Author: Vardiafrica

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in Tuesday before parliament for his third term in office as leader of the Arab world’s most populous country. In power for the past decade, Sisi is set to remain president until 2030, after winning a December election with 89.6 percent of the vote against three relative unknowns. The six-year term is set to be the 69-year-old’s last, unless he again ushers through a constitutional amendment prolonging his tenure. The oath also marked the inauguration of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, located in the desert east of Cairo, local media reported. Sisi rose to…

The nine students who were abducted while travelling along the East-West road in Ughelli, Delta State, on Friday night, March 29, have regained their freedom. The students were said to have been returning from their school in Calabar Cross River State on Friday night when they they were abducted from the minibus they were travelling in. The driver of the bus escaped unhurt. In an update shared in his X handle, the spokesperson of the command, SP Bright Edafe, said all nine students have regained their freedom. He however did not mention if any ransom was paid

The Nigerian Army has reported a “minor explosion” within its Ikeja cantonment, Lagos State on Monday. A statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Major General, Onyema Nwachukwu, said the incident which occurred on a farmland near the Mammy Market, within the cantonment had been put under control. “This is to notify the general public that today Monday 1 April 2024, a minor explosion occurred within the Nigerian Army (NA) Cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos. The incident occurred on a farmland near the Mammy Market within the Cantonment,” the statement said in part. According to the statement, the explosion was suspected…

The Federal Government, on Monday, announced a new price of natural gas for power generation companies. An agency of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), unveiled the new domestic base price and wholesale prices of natural gas for 2024, jacking it up to $2.42 per metric million British thermal units, from the previous rate of $2.18mmbtu Announced and signed by the Chief Executive, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, it also pegged the cost of commercial gas at $2.92mmbtu, up from the previous cost of $2.5mmbtu. Ahmed said the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 assented to by President…

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has said he has never approached the Debt Management Office (DMO) for loan since the inception of his administration on May 29, 2023. “We want to make a clarification on the position of the Debt Management Office report that the Zamfara State government borrowed N14.26 billion,” Lawal said in a statement on Monday.According to the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sulaiman Bala Idris, “no domestic or external loans have been borrowed since Governor Dauda Lawal took office. “It is important to note that the previous Zamfara State government floated a N20 billion bond…

The EFCC Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, has assured of leading a broad-based and holistic anti-graft war that would not spare anyone linked with any form of economic and financial crimes.Mr Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja quoted Olukoyese as having said this Olukoyede reaffirmed his commitment to an all-embracing, fully-integrated war against corrupt practices. “We will not spare anyone. We will not spare the mega thieves. As we are doing the mega, we will also do those at the lower end. “In the last two months, we have arraigned two former governors. So, it…

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, for Dakar, Senegal, to attend the inauguration of Senegal’s President-elect, Bassirou Faye. The Presidency disclosed this in a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu to attend inauguration of Senegal’s President-elect Bassirou Faye.’ Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, is visiting the country for the first time since assuming office, at the invitation of the Senegal government. “He will join other regional leaders to witness the inauguration at Diamniadio Exhibition Centre on Tuesday,” said…

The Federal Government has approved the disbursement of N25bn to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), to expand and enhance healthcare delivery to Nigerians. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, disclosed this while reaffirming the unrelenting commitment of the present administration to transforming the healthcare system to attain Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) for Nigerians. In a statement signed by a spokesperson for the ministry, Deworitshe Patricia, on Sunday in Abuja, the minister said health transformation, renewal and accessibility would be achieved with the approval of a Sector Wide…

About 107 companies are currently benefiting from the federal government’s tax exemption. This is contained in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2023 report on pioneer status incentive application published by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC). The pioneer status incentive (PSI) is a tax holiday that grants qualifying industries and products relief from payment of corporate income tax for an initial period of three years, extendable for one or two additional years. The incentive, which is provided with three years of tax relief under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act, is widely recognised as an industrial measure meant to encourage economic…

The Minister of Works Dave Umahi believes President Bola Tinubu is divinely destined to rule the country for eight years Tinubu came to power last May and is in his first year of a four-year tenure. But Umahi, the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, is optimistic about Tinubu’s re-election chances when Nigerians head to the polls in 2027 – over three years away from now. “You must know that the coming onboard of Mr President is divine. When God starts a thing, He completes it,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. “So, I strongly believe and I am persuaded…