Author: Vardiafrica

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said Tuesday there had been no survivors when a plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others crashed into a forest. “The plane has been found and I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you all, it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” he said, in a televised address. The crash occurred weeks after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. Malawian searchers found the wreckage of the plane that was carrying Chilima on Tuesday, a day after the aircraft went missing in bad weather. The military plane carrying Chilima, 51, and…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos State has moved the supply date for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol from June to mid-July. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the refinery, Aliko Dangote, attributed the postponement to slight delay but assured the public that by second to third week in July, the premium commodity would be in the market. Dangote spoke when he received a Senate delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, on a tour of the $20 billion facility in Lagos on Sunday. He said, “We had a bit of delay but PMS will…

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero says the Organised Labour will await the decision of President Bola Tinubu on the proposals submitted to him by the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage. Ajaero ruled out any industrial action till the President makes his stance known on the two proposals presented to him on the new minimum wage for workers in the country. While Labour insisted on ₦250,000 as a feasible living wage for workers, the other side – the federal and state governments as well as the Organised Private Sector – proposed ₦62,000. The tripartite committee submitted the two…

Following claims in certain quarters about the stability of some Nigerian banks in the wake of Heritage Bank Plc’s license revocation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again reassured members of the banking public of the safety of their deposits and the banking system’s resilience. Contrary to some claims, the Bank’s Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Sidi Ali, on Monday, faulted claims that the CBN was considering revoking the operating licences of Fidelity, Polaris, Wema, and Unity Banks. She also clarified that a circular issued by the bank on January 10, 2024, notifying the public about…

A total sum of N1,143.210 trillion May 2024 Federation Accounts Revenue has been shared to the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils in the country The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) disclosed this in a communiqué issued at the end of its latest meeting, according to a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, on Monday. The FAAC June 2024 meeting was chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. According to Mokwa, the communiqué revealed that the N1,143.210 trillion total distributable…

The Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, on Monday, submitted report to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation following the conclusion of its assignment. This was disclosed in statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations in office of the SGF, Segun Imohiosen. He said the that a formal presentation of the Report will be made to President Bola Tinubu for appropriate action, when the leadership of the Organised Labour as well as representatives of Government and Organised Private Sector, who are presently in Geneva, Switzerland for the ongoing International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conference, return to…

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has proposed a total sum of N1.911 trillion as its 2024 aggregate expenditure Managing Director of the Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, declared this on Monday during the presentation of the NDDC budget estimates for 2024 tagged ‘Budget of Renewed Hope Agenda’, before the Senate Committee on NDDC chaired by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong. Ogbuku pegged the proposed revenue brought forward at N12 billion. The arrears owed by the Federal Government and Recoveries by Federal Government agencies stands at 170 billion naira. In a further breakdown, legacy projects funded through borrowings is pegged at N1 trillion. According…

A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president Saulos Chilima has been reported missing after it failed to make a landing Monday morning, the government said “All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far,” the government said in a statement. The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am local time (0700 GMT), was carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others. President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and national forces to conduct an “immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft”, the statement said. Chakwera,…

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has emerged as the Chairman of the South-West Governors Forum. This follows the death of the former Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, who died eight months ago. Briefing newsmen at the Lagos House, Alausa after over four hours of meeting behind closed doors, Governor Sanwo-Olu, said the decision was a unanimous one by the six governors present. He said the South-West Governors’ Forum kicked against the agitation of Yoruba Nation, and also assured citizens that the new minimum wage to be announced by the Federal Government will reflect true federalism. The South-West…

The Organised Labour says it won’t accept any ₦62,000 or ₦100,000 “starvation wage” as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. Chris Onyeka, an Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief show on Monday. He insisted on ₦250,000, labour’s latest demand at the last meeting of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage on Friday, as the living wage for an average Nigerian worker. He said labour won’t accept the latest government’s offer of ₦62,000 and the ₦100,000 proposal by some individuals and economists. Onyeka said, “We have never considered accepting ₦62,000 or any other wage…