Author: Vardiafrica

Equatorial Guinea has jailed two senior officials this week, including Ruslan Obiang Nsue, one of the sons of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. On Tuesday, a court in Bioko convicted Ruslan Obiang Nsue of illegally selling a plane owned by the national carrier, Ceiba Intercontinental, during his tenure as the company’s director. Authorities opened an investigation in November 2022 after discovering the disappearance the ATR 72-500 aircraft, which had been undergoing routine maintenance in Spain since 2018. It then established that 50-year-old Obiang Nsue sold the aircraft to a Spanish maintenance company and pocketed the money. On Wednesday, the same…

A group of Niger Delta Youth leaders, on Wednesday, staged a protest at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Towers in Abuja. The youths were said to have arrived at the towers in their numbers from around 6 am, blocking the entrance and exit gates of the NNPCL Towers. As they marched on the streets, they carried banners with inscriptions, disrupting vehicular traffic on the Herbert Macaulay Way in the Central Business District. On one of the displayed banners, the group called for the resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Engr. Bashir Ojulari over alleged…

The United Nations, UN, and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, have organised a stakeholders’ dialogue to identify challenges facing the Niger Delta region and to align it with the UN’s Six Transitions and the Niger Delta Regional Development Strategy. Speaking at the summit on the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, in the Niger Delta region, NDDC Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics, Dr. Patterson Ogon, highlighted the key areas of focus to include problem identification, as well as solution design and prioritisation. Ogon advocated the adequate use of the region’s natural resources, such as wind and solar,…

President Bola Tinubu has promised to fast-track Nigeria’s development through technology and food security, aligning with the success models of emerging economies like Brazil. ‎Speaking during a meeting in Brasilia with a cross section of Nigerians resident in Brazil, the president emphasized his administration’s commitment to transformation through innovation, reform and inclusive growth. ‎”We must bring Nigeria to the forefront of Africa’s progress, driven by technology, food sovereignty and the courage to change our destiny,” President Tinubu declared. ‎The president described his visit to Brazil as a strategic move to deepen bilateral ties and draw inspiration from the impressive development…

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has assured that the Commission will continue to support security agencies to secure the waterways and boost the emerging blue economy in the country. Speaking during the 2025 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association at Enugu’s International Conference Centre, the NDDC Chief Executive Officer noted that the Blue Economy is the future of the Niger Delta region. According to Ogbuku, “The blue economy is central to the future of the Niger Delta region. It will strengthen our economy, lessen the burden of youth unemployment, improve food security,…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, fintech companies, and other licensed payment operators to install GPS tracking on all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals as part of sweeping new rules aimed at strengthening oversight of electronic payments. In a circular dated August 25 and signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, the apex bank said all PoS devices must have “native geo-location services enabled, with Double-Frequency GPS receivers for reliable geo-location service.” Under the directive, operators must register each terminal with a payment terminal service aggregator (PTSA) and provide accurate location coordinates of the merchants’ or agents’ business premises.…

Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has announced a significant increase in the minimum wage for workers in the state civil service, raising it to N104,000.The governor made this declaration during a meeting with members of the state labour force held at the Government House in Owerri. In a related move, the monthly salary for medical doctors in the state civil service has been increased to N582,000. Governor Uzodimma explained that the upward review of wages was made possible by a rise in the state’s internally generated revenue and an increase in federal allocations. He emphasized that the new salary…

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Kayode Opeifa, has apologised to Nigerians over the Abuja-Kaduna train derailment and declared that he takes full responsibility for the incident. Opeifa, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, described the derailment as regrettable but assured that the matter would not be swept under the carpet. “Let me say, beyond apologising to Nigeria, I want to say as the managing director and chief executive, I take full responsibility. And in the case of safety, there is no indifference. “Once it happens, the chief executive must take responsibility. In this…

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said it has commenced investigation to know the circumstances surrounding the derailment of a Kaduna bound train. The Bureau said a team has been deployed to the site to gather evidence, engage relevant stakeholders, and commence investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident. It noted that available information indicates that six persons sustained injuries, and no recorded fatalities. A statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance of NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji reads, “The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) is aware of the derailment involving a Kaduna-bound train service which occurred…

Briefing journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, the National Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, said the victims were freed during coordinated security operations carried out in two phases earlier in August. While presenting the victims to the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, Luka said the the first group of victims — 42 individuals comprising 14 males, 27 females, and a toddler — were rescued on August 14. According to him, the second group, comprising 88 individuals made up of 34 males and 54 females, was freed on August 19. “Unfortunately, among the second group, we lost one of…