Author: Vardiafrica

The Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), ending weeks of intense speculation and signaling a major political realignment in the South-South region. Thousands of supporters and APC loyalists flooded Yenagoa in a carnival-like procession to welcome Diri into the APC fold. Dressed in white T-shirts and colourful attires from all eight local government areas, the crowd defied an early morning downpour to participate in the historic event. By 10am, the 5,000-capacity Samson Siasia Sports Complex was filled beyond capacity, forcing security operatives to restrict further…

The island nation of the Maldives has officially become the first country in the world to impose a generational ban on tobacco. This groundbreaking law outlaws the buying, selling, or use of any tobacco products for anyone born on or after 1 January 2007. This means that individuals who fall into this age group will never be legally allowed to purchase or use tobacco in the Maldives, effectively aiming to create a tobacco-free generation. The generational ban is the latest, and most significant, step in the Maldives’ aggressive campaign against smoking. This initiative actually follows a recent, strict prohibition on…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has unveiled its flagship Young Professionals Program (YPP), a premier initiative designed to attract, develop, and retain exceptional young talent passionate about driving Africa’s development agenda According to the Bank, the program seeks to build a pipeline of future experts who will contribute meaningfully to its mission. The Bank says the program targets exceptional, high-potential young professionals from AfDB member countries who are ready to make a lasting impact on the continent’s growth trajectory. “The Young Professionals Program (YPP) is a flagship talent acquisition, development and management initiative aimed at building a pipeline of future…

OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT usage policy, prohibiting the use of the AI system to provide medical, legal, or any other advice that requires professional licensing. The changes are detailed in the company’s official Usage Policies and took effect from October 29. Under the new rules, users are forbidden from using ChatGPT for: consultations that require professional certification (including medical or legal advice); facial or personal recognition without a person’s consent; making critical decisions in areas such as finance, education, housing, migration, or employment without human oversight; academic misconduct or manipulation of evaluation results. OpenAI states that the updated policy aims to enhance user…

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Nigeria says the Commission will assist the Nigerian Correctional Service with training and skills acquisition for inmates in custodial centres in the region. The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said this during a courtesy visit by the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Mr. Sylvester Nwakuche, at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the State capital. The NDDC Chief Executive Officer said that there had been a long-standing partnership between the Commission and the correctional service, noting that the NDDC had incorporated the Nigerian Correctional Service into…

Donald Trump on Saturday said he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government was failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the west African country. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to…

The crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) further degenerated yesterday when the National Working Committee (NWC) suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy National Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organising Secretary, Umaru Bature, for one month. However, the suspension has plunged the party deeper into crisis as fresh divisions have emerged within its leadership, with Anyanwu’s faction, backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, announcing the suspension of the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, and five other members of the NWC.The suspension of…

One hundred young graduates of diverse academic disciplines on Thursday began a Graduate Internship Programme jointly sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Renaissance Africa Energy Company (RAEC) Limited, and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) as part of a collaborative initiative to provide youths with critical skills, exposure and practical knowledge of the work environment in the oil and gas industry.  Under the initiative tagged 2025/2027 NCDMB/PETAN/Renaissance Graduate Internship Programme, the graduates drawn from engineering, geology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and the natural sciences, among others, are to be deployed to PETAN member companies in the oil and gas sector for structured,…

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan won a landslide election victory. Official results showed Saturday, after key candidates were jailed or barred from a vote, which triggered days of violent protests. The final result showed Hassan won 97.66 percent of the vote, dominating every constituency, the electoral commission announced on state television. A quick swearing-in ceremony would take place on Saturday, state TV said. The main opposition party, Chadema, says hundreds of people have been killed by security forces since protests broke out on election day on Wednesday. Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John…

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has commenced an indefinite nationwide strike effective 12am today Saturday, November 1, 2025. The strike, which is expected to paralyze activities in government-owned hospitals across the country, followed the federal government’s alleged failure to meet a 19-point list of demands described by the association as its “minimum expectations.” At a press conference held in Abuja, NARD President, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, said the decision was reached after a five-hour emergency meeting of the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) last week. He said the association had exercised restraint and patience despite repeated government’s inaction on…