Author: Vardiafrica

No fewer than 14 officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), including two former chief executives, Mele Kyari and Abubakar Yar’Adua, are currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged misappropriation of funds and abuse of office, a letter addressed to the NNPCL has shown. The investigation centers around the $2.896 billion allocated for refinery rehabilitation projects under their tenure, Port Harcourt Refinery: $1.56 billion, Kaduna Refinery $740.6 million and Warri Refinery $656.9 million. Some of the key findings include discovery of a large sum of money in the accounts of one of…

US President Donald Trump posted a seemingly artificially enhanced photo of himself depicted as the pope on Truth Social Friday night, days after jokingly saying he would ‘like to be Pope’. The White House also reposted the image. Pope Francis d!ed last month. The 88-year-old suffered a stroke and heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in a death certificate released last week. President Trump was among several world leaders at the pope’s funeral. After Trump posted the AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal attire, several social media users accused him of mocking Francis’ death. “This is disrespectful to the church…

Sterling Bank, Leading commercial bank and Africa’s most agile company has announced the introduction of AlwaysOn by Sterling, a bold new feature on its OneBank platform that will give eligible customers up to ₦1 million extra every month -even when their account balances are running low. Launched on Workers’ Day 2025, the initiative is part of an ongoing movement to remove structural barriers to financial freedom and empower everyday Nigerians to move boldly, even in uncertain times. AlwaysOn is a specialised, invitation-only feature for customers who maintain an active OneBank account for a while. It provides an advance to settle…

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has arrived in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the Inauguration of Gabon’s President-elect, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. The Vice President, who touched down at the Leon MBA international airport at 09:47 GMT, was received by the Prime Minister of Gabon, Raymond Ndong Sima. VP Shettima is in the Central African country accompanied by Special Adviser, General Duties to the President, Aliyu Modibo and some personal aides. Nguema, who had served as Gabon’s interim leader since August 2023, secured a decisive victory in the country’s April 12 Presidential election

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has warned it could shut down its services in Nigeria if ongoing disputes with regulatory bodies remain unresolved. The tech giant is facing close to $300 million in fines and says Nigeria’s data protection demands are excessive and unrealistic. At least three government agencies have penalised Meta this year. The federal competition watchdog imposed a $220 million fine, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) issued a penalty of ₦60 billion (about $37.5 million), and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) added another $32.8 million. Altogether, Meta is now facing fines totalling approximately $290.3…

The suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has returned to the state after spending approximately two weeks on vacation overseas. The governor touched down at the international wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, at about 7PM on Friday. In March, President Bola Tinubu suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu, and members of the State House of Assembly following his declaration of a state of emergency in the state. The President justified the decision by pointing to attacks on oil pipelines carried out by militant groups amid the escalating conflict between the Governor and 27 lawmakers.…

Women in Rivers on Friday staged a walkout during the Renewed Hope Empowerment Programme billed for 500 women in the State. The walkout occurred when the wife of the State Sole Administrator, Ibok Ette Ibas, climbed the stage and attempted to deliver a speech at the programme. The Guardian gathered that the women, who had trooped out with the hopes of welcoming and receiving the President’s wife, Sen. Remi Tinubu, who is the initiator of the empowerment scheme, felt disappointed. Accordingly, instead of seeing the President’s wife, they saw the wife of the Sole Administrator, Lady Ete-Ibas, gearing up to…

The controversy surrounding the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took a twist on Friday as Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, denied allegations linking him to the internal rocking the association. In a statement posted via his Instagram account on Friday, Tinubu refuted the accusations made by Atiku Isah, who claimed to be the NANS President, describing them as false and defamatory. “Wow… how can someone lie with so much confidence? An attempt to defame my character. May God be with you, Comrade Atiku Isah,” Seyi wrote. He further stated, “I have never held a…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that Nigeria “will not bow—not to fear, not to terror, and not to treachery.” The president made this known, while reacting to the ongoing terrorist and bandit attacks primarily affecting the North-Central and Northeast regions, where recent violence in Plateau and Benue States has resulted in numerous fatalities and widespread displacement. During a morale-boosting visit to frontline troops in Katsina State, Tinubu underscored that both domestic collaborators and foreign agents seeking to destabilize the nation would ultimately fail. He stated, “To those who seek to destabilise our nation, be they domestic collaborators or foreign…

The African Development Bank Group has approved a new five-year Country Strategy Paper for Nigeria, committing about $650m annually between 2025 and 2030 to drive economic transformation, build resilience, and foster broad-based prosperity. The Bank disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Thursday, saying that $2.95bn would be provided over the first four years of the plan, to be complemented by an estimated $3.21bn in co-financing from development partners. The statement read, “The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has a new five-year Country Strategy Paper (2025-2030) for Nigeria, committing about $650m annually to…