Author: Vardiafrica

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara visited the site of the tanker explosion that killed an unconfirmed number of persons in Eleme Local Government Area. The Governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Police, Olatunji Disu,and the Commissioner for Energy, Maximus Nwafor The inferno engulfed over 50 vehicles, with some bodies found burnt beyond recognition in cars, along the road, and in a nearby drainage. Governor Fubara, after inspecting the devastating site, directed security agencies to conduct a thorough assessment of the accidents to facilitate the provision of aid to victims’ families. He said, “Yesterday around 7-8pm, we go information about…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed renowned banker and businessman, Mr. Jim Ovia, as the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). The appointment was disclosed in a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday.Ngelale noted that the President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds. According to the Special Adviser, Ovia…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says logistics issues were responsible for the resurfacing of fuel queues in some parts of the country. But it says the issues have been resolved, according to a statement by its spokesperson Olufemi Soneye. “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) wishes to clarify that the tightness in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is as a result of logistics issues and that they have been resolved,” the Thursday evening statement read. “It also wishes to reiterate that the prices of petroleum…

Festus Osifo, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), says organised labour’s expectation that the federal government will announce a new minimum wage on May 1 is unrealistic. In January, the government set up a 37-member tripartite committee on the minimum wage.  Subsequently, organised labour submitted a demand of N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers, and urged the government to announce the new minimum wage on Workers’ Day.  Speaking with NAN on Friday, Osifo said negotiations with the federal government on a new minimum wage are ongoing. “The negotiation by the tripartite committee is still ongoing. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447,000…

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says Dana Airline has been flying with an unhealthy status for a while now. Speaking during an interview on Channels television on Thursday, Keyamo said an audit report carried out under his predecessor confirmed the airline’s unhealthy status. He said the internal reports, which were done two years ago, showed that Dana Air was unfit to fly, adding that the consistent incidents experienced by the airline made him call for a suspension. Replying to the criticisms that trailed the suspension, Keyamo said he never wrote to the airline but instructed the Nigeria…

Telecommunication operators in Nigeria have said that their services are overdue for price increments as they have not implemented any upward price adjustment in the last 11 years. The operators stated this in a joint statement by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). The two associations represent Mobile Network Operators and telecommunication companies in Nigeria. According to them, the telecom industry is the only industry that has not reviewed its prices despite the rising inflation in the country and other economic realities that warrant increment. They blamed this…

A 54-year-old grandmother has successfully received the first-ever combined pig kidney and mechanical heart pump transplant. Lisa Pisano, a New Jersey native with end-stage kidney disease and heart failure, was not a candidate for heart and kidney transplant due to the shortage of human organ donations and chronic health conditions that minimized her likelihood of a good outcome. She said: “All I want is the opportunity to have a better life. “After I was ruled out for a human transplant, I learned I didn’t have a lot of time left. “My doctors thought there may be a chance I could…

Prime Minister of Tanzania, Kassim Majaliwa, has announced the shutdown of five hydroelectric stations in the country, in order to reduce excess electricity supply in the national grid. Mr Majaliwa said the main plant alone, which is Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, has already generated enough electricity to power major cities, including the country’s main commercial hub, Dar es Salaam. The BBC quoted an official of Tanesco, the power company run by the country as saying, “We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now.” Following…

The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite today, has set aside the warrant of arrest it earlier issued on the 31st of January, 2024 against the Chief of Staff to Rivers State Governor Edison Ehie and five others. The court agreed with the submissions of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana & Oluwole Aladedoye, who represented the applicants, that it lacks jurisdiction to have granted the ex-parte application brought by the Inspector General of Police (I.G.P) against Ehie and five others because there was no charge pending before his court. The court therefore…

The money laundering trial of a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, could not proceed on Thursday owing to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos. Justice Aneke was said to be away on an official assignment, prompting the adjournment of the case to July 1 for the continuation of trial. Fayose is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for an alleged N6.9bn fraud and money laundering. He was first arraigned on Oct. 22, 2018, before Justice Mojisola Olatotegun, alongside his company, Spotless Investment Ltd, on an…