Author: Vardiafrica

Police authorities have fired tear gas at protesters at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja in a bid to disperse the demonstrators who had converged to press on with their demands.  The protesters, lesser than the number witnessed the previous days, had converged at the facility. But after some hours, police officers fired tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters. The MKO Abiola Stadium is the designated venue for the protests in the nation’s capital. A court order had restrained the #EndBadGovernance demonstrators from using other areas. On Friday, tear gas canisters were also fired at the protesters when they…

Protesters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, briefly obstructed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisting that he come down to address them. This happened on Saturday, Day 3 of the demonstrations tagged #EndBadGovernance protests. Waving green leaves and shouting in excitement, the protesters, lined up the streets. After some moments, the governor’s convoy passed as the demonstrators continued with the rallies. The protesters in Port Harcourt had regrouped for the third day running for the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations which began on August 1, 2024. They converged at the Pleasure Park in the city, carried placards, and insisted they would not leave until their demands…

The Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial district in the National Assembly, Ireti Kingibe, has denied leading or sponsoring the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests in Abuja. Senator Kingibe took to X (formerly Twitter) to describe a viral video alleging that she was leading the protest in Abuja on Thursday as “misinformation”. “I am shocked and outraged by the blatant lies and misinformation being spread by mischief-makers! The video being circulated is from over six weeks ago, during a Labour Party NWC meeting when the NLC was protesting outside the Labour Party office,” she said on X. “As stakeholders, including…

A bomb alert has reportedly halted the Paris Olympics after police discovered a suspicious object in an area near an Olympics venue. A specialist bomb squad is expected to arrive at the Stade de France stadium while police have cordoned off part of the surrounding area, Daily Mail reports. The nearby Porte de Paris train station has also been closed following the alert. According to the report, the stadium is thought to have been empty when the warning was issued this afternoon. The first Olympic session of the day had already concluded at 1pm. The second event is not due…

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), says the military will intervene if the ongoing nationwide #EndbadGovernance protests continue to be violent. While speaking at a press conference in Abuja today August 2, the Army chief appealed to protesters to recognise that destruction is counterproductive and would only set the nation aback. “We should realise that these destructions and monies have to be used—monies for development will have to be used to develop these things so we can move forward, and so instead of doing that, we should come together to make sure nothing is destroyed. The statement has already been…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has accused Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited (Coca-Cola) and Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) of Misleading trade descriptions and unfair marketing tactics. The Commission in a statement by the management said the brand had violated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, FCCPA by commencing a migration of their Coke brand from a formulation that included regular sugar to non-nutritive sweeteners. The statement reads; “Pursuant to Sections 17, 116, 123, 124, 127, and 155 of the Federal Competitionand Consumer Protection Act, 2018,Thursday, August 1, 2024: In June 2019, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission…

President Bola Tinubu says his administration is currently making bold economic policies to propel Nigeria’s economy out of the downturns occasioned by multiple shocks in the global economy. He has therefore, called for global cooperation among African countries to tackle their shared economic challenges and take advantage of opportunities. The President who spoke on Friday when he declared open the 2024 African Caucus Meeting held in Abuja, noted that although Africa is grappling with numerous challenges, the continent must take necessary measures to translate opportunities in natural resources and human capital into growth, innovation and collaboration. President Tinubu, who was…

Telecommunications operator, 9mobile, on Thursday, issued an apology to its customers in what came as its first response to the service outage that has left millions of its customers in frustration since Saturday, July 27, 2024. The company in a statement said connectivity has now been restored “to most areas” suggesting that some of its customers are still experiencing the service outage. The company blamed the disruption on multiple fibre cuts and damages to its infrastructure in some parts of the country. It added that its technical teams are working around the clock to address outstanding issues and restore services…

Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, says there were no instructions for telecommunication operators to disrupt network services because of the protest. Tijani spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television. Nigerians reported experiencing bad internet connectivity across all service providers on Thursday, with many describing the development as part of the federal government’s tactic to stifle protesters. But the minister, speaking on the issue, denied the federal government’s involvement in the network disruption. “There’s no instruction to tamper with the network, absolutely no instruction from my office,” he said. “You also need to understand when…

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a loan of $500 million to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to finance the first phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP), a new program aimed at accelerating transformation of the country’s electricity infrastructure and improving access to cleaner sources of energy. The loan will help close the financing gap of the Federal Budget in the 2024/25 fiscal year, specifically supporting the implementation of the country’s new Electricity Act and the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan(link is external). The Nigerian government launched the energy transition plan…