Author: Vardiafrica

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set up an emergency counselling service for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates.  In a post via X on Friday, the examination body announced that the emergency channel will complement its ticketing platform.  JAMB urged candidates to register their complaints through the provided helpline – 07002200016. The board also unveiled the names of six persons who would be stationed at the backend of the calls. “In addition to our usual and preferred ticketing platform for Candidates Support, JAMB has now opened a Candidate Counselling Emergency Support Centre (CCESC),” the post reads. “Members of the public, particularly…

In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministry of Interior has announced the launch of a new Online Citizenship and Business Management Platform. This initiative forms a key part of the Ministry’s ongoing reforms aimed at promoting transparency, enhancing operational efficiency, and significantly improving service delivery to the public. The new digital platform is designed to streamline the application and processing of citizenship and business-related services, ensuring faster turnaround times and improved user experience. Members of the public, corporate entities, and other stakeholders are expected to access the platform through the following official channels:Ministry…

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja for Rome, Italy, on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Leo XIV. In a statement he issued on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced that President Tinubu will travel with senior Catholic leaders to attend a special Mass marking the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s tenure as the 267th Bishop of Rome. According to Onanuga, Cardinal Pietro Parolin sent the invitation from Pope Leo XIV, who said the ceremony reflects “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and…

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators convened in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct peace talks in over three years, under mounting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to bring an end to Europe’s deadliest war since World War II. The meeting, held at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus, marked the first face-to-face encounter between the two sides since March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the talks were seen as a potential diplomatic step forward, expectations for progress were dampened on Thursday when Trump said no meaningful movement would happen without a direct meeting between himself…

Finnish prosecutors on Friday said they had charged a man with inciting terrorism online who a media report identified as Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa. Finland’s National Prosecution Authority said in a statement that it had charged “a Finnish individual in a case involving suspected public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.” It added that the alleged crimes had been committed in the city of Lahti between 2021 and 2024 and were related to the suspect’s efforts to establish Nigeria’s Biafra region as an independent state. The prosecution authority did…

President Bola Tinubu on Friday held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ahead of his scheduled departure to Rome on Saturday. Those in attendance included the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; and the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, among others. Though the agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, it is believed to have centered on the recent spike in insecurity across the country. President…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today inducted two cutting-edge Agusta 109 Trekker helicopters into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fleet. The high-profile induction ceremony, held at the Presidential Air Fleet Apron in Abuja, was part of activities marking the 61st anniversary of the NAF. President Senator Kashim Shettima, who reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to modernising the Armed Forces under the Renewed Hope Agenda. Describing the NAF as a “cynosure of operational excellence,” the President praised its role in regional stability efforts in countries such as The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali. “This ceremony marks another milestone in our resolve to…

A bill seeking to compel ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to purchase of Nigerian-made vehicles has passed second reading in the senate. The legislation, titled ‘Local Automotive Industry Patronage Bill, 2025’, is sponsored by Patrick Ndubueze, senator representing Imo north.  Ndubueze introduced the bill in October 2024 and passed its first reading. Debating on the bill during plenary, Ndubueze said Nigeria’s overdependence on imported automobiles has continued to weaken the naira and damage local industries. “Any country that aims to achieve steady economic growth and development must have a policy that encourages and provides a framework for local production,” he said. “It is also…

The Executive Secretary Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe on Tuesday joined dignitaries from across the country to pay their last respect to the late elder stateman and founder of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark. The Executive Secretary was accompanied by the Director Planning Research and Statistics, NCDMB, Mr. Isaac Yalah to the funeral ceremony held at Kiagbodo, Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, the community of the late Ijaw nationalist. The NCDMB boss described the late Clark as a staunch local content advocate, educationist, philanthropist and statesman. He…

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, his counterpart in the Ministry of Works, Dave Umahi, and other ministers will present their ministries’ success stories at an International Press Conference in London, the United Kingdom. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Project Internal Coordinator of the President Bola Tinubu Midterm Legacy Projects Review Committee, Bode Adeyemi, said the ministers and heads of departments and agencies will use the opportunity to showcase the achievements and legacy projects of the Tinubu administration. He stated that the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream…