Author: Vardiafrica

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola on Monday inaugurated new members of the Nigerian Content Research and Development Council (NCRDC). The newly onboarded members are the Executive Secretary, who would serve as Chairman, the Director Research and Development, NCDMB, Mr. Isaac Yalah, who would function as the Alternate Chairman and the General Manager, Research and Development, NCDMB, Mr. Silas Ajimajaye, who would function as the Secretary Other members include representatives from the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Petroleum Contractors Trade Section (PCTS), National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Board for Technology…

The federal government has withdrawn the money laundering charges filed against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited. In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, and Gambaryan, on allegations of money laundering. Gambaryan has been in detention since February following the clampdown on Binance over alleged manipulation of the Nigerian currency. At the resumption of hearing on Wednesday at the federal high court in Abuja, R U Adaba, the lawyer representing the EFCC, announced the decision of the federal government to withdraw the charges. Adaba said Gambaryan is just an employee of the cryptocurrency…

President Joe Biden has called for Donald Trump to be locked up 14 days before the presidential election.  Biden told New Hampshire Democrats on Tuesday night, October 22, that “we gotta lock him up,” referring to former President Donald Trump, before quickly adding, “Politically lock him up.” He was describing some of Trump’s plans for a second term, when he said, “I know this sounds bizarre – it sounds like if I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up. We gotta lock him up.” During Trump’s 2016 campaign, crowds would chant “Lock her up,” when his then challenger Hillary Clinton was mentioned.…

The federal government has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers to stop exporting the product by November 1. Speaking during a meeting with stakeholders on Tuesday in Abuja, Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of petroleum resources (gas), said the directive was given due to the hike in prices of LPG, also known as cooking gas. “As Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), I am deeply concerned about the persistent rise in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas,” he said. “Despite previous efforts, including the establishment of a…

President Bola Tinubu has announced that Nigerian motorists can now choose between buying fuel at N1,000 per liter or opting for the more affordable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at N200 per Standard Cubic Meter. The president made this announcement during a meeting with executives of the Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company, NIPCO, at the State House in Abuja, on Tuesday. “Nigeria’s motorists can buy petrol at N1,000 per litre or equivalent gas per Standard Cubic Meter at N200. “We have also introduced incentives for commercial motorists to convert from petrol to gas” free of cost,” Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman, quoted Tinubu…

Nigerian musician and songwriter, Wizkid, has set a new record on Spotify for the biggest first day streams by any song for his hit single “Piece of My Heart,” The song garnered over 1.01 million streams on Spotify featuring American singer-songwriter Brent Faiyaz was released during the weekend According to Turntable Charts on X(formerly Twitter), the song attained the 1.01 million milestone on the audio streaming platform on its first day of release. Wizkid breaks his own record he previously shared with Asake for their chart-topping single “MMS” off Asake’s “Lungu Boy” album. With this feat, “Piece of My Heart”,…

Meta has resumed its facial recognition software testing on Facebook. Three years after discontinuing it due to privacy concerns and regulatory pressure, the social media giant announced on Tuesday that it is testing the technology again to tackle “celeb bait” scams. Meta will enrol around 50,000 public figures in a trial, using their profile photos to compare with images in suspected scam ads automatically. If a match is found, and Meta determines the ads are scams, they will be blocked. The celebrities will be informed of their participation and can opt-out if they choose. The trial will be rolled out…

The FBI and Pentagon are investigating a leak of classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran. “The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community,” the FBI said in a statement on Tuesday. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further comment.” The classified documents involve satellite imagery analysis from the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the US National Security Agency, according to press reports. They reportedly describe Israeli preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran for its…

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has said that the Nigerian government discovered the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) as a key route for arms, drugs and human trafficking into the country. Ribadu, who made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday during a two-day seminar titled “Climate Change and the Changing Dynamics of Arms Proliferation and Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Nigeria in Perspective,” held in Abuja. During the seminar organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) in collaboration with the Global Network for Human Development, Ribadu who was…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday he considered Moscow a “valued ally” and friend during talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan. Leaders from two dozen countries are expected to visit Russia for the three-day gathering, as Putin seeks to build an alliance of nations aimed at challenging what he calls the West’s “hegemony”. “We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against Apartheid, right through to now,” Ramaphosa told Putin during talks, according to an…