Author: Vardiafrica

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has removed head coach Bev Priestman following her suspension by Canada Soccer over a drone spying scandal that has thrust the 2020 Olympic gold medalists into a bad spotlight. The COC revealed Thursday night, July 25 that the Canadian women’s squad will be led by assistant coach Andy Spence for the remainder of the Paris games, the COC said “Over the past 24 hours, additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Canada Soccer CEO & General Secretary Kevin Blue said in an emailed…

President Bola Tinubu has called for calm over the planned peaceful nationwide protest.  While admitting he was part of protesters against dictatorship in the past, he said he did so peacefully. “During the military era, we made our voices heard against dictatorship, and I was part of the group that engaged in peaceful protests without resorting to the destruction of property,” the president said on Thursday when he received a Letter of Credence from the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr. at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. “We have worked hard to ensure 25 years of…

The Department of State Services (DSS) is asking persons and groups yet to identify themselves in the public as leaders of the plot to stage a nationwide protest to shelve their plans and eschew any form of proposed rage, anarchy, and spoliation In a statement signed by the Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Peter Afunaya, the Service says that while peaceful protest is a democratic right of citizens, it has confirmed a sinister plan by some elements to infiltrate the protest and use it to cause chaos and extreme violence in the land. The statement added that the…

As the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for August draws close, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday entered an emergency closed-door meeting with top traditional rulers, security top brass in his government and governors of his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The high-delegation meeting was held at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The APC governors were led to the meeting by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma. Some first-class traditional rulers were spotted at the meeting with the President. They include the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; the Sultan…

The military has advised against any kind of violence ahead of the anticipated statewide demonstration against the nation’s economic woes. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday warned that the military won’t allow anarchy to befall Nigeria. He made hints that the protest organizers want to replicate the previous rally in Kenya, an East African nation, that turned into anarchy. According to General Buba, while residents are free to air their complaints, the military will not support violent demonstrations or assemblies. He added that the military has uncovered plots…

Five workers died when a building under construction collapsed on Thursday at 13, Wilson Mba Street, Arowojobe Estate, Maryland, Lagos. The building under construction collapsed at 3:49am on Thursday in the Maryland area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) boss, Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the development in a statement. The emergency responder said five persons, all adult males, were rescued alive from the building collapse site. “The Agency responded to the above incident and discovered that a set of three terraces under construction had collapsed. “Search and rescue operations began immediately. Five adult males were recovered…

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has vowed to ensure the conviction and imprisonment of any serving local government chairmen or councillors tampering with the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations to the LGs. He disclosed this on Thursday at the 17th-anniversary annual lecture event of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in Abuja, attended by Nairametrics. His latest reaction comes a few days after he instituted an LG autonomy suit at the Supreme Court and defeated the state governors’ legal team who unanimously opposed it at the apex court. …

The Senate has revealed plans to summon the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Dangote Group, and Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri among others, for questioning over alleged economic sabotage in the country’s petroleum industry. This was made known by the Leader of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate ad-hoc committee on “Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry” at a media briefing on Thursday. The chairman disclosed that the 14-member committee constituted on July 23 would investigate billions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance of the…

Two weeks after the Supreme Court granted financial autonomy to local governments (LGs) in Nigeria, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has declared that the electoral umpire is capable of successfully conducting LG elections if saddled with the responsibility by law. The INEC chief made this known when he appeared before a Joint National Assembly Committee on Electoral Matters to present the Ondo and Edo off-cycle elections budget on Thursday. He, however, raised the question of funding for their by-elections in the country. State governments currently organise LG elections in their respective domains with the ruling parties…

Governors from the 36 states of the federation are currently convening in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, they are meeting at the NGF secretariat in the FCT. Some of the governors have already started to arrive at the meeting venue. Those already present at the venue are Governors Lawal Dauda (Zamfara), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), and Alex Otti (Abia). This is as the governors of Enugu, Peter Mbah and Borno States, Babagana Zulum, sent their deputies to represent them The agenda of the meeting is currently not made…