Author: Vardiafrica

First Bank, the premier bank in West Africa and a leading financial inclusion service provider, today marks a significant milestone with the groundbreaking ceremony for its new green-certified Iconic Head Office Building in Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. This ambitious project 40-story building project set to be the tallest building in Nigeria, will be an engineering and environmental delight due to its technologically advanced, eco-friendly and sophisticated construction which would set a new standard for the financial services sector in Africa. The groundbreaking ceremony signifies the beginning of a transformative journey that reinforces FirstBank’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction.…

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, for alleged N700 billion Fraud. Emmanuel was arrested after he honoured an invitation of the EFCC on Tuesday to answer allegations of money laundering and diversion of funds preferred against him by the Network against Corruption and Trafficking. The petitioner alleged that Emmanuel received N3 trillion from the Federation Account in eight years but left a debt profile of N500bn and unpaid ongoing projects worth N300bn. He was also alleged to be unable to account for N700bn. The EFCC’s investigations…

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he wanted to “make things right” with Donald Trump and to work under the US president’s “strong leadership” to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine. In his first public comments since Trump halted US military aid to Ukraine, Zelensky said his public bust-up with Trump last week was “regrettable” and pledged to sign a key minerals deal with Washington. He also called for a “truce” in the sea and sky as a first step to ending the three-year war. A dramatic collapse in the Kyiv-Washington wartime alliance has played out in the open since…

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced bold strides toward launching a unified regional currency, the Eco, by 2027, marking a significant milestone in the bloc’s push for greater economic integration. The announcement was made through a statement issued on Monday by Mohammed Manga, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Finance, as financial leaders from across the region convened in Abuja for the 11th ECOWAS Convergence Council meeting. The gathering, which brought together Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors, focused on refining strategies to expedite the Eco currency’s launch—aimed at driving…

Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Tony Elumelu, has reiterated his dedication to supporting Gabon’s economic development following a high-level meeting with the country’s President, Brice Oligui Nguema. During an official visit to the Presidential Palace in Libreville, Gabon, Elumelu engaged in discussions with President Nguema on strategies to advance infrastructure development and promote entrepreneurship in the country. Both leaders acknowledged the vital role of infrastructure investments in driving economic growth and job creation. Elumelu, a strong proponent of Africapitalism, emphasised the need for private sector involvement in fostering sustainable…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi as the new Accountant General of the Federation after a rigorous selection process. His appointment, approved on Tuesday, takes effect from Friday, the same day the incumbent, Oluwatoyin Madehin, will retire. Ogunjimi, 57, was first named as Madehin’s successor last December. A selection committee later chose him through a competitive, rigorous, and merit-based process involving Directors of accounts in the Federal Civil Service. The committee conducted the process through three stages: a written assessment, an ICT proficiency test, and oral interviews. The selection process underscored President Tinubu’s commitment to promoting transparency, excellence,…

Google has unveiled Gemini Code Assist, a free version of their AI-coding assistant, for individuals. According to a statement shared with Technext, the development assistant powered by Gemini 2.0 is now available to Nigerian developers. Going forward, Nigerian developers can use natural language in a variety of languages in Gemini Code Assist to generate, explain and improve code. The AI coding assistant now also supports all programming languages in the public domain and is optimised for coding. “For example, a freelance website developer could quickly get code with a prompt like, “Build me a simple HTML form with fields for name, email, and message, and then add a…

President Donald Trump is ordering a pause on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine after his heated Oval Office argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, a White House official told CNN Monday. The halt in aid, which came after Trump held a series of meetings with top national security officials at the White House, could have dire effect on Ukraine’s war-fighting abilities, officials and analysts said. It will remain in place until Trump determines Zelensky has made a commitment to seeking peace talks, one official said, essentially forcing Ukraine to a negotiating table by threatening further losses on the battlefield. “The…

The Federal Government will today, March 4, 2025, unveil a new payment platform to replace REMITA, which has been used for revenue collection. This was revealed in a memo from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, dated February 28, 2025, and obtained by The PUNCH on Monday. The new platform, named Treasury Management & Revenue Assurance System, is designed to streamline and manage federal revenue collections and payments across ministries, departments, and agencies, including those benefiting from donor funds, trust funds, social security funds, and special funds. “The system would go live on March 4, 2025, as…

Amid the leadership tussle that has assailed the Lagos State House of Assembly in the last seven weeks, a lawmaker, who represents Agege Constituency I, Mudashiru Obasa, has been re-elected as the Speaker of the 40-member Assembly. Obasa was re-elected on Monday after the resignation of Mojisola Meranda who stepped down as the Speaker of the Hous .https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fchannelsforum%2Fvideos%2F3512148472424482%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0#amp=1 His re-election followed the nomination by a former Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams, who represents Eti-Osa Constituency 1. Obasa subsequently took the oath of office as the new Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly seven weeks after his…