Author: Vardiafrica

Nigeria’s Net Foreign Exchange Reserve (NFER) as of the end of 2024 stood at $23.11 billion, the highest level in over three years, reflecting a substantial improvement in the country’s external liquidity, reduced short-term obligations, and renewed investor confidence. A statement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the increase marked an increase from $3.99 billion at year-end 2023, $8.19 billion in 2022, and $14.59 billion in 2021. NFER, which adjusts gross reserves to account for near-term liabilities such as FX swaps and forward contracts, is widely regarded as a more accurate indicator of the foreign exchange buffers available to…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reconstitution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure and the group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari. President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023. The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman. Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu. Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the…

Monday Okpebholo, the governor of Edo, visited Kano on Monday to commiserate with the families of the 16 hunters who were killed in his state. On Thursday, a mob in the Uromi area of Edo killed 16 hunters of northern descent who were travelling from Elele, Rivers state. The Kano-bound travellers were attacked and lynched after some vigilante members raised the alarm, suspecting that they were kidnappers. The Edo state government said 14 suspects arrested in connection with the killing would be transferred to Abuja for further interrogation. During the visit to some of the families of the victims at Bankure LGA…

Suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has assured residents that the ongoing political crisis in the state will ultimately strengthen the people rather than weaken them. Fubara made this statement when he received Muslim leaders from 20 Islamic-based groups, including the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, at his private residence in Port Harcourt during an Eid-El-Fitr Sallah visit. Addressing the delegation, Governor Fubara urged them and his supporters to trust in God’s process, saying: “This season is one of love, sharing, and sacrifice. You have come to share in our pain and have made a great sacrifice through your…

Migrants who overstay their visas will be removed from the UK, a minister has vowed after it was revealed they make up nearly 40% of all asylum claimants. The Home O¹ffice said about 40,000 people who came to Britain from abroad as students, workers or visitors last year have sought asylum. Around a quarter, 10,000 people, had lived in taxpayer-funded hotels or other Government-funded accommodation despite entering the country with a visa that suggested they would not need benefits or had enough money to cover living costs. It has raised fears that the visa system is being exploited as a backdoor route to permanent UK residency…

Driven to extend digital and financial inclusion across Africa, MTN Group and Airtel Africa have entered into agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria, while ensuring compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements. These sharing agreements target improved network cost efficiencies, expanded coverage and the provision of enhanced mobile services to millions of customers, particularly those in remote and rural areas who do not yet fully enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life. MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said operators on the continent were seeing sustained demand for data services: “As MTN, we are…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved an extension of tenure for Mrs. Kemi Nanna Nandap as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) through December 31, 2026. President Tinubu, in a statement issued by his Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, announcing the extension of tenure of Nandap, commended the Comptroller-General for her exemplary leadership and urged her to continue dedicating herself to the Service’s strategic priorities, which align with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting the Nigeria Immigration Service in fulfilling its mandate to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity and promote safe, legal, and orderly migration.…

The military-led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have introduced a 0.5% levy on imported goods to finance their emerging three-state union, following their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It will also affect imports from Nigeria and other ECOWAS nations. The measure, announced in a joint statement, takes immediate effect and applies to all goods imported from outside the three nations, excluding humanitarian aid. The revenue will support the activities of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc that started as a security pact in 2023 and has since expanded its ambitions toward…

President Trump declined to explicitly say he won’t stay in office past Jan. 20, 2029, telling reporters: “We have a long way to go before we can even think about that.” Trump’s remarks to reporters came on Air Force One on Sunday, as he returned to Washington from Florida, where he spent the weekend. Trump was repeatedly asked about his remarks earlier in the day to NBC News in which he was quoted as saying he “was not joking” about a third term in office. He told reporters Sunday night: “I’m not looking at that, but I’ll tell you I’ve…

Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has refuted allegations that he was involved in the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex on October 29, 2023. Former Rivers State Head of Service, George Nwaeke, had alleged controversially that Fubara and Ehie were masterminds of the burning of the Assembly Complex. However, Ehie, on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, said he had no hand in the activities of arsonists at the state assembly complex in 2023. He said, “It is very important to clarify that I was not, I had no hand and was not part…