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Stakeholders Draft New Policy For Disaster Management

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Stakeholders in disaster management in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has drafted a new policy on national disaster management framework that will help Nigerians respond to issues of disaster and emergency.

  The Director-General of NEMA, AVM, Audu Bida (rtd) noted this on Wednesday in Abuja that the need for effective collaborative synergy among stakeholders is to ensure that disaster risk is reduced among others, which has prompted NEMA to undertake a process that will go round the entire country.

Mr Audu Bida said that the preparation of the draft which involves stakeholders is to prepare, reduce and mitigate against the occurrence of all forms of disaster, be it natural or man-made.

“The need for the framework is to identify, specify and align with responsibilities involved and provide a coherent, transparent and inclusive policy for disaster management appropriate for the country as a whole”, he said.

The Director-General also said that the framework is to create a situation where the sense of belonging and ownership by the people is initiated.

He revealed that the line is subsumed by the fact that relevant players in disaster management must be consulted to make inputs in order to have a holistic and workable framework which in the long run would be managed by them.

There is need for all stakeholders in disaster management to make input into the draft document so that it will be open to all that is why we insist on all, disaster managers making input in the drafting of the national framework.

He also said that the disaster management is an all embracing affair that connects as all with a wide multi-disciplinary, muti-stakeholding, multi re-sources, and multi-jurisdictional imperative issue, bringing together the federal, states, local governments, NGOs, private sectors and the communities with respective roles and responsibilities to play in the matter of disaster and emergencies.

The imperativeness of sustainable coordination and integration of all activities necessary to build, sustain and improve the industry’s capabilities to prepare for, protect against, respond to and recover from natural or man-made disaster is paramount to the agency he disclosed.

Bida maintained that the desire of the agency is to strengthen the capability of the Federal, State, Local Government institutions and communities to mitigate disasters in the country, which is part of government effort in managing disaster in the country.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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