Author: Vardiafrica

The Coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has announced that the Federal Government has allocated N37.4 billion to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) oncology initiative to deliver six cancer centres across the country in two years. The initiative is a result of the partnership agreement between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). This agreement aims to provide project management and advisory services to ensure the seamless implementation of the Oncology Initiative. According to the minister, this move is a pivotal component of the government’s comprehensive Health Sector Renewal Investment Program,…

In a significant move aimed at upholding fiscal responsibility and preserving the economic integrity of the nation, the Federal Government has taken legal action against Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform. The charges, formally lodged at the Federal High Court in Abuja, were announced on Monday by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, the lawsuit implicates Binance with a four-count tax evasion accusation. Accompanying the crypto company as second and third defendants in the suit are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently held in custody by the Economic and Financial…

Senegal’s anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye appeared early Monday to be closing in on victory in a presidential poll that follows several years of unrest and a political crisis, while the governing coalition said it was certain of a second-round vote. Whoever comes out on top will be tasked with steering Senegal, viewed as a beacon of democracy in coup-hit West Africa, out of its recent troubles and managing revenues from oil and gas reserves that are shortly to start production. Uncertainty reigned over the outcome of the poll, with official results not expected before the end of the week…

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), on Sunday, ended their seven-day warning strike. In a circular to branch chairmen at public universities all over the coutry, SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, directed SSANU and NASU members to resume work from Monday, March 25, 2024. One-Week Shutdown The two unions began a seven-day warning strike on Monday, March 18, 2024 over withheld salaries with workers in registry, bursary, works and maintenance, security, and students’ affairs withdrawing their services. Our correspondents who visited public universities across the country observed that nothing moved administratively within any…

Ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s 72nd birthday anniversary on Friday, March 29, 2024, the Presidency has urged well-wishers and friends of Nigeria’s first individual not to organise any form of celebratory event or place adverts in the media. In a statement on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, attributed the President’s decision to the “challenging times” in the country. “As the leader of our country, President Tinubu in deference to this challenging times will not host any birthday event and does not want any of his associates and numerous well-wishers across the country…

President Bola Tinubu has hailed the National Security Agency, Nuhu Ribadu and other security agencies over the safe release of the Kuriga school children in Kaduna State About 287, were kidnapped on March 6 when the gunmen on motorcycles rode through their school, taking them away in an incident that sparked outrage and condemnation from several quarters including the UN children’s welfare agency UNICEF. Two weeks after their kidnap, the children were rescued by security agencies. The military on Sunday said the victims were rescued in Zamfara State in the early hours of Sunday, through the joint efforts of the troops…

The Senegalese go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president in an unpredictable race after three years of turmoil and political crisis. Some 7.3 million voters are registered in the West African nation where two favourites have emerged: the ruling coalition’s former prime minister Amadou Ba and anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. They were both once tax inspectors but now appear to have little in common. Ba, aged 62, is offering continuity, while the 43-year-old Faye promises profound change and left-wing pan-Africanism. Both say they will claim a first-round victory — but a second round looks probable…

Scores of schoolchildren abducted from Kuriga, Kaduna State have been released, two weeks after they were taken away in what was one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings in years.  The students, about 287, were kidnapped when the gunmen on motorcycles rode through their school, taking them away in an incident that sparked outrage and condemnation from several quarters including the UN children’s welfare agency UNICEF. But weeks after the gunmen locally known as bandits seized the schoolchildren, mostly between 8 and 15 years old, Governor Uba Sani said they have regained their freedom. “In the name of Allah the Beneficient, the…

The Defence Headquarters in Abuja have declared one of the leaders of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa wanted. Ekpa’s name was published on the Military’s wanted list alongside 96 others from various parts of the country. In a banner displaying the pictures of the suspects, the Defence Headquarters said it declared 97 persons wanted for terrorism, violent extremism and secessionist threats against the state. Most prominent among the wanted persons is Ekpa who is controlling a faction of IPOB and has been credited with the declaration of the notorious Monday sit-at-home in the South-East zone. The…

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has disclosed that Nigeria’s public debt rose to ₦97.34trn ($108bn) as of the fourth quarter of 2023. DMO made this known in a statement made available to journalists on Friday. This increase in debt levels was basically attributed to new domestic borrowing initiatives undertaken by the Federal Government. The new borrowing by the government is aimed at partially financing the deficit outlined in the 2024 Appropriation Act, alongside disbursements from both multilateral and bilateral lenders. The statement partly read, “Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as of December 31, 2023 was ₦97.34 trillion or $108.229…