s energy future. Tinubu said this on Tuesday at the 7th Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) which took place at the banquet hall of the presidential villa, Abuja. The president was represented at the event by Mohammed Idris, the minister of information. In his keynote address, Idris said the payment of petrol subsidy strained the country’s resources over the years, and hindered investments in critical infrastructure. The information minister said the funds meant for petrol subsidy are now being diverted to erect…

THE Senate has begun a probe into the payment of over N30 trillion Ways and Means secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN by the immediate past government in the last 10 years.Consequently, the Senate has set up an ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report at plenary in four weeks. The committee to probe the humongous N30 trillion Ways and Means, which was released as loan to the federal government during the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was constituted by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, APC, Kano North, who…

President Bola Tinubu has launched the expatriate employment levy (EEL) to close wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force. The EEL also mandates firms to pay levies for hiring expatriates and provides guidelines on the employment of Nigerians in foreign-owned companies. Tinubu said the policy, which was initiated to oversee expatriate employment in the country, should not become a hindrance to foreign investment. The initiative, according to the EEL handbook, aims to diminish reliance on foreign skills and encourage companies to prioritise the hiring of Nigerians by supporting the development of the local workforce. The policy document also said…

A late meeting between the Federal Government and the Organised Labour on Monday night at the State House in Abuja ended in a stalemate.The rally goes on and it is part of their constitutional responsibility to ensure that the rally is peaceful,” said the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, after the meeting with government representatives on the eve of the protest. The meeting, hosted by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, was not opened to the media.Those in attendance at the meeting include the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Ministers…

Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the Light Up South East Initiative to accelerate power supply in industrial clusters in the region.  The event was held at the old government lodge, Enugu, as part of the ongoing efforts to improve energy supply to industrial clusters across the southeast and the country at large. The project, which is in collaboration between the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) and its partners, featured key stakeholders in the nation’s power sector. A key highlight of the Vice President’s engagement in Enugu was the Southeast Business Roundtable, featuring top government officials and business…

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the full implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye Panel report to merge some parastatals, agencies, and some commissions, while others will be subsumed, scrapped or relocated. The decision was made at the FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu on Monday. This, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, is in line with the need to reduce cost of governance and streamline efficiency across the governance value chain. To ensure the implementation of the proposed changes, FEC set up an eight-man committee with the mandate to implement…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has suspended the sale of seized food items over a stampede that claimed lives at NCS Old Zonal Headquarters in the Yaba area of Lagos State last Friday. A spokesperson for the Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, announced this in a statement on Monday. The Customs had on February 20, 2024 said it would disposed seized food items to cushion the hardship and cost of living in the country. To start with, the Customs disposed food items at its Yaba office last Friday in the presence of other security agencies like the men of the Nigeria Police…

 Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has restrained telecom operators in Nigeria from deactivating or barring any line or sim whose user did not link same to the National Identification Number (NIN). Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa restrained the telecom operators from taking such action while ruling on an application filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje. The applicant, Ogungbeje had sued the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Networks Nigeria Limited, all of whom were listed as respondents before the court. Specifically, Ogungbeje asked the court for…

Okon Bassey in Uyo As economic hardship bite harder on the citizens, the federal government has said it could increase cash transfers to 12 million vulnerable Nigerians. The Finance Minister, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, stated this yesterday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at a retreat for management staff of the ministry and heads of parastatals under the ministry. The minister stressed that the transfers, which was temporarily halted, would soon return after necessary reviews and adjustments. The minister maintained that Nigeria remained on course towards economic stability, pointing out that the present forex…