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Nigeria Adopts New Visa Policy

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The Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador
Sonni Yusuf, has said that with the new Nigeria

visa policy, investors and high value businessmen can obtain
long visa from one to five years.

Yusuf told members of foreign diplomatic missions in South
Africa at Nigeria’s 52nd Independence Anniversary luncheon in Pretoria on
Tuesday that Nigeria had achieved 24 hours timeline for business registration.

“Specifically we have achieved a 24 hours timeline for
business registration for local and foreign investors, improved the efficiency
of our ports for clearing of goods to under a week, and put in place measures
to ensure faster repatriation of profits by foreign investors.

“In addition, we have in place a new visa policy that makes
it easier for investors and high value businessmen to obtain long visa from one
to five years, while licences in our mining sector are obtainable in less than
a month, Yusuf said.

He said the development is anchored on the re-focusing the
country’s foreign policy on economic diplomacy.

“It is because it is Nigeria’s primary objective to be among
the top twenty economies in the world by year 2020,’’ Yusuf said.

He expressed appreciation of the government and people of
Nigerian to the country’s development partners and friends for keeping faith
with country in view of the country’s economic potential.

“To our host, the people and government of Republic of South
Africa, the sustained progress we have made since the establishment of
diplomatic relation between our countries holds abundant promise for the
development of our two great countries and the Africa continent.

“We shall continue to strive to maintain our mutual resolve
for consultation, cooperation and collaboration at bilateral and multilateral
level for the benefit our people and Africa,’’Yusuf said.

Dr Cocek Pekade, the Director-General, Department of Social
Development, said that the friendship between Nigeria and South Africa predated
the post –apartheid era.

“The immense contribution of the Nigerian government to the
eradication of the apartheid regime and the leadership role Nigeria played at
the sub-regional and continental levels as well as at the global level can
never be over emphasized,’’ Pekade said.

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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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