Author: Vardiafrica

Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s planned October IPO, which could become Africa’s largest, is designed to let Nigerians share in the company’s growth, its CEO told Reuters, adding that a foreign listing is at least three years away. The refinery has submitted an application for a $5 billion IPO to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters this month, although the final size is not decided. “We really want to drive participation,” CEO David Bird said in an interview. “The mandate of the IPO was to be the people’s IPO.” Bird said the company wanted at least three…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dragged President Bola Tinubu before the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking to disqualify him from contesting the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate. Atiku personally appeared at the court registry on Friday to depose to an affidavit supporting the suit instituted against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission . The suit invokes Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. At the centre of the case is Section 137(1)(j), which…

Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Wednesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, officially unveiled its Nigerian Content Fund Compliance Certificate (NCFCC) and the upgraded Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) Payment Portal at a sensitisation and engagement forum attended by the top Management of the Board’s financial partners, the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank. The NCFCC, a vital operational requirement in the oil and gas sector, serves as official proof that an operating or service company has fulfilled an obligation set out in Section 104(2) of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD)…

The United States says its second round of talks with Nigeria under a joint working group focused on protecting Christian communities in the Middle Belt, strengthening judicial and security institutions to hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and expanding military-to-military cooperation. The meetings began on Wednesday and continued into Thursday in Washington. Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA), led the Nigerian delegation, while Allison Hooker, under-secretary of state, headed the US team. A statement issued by the US State Department said Hooker and the Nigerian delegation reviewed progress on internally displaced persons’ (IDP) resettlement to their ancestral homes, counterterrorism prosecutions, and combatting the financing…

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies to ensure a peaceful and transparent election in Osun State. The people of Osun State will go to the polls on Saturday, August 15, 2026, to elect their governor in an election where 15 candidates are contesting. Among them are the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam. In a statement by the Special Adviser, information and strategy Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu charges the electorate in Osun State to come out to…

China has approved a RMB200 million grant to support Nigeria’s economic development and the implementation of projects agreed upon by both governments. Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, disclosed this on Wednesday, during a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dunoma Ahmed. Ambassador Yu said the grant was part of China’s continued support for Nigeria’s national development and economic growth. He noted that, over the past 55 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nigeria, bilateral ties have remained at the forefront of China-Africa relations. According to him, the China-Nigeria Comprehensive Strategic…

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have broken ground for a Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering (RICCEE) at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, in a move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s indigenous research, technological capacity and engineering skills.  Africans& Diaspora The project, described by NLNG as its largest human capital development institutional strengthening initiative to date, is designed to expand the university’s capacity for advanced, industry-relevant research, specialised training and the development of technological solutions for Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors. The centre will also host a professorial chair and…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has met with the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), pledging his administration’s commitment to reviving the nation’s refineries and strengthening the energy sector. President Tinubu, during an audience with the union led by its National President, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, on Thursday at the State House, Abuja, assured that the country’s refineries would return to operation, stressing that their revival must be anchored on profitability and sustainable economic value. The President also defended the removal of fuel subsidy as part of the economic reset necessary to reposition the country,…

The Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has given Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited and two other oil companies a 48-hour ultimatum to appear before it and respond to queries contained in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). The committee, chaired by Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, warned that failure to honour the invitation could lead to the invocation of the National Assembly’s legislative powers against the affected companies. The decision followed concerns raised by members of the committee over the failure of the companies to appear before it to respond to…

The Nigeria Police Force has barred the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, vigilante groups and other non-state security outfits from participating in security operations for Saturday’s Osun State governorship election. The police said the groups had no role in securing the election and warned political parties, candidates and their supporters against engaging, arming or deploying them for election-related purposes. The warning was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu. The election is scheduled to hold across the 30 Local…