Author: Vardiafrica

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said he has fled the country in fear for his life following a military rebellion but did not announce his resignation in a speech broadcast on social media late Monday from an undisclosed location. Rajoelina has faced weeks of Gen Z-led anti-government protests, which reached a pivotal point on Saturday when an elite military unit joined the protests and called for the president and other government ministers to step down. That prompted Rajoelina to say that an illegal attempt to seize power was underway in the Indian Ocean island and leave the country. “I was forced to find a safe place…

The price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, yesterday, increased by 6.8 percent to N955 per litre, from N890 per litre sold last week. Vanguard gathered that stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and stations owned by Independent Marketers in Lagos and Abuja showed that the petrol was dispersed between N900 and N955 per litre. In a phone interview with the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mr. Chinedu Ukadike attributed the hike to supply and logistics challenges incurred by major marketers in the industry, which include NNPCL and Dangote…

In the pursuit for improved corporate governance, enhanced performance and effective service delivery to the nation and citizens, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Tuesday held a knowledge exchange session, leading to a strong committing to inter-agency collaboration, peer review of operations. The session held at the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Swali, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and was attended by select management staff of the NDDC. The Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, spoke through the Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, and observed the benefit of having…

Tamrose Limited, a leading oil and gas service company has announced the successful repayment of a $10 million loan it obtained in 2019 from the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), the dedicated financing scheme managed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for growing capacity in the oil and gas industry. NCDMB confirmed that the final instalment was completed on September 30, 2025, with no missed payments throughout the six-year repayment period. At the time of accessing the loan, Tamrose operated with only four security patrol vessels. With the support of the NCI Fund, the company expanded…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has approved the appointment of Benibo Anabraba as the new Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG). Anabraba, a former Minority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly who represented Akuku-Toru Constituency II, replaces Tammy Danagogo. Danagogo had served in the position from the second term of former Governor Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to the first two years of the Fubara administration before the declaration of emergency rule. According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Honour Sirawoo, the new SSG will…

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Sunday arrived in Rome to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting, focusing on the security crisis in West Africa. The presidential aeroplane was said to have landed at the Rome Fiumicino International Airport at approximately 7:20pm. Recall that a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the meeting will begin on Tuesday and is scheduled to bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries, and representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations…

US President Donald Trump has said “the war is over” as he travels to Israel for the release of hostages from Gaza under the ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas. Speaking on board Air Force One, he said the ceasefire would hold and a “Board of Peace” would quickly be set up for Gaza, which he said looked like a “demolition site”. He also praised the roles of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar, one of the mediators. The deadline for Hamas to release all the hostages it is still holding in Gaza is midday local time (10:00…

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, will lead the country’s delegation to the 2025 World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings in Washington, DC, kicking off on Monday. Mr Cardoso will represent the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who is currently indisposed. In a statement on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the delegation will also include the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite. The meetings are expected to focus on key global economic issues, including debt sustainability, inflation pressures,…

As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarks on a two-week warning strike, the Federal Government has emphasised that the “No Work, No Pay” policy remains an existing labour law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The government stated that it will be guided by this law should academic activities be disrupted in the nation’s universities. In a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, the government reaffirmed that while it continues to demonstrate goodwill and flexibility, it will not abdicate its responsibility to uphold fairness and accountability…

Ten young graduates have started a 12-month training and certification programme on rope access technology under the human capital development (HCD) initiative of Chevron Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). The training started on Wednesday and will prepare the trainees for rope access operations in difficult-to-reach locations in the oil and gas industry, onshore and offshore. It has five sessions of technical and non-technical modules, including classroom instruction, field practices, and entrepreneurship. Foundational safety is the focus of the beginning phases, while intensive rope access instruction, workshops, and hands-on learning follow. Exposure to offshore operations…