Author: Vardiafrica

The UK government has unveiled up to £1.9 million in funding to bolster science, technology, and innovation in Ghana and Nigeria through its new West Africa Research and Innovation Hub, named Sankore. This initiative aims to enhance collaborative efforts between the UK and West African nations, focusing on the commercialisation of innovative solutions, improvement of innovation policy, and advancement of government digital services. The Sankore call for proposals will support the UK-Ghana Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) Strategy by fostering partnerships between universities, research centres, and the private sector. The goal is to transform new ideas into practical industry applications…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at risk due to the petrol subsidy removal and lower crude oil earnings. As of September 12, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $36.08 billion, according to data from the CBN. In its ‘Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the Fiscal Years 2024-2025,’ published on Tuesday, CBN also said increased external debt servicing obligations could pose downside risks for the growth of external reserves during the period. “Lower crude oil earnings, fuel subsidy removal, rising import bills and increased external debt servicing obligations could pose downside risks for the…

Former U.S. president Donald Trump along with his sons and entrepreneurs has launched a cryptocurrency platform but provided few details. Little was revealed about the Trump family crypto project during a two-hour online presentation other than an offer to let people buy digital “tokens” giving them a vote in platform decisions. The event went ahead as planned despite an apparent assassination attempt against Trump on Sunday at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. World Liberty Financial intends to offer services based on so-called decentralized finance, a mechanism that eliminates the need for an intermediary such as a bank…

The United Nations has announced the donation of $6m fund in support of the Maiduguri flood victims in Borno State. In a statement on Tuesday, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, said a joint mission comprising UN agencies and NGOs, alongside the Nigeria Red Cross Society, visited the main city of Maiduguri over the weekend. According to him, the team met with people who had been impacted – many of them had already been displaced multiple times by conflict and insecurity in the area. The flood was caused by an overflow in the Alau Dam located just over 10…

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to head the World Trade Organization, will seek a second four-year term when her mandate expires next August, her spokesman said Monday. “We can confirm that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has officially announced her intention to seek a second term as Director-General of the WTO,” spokesman Ismaila Dieng said in a statement. Dieng said the 70-year-old had taken into account “the overwhelming and broad-based support expressed by members”. Her current term at the helm of the 166-member WTO ends in August 2025. Her decision to seek another term was officially communicated to WTO…

First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has unveiled the OneNigeria/UnityFabric, which she described as a symbol of national unity. The fabric was designed by 25-year-old Miss Mofinyinfoluwa Bamidele a graduate of the University of Ibadan. Bamidele, went home with a prize of ₦25m, emerged the winner of a fabric designs competition, organised by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), chaired by First Lady. In her keynote address at the unveiling of the #OneNigeria/UnityFabric and announcement of the winner of the competition held on Monday at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Tinubu explained that the concept of a national fabric…

Former US President Donald Trump is safe after gunshots were reportedly fired in his vicinity, his campaign team said. Steven Cheung, the spokesperson for the Trump campaign team, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday without further details. The former president was playing golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach before gunshots began to ring out. It is not immediately clear whether Trump was the shooter’s target. Anthony Guglielmi, US Secret Service spokesperson, said the agency is investigating the “protective incident” in conjunction with the police. Guglielmi said there would be a media briefing soon. The…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has released a breakdown of estimated petrol prices from the Dangote refinery in its retail stations in Lagos as well as other states in the country. In a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, the company stated that it is buying petrol in dollars from the Dangote refinery for September and sales in Naira would begin from October. The statement reads, “The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country.” Furthermore, the company…

The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has commenced the distribution of 1,000 conversion kits across some states in the federation to minimise the impact of the fuel subsidy removal. Speaking at a news conference in Abuja to mark the commencement of the distribution of one thousand conversion kits across some states, the Programme Director of the initiative, Mr Michael Oluwagbemi said the move will bring down transportation costs. According to him, the initiative will generate over 100,000 direct jobs over the next three years, as it aims to convert about three million vehicles within the same period. Mr…

The Nigerian Government has received 50 tons of humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to support those affected by recent floods in the country. UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Alshamsi, who handed over the relief materials stated that the donation, initiated by UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed Al Nahyan, reflects the UAE’s ongoing commitment to assisting countries impacted by natural disasters. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Ahmed Dunoma expressed gratitude on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, while acknowledging the existing strong ties between Nigeria and the UAE. In the same vein, the NEMA Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar,…