Author: Vardiafrica

The Rivers State Chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), have condemned Governor Siminalayi Fubara for withholding funds meant for the Local Governments. Speaking on behalf of the group during a press parley in Port Harcourt, the Chairman of Port Harcourt LGA, Allwell Ihunda, accused the governor of withholding allocations meant for the LGAs since April, and March in the case of Emohua. He further alleged that the governor was intending to dip his hands into the LGA funds. They called on President Tinubu to call Governor Fubara to order, to forestall a total breakdown of law…

The Rivers State House of Assembly has once more vetoed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, by consolidating the Rivers State Local Government Amendment Law number 5 of 2015, 2023, and number 4 of 2024 After the consolidation, the state lawmakers passed it into a unified law. They said this is to cure all discrepancies in the individual amendments some of which include appointment into the board of the Local Government Commission, and the payment of political office holders at the local government level. Speaking during plenary, the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, urged members not to be distracted by the Governor’s comments about them…

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has threatened a massive protest that will shut down the Nigerian economy should the Federal Government fail to cancel the controversial cybersecurity levy recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria The TUC in a statement signed by its President, Festus Osifo, on Wednesday, slammed the directive by the CBN to banks imposing a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on almost all electronic transactions. This is after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had heavily criticised the levy which it described as another burden on Nigerians. Adding to the deluge of condemnations that have greeted the…

The House of Representatives has denied demanding a bribe from the Binance Group following a recent allegation by the cryptocurrency company. This is as the House has also resolved to launch an investigation into the escape of the Binance Executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the National Security Adviser’s custody in March. Binance had on Tuesday stated that some unknown persons in Nigeria, demanded huge payments in digital currency “to make their problems in the country go away”. The company had pointed out that its representatives were approached after leaving a meeting with the House Committee on Financial Crimes. However, the House…

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released the list of licenced Deposit Money Banks operating in the country Providing insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria, the list was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday. Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard…

Ten years after the launch of the Abuja centenary city, the Senate has opened up an investigation into the failed $18.5bn public-private sector-led project. It is seeking a revival of the lofty project under the 10th Assembly. The Senate has therefore set up an ad-hoc committee to be chaired by the deputy Senate President, Sen. Barau Jibrin The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Yisa Oyelola representing Kwara South, noted that the original estimated investment for the Abuja Centenary Economic City project in 2014 pegged at $18.5bn, was designated as a free trade zone under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian…

Officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have announced an ambitious plan to establish a regional counter-terrorism force with an estimated budget of $2.4 billion. Abdel-Fatau Musah,the ECOWAS commissioner, made the disclosure at a three-day meeting of the bloc’s training centres of excellence in Abuja, Nigeria. In the fight against terrorism across West Africa, ECOWAS identified three training centres of excellence to spearhead the establishment of a regional standby counter-terrorism force. The centres include the National Defence College of Nigeria, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre of Ghana, and the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix…

President Bola Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after trips to The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. On April 22, Tinubu left Abuja, the country’s capital city, for The Netherlands on an official visit. Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the president was visiting The Netherlands at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. After the engagements in The Netherlands, Tinubu proceeded to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to attend a special World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting between April 28 and 29. Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, had said the president and his aides will return to Nigeria on Wednesday.…

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have demanded that members of the House of Assembly resume impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Making this known during a Press Conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the party’s caretaker Chairman, Tony Okocha, said the party will not sit back and watch the governor insult President Bola Tinubu. He further threatened that if the Assembly members failed to restart the impeachment proceedings against the governor, he would invoke Party discipline upon them. “It’ll be foolhardy for us to sit down and see someone way less than Mr President insult…

As the nationwide supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol continues to improve, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has cautioned against panic buying, saying it has over 1.5 billion litres of products in stock. A statement issued by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye in Abuja on Tuesday, said the 1.5 billion litres equals 30 days of product sufficiency. The company said it had monitored filling stations across several states, including Lagos and the FCT, and has noticed that fuel queues have since thinned out, “a development that will keep improving daily…