Author: Vardiafrica

US tech billionaire Larry Ellison has overtaken Elon Musk as the world’s richest person. Ellison’s wealth surged after shares in the company, Oracle, which he co-founded and in which he owns a stake of 41%, rocketed in early trading on Wednesday, September 10. Oracle shares rose by more than 40% in early trading to $340 a share, valuing the business software company at $958bn (£707bn) and Ellison’s stake at $393bn, just ahead of Musk’s fortune of $384bn, according to Bloomberg’s billionaires index. The jump in the shares is the company’s largest single-day increase ever and the biggest ever one-day wealth increase on the Bloomberg index. Ellison…

Wednesday’s meeting marks his seventh visit to Paris since assuming office in May 2023, and his first since attending the BRICS summit in Brazil and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan earlier this year. So far, in the first nine months of 2025, the President has embarked on 15 international trips across 11 countries. These include summits, bilateral meetings, state visits, presidential inaugurations, and official leaves. On January 6, Tinubu kicked off his diplomatic itinerary with a visit to Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, to attend the inauguration of President-elect John Dramani Mahama on…

As part of efforts to tackle the reoccurring issue of unruly passengers’ the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has urged airline operators to ensure that any passenger who exhibits unruly behavior is not allowed to fly. The Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, gave the directive at a meeting with all domestic airlines to speak to regulatory issues around the issue, and that of passenger handling protocols; unresolved refund/compensation issues, Introduction of RFID bag tags and flight monitoring technology; Enforcement of phone switch-off instruction and protection for cabin crew and…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approved the executive of the African Democratic Party, ADC. The electoral umpire on its official website confirmed David Mark as the party’s National Chairman. Others are the National Secretary, a position held by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Mani, Ibrahim Ahmad is the National Treasurer of the party while Akibu Dalhatu serves as theNational Financial Secretary. The National Legal Adviser of the ADC is Prof. Oserheimen Aigberaodion Osunbor. Recall that following the decision of the coalition of political leaders to use the ADC as its vehicle for the 2027 general elections, a faction of the…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is constrained by law from sanctioning politicians who have begun campaigns ahead of the 2027 general election. Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of INEC, spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ roundtable on premature political campaigns. Yakubu said while section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibits campaigns earlier than 150 days before polling, the law provides no sanction for such breaches. “Quite correctly, Nigerians expect INEC, as registrar and regulator of political parties, to act in the face of the brazen breach of the law on early campaign. However, the major challenge for the commission is…

 Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the Na­tional Chairman of the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, said more governors in the country will likely decamp to the party ahead of the 2027 gen­eral election to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid. Speaking during the Bayelsa State chapter’s expanded stake­holders meeting and endorse­ment of President Tinubu in Yenagoa, the state capital, Yil­watda stated that because Presi­dent Tinubu has performed well in governance, more governors and senators have abandoned their parties and joined the APC to ensure that the president wins overwhelmingly in 2027. Yilwatda, represented by the APC Deputy National Chairman, South,…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned an alleged attempt by the acting clerk of the National Assembly to stop Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming at the Senate after what it called an unjust six months’ suspension imposed on her by the Senate leadership. The Senate clerk had sent a letter to the suspended senator saying she cannot resume after the completion of her six-months suspension since the matter is in court and until the legal process is completed, she cannot resume  for her legislative activities in the red chamber. In a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Debo…

As part of its mandate to drive research and development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) will be hosting a 2025 Technology Innovation Challenge Workshop. The workshop, themed “Stimulating Industry and Economic Growth through Indigenous Technology Innovation,” will take place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at the Pavilion by Golden Tulip, G.R.A, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, starting at 10:00 a.m. WAT. The event will run in a hybrid format, with physical attendance strictly by invitation and virtual participation open to the public through Zoom. Organised through NCDMB’s Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has reaffirmed its commitment to boosting education and human capacity development in the Niger Delta region. The NDDC Deputy Director of Education, Health and Social Services, Mrs. Florence Ediagbonya, stated this during a sensitisation rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of activities marking the International Literacy Day. She emphasised the importance of the event, explaining that the walk aimed to raise awareness about International Literacy Day and to showcase the Commission’s ongoing efforts to promote literacy across the Niger Delta region. Ediagbonya highlighted several initiatives of the Commission under Dr Samuel Ogbuku’s…

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its strike following an agreement with the management of Dangote Refinery to recognise workers’ rights to unionise The deal was reached at a closed-door meeting convened by the Department of State Services (DSS) and attended by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Acting NLC General Secretary, Benson Upah, confirmed the outcome, while the Ministry of Labour said it would issue a formal statement soon. The resolution followed a conciliation meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday,…