Author: Vardiafrica

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has warned it could shut down its services in Nigeria if ongoing disputes with regulatory bodies remain unresolved. The tech giant is facing close to $300 million in fines and says Nigeria’s data protection demands are excessive and unrealistic. At least three government agencies have penalised Meta this year. The federal competition watchdog imposed a $220 million fine, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) issued a penalty of ₦60 billion (about $37.5 million), and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) added another $32.8 million. Altogether, Meta is now facing fines totalling approximately $290.3…

The suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has returned to the state after spending approximately two weeks on vacation overseas. The governor touched down at the international wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, at about 7PM on Friday. In March, President Bola Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly following his declaration of a state of emergency in the state. The President justified the decision by pointing to attacks on oil pipelines carried out by militant groups amid the escalating conflict between the Governor and 27 lawmakers.…

Women in Rivers on Friday staged a walkout during the Renewed Hope Empowerment Programme billed for 500 women in the State. The walkout occurred when the wife of the State Sole Administrator, Ibok Ette Ibas, climbed the stage and attempted to deliver a speech at the programme. The Guardian gathered that the women, who had trooped out with the hopes of welcoming and receiving the President’s wife, Sen. Remi Tinubu, who is the initiator of the empowerment scheme, felt disappointed. Accordingly, instead of seeing the President’s wife, they saw the wife of the Sole Administrator, Lady Ete-Ibas, gearing up to…

The controversy surrounding the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took a twist on Friday as Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, denied allegations linking him to the internal rocking the association. In a statement posted via his Instagram account on Friday, Tinubu refuted the accusations made by Atiku Isah, who claimed to be the NANS President, describing them as false and defamatory. “Wow… how can someone lie with so much confidence? An attempt to defame my character. May God be with you, Comrade Atiku Isah,” Seyi wrote. He further stated, “I have never held a…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that Nigeria “will not bow—not to fear, not to terror, and not to treachery.” The president made this known, while reacting to the ongoing terrorist and bandit attacks primarily affecting the North-Central and Northeast regions, where recent violence in Plateau and Benue States has resulted in numerous fatalities and widespread displacement. During a morale-boosting visit to frontline troops in Katsina State, Tinubu underscored that both domestic collaborators and foreign agents seeking to destabilize the nation would ultimately fail. He stated, “To those who seek to destabilise our nation, be they domestic collaborators or foreign…

The African Development Bank Group has approved a new five-year Country Strategy Paper for Nigeria, committing about $650m annually between 2025 and 2030 to drive economic transformation, build resilience, and foster broad-based prosperity. The Bank disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Thursday, saying that $2.95bn would be provided over the first four years of the plan, to be complemented by an estimated $3.21bn in co-financing from development partners. The statement read, “The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has a new five-year Country Strategy Paper (2025-2030) for Nigeria, committing about $650m annually to…

In keeping up with its commitment as a leader in innovative broadcasting, TVC Communications is proud to announce yet another milestone as it redefines the media space in line with global best practices and the technological developments that continue to shape the media. Today, one of the flagship brands, TVC News, is introducing the first batch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) news anchors. This pioneering innovation represents a significant milestone in the broadcasting history of Nigeria, with AI anchors delivering news as it breaks in five major languages; English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Pidgin which cut across the six geo-political zones…

The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, who led a delegation of the Executive Management of the Commission to the regional office of the UN in Abuja, expressed NDDC’s willingness to work with UN for the development of Niger Delta as the state governments within the region and NDDC could achieve it alone. Ogbuku explained that the NDDC needed to partner with the UN because of its international reach as a world body with several affiliations. The NDDC boss sought collaboration to provide portable and affordable drinking water powered by a high-tech Solar generator as an energy source. Having suffered…

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has reiterated the vision of the Board as a catalyst for the industrialisation of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and related sectors, noting that its role in that regard is regulatory, developmental and promotional. Speaking in Lagos at the 15th Anniversary Awareness Workshop on the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, hosted by AMNI International, he said the mandate of the NCDMB is to develop local capacities and capabilities across the oil and gas value chain, and to enforce…

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced plans to increase fees for all its products and services, which include charges for modification of data on the National Identification Number (NIN) database. The Commission, in a statement issued on Thursday by its Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, said the new fees will be published on the Commission’s website on Friday, May 2nd, 2025. The Commission said the price review comes “after a decade of maintaining the same price structure,” adding that the increment is to ensure alignment with current operational costs and industry standards. “The revised pricing structure aims to…