Author: Vardiafrica

An explosion has reportedly rocked the secretariat of the faction of the All Progressives Congress led by Tony Okocha, ex-chairman of the APC caretaker committee in Rivers state. According to Channels Television, the explosion is believed to be caused by a dynamite which reportedly ripped through the APC secretariat main entrance, security house and sections of an adjacent structure. The incident was said to have occurred in the early hours of Saturday ahead of the LG election. “About 3:20am, some gun-trotting young men with their explosives and all that, came here and dropped the first explosive, maybe because the one they dropped…

Voting has commenced in the local government elections in Rivers state. Voters have started casting their votes in some polling units in the state while in some other units, voters are waiting for the arrival of election materials. Earlier, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) commenced distribution of sensitive materials to LGAs for the conduct of the election. The Rivers LGA election is taking place despite the court order restraining the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other security agencies from providing security during the poll. On September 30, a federal high court in Abuja barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from…

The Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima GCON has directed the implementation of a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s road safety measures. The directive is aimed at addressing Nigeria’s road safety challenges and drastically reducing road traffic accidents across the nation. Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the directive on Friday during a meeting with the leadership of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) led by the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Accordingly, the Vice President is set to inaugurate the National Road Safety Advisory Council saddled with the responsibility of reducing traffic crashes by half…

The Nigeria Police Force has refuted allegations made by the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, claiming that the police were unlawfully involved in the local government elections. In a statement released on Friday, by the Police Force spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that the Force clarified that a Federal High Court order bars their participation in the Rivers State election, and they have adhered to the ruling. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had instructed the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State to ensure strict compliance with the court order, leading to the Force’s non-involvement in the election process. This…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred the nation’s second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas This follows a protest by members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly. In his 64th Independence Anniversary Speech on October 1, Tinubu had conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic( CFR) on the speaker and the deputy senate president. But this development led to a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on the President to confer a higher honour on the Speaker. In a…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) charges the people of Rivers State to firmly assert their sovereignty and Constitutional right by coming out enmasse to vote in the Saturday, October 5, 2024 Local Government Area election across the State. The PDP insists that the right to civil control of democratic activities in Rivers State as a federating unit belongs to the generality of the people of the State and such right, including participation in Local Government Area election cannot be abridged or appropriated by any person, group or organization under any guise whatsoever. The Party maintains that the people of Rivers…

Protesters swooped on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, early Friday. Chanting solidarity songs and slogans, the crowd demanded that the LGA election should proceed as scheduled. The election is billed for October 5 across the 23 LGAs of the state. The protesters set up canopies in the rain, sang and drummed, waved placards and banners, while closing a section of the busy road to traffic. The demonstration came hours after Siminalayi Fubara, Rivers governor, stormed the RSIEC office in the wee hours of Friday, restating that nothing would stop the local government election…

The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara said he stormed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) at 1 AM on Friday, to stop the Rivers State Police Command from taking over the premises. A video showed the governor in the company of his team, entering the premises of the RSIEC, while some men were seen alleging that the policemen were attempting to scale through the gates and strong room of the commission to allegedly cart away sensitive electoral materials meant for the conduct of Saturday’s local government election in the state. Fubara and his team comprising the Chief of Staff,…

Gilead Sciences has unveiled plans to make affordable versions of its groundbreaking HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, available in 120 low and middle-income countries. Lenacapavir, which is administered as a twice-yearly injection, has shown promising results in clinical trials, significantly reducing HIV infection rates among both women and men. In trials conducted in South Africa and Uganda, lenacapavir effectively prevented HIV infections among girls and women. A subsequent trial involving men across several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the US, indicated nearly complete protection. In a statement, Gilead announced that it has entered into non-exclusive, royalty-free…

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed retailer Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s second richest person. Zuckerberg’s net worth rose to $206 billion on Friday, a new record for him, behind electric car manufacturer Tesla CEO Elon Musk ($256 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jeff Bezos came third at $205 billion with a $2.6 billion decline on the day. Meta shares have risen 23% since reporting better-than-expected sales in the second quarter and touting its push into the type of large language models that power AI chatbots. The stock closed Thursday at an all-time high of $582.77. Meta…