Author: Vardiafrica

The Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, led by Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has constituted a Project Verification and Payment Committee. This followed one of the resolutions reached at the 9th meeting of the 7th Governing Board of the Commission held on December 8, 2025. The Board approved the constitution of a Project Verification Committee by Management to verify all infrastructure, electrification, desilting, environmental, and water projects for the purpose of capturing them in the Commission’s Directorate of Finance and Accounts’ Digitised platform for payment purposes. The setting up of the Committee was sequel to the Federal Government’s directive…

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says it will disburse N6.452 billion to tertiary institutions in its 2026 intervention cycle. The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop with heads of beneficiary institutions on the 2026 disbursement guidelines. Echono explained with the planned 2026 intervention cycle, while each university would receive N2.525 billion; polytechnic, N1.871 billion, each college of education would get N2.056 billion respectively. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that allocation letters for the intervention were also distributed to beneficiary institutions. Echono said the total direct disbursement accounted…

President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open duty-free access for thousands of Nigerian products into the Arab country. In a statement on Tuesday, the president said the agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The Nigeria-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) was signed alongside Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE president. “For Nigerians, this agreement is not abstract. It opens duty-free access for thousands of Nigerian products into the UAE, expands opportunities for our exporters, manufacturers, and service providers, and gives UAE investors clearer…

Veteran Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, moves to extend his rule into a seventh term. When Yoweri Museveni seized power in Uganda in 1986, he declared that “the problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.” Nearly four decades later, the 81-year-old president and former rebel is seeking a seventh term in office on Thursday, aiming to extend a rule under which most Ugandans have never known another leader. Museveni swept to power after leading insurgencies against autocratic governments, initially riding a wave of…

Nigerian security forces have received new military equipment from the United States as part of efforts to tackle insurgency, banditry, and other security challenges. The delivery, which took place in Abuja on Tuesday, January 13, was confirmed by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) via its official X account, @USAfricaCommand. The supplies are intended to support Nigeria’s security agencies in meeting ongoing operational needs amid persistent threats across parts of the country. “This delivery supports Nigeria’s ongoing operations and highlights our shared security partnership”, the U.S. Mission said in the statement. The move comes against the backdrop of intensified U.S.–Nigeria…

The movie, “Behind the Scenes”, directed by Nollywood filmmaker and actor Funke Akindele, has become the highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time in Africa after surpassing the N2bn box office mark. The record-breaking performance was disclosed on Monday by the film’s distributor, FilmOne Entertainment, which announced that the movie has grossed N2,103,039,706 in ticket sales. Confirming the milestone in a post on X, the distributor said the film had “officially broken and shattered records,” noting that it is the first Nollywood production in Africa to cross the N2bn box office threshold. FilmOne added that the achievement places Behind the Scenes…

Security has been significantly reinforced at the Kano State Government House following widespread speculation that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf may be considering a defection from his party. On Monday, a heavy security presence was observed at the main entrance of the Government House, with combined operatives from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) deployed to key strategic points. Access into the complex was subjected to heightened scrutiny, as visitors underwent rigorous identification checks by security personnel. Speculation Over Rift With Kwankwaso The intensified security measures come amid growing political tension linked to rumours of a…

Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says he has nothing personal against Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federation. In an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Olukoyede spoke about inheriting the files accusing Malami of corruption. In December 2025, the EFCC arraigned Malami at the federal high court in Abuja over allegations bordering on money laundering. The former justice minister was arraigned alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife, Bashir Asabe, on a 16-count charge. They pleaded not guilty to the charges. BACKGROUND Malami had alleged that his detention, investigation and “threatened prosecution” were politically motivated following…

The Federal Government (FG) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are set to formalise a landmark signed agreement aimed at strengthening industrial harmony, improving teaching and learning conditions, and advancing sustainable development within the Nigerian university system. In a statement signed by the director in charge of Public Relations at the Ministry of Education, Folashade Boriowo, the official unveiling ceremony for the signed agreement is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. prompt, at the Conference Hall, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), No. 6 Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, Abuja. It said the ceremony will be…

The Federal Government on Sunday inaugurated the N40 billion Close Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) Centre of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State. The CCTV centre was built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). Inaugurating the centre, the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, said that the current administration met a ‘very terrible Third Mainland Bridge’. ‎”When we came on board in 2023, we met a very terrible Third Mainland Bridge, Carter Bridge and Iddo Bridge both on the pavement, surface, infrastructure above the water and even infrastructure below the water. ‎”The president, therefore, directed total re-evaluation and rehabilitation of…