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South Korea Completes Bida Rice Mill, Sept

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10 years ago

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The Korean International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has said that it would complete its rice mill project in Bida and hand over same to the Federal Government in September.
KOICA’s Country Director, Mr Jung Sang-hoon, told The Tide source in Abuja last Tuesday that the project was initiated in 2007, but was halted for a while due to technical challenges the company had.
According to him, operation resumed at the site of the project in 2013 and is presently 90 per cent complete.
“Your current government is stressing on the importance of agriculture and the modernisation of the agriculture sector.
“We (KOICA) have several projects; we have rice processing centre in Bida, and cassava processing centres in Kogi, Enugu and Ogun states.
“In case of the rice processing project, the delays came from our side; we were unable to find alternative replacements (contracting companies).
“In 2012, when I came, I made some reports.
“My new approach at the time was to find collective association of agriculture machinery production companies; they followed my advice and were able to resume.
“Now the process became very swift and prompt; virtually 90 per cent has been finished and recently, Korean technical experts installed machineries and their Nigerian counterparts were also there to learn.
“Within September, I believe it will be finished.“
Jung said KOICA was currently working closely with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Niger State Government on the project.
According to the country director, the agency has budgeted 1.8 million dollars (or N357,749,754.05) for the execution of the project while the Federal Government has set aside N41.3 million for the same purpose.
He said in 2008 KOICA and the National Food Reserve Agency signed the relevant documents that would inaugurate the project.
Jung also said that KOICA and the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) signed an agreement for the establishment of cassava mills in Enugu, Ogun, and Kogi states.
He said: “Unfortunately, the cassava mills project has not been implemented as we planned because of the delay in customs clearance on the side of Nigeria.
“KOICA is a government organisation and cannot hold the money down if we cannot justify
the reasons for doing so.
“So, we had no choice but to cancel the project because we could not justify the delay.
“The partner for that project was NAPEP which has been scrapped and we have no partners to use the funds at this stage.“
He said KOICA allocated 1.6 million dollars to the project while the Kogi Government and NAPEP allocated an additional 600 thousand dollars.
He said the Enugu and Ogun governments were yet to provide their counterpart funds.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to do all that was necessary to revive the project.
“On our side, I think we have adequately invested and would say this is a loss for the Nigerian government also.
“I think the government authorities should let us utilise the available funds by getting the contract and this can be done in one year,“ he said.
He said the cassava mill project has been extended to 2016.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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2 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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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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2 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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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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2 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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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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