Author: Vardiafrica

Multiple lives have been lost in a stampede that occurred at a carnival in Ibadan, Oyo state capital. Although the exact number of people is yet to be ascertained, viral videos showed some children affected by the incident that occurred in the Bashorun area of Ibadan on Wednesday. Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, confirmed the incident in a statement issued hours after the tragic event. He described the incident as a sad day for the Oyo State Government and commiserated with the parents that have lost their children. “Earlier today, an incident occurred in Islamic High School Basorun, the venue…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Monday in Yenagoa held the 8th Award and Prize-giving Ceremony of its Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition 2024, with a reiteration of the objectives that underlie signature events of the Board, such as competitive essaying and its twin programme the Science Quiz Competition for High School students. In a keynote address at the occasion, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Essay Competition is “one of NCDMB’s multiple interventions to lift the standard of education in Nigeria” and “to promote proficiency in writing, awareness of local…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Lagos for his Christmas and New Year celebration. The President arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at exactly 3:23 pm on Wednesday, December 18. Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday. On arrival in Lagos, President Tinubu was received at the airport by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his deputy, Dr Femi Hamzat; members of Lagos State Cabinet as well as leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos. Before departing Abuja, the president presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill to a joint session…

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday told lawmakers they were “all re-elected” during his presentation of the 2025 budget at the National Assembly, after mistakenly referring to the 10th Senate as the 11th. The President’s light-hearted remarks, made after the correction, drew laughter and applause from legislators, easing the formal tone of the event. “In fulfilment of one of my constitutional duties and with an unyielding commitment to rebuilding Nigeria towards ensuring that we remain steadfast on a journey to a prosperous future, I hereby present the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly,” Tinubu said. After being…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the implementation of the 2024 Appropriation Act will be extended to June 2025. Akpabio spoke on Wednesday at the joint sitting of the senate and house of representatives. President Bola Tinubu is attending the session to present the 2025 budget. Akpabio said the bill extending the 2024 budget will soon be transmitted to the president for approval. In December 2023, the national assembly passed the 2024 appropriation bill, increasing its size from the N27.5 trillion proposed by Tinubu to N28.7 trillion. In July, the national assembly increased the 2024 budget by N6.2 trillion to N35 trillion — from…

President Bola Tinubu has presented the sum of N49.7 trillion as the proposed budget for 2025 to the national assembly. Tinubu walked into the green chamber at exactly 12:14pm to present the budget titled “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity”. The president presented the 2025 appropriation bill before the joint sitting of the senate and house of representatives. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives; and members of both chambers were seated before the president entered the chamber. The legislators all rose to welcome the president and Kashim Shettima, the vice-president, into the chamber. Tinubu…

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus has said he, God and some political leaders made the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike who he is politically. Secondus spoke while accompanying Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State to inaugurate 14km Bori internal roads yesterday. He criticized Wike for behaving like he fell from heaven. According to Secondus: “Those who are shouting in Abuja, how were they made? It was God. Some of us, and the leaders seated here today, made it possible. God first, because we do not want to take God’s glory.“I…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has asked President Bola Tinubu to caution “intransigent ministers” in his cabinet who won’t respond to invitations by the National Assembly. Akpabio said such ministers have no place in Tinubu’s cabinet because they are not democrats. The Senate President made this known on Wednesday when the President presented 2025 budget estimates of N47.9 tn before a joint session of the National Assembly. “Those who disregard invitation by the National Assembly are not democratic and therefore have no place in your government,” Akpabio told Tinubu before a full house of members of the Senate and the House…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restricted Point of Sales (PoS) agents to a daily transaction limit of N1.2 million. This was revealed in its ‘Circular on Cash-Out Limits for Agent Banking Transactions,’ released on Tuesday. According to the circular, the development is in the apex bank’s effort to advance a cashless economy. READ ALSO: FG’s Electricity Subsidies Rise To N199.64bn In Dec — NERC Advertisement “The Bank hereby releases the following policy interventions, which have become necessary to enhance the use of electronic payment channels for agency banking operations,” the circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo for the Director,…

Ghana’s president-elect John Mahama has visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Mahama’s visit came weeks after he won Ghana’s presidential election, earning him a return to the seat of power eight years after leading the West African nation. Olusegun Dada, Tinubu’s Special Assistant On Social Media, said the newly-elected Ghanaian president visited his Nigerian counterpart on Monday “The President-Elect of Ghana, H.E John Dramani Mahama paid a courtesy visit to President Tinubu at his residence, Presidential Villa, State House Yesterday,” Dada wrote on his X handle alongside photos of the two. He, however, did not give…