Author: Vardiafrica

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has again lambasted President Bola Tinubu and his administration, saying the president is not bothered about the growing hardship and he is daily drowning the material well-being of Nigerians. Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, knocked Tinubu over what he described as an haphazard and disingenuous approach of his administration to fuel subsidy management. According to Atiku, the haphazard and disingenuous approach to fuel subsidy management by Tinubu’s administration has been the reason Nigerians are in the current economic crisis in the country. The former…

The board of trustees of the people’s democratic party (PDP) has asked the national working committee of the party to urgently convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to address the crisis within the party Chairman of the PDP board of trustees, Senator Adulphus Wabara, made the recommendation at a meeting of the BOT in Abuja on Thursday. Wabara also urged all that are invited by the party’s disciplinary committee to freely present themselves to the committee, stressing the supremacy of the party over any member. According to him, the Board of Trustees held a significant meeting with the governor…

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called for a reduction in petrol prices, urging the government to lower them below the levels seen in June 2023.Naija News reports that TUC President Festus Osifo made the call during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday. He said: “We demand that the price be brought down, not just to what it was before, but even lower.” Osifo called for government intervention in the sector by providing foreign exchange to the Dangote Refinery at a rate of $1 to ₦1,000 instead of the current rate of over ₦1,600 to help reduce petrol costs.…

The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in a continued effort to tackle insecurity in the Northwest, has called on bandits’ informants to repent or be sent to their early graves soon. The statement was made by the minister during an operational visit at security-threatened areas in Sokoto State, including Gundumi, Hawan Durum village, Isa and Sabon Birni Local Government Areas on Thursday. The visit was in line with the directives of President Bola Tinubu to crush bandits in the Northwest. Matawalle said that so far, the operation has recorded massive success, with the killings of several notorious bandits…

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association Of Nigeria (IPMAN) has attributed the recent adjustment in the price of premium motor spirit better known as fuel to the impacts of the deregulation of the sector.  “Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase but rather we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully,” IPMAN president Abubakar Garima said on Thursday when he was featured as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily. Retail outlets of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had adjusted the cost of the product in Lagos…

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) says the recent hike in the pump price of petroleum may be due to an increase in the “difficulty in landing products”. In an interview with Channels TV on Thursday October 10, PETROAN president Billy Gillis-Harris, said; “What I can tell you is, once there is difficulty in landing products by NNPCL and the size of shock absorbing that they (NNPCL) can do become overwhelming, they will certainly shed some of the loads. I think that’s what would have happened.” On Wednesday, retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company…

The Federal Government has said it is not responsible for the hike in the pump price of petrol. On Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) raised the pump price of fuel from N897 per litre to N1, 030 in Abuja; from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1, 070 in North-East; N1,025 in other South-West states; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in South-South. This had triggered reactions among Nigerians who asked President Bola Tinubu to work towards reversing the increment. But in a chat with Daily Trust, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government should…

The Federal government has announced the commencement of zero Value Added Tax (VAT) on pharmaceutical products and medical devices in a bid to reduce drug prices in the country. In a statement signed by the Head of Information in the Federal Ministry of Health, Alaba. R. Balogun, noted that the Executive Order on harmonised implementation framework has been cleared to be gazetted. Furthermore, the Ministry noted that following the completion of the process, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) can now begin implementing zero VAT and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices. It…

The federal government has introduced a new website that allows users to convert their petrol-powered vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) and opt for a pay-later option for the conversion costs. This is contained in a statement by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) via its official X handle on Tuesday. According to the statement, the payment options let drivers convert their vehicles now and pay later through affordable monthly instalments at competitive rate “Switching to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is now more accessible than ever. With flexible payment plans tailored to fit your budget, transitioning from petrol to CNG has…

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri has said he did not direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to stop running its refineries. The clarification came following reports that Engr. Kamoru Busari, Director of Upstream in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who represented him at an event in Lagos, said that he directed the company to focus on equity participation in other refineries. However, the minister stated: “My attention has been drawn to statements made by Engr. Kamoru Busari, Director of Upstream in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who represented me at a recent conference in…