Author: Vardiafrica

The federal government has announced the cancellation of the Independence Anniversary parade, previously scheduled to mark the 65th Independence on Wednesday, 1st October. The cancellation was communicated via a statement issued yesterday by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to Government of Federation, Segun Imohiosen. The statement stated that, while the cancellation was in no way a diminishment of the significance of the milestone anniversary, the federal government remained committed to celebrating Nigeria’s 65th year of independence with dignity and enthusiasm. It stated that all other programmes scheduled for the Independence Anniversary would remain in effect.…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued an urgent red alert to all its affiliated unions amid escalating tensions between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). PENGASSAN accused the refinery of illegally dismissing over 800 Nigerian workers, prompting nationwide industrial action. On Monday, union members barricaded the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) premises in Abuja as part of their protest. NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned the refinery’s actions, describing them as violations of Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. “The Dangote Group has operated as a state within…

South Africa’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup have suffered a major blow after they were sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player. Teboho Mokoena played in the 2-0 win over Lesotho in March despite the 28-year-old midfielder being due to serve a suspension after accumulating two yellow cards. A Fifa disciplinary committee has ruled that South Africa breached competition rules, and has imposed a 3-0 forfeit. The country’s football association (Safa) has been fined 10,000 Swiss Francs ($12,500, £9,340), while Mokoena has been issued with a warning. The decision has blown Group C of African World Cup qualifying wide…

MTN Group has taken up a call to action from Nigeria to support the collection of datasets of African languages. These are required to develop the continent’s own large language models (LLM) to power AI-driven solutions for Africa’s 1.5 billion people, who otherwise risk being sidelined by the global AI ecosystem. Speaking on ‘The Y’ello Chair Vodcast: Your link to the African continent’, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani said that to leapfrog AI in Africa, a collaborative public/private effort was urgently needed to fund the academic research into the continent’s many languages. He challenged…

Trump prompts Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar for bombing its capital The Israeli prime minister expressed regret about the strikes and, specifically, “that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty.” President Donald Trump facilitated a phone call from the Oval Office today in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to his Qatari counterpart for the missile strikes earlier this month that targeted Hamas officials while they were engaged in peace talks in Doha. Netanyahu expressed regret about the strikes and, specifically, “that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty,” according to…

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, swore in 57 distinguished legal practitioners as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) at the Supreme Court Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja. The swearing-in ceremony held on Monday, September 29. Among those elevated was Adedayo Gbolahan Adesina, a respected legal practitioner, reform advocate, and co-founder of Oyewole & Adesina, whose career has been marked by excellence in advocacy, judicial reform, and public service. Speaking during the special session of the Supreme Court marking the commencement of the 2025/2026 Legal Year, Justice Kekere-Ekun described the conferment of the SAN rank as a moment of “solemn reflection…

A delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery are currently in a reconciliation meeting with the Federal Government. Members of PENGASSAN, led by the President, Festus Osifo, and some members of the Dangote refinery management, arrived at the conference room of the Minister of Labour and Employment for the planned meeting. Also present at the meeting are the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, as well as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha. The union and the private refinery are at loggerheads over…

Ahead of its planned industrial action, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The union announced the decision following a National Executive Council meeting held on Sunday at the University of Abuja. In a notice of strike action signed by the National president of ASUU, Chris Piwuna, the union decried the neglect of the university system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to its demands. “Apart from engagement with the press, in August 2025, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in both federal and state universities…

President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday he will be imposing a 100% tariff “on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States.” Trump did not specify when or how the tariff could be enacted. If Trump follows through with his threat, it would mark the first time he’s essentially imposed a tariff on a service rather than a good. The president initially threatened a 100% tariff on foreign-produced movies in May, arguing that other countries offer tax incentives that have drawn filmmakers abroad. In his post on Monday, he singled out California, saying…

President Bola Tinubu has invoked provisions of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act to approve a mandatory compliance with the national policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) as a requirement for mobilisation into or exemption from the scheme. The compliance directive, which is in line with Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the Act, was part of an enforcement circular recently issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. Akume conveyed the approval for the adjustment of “NYSC mobilisation criteria in accordance with the President’s regulation requiring proof of NERD Policy compliance…