Author: Vardiafrica

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has announced GeoPredict AI as the winner of the maiden Technology Innovation Challenge (TIC) 2026, awarding the technology startup a ₦25 million prize at the final competition and award ceremony held on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at the Nigerian Content Towers (NCT), Yenagoa. The award was for its innovative solution with strong potential to address critical challenges in the oil and gas industry and advance the Board’s commitment to indigenous technology development and increased Nigerian Content. The TIC 2026, promoted by the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre (EIC) Limited, is a strategic intervention…

President Bola Tinubu has charged local government chairmen across the country to promote fairness, equity and inclusiveness in appointments, administration and the distribution of opportunities and resources at the grassroots. The President gave the charge on Monday in Abuja in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, at a workshop organised by the Federal Character Commission (FCC) for local government chairmen. The workshop, themed “Translating Federal Character Principles into Local Governance: Bridging Policy and Practice,” seeks to strengthen the implementation of the Federal Character principle at the grassroots level.…

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudiness and thunderstorms from Monday to Wednesday nationwide. ‎NiMet’s weather outlook released in Abuja envisaged patches of clouds over the northern region on Monday morning. ‎According to the outlook, thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over the region later in the day. ‎”Cloudy atmosphere is anticipated over the entire North-Central region in the morning hours. Isolated thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over most parts of FCT, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Niger and Plateau states later in the day. ‎”Cloudy skies are anticipated over the southern region with chances of light rains over parts…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, and Lee Engineering Limited, on Tuesday in Port Harcourt onboarded 24 youths drawn principally from Rivers and Imo States for a two-month Nigerian Content (NC) Human Capital Development (HCD) brush-up vocational training on the back of the Assa North-Ohaji South Gas Project in Imo State. Areas listed for the intensive practical training programme within the facilities of ICON Lifting and Rigging Inspections Limited, a leading indigenous company in Port Harcourt, are crane operations, forklift operations, scaffolding, electrical installation, plumbing, refrigeration and air conditioning. Every trainee is assured…

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the order at a news conference in Lagos on Monday to brief the media on its ongoing enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic sachets and PET bottles below 200ml. In January, NAFDAC announced a nationwide ban following the federal government’s prohibition of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml. Ms Adeyeye said the agency unveiled the second tier of its nationwide pop-up operations, where it found banned pack sizes at distribution centres, leading to the closure of factories that violated the agency’s directives. She…

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has called for increased involvement of border communities in securing Nigeria’s borders in addition to the use of digital technology, biometric identity systems and intelligence sharing to tackle emerging security threats. The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Kemi Nandap, made the call on Monday in Lagos at the 2026 conference of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE). The conference, themed “The Connected Borderlands: Socio-Cultural Integration and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security,” brought together scholars, policymakers, border management practitioners and development partners to examine border security, migration and cross-border relations in Africa. Nandap said changing…

Nigeria is targeting up to $21bn in investment and peak production of about 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the Bonga Southwest/Aparo deepwater project as the Federal Government moves to unlock one of the country’s largest new offshore developments. The project took a major step towards Final Investment Decision (FID) on Monday following the execution of addenda to the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and Dispute Settlement Agreement (DSA) between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and the OML 118 contractor parties. The contractor parties comprise Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Esso Exploration and…

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC on Friday said iit has uncovered another fraudulent agency domiciled in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF ICPC gave the name of the fake agency as National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office promoted by one Prince George Buchi Nwabueze. Consequently, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of three Permanent Secretaries with immediate effect. Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on Friday at the presidential Villa, Abuja. According to…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are investigating the utilisation of the N12 billion Federal Government intervention fund released to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to settle outstanding players’ wages, bonuses and other national-team obligations. The development was disclosed by the NFF in a letter dated August 18, 2026, responding to a Freedom of Information request seeking financial records and utilisation logs relating to the intervention fund. In the letter, reference number NFF/LEG/10/1/879, signed by Onoja Joshua, Esq., on behalf of the NFF General Secretary, the federation said…

President Bola Tinubu is meeting with  Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State at the State House, Abuja.  Adeleke arrived at the Presidential Villa on Thursday evening and was driven straight to the forecourt before heading to the first floor for a closed-door meeting with the president. The meeting is coming less than a week after Adeleke secured re-election for a second term in the Osun State governorship election held on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Osun  governor’s meeting with Tinubu is attracting considerable political interest, coming at a time when political realignments are intensifying ahead of the 2027 general election.  Although the purpose of…