Author: Vardiafrica

The Federal Government has launched the Nigeria Virtual Privacy Academy, a new digital training platform designed to deepen data protection and privacy practices across the country’s public and private sectors. The initiative was unveiled by Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, at the 8th annual conference of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA), which kicked off in Abuja on Tuesday. Speaking at the event, Dr. Tijani said the academy is a key part of Nigeria’s broader strategy to harness the benefits of a digital economy by equipping stakeholders with the tools and knowledge to…

The President of the Republic of Gabon, His Excellency, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, has conferred the nation’s honours – the Commander in the National Order of Gabonese Merit – on the Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu. The distinguished award recognises Elumelu’s enduring contribution to Africa’s economic development, particularly his impact on youth entrepreneurship and infrastructure growth in Gabon and across the continent. Speaking at the presidential palace while presenting the recognition in Libreville on Monday, Nguema, who was on Saturday sworn in as the newly elected…

The governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, has banned the sale of alcoholic beverages while accusing military and other security personnel of promoting criminality and antisocial vices in Maiduguri and its environs. The Governor said that ex and current serving personnel of the Nigerian security forces have played a significant role in influencing the civilian populace into criminality, radicalism, prostitution and other vices, heightening terrorism threats in the state. The governor said this on Tuesday at the inauguration of a reconstituted committee on “revocation of illegal hotels, brothels, shanties, and criminal hideouts and curbing the menace of antisocial vices”…

ExxonMobil has affirmed its long-term commitment to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector with a planned investment of $1.5 billion in deepwater exploration and development of the Usan oilfield. Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) revealed this in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday. According to the Commission, the financial commitment will be implemented between Q2, 2025 and 2027. This announcement, it said, was made during a visit by ExxonMobil’s Managing Director in Nigeria, Shane Harris, to the Commission’s Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe The company proposed a Final Investment Decision (FID) for late Q3, 2025, subject…

Nigeria and Brazil have set up a joint team to finalise the direct flight agreement. Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s minister of aviation and aerospace development, met with Silvio Costa Filho, Brazil’s minister of ports and airports, at the ministry’s headquarters in Brasília, the capital of the South American country. On October 7, 2024, Nigeria commenced discussions with Brazil to facilitate direct flights between both countries. According to a statement on Wednesday by Tunde Moshood, special adviser on media and communications to the minister, the meeting marked a renewed commitment by both countries to finalise the bilateral air service agreement (BASA) that has long…

Sheriff Oborevwori, the governor of Delta, met with President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday at the State House in Abuja. The meeting was Oborevwori’s first official visit to Tinubu since his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The governor described the meeting with the president as “insightful” and said it was aimed at unlocking long-term opportunities for growth. “It was an honour to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) earlier today at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, Abuja,” he wrote in a post on X. “We engaged in an insightful conversation that will unlock sustainable growth for the future.” Tinubu…

A young Nigerian inventor has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the smallest GPS tracking device prototype. Oluwatobi Oyinlola’s GPS tracker measures 22.93 mm x 11.92 mm and is almost the size of a mobile phone sim card. It has been hailed as a huge step in the trend of manufacturing smaller electronic products and devices. “Oluwatobi believes in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, especially when it comes to miniaturizing technology,” the Guinness World Records (GWR) said in a statement. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a technology that enables users to track and monitor locations of devices fitted that have…

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunde Alausa says the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) will adopt Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for their examinations fully by 2026 The minister made this announcement during a monitoring visit to the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory The minister said WAEC and NECO will begin conducting objective exams via CBT in November 2025 and By May-June 2026, both objective and essay components of the exams will be conducted via CBT. “We’re going to get WAEC and…

The Nigerian Senate has approved a two-day national security summit aimed at addressing the rising insecurity across the country, with lawmakers warning that bandits are taking over communities and servicemen are dying daily. The resolution was adopted on Tuesday following a motion sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South Senatorial District. He linked the escalating insecurity to global crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions between global powers. According to him, the “recent events in our region have led to feelings of discomfort and insecurity, which have placed the past accomplishments of our security forces at risk, even…

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has launched a new service called NIN Authentication (NINAuth) for secure and seamless identity verification and authentication. According to a statement from the Commission, following the launch, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the use of the NIN Authentication for verification and authentication across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). This, it said, is in line with the Commission’s mandate of regulating a reliable National Digital Identity for citizens and legal residents to affirm their identity What is NIN Authentication (NINAuth)? NIMC described the new initiative as a cutting-edge suite of services that include web,…