Author: Vardiafrica

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the inspection of election materials used in the Edo governorship election indefinitely. The postponement was sequel to a clash between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the commission’s secretariat in the state. The electoral commission initially fixed the inspection for Wednesday after the PDP alleged it was prevented from inspecting the materials on Monday. Thereafter, INEC fixed Thursday for the inspection following an objection by the APC. The party alleged that the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) were brought to INEC’s secretariat in vehicles owned by the Edo government,…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Wednesday, introduced a new Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code, *829#, aimed at enhancing taxpayers’ experience. FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, unveiled the code at the Revenue House in Abuja as part of this year’s Customer Service Week, themed “Above and Beyond.” With this launch, Nigeria becomes the sixth African nation to adopt a USSD code for simplifying tax payment processes. Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, noted that the code enables taxpayers on any mobile network in Nigeria to access real-time services, including retrieval of Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN),…

Tesla boss Elon Musk unveiled the firm’s long-awaited robotaxi, the Cybercab, at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California on Thursdayevening. The futuristic-looking vehicle featuring two wing-like doors and no pedals or steering wheel deposited Mr Musk in front of an audience eager to hear details about a project he considers key to Tesla’s next chapter. At the event, billed as “We, Robot,” the multi-billionaire reiterated his view that fully self-driving vehicles will be safer than those operated by humans and can even earn their owners money, through being rented out for rides. But his projection that production on the…

The Federal Government, on Thursday prayed a Federal High Court in Abuja to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the Managing Director (MD) of Dana Air, Mr Hathiramani Ranesh. The federal government alleged that Ranesh has refused to appear for his arraignment in the alleged N1.3 billion fraud. Mojisola Okeya, Counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), made the oral application before Justuce Obiora Egwuatu following Ranesh’s absence in court for his arraignment. The News Agency reports that the Federal Government, through the AGF, had filed a six-count charge against Ranesh and two others. In the charge…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced a review of its visa clearance procedures. A controversial requirement, which mandated married women to submit an approval letter from their husbands as part of the visa application process, sparked widespread debate on social media on Wednesday. Many criticised the policy, describing it as outdated and discriminatory In response, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a notice on Thursday, stated that the provision had been removed as part of an ongoing review of the entire procedure. The notice read, “The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA, as required by…

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court which set aside the N800 billion budget passed by five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly which was led by Edison Ehie-led. The appellate court on Thursday dismissed the appeal filed by the Governor of Rivers State Siminalayi Fubara on grounds that it lacked merit. The court held that Governor Fubara withdrew his counter-affidavit at the lower court in the matter and as such cannot commence an appeal in a matter he did not challenge at the trial stage. In the unanimous judgement,…

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has again lambasted President Bola Tinubu and his administration, saying the president is not bothered about the growing hardship and he is daily drowning the material well-being of Nigerians. Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, knocked Tinubu over what he described as an haphazard and disingenuous approach of his administration to fuel subsidy management. According to Atiku, the haphazard and disingenuous approach to fuel subsidy management by Tinubu’s administration has been the reason Nigerians are in the current economic crisis in the country. The former…

The board of trustees of the people’s democratic party (PDP) has asked the national working committee of the party to urgently convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to address the crisis within the party Chairman of the PDP board of trustees, Senator Adulphus Wabara, made the recommendation at a meeting of the BOT in Abuja on Thursday. Wabara also urged all that are invited by the party’s disciplinary committee to freely present themselves to the committee, stressing the supremacy of the party over any member. According to him, the Board of Trustees held a significant meeting with the governor…

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called for a reduction in petrol prices, urging the government to lower them below the levels seen in June 2023.Naija News reports that TUC President Festus Osifo made the call during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday. He said: “We demand that the price be brought down, not just to what it was before, but even lower.” Osifo called for government intervention in the sector by providing foreign exchange to the Dangote Refinery at a rate of $1 to ₦1,000 instead of the current rate of over ₦1,600 to help reduce petrol costs.…

The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in a continued effort to tackle insecurity in the Northwest, has called on bandits’ informants to repent or be sent to their early graves soon. The statement was made by the minister during an operational visit at security-threatened areas in Sokoto State, including Gundumi, Hawan Durum village, Isa and Sabon Birni Local Government Areas on Thursday. The visit was in line with the directives of President Bola Tinubu to crush bandits in the Northwest. Matawalle said that so far, the operation has recorded massive success, with the killings of several notorious bandits…