Connect with us

Business

Yuletide: No Major Casualty On marine Transport In Rivers – Operators

Published

on

Workers resuming from New Year holiday at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, yesterday.

Workers resuming from New Year holiday at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, yesterday.

Marine transport operators plying the Rivers State Capital, Port Harcourt, to other riverine communities of the state and neighbouring Bayelsa State have beaten their chests that there were no major marine casualties that involved loss of lives during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Some officials of the boat operators who spoke with The Tide correspondent said despite the rush and crowd of passengers, they did not increase the transport fare, in order to enable their commuters travel to the country side and enjoy the yuletide with their loved ones.

Deinbo Davids, chairman of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Abonnema Wharf Unit, said that they were not tempted to increase the transport fare in spite of the large number of passengers during the Christmas and New Year period.

Davids also hinted that there was no incident of boat capsize or sea pirates attack, and gave thanks to God for the safety of lives and property of their passengers.

His counterpart at Nembe Waterfront, Comrade David Teke also disclosed that there was no increase in transport fare to some Bayelsa State communities, although they experienced low patronage during the season.

“There is no cause for alarm as there was no report of incidents from our boat drivers,” he said, but reiterated his earlier appeal for JTF patrol boats on the seas to curb the activities of sea pirates and armed robbers.

Chief Sunday Opeye, the chairman of Okrika Speedboat Owners Association, however noted that although there was no increase in fares, but four of their boats were involved in minor accidents as the water hyacinths, pure water packets and other dirt that were thrown into the river caused the boats to capsize.

Opeye said only one person was injured as a result of the boat collapsized and further appealed to the government for the clean-up of wrecks along the waterways as well as check the indiscriminate packing of tugboats and other marine vessels at Abonnema waterfront, which he said is posing a great danger to marine boat operators in the area.

Also commenting, the Beach Master, Bonny Marine Transport Association, Mr Henry Jumbo said they still collect N1,500 as transport fare to Bonny and its neighbouring communities, but expressed dismay that within December last year, Sea Pirates operated on the sea route and took the boat with their occupants to a mangrove and carted away their belongings both cash and handsets.

Jumbo appealed to the authorities to beef-up security on the sea to forestall further occurrence and ensure safety of passengers’ lives and property. Generally, The Tide correspondent gathered that there were no serious boat mishaps or sea piracy during the yuletide season.

Continue Reading

Business

Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

Business

NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Business

FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Trending