Author: Vardiafrica

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday he had appointed the world’s first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make it “corruption-free”. Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama introduced the new “member”, named “Diella” — “sun” in Albanian. “Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by artificial intelligence,” Rama said. Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them “100-per cent corruption-free and every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will…

One person has been confirmed dead after the collapse of a three-storey building in Alagomeji, located in the Yaba area of Lagos State. The ill-fated building, located at 333 Borno Street, Alagomeji, caved in on Friday night. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in its Day 2 incident report on Saturday, confirmed that the body of a male victim was pulled from the rubble during ongoing rescue efforts. The update shared on its official X handle disclosed that emergency responders, including officials of NEMA, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and the Fire Service, remain on-site. “So far, four…

Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda ‘Baci’ Bassey has completed her ‘World Record attempt for the largest pot of jollof rice’ during an eight-hour open cooking session at Eko Hotels and Suites, VI, Lagos. With more than five tonnes of rice, tomato concentrate, cooking oil, and onions, the 28-year-old chef seeks to clinch the title for the biggest jollof dish ever made. Baci said she poured 4,000 kilogrammes of basmati rice, 500 cartons of tomato concentrate, 750 kilogrammes of oil, and 600 kilogrammes of onions into a six-metre-wide steel cauldron. The Akwa Ibom-born chef explained that although she initially planned to cook…

As the six-month emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State on March 18 draws to a close five days from now, precisely September 18, all eyes are on the State’s Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), who yesterday insisted he has delivered on the president’s mandate. The administrator said this yesterday, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, when the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) presented a report of the recently concluded local government elections to him.Ibas pointed to restored order, relative peace, and critical interventions as evidence that the extraordinary measures taken under his watch have…

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has claimed that food prices across the country has crashed following President Bola Tinubu’s emergency measures on food security. Kyari stated this while speaking on Arise TV on Friday September 12. The Minister mentioned that President Tinubu inherited a difficult situation in 2023 when the president declared a state of emergency on food security, describing it as a “clarion call” to rescue the sector. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came at a time when there was huge structural default in terms of food security and that is why he had to…

An Air Peace pilot and a co-pilot have tested positive for taking hard drugs and alcohol, a report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), has shown. The Bureau said that the crew positive for the substances after the aircraft they flew was involved in a runway excursion at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025. “Initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption. A cabin crew member also tested positive for THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. These results are being reviewed under the human performance…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that 14 associations have been cleared to proceed to the next stage of their applications to be registered as political parties in Nigeria. The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this on Thursday, after the commission’s meeting, said that 171 applications were received. He explained that each request was assessed on the basis of its prima facie compliance with the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act…

Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has directed the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) to expedite action on the disbursement of Federal Government’s ₦250 billion credit support for smallholder farmers at a single-digit interest rate. Accordingly, he told the PFSCU to come up with an implementation roadmap for the disbursement of the funds, saying it was necessary to avoid further delays and ensure that the target beneficiaries of the initiative were reached. Senator Shettima gave the directive on Thursday during the 6th meeting of the PFSCU Steering Committee, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “On the Bank of Agriculture ₦250…

The much-awaited free direct supply of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to retainers, petrol stations and other large consumers by Dangote Refinery will commenced on Monday, September 15, 2025. The initiative by the private crude oil refiner based in Lagos was earlier scheduled to begin on Friday, August 15, 2025, but due to logistics issues, it did not start. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Dangote Group on Thursday night, it was disclosed that the programme will finally kick-off next Monday. Dangote Refinery planned to execute this free fuel delivery across the nation with 4,000 CNG-powered…

In another bold move to reform the educational system in Nigeria, the Federal Government is now wielding the big stick, insisting that secondary school teachers in the country must obtain proper certification, otherwise schools that employ them won’t be allowed to serve as an examination centre. In a policy directive issued Sept 11, 2025 and addressed to the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa disclosed that “the Federal Ministry of Education has directed that in line with Government policy to strengthen professionalism in the teaching profession, the accreditation…