Author: Vardiafrica

THOUSANDS of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents will witness a two-week blackout from Monday, January 6, as the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) announced an imminent disruption in power supply. The disruption is due to the relocation of the 33KV DC Airport Feeder and 132KV Kukwaba-Apo Transmission Line Towers along the Outer Southern Expressway by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) The AEDC disclosed this in a statement on its official X handle on Friday, January 3. According to the company, the operation would occur from January 6 to 21. The statement listed areas to be affected by the outage…

Ghana’s outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo Friday announced visa-free travel for all African passport holders from the start of this year, marking a step towards continental economic integration. The announcement came during his final state of the nation address as he prepares to step down on January 6 after two terms in office. “I am proud to have approved visa-free travel to Ghana for all African passport holders, with effect from the beginning of this year,” Akufo-Addo said in his speech to parliament. “This is the logical next step to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the workings of…

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, on Thursday, January 2, paid a visit to former Nigerian leader, Ibrahim Babangida. Obi who disclosed this on social media, said the visit was a chance to share thoughts on national issues with the elder statesman. “From Jigawa state, I travelled to Minna, Niger State to pay a visit to a father figure, elder statesman and leader, the former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, at his residence in Minna, Niger State. he wrote The visit was an opportunity to wish him a happy New Year and to…

Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, in a stunning show of power, signed the 2025 appropriation bill into law. Fubara signed the N1.18 trillion appropriation bill at the government house in Port Harcourt on Thursday, January 2, 2025. On Monday, the governor presented the budget proposal to the four-member Rivers State House of Assembly led by Victor Oko-Jumbo. This is a repeat of what happened last year, where Governor Fubara presented the N800 billion 2024 budget before a four-member assembly and assented to it within 24 hours. The majority of the state lawmakers sidelined from the assembly because of the…

President Bola Tinubu has tasked the 36 state governors with leading development at the grassroots, saying the financial autonomy granted to local governments is not an attempt to snatch the third tier of government from governors. The President said the leadership of governors at the subnational level is central to achieving food security, economic prosperity and rapid national growth. Tinubu stated this on Wednesday when members of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) led by Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazak paid him a New Year homage at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos. The President stressed the importance for grassroots development and…

President Bola Tinubu has hosted Anthony Joshua, a former world boxing champion, who is currently in Nigeria on vacation. The president received the boxer at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos on Wednesday. During the visit, Joshua presented Tinubu with an autographed boxing glove. The 35-year-old boxer, born in the UK to parents who hailed from Sagamu in Ogun, arrived in Nigeria a few days ago and has been spotted enjoying his vacation at various spots across the country. On Monday, he was hosted by Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, at the government house in Abeokuta, the state’s capital. The governor…

Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, says President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed that history should and will be reintroduced as a subject in Nigeria’s basic schools. History, reports indicate, was removed from Nigeria’s basic school curriculum in 2007, eliciting sharp criticism that spanned years. In many cases from then on, historical topics were taught with little depth as part of “social studies”. In 2018, the federal government ordered the nationwide re-introduction of history as an independent subject in the curriculum of primary and junior secondary schools in the country. Adamu Adamu, the then minister of education, had stated that the Nigerian Education Research and Development…

The Nigerian leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is to unveil the National Values Charter in the first quarter of 2025 to promote mutual commitments between the government and citizens, as well as foster trust and cooperation among all citizens. The President disclosed this in his New Year message to Nigerians on Wednesday. President Tinubu noted that for the country to achieve its national goals and objectives, all Nigerians must commit to becoming better citizens and uncompromising in their devotion and allegiance to the nation. He also made known that in 2025, his administration will commit to promoting adherence to ethical principles,…

President Bola Tinubu has pledged to tackle the ongoing hardships, particularly the rising prices of food and drugs, through the establishment of the National Credit Guarantee Company. In his 2025 New Year’s message to Nigerians on Wednesday, the Federal Government announced that this initiative will also support local production of essential drugs and medical supplies in the coming year. The President explained that the new company, which is set to begin operations before the end of the second quarter of 2025, will be a collaboration between government bodies such as the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation,…

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted that the Federal Government withdraw the controversial tax bills from the National Assembly. In his New Year message to Nigerians, especially workers, the President of NLC, Joe Ajaero said the need to withdraw the bills was based on the welfare of the Nigerian workers. He also spoke on the need for government to reflect transparency, inclusivity and honesty in its dealings with the masses. The message, titled “In 2025, hope is in our collective resolve,’’ read: “As we step into the year 2025, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, extends warm New Year greetings…