Author: Vardiafrica

The Liberal government says it will slash the number of international student permits it issues by another 10 per cent. The government says the new target for 2025 and 2026 will be 437,000 permits. In 2024, the target was 485,000 permits. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday the government expects the changes to “yield approximately 300,000 fewer study permits” over the next three years. Ottawa is also putting new limits on work permits for spouses of both foreign workers and students in master’s degree programs. Earlier this year, the Liberal government announced a temporary cap to reduce the number of…

The Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced an advanced Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to enhance the monitoring and management of the national power grid. This initiative, spearheaded by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), is funded by the World Bank and aims to reduce frequent power grid collapses while ensuring a more reliable electricity supply across the country. During the launch event held at the National Control Centre (NCC) in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, emphasized the significance of the SCADA system in transforming the grid’s operational efficiency. Represented by Emmanuel Nosike, the acting…

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Wednesday said the crisis in the Peoples democratic Party (PDP) is a creation of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He stated this while receiving members of the PDP Board of Trustees at the Government House in Bauchi, the state capital. “Any challenge is not insurmountable, it is insurmountable by the grace of God and we will find a solution to that,” he stated. “It is only PDP with the experience of governance that is being challenged.” “You will notice that this is the creation of the other side. They want us to be in…

The drama and controversy surrounding the ex-Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello’s corruption case has continued unabated. This is even as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Wednesday, besieged the Kogi State Government Lodge in Abuja in an attempt to arrest former governor Yahaya Bello. This came soon after Yahaya was stated to have visited the EFCC office. The siege was announced by the Director of Yahaya Bello’s Media Office, Ohiare Michael, who raised the alarm in a statement on Wednesday night, titled, “Despite voluntary visit, EFCC officials surround Kogi Government Lodge, Abuja in an attempt to forcefully…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it will introduce the FIRS e-Invoice, a digital solution for managing invoices, in line with the Tax Administration and Enforcement Act 2007. Executive Chairman, FIRS, Dr Zacchaeus Adedeji, stated this on Wednesday in Lagos at the LCCI-FIRS Organised Private Sector Stakeholders Engagement with the theme: “Emerging Tax Matters”. Adedeji, who was represented by Mrs Oti Olaniyi, Acting Director, Medium Taxpayers Department, FIRS, said the e-invoice was necessary as the country moved forward to innovate and enhance its tax system. He said the initiative, as part of the service’s digital transformation strategy, would facilitate…

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will soon launch new biometric passports, Mali’s military leader Colonel Assimi Goita said Sunday, as the junta-led states look to solidify their alliance after splitting from regional bloc ECOWAS. The three Sahel nations, all under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, joined together last September under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), after severing ties with former colonial ruler France and pivoting toward Russia. They then said in January that they were turning their backs on the Economic Community of West African States — an organization they accused of being manipulated by…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied reports claiming embattled former governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, is in their custody. In a statement released on Wednesday, September 18, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the ex-governor remains wanted “for alleged N80.2billion money laundering charges.” “Media reports today that a former Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello is in the holding facility of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is incorrect. The Commission wishes to state that Bello is not in its custody. Bello, already declared wanted by the Commission for alleged N80.2billion money laundering charges, remains…

Former Governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello has honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after months of back-and-forth and an attempt by the agency to arrest him. A statement by the Director, Yahaya Bello Media Office, Ohiare Michael on Wednesday, said Bello has honoured the invitation of the EFCC “after due consultations with his family, legal team and political allies.” The statement said, “The former Governor, who has great respect for the rule of law and constituted authority, had, all the while, only sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights in order to ensure due…

The $550 million upstream gas project between the NNPC Ltd. and TotalEnergies on the development of the Ubeta field has taken off, the Presidency announced on Tuesday. Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this during an inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC. According to a statement signed by Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye in Abuja on Tuesday, the signing ceremony of the 550 million USD Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ubeta Field Development Project took place in Abuja in June this year. The Ubeta…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refused to recognise Julius Abure as the National Chairman of Labour Party, despite retaining his name on its website, on the list of political party chairmen This new revelation is contained in a counter-affidavit filed in the Federal High Court Abuja, in response to Labour Party’s suit, challenging its exclusion from INEC’s refresher training for uploading party agents, ahead of the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections INEC insisted in the document that Abure’s tenure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party expired in June 2024. The Labour Party has been entangled…