Author: Vardiafrica

In what seems to be a decisive step to ’unseat’ the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, Coalition members officially adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their official political platform for the 2027 elections on Monday, July 1. The coalition finalized plans to announce the party today, July 2, at a ceremony in Abuja. The party’s members and interim leaders will be made public. Former Senate President David Mark was named the coalition’s national chairman upon the adoption of ADC. Former Osun State Governor and Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola was named national secretary, and former Sports Minister Bolaji…

A major new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 997) has been published today, which begins the implementation of the ‘sweeping reforms’ to the immigration system announced in May in the Government’s White Paper. Among the main changes, salary and skills thresholds for Skilled Worker visas will be increased from 22 July 2025. New applicants will now require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent RQF Level 6 qualification. According to the explanatory memorandum, this change will eliminate around 180 occupations from the list of eligible roles under the Skilled Worker route, though workers already in these occupations will continue to…

A former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has formally resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing deepening internal divisions, unresolved leadership crisis, and irreconcilable differences. Mark was a founder member of the PDP when it became a political party in 1998. In a letter dated June 27 and addressed to the PDP Chairman in his Otukpo Ward, Benue State, sighted by Channels Television on Wednesday, Mark said that the issues in the party had reduced it to a shadow of its former self and exposed it to public embarrassment. “I bring warm greetings to you and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),…

The Nigerian government has reaffirmed its commitment to global energy giant, TotalEnergies, to back its plans to resuscitate dormant assets in order to boost oil production in Africa’s largest oil producer. The unlocking of inactive and untapped oil and gas assets is part of renewed efforts to ramp up national crude production with an ambitious 3 million barrels per day eyed by the Nigerian government During a visit to TotalEnergies’ headquarters in Paris and its Research Institute in Pau, France, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, emphasized the administration’s readiness to provide the necessary regulatory backing…

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said his representatives held a “long and productive meeting” with Israeli officials earlier in the day. “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” he wrote. He added that Qatar and Egypt, the mediators in the ceasefire talks, would deliver the “final proposal” to the Palestinian group Hamas. “I…

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Rivers has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Sole Administration of the state, Vice Admiral Ibok-Eke Ibas (retd.), to submit a breakdown of major items in the 2025 N1.48 trillion Appropriation Bill. The Chairman of the committee, Julius Ihonvbere (APC-Edo), issued the ultimatum on Monday at a budget defence session in Abuja. He said that the committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator and had raised several issues. He said that the administrator should submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is a legal document that…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced its ex-depot price for premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N840 per litre. The reduction represents a N40 decrease from the previous rate of N880 per litre. Five days before the reduction, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had increased the pump price of petrol to N925 per litre in Lagos. The decrease also came a week after Dangote refinery increased the ex-depot petrol price to N880 per litre. In an update on Monday by Anthony Chiejina, chief corporate communications officer of Dangote Group, Dangote refinery announced the price slash. The development follows a recent downward trend…

Owolabi Salis, a Nigerian-born lawyer and politician, has made history as the first Nigerian to travel to space. Salis was among six passengers aboard Blue Origin’s NS-33 mission, which lifted off from West Texas on June 29, 2025. His crewmates included Allie Kuehner, Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., and Jim Sitkin. According to Space in Africa, the 10-minute suborbital flight took the crew past the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, reaching a peak altitude of 105.2 kilometres. With this feat, Salis joins the ranks of citizen astronauts who have ventured into space under the New Shepard…

President Bola Tinubu has been conferred an honorary knighthood by the government of Saint Lucia on Tuesday during his state visit to the country. The title Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (KCOSL) was approved by the Governor General of Saint Lucia after advice from Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, as announced by the Office of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. “The Government of Saint Lucia is pleased to announce that, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Governor General has conferred the title of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (KCOSL) upon His Excellency Bola…

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has threatened to sponsor the formation of a new party in the United States to challenge the two dominant parties. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have dominated US elections for decades and have produced almost all American presidents. As the Senate debated President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” on Monday before a final vote, Musk issued a stark warning via his social media platform X. “Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And…