Author: Vardiafrica

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the interest rate by 150 basis points from 24.75 per cent to 26. 25 per cent. Following a two-day meeting, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to increase the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) for the third straight time to rein in the country’s soaring inflation levels pegged at 33.69% in April 2024. “The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 295th meeting on the 20th and 21st of May 2024 to review recent economic and financial developments and assess risks to the outlook,” the CBN Governor…

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, has disclosed that in the next few months, mobile money operators offering digital banking services like OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint, would resume the enrolment of new customers. Mr Cardoso stated this on Tuesday after the 295th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank in Abuja, when he announced an increase in the interest rate by 150 basis points from 24.75 per cent to 26.25 per cent. The apex bank chief said the engagements have taken place with many stakeholders in the sector on the need…

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a preliminary objection before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to try him. Kanu in the notice of preliminary objection to jurisdiction of the court filed on Monday through his legal team led by his special counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, told the court that it has no jurisdiction to try him, stressing that charges filed against him before the court by the Nigerian government are unconstitutional. Kanu filed the notice of preliminary objection on the strength of Sections 1(3); 6(6); 12;…

The Kano State House of Assembly on Tuesday revealed that it had begun a legislative process to amend the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law amidst calls for the return of the deposed 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi. It was learnt that the lawmakers resolved to amend the law after the Majority Leader and member representing the Dala constituency, Hussien Dala, moved the motion during plenary, Daily Trust reports. The law was first amended in 2019 during the rift between then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Sanusi, a former Central Bank Governor. The first amendment had broken the Kano…

The House of Representatives has called for an urgent and comprehensive audit of all airport personnel. The decision was raised as a matter of urgent national importance, by Honourable Jesse Onuakalusi at a sitting on Tuesday. The Reps members also raised an alarm over safety at airports across the country, due to alleged employment of incompetent personnel. Raised as a matter of urgent national importance, it is asking the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to carry out a comprehensive audit of all airport personnel. The house also wants an audit of all contractors engaged in the last year. Part of…

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), caused commotion at the federal high court in Abuja on Monday after his bail request was denied. Kanu, who has been in detention over an allegation of treasonable felony, asked the court to grant him bail or transfer him from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to prison. In the alternative, he asked to be placed under house arrest. However, Binta Nyako, the presiding judge, refused the bail plea. The judge held that the only option available to him was to take the matter before the appellate court.…

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has dismissed the request by the detained leader of the Biafra nation agitators, Nnamdi Kanu, for the restoration of his revoked bail and the removal from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), to a house arrest or prison custody. The Judge said that the same request had been brought before her by Kanu, dismissing it for want of merit. In a ruling on Kanu’s request, Justice Nyako said that she found as a fact, that Kanu jumped the bail earlier granted him, and escaped out of the…

Former president Goodluck Jonathan has called for a truce in the Rivers State political crisis, asking Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike to work together.  Jonathan made the call on Monday during the flag-off of the Trans-Kalabari Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, describing the political tension in Rivers State as worrisome. “Outgoing governors and incoming governors must know that they work together for the collective interest of the citizens of the state and that is critical,” he said. “In the case of Rivers, Honourable Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Sim Fubara must work together to develop the…

South Africa’s top court ruled Monday that graft-tainted former president turned firebrand opposition challenger Jacob Zuma is ineligible to stand for parliament in next week’s general election. The decision will outrage Zuma’s supporters and stoke fears of violent unrest in the run-up to the May 29 poll, already the most competitive since the advent of post-apartheid democracy in 1994. The top court threw out Zuma’s complaint against an electoral commission decision that a previous conviction for contempt prevents him from becoming an MP, ruling that the constitution bars anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in jail. ‘Not eligible’ Zuma,…

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the request by alleged terrorist negotiator, Mohammed Tukur Mamu, seeking his transfer from the custody of the Department of the State Service (DSS) to the Kuje Correctional Centre. Delivering the ruling on Monday, Justice Ekwo held that the Federal Government had raised the issue of incessant jailbreaks in prisons as a major ground to oppose the request for transfer to Kuje. The judge added that Mamu did not contradict or dispute the averments as required by law. According to the judge, since the averments were not challenged by…