Author: Vardiafrica

The UK government will trial the use of weight loss jabs to help unemployed people with obesity get back into work, the health secretary said Tuesday. Wes Streeting said obesity, which affects millions of Britons, was causing people to take an extra four sick days and placing a huge burden on the state-run National Health Service (NHS). “Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year – even more than smoking,” he wrote in the Telegraph newspaper. At an international investment summit on Monday, the British government announced a £279 million…

The Confederation of African Football has delisted the Group D second-leg fixture of the ongoing 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Mediterranean Knights of Libya. CAF published an updated game fixture on its X handle on Tuesday, however, it does not include the Libya versus Nigeria game. The game was earlier scheduled to take place in Libya by 8 pm on Tuesday after the first leg took place in Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday. The Super Eagles beat the Mediterranean Knights by a lone goal in the dying minute of the…

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum (PDP-GF), has instructed feuding members of the party to revert to the status quo. The directive was given by the Chairman of the forum who is also Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, after a meeting of the governors which ended in the early hours of Tuesday. Mohammed said as a political party, the PDP was bound to have disputes among members but that those challenges can always be resolved. He said, “There is no crisis. The Governors, BoT, and the National Assembly caucus have agreed that the NWC should revert to the status…

The Rivers State House of Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule has declared the seats of Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and three other pro-Fubara lawmakers vacant following their absence from sittings for 152 days. Making this known during plenary today, Speaker Martin Amaewhule pointed out that Ehie did not properly write to inform the house of his new office, and as such his seat has been declared vacant. Regarding Victor Oko-Jumbo and the two others, the House held three separate votes to declare their seats vacant for absenteeism from sitting for 152 days consecutively without…

The pilot who flew the Nigerian team has shed more light on the controversy in the wake of the crisis between the Nigerian authorities and Libya over the ill-treatment meted out to the Supper Eagles. The unexpected diversion of the flight to a remote airport, Al-Abraq, instead of their intended destination, Benghazi has been a source of controversy between Nigeria and Lybia. While the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) alleged that the move was ‘intentional’, the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) denied maltreating the Super Eagles. The LFF attributed the crisis to a hitch in logistics. However, in a video interview posted…

The Governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu will launch the commercial operations of the Red Line rail today. In a statement on Tuesday, Sanwo-Olu said the train service will move about 500,000 Lagosians daily on the corridor. He said commercial operations will run from Agbado to Oyingbo, adding that the government will continue to ramp up the schedule. President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the red line train project on February 29. “Today marks the launch of commercial operations of the LMRT Red Line, kicking off passenger services from Agbado to Oyingbo,” he said. “We’re on a mission to keep Lagos moving, and…

The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has deplored Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier while vowing to take legal action to defend its national team’s interests. Nigeria’s Super Eagles pulled out of the match, which was scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, citing safety concerns after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport for more than 13 hours due to an unexpected flight diversion on Sunday. In a statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation of not cooperating in the organization of the match. The statement read, “The Libyan Football Federation condemns…

Wealthy Nigerians earning ₦100m and above monthly will face a 25 per cent personal income tax rate if a new tax bill is passed by the National Assembly This was stated by the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele during a breakout session at the ongoing 30th Nigeria Economic Summit organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Ministry of Budget and National Planning on Monday in Abuja. According to him, 90 per cent of the current taxpayers are people who should not be taxed. He advocated for a more streamlined and equitable…

Ibrahim Manga, acting national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, rejected the offer to control the state’s political structure. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, Manga recounted that the PDP’s national working committee (NWC) approached Fubara to nominate a candidate to fill the vacant position of the party’s chairmanship in Rivers. He said Fubara turned down the opportunity to nominate someone for the position, insisting that Nyesom Wike, his predecessor, should choose a nominee. Fubara and Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), have been at loggerheads over control of the state’s political…

Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, has approved N77,000 as the minimum wage for workers in the state. Tokunbo Talabi, secretary to the Ogun state government, said the payment of the new minimum wage takes immediate effect. Talabi spoke after a meeting with the leadership of organised labour in Ogun state, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC). He said the meeting was at the instance of the governor, who directed that no worker in the state should earn less than N77,000 starting from October. Talabi said the governor advised the private…