Author: Vardiafrica

Benin has passed a constitutional amendment creating a second chamber and extending presidential and legislative term limits. It’s too late for Benin’s President Patrice Talon, but the country’s National Assembly has adopted a constitutional amendment extending presidential and legislative terms from five years to seven. The change comes into effect next year. Talon has just seven months left in his second term and the two-term presidential limit remains unchanged. The reform also creates a Senate expected to have between 25 and 30 members. According to the amendment, the body will draw on the experience of former political and security figures,…

Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun, Agbu Kefas of Taraba and Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers have not arrived at the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party taking place at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Adamasingba, Lagos.  Their absence has fueled concerns within the party, especially as the convention is already overshadowed by conflicting court orders and the wider crisis rocking the PDP. Although neither Adeleke nor Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang has openly announced a decision to leave the PDP, signs emerged on Saturday, November 15, suggesting they may not be participating in the event. Delegates from Osun arrived in…

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 Local Organising Committee (LOC) together with the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), has announced free electronic visas for fans travelling to the tournament. Electronic visas to enter Morocco — obtained through the YALLA app — are now free of charge for supporters attending the competition, which runs from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026. The announcement comes as the global demand grows for Africa’s biggest event with more fans booking their seat on CAF’s ticketing Platform (tickets.cafonline.com) A Fan ID is mandatory for entry to all stadiums and official…

President Bola Tinubu has renewed the appointment of Mohammed Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), by another five years. A statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, relayed that Marwa will remain NDLEA boss until 2031. Marwa, a former military governor of Lagos, was first appointed to the position by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, after serving as the chairman of the presidential advisory committee for the elimination of drug abuse from 2018 to 2020. Commenting on the reappointment, Tinubu urged Marwa not to relent in the…

Almost every district in Kyiv was under “massive” attack Friday morning, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said, with one death reported and 30 residential buildings damaged across the city. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has in recent months intensified its attacks on infrastructure, particularly targeting Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems, as well as residential areas. Missiles and drones were targeting critical infrastructure in the capital on Friday, said Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the Kyiv regional military administration. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called it a “massive enemy attack”, saying air defence forces were in operation. An…

The house of representatives has asked the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to halt its transition to computer-based test (CBT) for the 2026 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE). The lawmakers issued the directive on Thursday after noting that many schools, particularly those in rural communities, lack the facilities and personnel required to implement a full shift to CBT. The decision came after lawmakers adopted a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Kelechi Wogu during Thursday’s plenary session, which was chaired by the speaker, Abbas Tajudeen. The motion was titled “Need for Intervention to Avert the Pending Massive Failure…

The Senate has commenced an investigation into the generation and utilization of stamp duty revenue across the country, in what lawmakers describe as a major step toward improving fiscal transparency and plugging revenue leakages. Speaking at a media conference, the Chairman of the Senate committee on Public Accounts Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, said it aims to uncover how funds accrued from stamp duties have been collected, managed and disbursed over the years. Senator Wadada said the investigation aligns with the Senate’s broader commitment to promoting accountability and ensuring that all public funds are used for the welfare of Nigerians. “We…

The Federal Government has announced the re-absorption of 2,141 Civil War veterans into the military pensions scheme. These veterans, who fought on the Nigerian side but retired before completing the stipulated years of service required for a pension, will now be eligible to collect their military pensions. The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, who disclosed this in Abuja, emphasized that this gesture “signifies a powerful demonstration of fairness and national reconciliation, aimed at ensuring all sacrifices of veterans are duly recognised.” The successful enrollment of these veterans, who fought on the Nigerian side but retired prematurely, ensures that their…

President Donald Trump has finally signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, hours after the House of Representatives voted to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers and revive a hobbled air-traffic control system. The Republican-controlled chamber passed the package by a vote of 222-209, with Trump’s support largely keeping his party together in the face of vehement opposition from House Democrats, who are angry that a long standoff launched by their Senate colleagues failed to secure a deal to extend federal health insurance subsidies. Trump’s signature on the bill, which cleared the…

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday assured Nigerians that the nation will overcome its current economic challenges. Tinubu, who spoke at the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) Conference in Abuja, said that poverty would not be Nigeria’s milestone. “We may be poor; poverty is not going to be our milestone. We are going to come out of it,” he said. The President explained that though the reforms his administration had undertaken were challenging, they were designed to place Nigeria’s economy on a strong and enduring footing. “On our part, this administration remains committed to securing our nation, sustaining economic stability, and…