Author: Vardiafrica

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, vacated the judgement that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from releasing monthly statutory allocations to Rivers State.A three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court, in a split decision of two-to-one, held that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit legal that led to the restraining order.It held that the fact that federal agencies were joined as parties in the matter was not sufficient to confer the court with unfettered jurisdiction to hear the case.According to the Justice Hamma Barka-led panel, since…

Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja on Friday for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the commissioning and naming of a $315 million oil production and storage facility. The facility, a fully Nigerian-owned oil and gas company acquired by Oriental Energy Limited, is scheduled for commissioning on December 14, 2024. After the event in Dubai, the Vice President will proceed to Saudi Arabia where he will perform the Lesser Hajj (Umrah) in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah from December 16 to 19, 2024. On December 20, 2024, Vice President Shettima is also…

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has cautioned against the violation of the Supreme Court verdict on local government autonomy, vowing to deal with the erring council officials.  Fagbemi gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at a conference for judiciary correspondents. The AGF said governance at the grassroots has “suffered a lot” in the past but believes that with the enforcement of the verdict on local government autonomy, “life will come back to the local governments”. “People at the grassroots have suffered long negligence and it is enough. The government…

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima has inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC) Ad Hoc Committee on National Electrification and NEC Ad Hoc Committee on Polio Eradication. Inaugurated at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, he said there is no way Nigeria can dream of meaningful national economic development, without addressing the power sector crisis and ensuring Nigerians have access to electricity and other affordable energy. He urged leaders in the country to rise above differences to confront the power sector crisis and become part of the reincarnation of Nigeria as an industrialised nation. Shettima referred to countries with similar challenges…

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has donated $1m (£786,000) to an inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump. The tech giant’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in November, having sought to repair his and his firm’s relationship with Trump following the election. Trump has previously been highly critical of Mr Zuckerberg and Facebook – calling the platform “anti-Trump” in 2017. Meta is not believed to have made similar donations to President Joe Biden’s inaugural fund in 2020 or to Trump’s previous inaugural fund in 2016. The company confirmed its million-dollar donation to the inaugural fund…

Leaders of the Labour Party (LP) have taken legal action to compel the National Assembly leadership to declare the seats of the defected Labour Party lawmakers vacant. The suit also seeks the return of all salaries, emoluments or privileges received from the date of defection. These were contained in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, yesterday, in Abuja. According to him, the party expresses its dismay at the betrayal of the people of Jos South/Jos East by Mr Akangbe Illiya, a man who the party and the people of Plateau State entrusted with their collective hopes…

The National Economic Council (NEC) has received position reports on the establishment of State police from the 36 state governors. The NEC meeting was chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima and attended by state governors, deputy governors, ministers and some presidential aides. Briefing State House Correspondents shortly after the meeting which lasted for over 4 hours, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State said the state governors indicated an overwhelming support for the establishment of state police because of the security challenges bedeviling their states. However, he said the NEC postponed deliberation on the matter to January 2024. “Virtually every state…

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Thursday executed the construction contract with Julius Berger PLC for the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre (OMRC), Otuabagi, Bayelsa State.The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe executed the contract at the Board’s liaison office in Abuja. The Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre (OMRC) is being developed by the Petroleum Development Technology Fund (PTDF), NCDMB, Shell Petroleum Development Company/Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd and the Bayelsa State Government, in the ratio of 40:30:20 and 10 respectively. The project is registered by guarantee, with the four organisations serving as partners. The contract…

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has defended the demolition of properties in the nation’s seat of power, saying he won’t be swayed by blackmail. Wike said the structures being demolished by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) are properties illegally built on government lands. “Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians and residents of Abuja, we are not afraid of blackmailing,” the minister said during the distribution of operational vehicles to security agencies at the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja on Thursday. “In fact, you cannot be in this kind of position and say you…

As part of reforms to improve Nigeria’s electoral system, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recommended computer-generated voting slips for voter accreditation during elections. “With the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed. Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. This will not only save cost, it will also…