Author: Vardiafrica

The Nigeria Police Force has refuted allegations made by the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, claiming that the police were unlawfully involved in the local government elections. In a statement released on Friday, by the Police Force spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that the Force clarified that a Federal High Court order bars their participation in the Rivers State election, and they have adhered to the ruling. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had instructed the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State to ensure strict compliance with the court order, leading to the Force’s non-involvement in the election process. This…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred the nation’s second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas This follows a protest by members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly. In his 64th Independence Anniversary Speech on October 1, Tinubu had conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic( CFR) on the speaker and the deputy senate president. But this development led to a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on the President to confer a higher honour on the Speaker. In a…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) charges the people of Rivers State to firmly assert their sovereignty and Constitutional right by coming out enmasse to vote in the Saturday, October 5, 2024 Local Government Area election across the State. The PDP insists that the right to civil control of democratic activities in Rivers State as a federating unit belongs to the generality of the people of the State and such right, including participation in Local Government Area election cannot be abridged or appropriated by any person, group or organization under any guise whatsoever. The Party maintains that the people of Rivers…

Protesters swooped on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, early Friday. Chanting solidarity songs and slogans, the crowd demanded that the LGA election should proceed as scheduled. The election is billed for October 5 across the 23 LGAs of the state. The protesters set up canopies in the rain, sang and drummed, waved placards and banners, while closing a section of the busy road to traffic. The demonstration came hours after Siminalayi Fubara, Rivers governor, stormed the RSIEC office in the wee hours of Friday, restating that nothing would stop the local government election…

The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara said he stormed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) at 1 AM on Friday, to stop the Rivers State Police Command from taking over the premises. A video showed the governor in the company of his team, entering the premises of the RSIEC, while some men were seen alleging that the policemen were attempting to scale through the gates and strong room of the commission to allegedly cart away sensitive electoral materials meant for the conduct of Saturday’s local government election in the state. Fubara and his team comprising the Chief of Staff,…

Gilead Sciences has unveiled plans to make affordable versions of its groundbreaking HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, available in 120 low and middle-income countries. Lenacapavir, which is administered as a twice-yearly injection, has shown promising results in clinical trials, significantly reducing HIV infection rates among both women and men. In trials conducted in South Africa and Uganda, lenacapavir effectively prevented HIV infections among girls and women. A subsequent trial involving men across several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the US, indicated nearly complete protection. In a statement, Gilead announced that it has entered into non-exclusive, royalty-free…

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed retailer Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s second richest person. Zuckerberg’s net worth rose to $206 billion on Friday, a new record for him, behind electric car manufacturer Tesla CEO Elon Musk ($256 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jeff Bezos came third at $205 billion with a $2.6 billion decline on the day. Meta shares have risen 23% since reporting better-than-expected sales in the second quarter and touting its push into the type of large language models that power AI chatbots. The stock closed Thursday at an all-time high of $582.77. Meta…

The Rivers State Police Command has said it will enforce court orders as regarding the local government elections billed to be held on Saturday in the state. This was made known in a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko titled ‘Proposed October 5th, 2024 Local Government Chairman Election.In the statement, the police confirmed being in receipt of a restraining order preventing them from providing security during the LGA elections. The command also said it is aware of the 30th September 2024 Court judgement from the Federal High Court Abuja which bars the Force from participating in the election.…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday, introduced the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) to check forex market distortions, eliminate speculative activities and instill transparency. In a circular signed by Omolara Duke, director of Financial Markets Department, the bank said with this system, authorised dealers will conduct all forex transactions in the inter-bank market on the EFEMS system approved by the CBN, where transactions will be reflected immediately. The statement said the policy will be implemented not later than December 1, 2024, noting that there will be a two-week test run in November. “The new system is expected to…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said that he remains the greatest loser in the forthcoming local government election since the Peoples Democratic Party won’t be participating in the poll in the state. He, however, said his administration was determined to support the cause of developing a sustainable democracy, stressing that he wouldn’t tolerate any misguided group or individual attempting to create confusion or any form of instability in the state. The governor also urged every registered voter and leader of political groups to ensure they are at their polling units on October 5, 2024, to participate in the process that…