Author: Vardiafrica

Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has been ranked number 14 in the 2023 Ballon d’Or award which is holding in Paris, France.  The Atalanta forward narrowly missed out in joining Victor Osimhen to become the only Nigerians to have made the top 10 in the Ballon d’Or award. Osimhen was ranked in the 8th position last year. Lookman is however the only African player that made the award nomination list this year Lookman was in scintillating form as Atalanta won its first-ever European trophy last season, with the Nigerian scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen. He scored…

New winners have emerged in the three categories sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in the 2024 edition of the Bayelsa Media Awards (BMA) held on Thursday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The three winners of the NCDMB categories are Mr. Joseph Kunde of TV Continental who won NCDMB Prize for Niger Delta Region Oil & Gas Broadcast Reporter of the Year, Mr. Datonye Fred Alambo of Radio Nigeria, who won the NCDMB Prize for Niger Delta Region Economy Reporter of the year and Mr. Bassey Willie of the Daily Trust Newspaper who won the NCDMB Prize for…

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested a lawmaker for assaulting a driver in the nation’s capital. Police spokesperson for the Command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed that Alex Mascot Ikwechegh “is at the Maitama Police Station undergoing questioning”. In a statement on Monday, the Command said the Bolt driver Stephen Abuwatseya reported the matter to the Command. In a now-viral video, the House of Representatives member was seen slapping the Bolt driver. Ikwechegh represents Aba North & South Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). A furious Ikwechegh was captured in the…

Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag following the club’s lacklustre start to the season, the fallen Premier League giants announced Monday. United dropped to a lowly 14th in the table after suffering their fourth defeat in nine league games at West Ham on Sunday and have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions. “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager,” said a club statement. “Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup…

The Governors of the 19 Northern States on Monday met with traditional rulers from the region in Kaduna State to discuss critical issues affecting the region. The meeting was part of the Northern States Governors’ Forum’s efforts to engage with key stakeholders and address pressing concerns, especially the lingering insecurity, poverty, out-of-school children, constant power outages, and other socio-economic challenges ravaging the region. The meeting which was chaired by the Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, and hosted by Governor Uba Sani at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna, has in attendance the governors…

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has said the President is not as heartless as social media makes him out to be. Onanuga assures that Tinubu truly feels the struggles of Nigerians and is committed to turning things around for the better. He emphasized on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics that Tinubu is not “T-Pain,” a nickname some people have been using to describe him online. Onanuga said Tinubu’s administration is focused on revitalizing Nigeria’s economy, not causing harm to its citizens. According to the presidential aide, Tinubu is committed to “repairing the economy” despite the current challenges of galloping inflation.…

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have commenced an indefinite nationwide strike within campuses of public universities to demand the immediate release of their four months’ withheld salaries. In a statement on Sunday co-signed by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi, the two unions said it is appalling that despite several ultimatums issued to the government, no positive result has come from the government. The two unions directed their members in all public universities and inter-university centres throughout the country to…

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) says it has signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase local financing to enable private businesses to grow and thrive. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group. In a statement on Monday, IFC said the goal of the partnership is to provide more than $1 billion in financing in coming years. The corporation added that through the collaboration, it can manage currency risks and increase its investment in the naira, across priority sectors of the economy. According to the statement, the sectors include agriculture, housing, infrastructure, energy, small…

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it is working tirelessly to restore bulk power supply in the Northern part of the country as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges. On October 22, TCN reported a power outage in the north-east, north-west and parts of north-central after the 330 kV Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 tripped around 4:53am “due to a fault”. Two days later, the transmission company said its linesmen had identified the fault responsible for the power outage. Some media reports had said the power outage would persist due to security challenges hindering repairs on critical transmission lines. Addressing the reports, TCN,…

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s energy transition drive from petroleum products to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). At a recent event, the billionaire businessman said the company’s investments in CNG are also in line with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, which aims for net-zero emissions by 2060. “In this pursuit of transition to clean energy, we are optimistic of a remarkable accomplishment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he has taken the lead in the nation’s drive towards energy efficiency. This presupposes private sector intervention…