Author: Vardiafrica

The House of Representatives has denied demanding a bribe from the Binance Group following a recent allegation by the cryptocurrency company. This is as the House has also resolved to launch an investigation into the escape of the Binance Executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the National Security Adviser’s custody in March. Binance had on Tuesday stated that some unknown persons in Nigeria, demanded huge payments in digital currency “to make their problems in the country go away”. The company had pointed out that its representatives were approached after leaving a meeting with the House Committee on Financial Crimes. However, the House…

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released the list of licenced Deposit Money Banks operating in the country Providing insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria, the list was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday. Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard…

Ten years after the launch of the Abuja centenary city, the Senate has opened up an investigation into the failed $18.5bn public-private sector-led project. It is seeking a revival of the lofty project under the 10th Assembly. The Senate has therefore set up an ad-hoc committee to be chaired by the deputy Senate President, Sen. Barau Jibrin The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Yisa Oyelola representing Kwara South, noted that the original estimated investment for the Abuja Centenary Economic City project in 2014 pegged at $18.5bn, was designated as a free trade zone under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian…

Officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have announced an ambitious plan to establish a regional counter-terrorism force with an estimated budget of $2.4 billion. Abdel-Fatau Musah,the ECOWAS commissioner, made the disclosure at a three-day meeting of the bloc’s training centres of excellence in Abuja, Nigeria. In the fight against terrorism across West Africa, ECOWAS identified three training centres of excellence to spearhead the establishment of a regional standby counter-terrorism force. The centres include the National Defence College of Nigeria, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre of Ghana, and the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix…

President Bola Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after trips to The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. On April 22, Tinubu left Abuja, the country’s capital city, for The Netherlands on an official visit. Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the president was visiting The Netherlands at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. After the engagements in The Netherlands, Tinubu proceeded to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to attend a special World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting between April 28 and 29. Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, had said the president and his aides will return to Nigeria on Wednesday.…

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have demanded that members of the House of Assembly resume impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Making this known during a Press Conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the party’s caretaker Chairman, Tony Okocha, said the party will not sit back and watch the governor insult President Bola Tinubu. He further threatened that if the Assembly members failed to restart the impeachment proceedings against the governor, he would invoke Party discipline upon them. “It’ll be foolhardy for us to sit down and see someone way less than Mr President insult…

As the nationwide supply and distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol continues to improve, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has cautioned against panic buying, saying it has over 1.5 billion litres of products in stock. A statement issued by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye in Abuja on Tuesday, said the 1.5 billion litres equals 30 days of product sufficiency. The company said it had monitored filling stations across several states, including Lagos and the FCT, and has noticed that fuel queues have since thinned out, “a development that will keep improving daily…

Russian President Vladimir Putin was Tuesday sworn into office at a lavish Kremlin ceremony for a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before. The 71-year-old has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition. In his inauguration speech, Putin said that Russia would emerge from the current “difficult” period victorious and stronger, as he took power for a record fifth presidential term. “We will pass through this difficult, decisive period with dignity and become even stronger,” Putin said at his inauguration ceremony at the…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged President Bola Tinubu, to immediately direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to withdraw the cybersecurity levy on Nigerians, saying it patently violates the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments. In a statement signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the Tinubu administration must within 48 hours withdraw the patently arbitrary and unlawful CBN directive purportedly imposing cybersecurity levy on Nigerians. SERAP also urged him, to stop Nuhu Ribadu and the office of the National Security Adviser…

A Japanese consortium recently unveiled the world’s first high-speed 6G prototype device. It can transmit data at a whopping 100 gigabits per second (Gbps), covering more than 300 feet. That’s a 20x improvement over the current 5G technology. The prototype device was a result of collaboration among Japan’s leading telecom companies, including DOCOMO, NTT Corporation, NEC Corporation, and Fujitsu. The consortium announced the successful test results on April 11th where the companies revealed that the prototype device can achieve speeds of 100 Gbps indoors using the 100 gigahertz (GHz) band and outdoors using the 300 GHz band These tests were…