Author: Vardiafrica

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited over the “failure to account for the alleged missing or diverted ₦22.3 billion, USD$49.7 million, £14.3 million and €5.2 million oil money.” Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the suit followed the damning allegations documented in the 2022 audited report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, which was published on 9 September 2025. The suit was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The group is seeking “an order of mandamus to…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged a stronger development partnership with Taraba State following the formal entry of Governor Agbu Kefas and his supporters into the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is just as Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the state is pivotal to Nigeria’s food and energy security. Senator Shettima who represented the President at a grand reception to formally receive Governor Kefas to the APC in Jalingo on Saturday said President Tinubu had instructed him to assure the Governor of his place not only in the party, but in the continuing relationship to prioritise the development…

Speaking during the Sickle Cell Health Promotion and Sensitisation programme at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, observed that Sickle Cell Disease remains a major public health concern in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta. Ogbuku, who was represented by the Director of Education, Health, and Social Services, Dr Patience Ezugu, noted that the sensitisation programme was dedicated to strengthening awareness to ensure prevention and care for Sickle Cell Disease in the Niger Delta. The Managing Director stated: “As a Commission mandated to enhance the well-being of our people, the NDDC…

The military junta in Guinea-Bissau is no longer seeking to arrest a senior opposition politician who has been on the run, an opposition official said on Saturday. But another prominent opposition leader, whom the military released from prison only on Friday, has now been placed under house arrest. The junta imprisoned several senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and seizing power on November 26, just days after the presidential election and before the official results were released. The military suspended the electoral process and Embalo fled the country. His main election rival, Fernando Dias, who said he had…

President Bola Tinubu has returned to the country after a state visit to Turkey. The aircraft conveying the president arrived at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport in Abuja at 8:55pm on Saturday. The presidency confirmed Tinubu’s arrival in a brief notice issued to state house correspondents on Saturday evening. Tinubu began the state visit on Tuesday with bilateral engagements in Turkey. During the visit, the president held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey across areas of mutual interest. Tinubu also oversaw the signing of nine agreements covering…

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that the new tax laws require all employers of labour and individuals to file tax returns by January 31 and March 31, respectively, annually. This is as he clarified that the recently debated “power of substitution” in Nigeria’s tax laws was neither new nor unusual. He stressed that both employers and individuals must comply with the law. He made this known during a webinar organised for HR managers, payroll officers, Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), and tax managers in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board…

Speaking during the installation ceremony at the palace of the Amanyanabo of Ogu, the Chairman of the Ogu Divisional Council of Chiefs, Chief Lawrence Egbelekpeke, said Ogbuku was being honoured for his exceptional service, leadership, and commitment to community development in the Niger Delta region. He declared: “By the authority vested in me as Chairman of the Ogu Divisional Council of Chiefs, and acting on behalf of the Amanyanabo-in-Council of Ogu Kingdom, I hereby install you as a Chief of Ogu Kingdom, and confer upon you the revered title of ‘Pere Se Bobo, ‘ meaning ‘He Who Comes with Abundance.’…

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention held in the city between November 15 and 16, 2025. The court also ruled that the Caretaker Committee led by Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu remained the only recognised National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, pending the conduct of a valid national convention. Recall that the Kabiru Turaki faction of the PDP had filed Suit Number FHC/IB/CS/121/2025, seeking recognition of the convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15, 2025, and validation of the NWC that emerged at the…

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has approached the National Industrial Court to commit striking workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to prison over alleged disobedience to court orders. The workers resumed their strike despite a January 27 court order stopping industrial action until the determination of a suit instituted against them by the FCT Minister. To demonstrate his opposition to the workers’ disregard for court orders, Wike obtained Form 48, a legal document detailing the consequences of violating the court order, to be served on the striking employees. The form 48 was obtained by Dr…

Burkina Faso’s junta announced Thursday that it plans to dissolve all political parties, whose activities have been suspended since the military rulers seized power in 2022. Captain Ibrahim Traore took over in a September 2022 coup after toppling another junta, and has sharply muzzled dissenting voices since then. Parties were previously banned from holding public gatherings but still allowed to operate internally. “The government believes that the proliferation of political parties has led to abuses, fuelled divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric,” the presidency said in a readout of a cabinet meeting. A draft law dissolving political parties…