Author: Vardiafrica

A fresh wave of resignations has hit the Rivers State Government headed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara as five more commissioners, who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have resigned from the governor’s cabinet. Those who resigned are Chinedu Mmom (from the Ministry of Education), Gift Worlu (from the Ministry of Housing) and Jacobson Nbina (from the Ministry of Transport). Inime Aguma resigned as the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation saying “there is no room for progressional development in the work place”. Austin Ben-Chioma also resigned as the Commissioner for Environment “due to the…

For a few years now, carriers have been using lists to alert users of potential spam and scam calls as they come in. These systems are hardly foolproof. So what happens once a user picks up? At the Google I/O 2024 developer conference on Tuesday, Google previewed a feature it believes will alert users to potential scams during the call.  The feature, which will be built into a future version of Android, uses Gemini Nano, the smallest version of Google’s generative AI offering, which can be run entirely on-device. The system effectively listens for “conversation patterns commonly associated with scams” in real…

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, commissioned some gas infrastructure projects in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. He commissioned the expansion of the AHL Gas Processing Plant, the ANOH Gas Processing Plant and the 23.3Km ANOH to Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben(OB3) Custody Transfer Metering Station Gas Pipeline Projects. The President joined the event virtually from the Aso Rock in Abuja. Some of the dignitaries physically in attendance were Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri; and his counterpart for the gas sector, Ekperikpe Ekpo. The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL),…

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.69% in April 2024 compared to March 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.20%. This was according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday. “In April 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 33.69% relative to the March 2024 head line inflation rate which was 33.20%,” the Bureau said in its report. Looking at the movement, the April 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.49% points when compared to the March 2024 headline inflation rate. “On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47%…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, arraigned a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele for approving the printing of N684.5m notes at the rate of N18.96bn. Emefiele was arraigned before Justice MaryAnn Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High court on four counts. He pleaded not guilty to the four counts when it was read to him. Moving his application for bail, his counsel, Mahmud Magaji, asked the court to grant him bail on self recognition and on the same grounds and conditions of bail already granted him by a sister court…

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, says any reversal in the hike of electricity tariff for Band A customers in the country will derail the reform agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration for the power sector. Adelabu spoke on Tuesday after the Federal Executive Council (EFC) meeting at the Aso Villa in Abuja. His comments followed the nationwide picketing of the offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies by the Organised Labour on Monday. Adelabu said, “A lot of them (protesting) are paying below N60 so they still enjoy government’s subsidy. So when they say…

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has approved the conversion of a government property in San Francisco, United States of America into the Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Program Hub. The hub will be called Nigerian Startup House. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) during its meeting earlier in the day. He said, “Another development from FEC today, which sits firmly in our desire as a Ministry to position Nigeria as a significant player in the global technology landscape, is the approval for the…

The Federal Government has suspended the controversial cybersecurity levy on electronic banking transactions. Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the policy is undergoing a review. “The position of the government is that that policy has been suspended. It has been put on hold. That is the position of the government for now. It is undergoing some form of review. It was reiterated in the council (FEC meeting) yesterday. You know that today’s council…

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened to embark on another nationwide strike to protest absence of governing councils in all federal universities across the country among other issues the government is yet to address. The body which recalled that the federal government dissolved governing councils of the universities in May,last year,has asked Nigerians to hold the government responsible for any decision it takes to protest the action of government. President of ASUU,Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke,spoke at a press conference ,Tuesday,in Abuja, said the union rejected all the “ongoing illegalities and flagrant violation of university autonomy in public universities as…

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved the establishment of a tripartite committee to review the visa approval process for foreign investors and tourists. Speaking at the end of the extended FEC meeting on Tuesday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, said President Bola Tinubu approved the setting up of the committee to accelerate visa processes and acquisition for foreigners interested in investing in Nigeria. Idris said the government envisages reducing the approval time for visas to 48 hours, adding that the development will attract more investors and tourists into the country. “Our visa processes are becoming cumbersome…The ease of…