Author: Vardiafrica

Officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have announced an ambitious plan to establish a regional counter-terrorism force with an estimated budget of $2.4 billion. Abdel-Fatau Musah,the ECOWAS commissioner, made the disclosure at a three-day meeting of the bloc’s training centres of excellence in Abuja, Nigeria. In the fight against terrorism across West Africa, ECOWAS identified three training centres of excellence to spearhead the establishment of a regional standby counter-terrorism force. The centres include the National Defence College of Nigeria, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre of Ghana, and the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix…

President Bola Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after trips to The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. On April 22, Tinubu left Abuja, the country’s capital city, for The Netherlands on an official visit. Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the president was visiting The Netherlands at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. After the engagements in The Netherlands, Tinubu proceeded to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to attend a special World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting between April 28 and 29. Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, had said the president and his aides will return to Nigeria on Wednesday.…

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have demanded that members of the House of Assembly resume impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Making this known during a Press Conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the party’s caretaker Chairman, Tony Okocha, said the party will not sit back and watch the governor insult President Bola Tinubu. He further threatened that if the Assembly members failed to restart the impeachment proceedings against the governor, he would invoke Party discipline upon them. “It’ll be foolhardy for us to sit down and see someone way less than Mr President insult…

As the nationwide supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol continues to improve, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has cautioned against panic buying, saying it has over 1.5 billion litres of products in stock. A statement issued by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye in Abuja on Tuesday, said the 1.5 billion litres equals 30 days of product sufficiency. The company said it had monitored filling stations across several states, including Lagos and the FCT, and has noticed that fuel queues have since thinned out, “a development that will keep improving daily…

Russian President Vladimir Putin was Tuesday sworn into office at a lavish Kremlin ceremony for a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before. The 71-year-old has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition. In his inauguration speech, Putin said that Russia would emerge from the current “difficult” period victorious and stronger, as he took power for a record fifth presidential term. “We will pass through this difficult, decisive period with dignity and become even stronger,” Putin said at his inauguration ceremony at the…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged President Bola Tinubu, to immediately direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to withdraw the cybersecurity levy on Nigerians, saying it patently violates the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments. In a statement signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the Tinubu administration must within 48 hours withdraw the patently arbitrary and unlawful CBN directive purportedly imposing cybersecurity levy on Nigerians. SERAP also urged him, to stop Nuhu Ribadu and the office of the National Security Adviser…

A Japanese consortium recently unveiled the world’s first high-speed 6G prototype device. It can transmit data at a whopping 100 gigabits per second (Gbps), covering more than 300 feet. That’s a 20x improvement over the current 5G technology. The prototype device was a result of collaboration among Japan’s leading telecom companies, including DOCOMO, NTT Corporation, NEC Corporation, and Fujitsu. The consortium announced the successful test results on April 11th where the companies revealed that the prototype device can achieve speeds of 100 Gbps indoors using the 100 gigahertz (GHz) band and outdoors using the 300 GHz band These tests were…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to implement a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers. This is contained in a circular signed by Chibuzor Efobi, director of payments system management and Haruna Mustafa, director of financial policy and regulation on Monday. The directive was issued to commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks, as well as mobile money operators. CBN said the policy would take effect in two weeks and charges would be described as ‘Cybersecurity Levy’. According to the apex bank, the deduction and collection of the cybersecurity levy is a…

The First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on Monday hosted 2nd Lieutenant Princess Oluchukwu Owowoh, First Nigerian Female Graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS). The 24-year-old Owowoh was one of the 135 officer cadets to graduate during RMAS’ sovereign’s parade in London on April 12. According to a statement by the Nigerian Army, Senator Tinubu received Owowoh, who was led by Major General John Ochai, the Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), at the State House. The First Lady was said to have described Owowoh’s achievement as outstanding and divine. She commended the Nigeria Army for giving a female the…

Vice President Kashim Shettima, originally scheduled to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, has been forced to make a detour. Shettima was expected to join other political and business leaders across Africa, the United States of America and beyond for the summit featuring high-level dialogues, networking business sessions and the plenary. The summit is scheduled to be held from May 6 to May 9, 2024 However, a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, on Monday, revealed that a technical fault with the VP’s…