Author: Vardiafrica

The supreme court has affirmed Usman Ododo as the duly elected governor of Kogi state. In a judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel dismissed the appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Murtala Ajaka, its governorship candidate. The panel held that the appeal marked SC/CV/654/2024 was void of merit. Sadiq Umar, who authored and read the lead judgment, resolved all the three issues brought for determination in the appeal against the appellants. The supreme court also dismissed the appeal by the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Olayinka Baimoh, against Ododo’s victory. The court held that the…

The supreme court has affirmed the election of Douye Diri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as governor of Bayelsa state. The five-member panel of the apex court dismissed the appeal filed by Timipre Sylva, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for lacking in merit. While upholding the judgment of the lower court, Mohammed Garba, who read the lead judgment, held that Sylva was wrong to have filed multiple notices of appeal against a single judgment delivered by the election petition tribunal. The panel also dismissed the appeal filed by the National Rescue Movement (NRM) and its candidate…

President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting chief justice of Nigeria (CJN). The swearing-in ceremony took place on Friday at the State House in Abuja. Kekere-Ekun’s inauguration makes her the second female CJN in the country’s history, after Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who was CJN from July 2012 to November 2014. The acting CJN took her oath of office at about 11:38am and took her allotted seat in the council chambers — on the left of the president — at exactly 11:45am. Among those who witnessed the event were other justices of the supreme court; Senate President…

The minister of finance and the coordinating minister of the economy Wale Edun says the Nigerian government plans to relaunch the suspended school feeding programme. According to Edun, the government will make sure there are enough resources available to maintain and promote educational initiatives throughout the nation. According to a statement by the director of information and public relations at the ministry of finance Mohammed Manga, the minister disclosed this on Thursday when the house of representatives committee on alternative education visited him. The ministry said the meeting was held to address the pressing issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria,…

The Management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), under the leadership of its Managing Director/CEO, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr has expressed its pleasure as it receives an additional N50 billion from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).The release follows the directive of President Bola Tinubu in his speech on 4th August, 2024, directing the EFCC to transfer the funds to NELFUND to further boost the student loan program. This significant injection of funds represents a major milestone in the Administration’s commitment to bolstering access to education by providing financial support to students across Nigeria. The fund extends its deepest appreciation…

President Bola Tinubu has urged the Nigerian Armed Forces to stay alert and take proactive measures in tackling regional security challenges. He delivered this message during the Graduation Ceremony of Course 32 at the Nigerian Defence College in Abuja. Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu said his administration is determined to make Nigeria safe for investment and economic prosperity. He emphasised the need for strategic leadership to address the mirage of security challenges in the country. A total of 111 participants took part in the course, with 19 foreign participants. Addressing the participants, the VP urged them to…

President Bola Tinubu has returned to Abuja after a trip to France on a brief work visit. The President, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the early hours of Friday, left for France on Monday. President Tinubu who had cut short his to France, is scheduled to swear in the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun this morning at the Council Chambers in the state House. Justice Kekere-Ekun will succeed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who bowed out on Thursday after clocking the retirement age of 70 years.

Thailand has announced its first confirmed case of a new, potentially deadlier strain of Mpox – the first in Asia, and second outside of Africa. According to Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, the infected 66-year-old European man arrived in Bangkok from an unnamed African country on 14 August. He began displaying symptoms the next day, and immediately went to hospital. It has since been confirmed he had contracted Mpox, and in particular the strain known as Clade 1b. This strain has driven an outbreak of Mpox – previously known as monkeypox – which has already killed at least 450 people…

Olukayode Ariwoola has retired from his position as the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) after attaining the age of 70. A valedictory session was held in his honour on Thursday at the supreme court premises in Abuja. Ariwoola, who earned his bachelor of law degree with honours from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in July 1980, was called to the bar a year later and enrolled as a solicitor at the supreme court of Nigeria. His judicial career saw him serving as a judge of the Oyo state high court before his elevation to the court of…

The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010 and its astonishing success in resetting oil and gas industry spending and in-country capacity development was the fulcrum of a presentation by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, in Windhoek, Namibia, on Wednesday. Speaking on the theme “Local Content and Sustainable Inclusive Economic Growth” at the 2024 Namibia Oil and Gas Conference, Engr. Ogbe noted that recent discoveries of hydrocarbon deposits have increased the oil and gas reserves of the continent to about 126 billion barrels of oil and…