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Oil Workers Want End To Sector Crises

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L-R President  International  Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce, Mr Scott Eisner, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Executive Vice President and Head of  International  Affairs, US Chambers of  Commerce, Mr Myron Brilliant and Director Policy Africa, U S Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Lala Ndiaye,  during  a courtesy  call on the minister  in Abuja recently.

L-R President International Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce, Mr Scott Eisner, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, US Chambers of Commerce, Mr Myron Brilliant and Director Policy Africa, U S Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Lala Ndiaye, during a courtesy call on the minister in Abuja recently.

Oil workers in Rivers
State, while expressing concern over the incessant crises in the sector, have said it is only through collective effort that the issues could be resolved.
A one-time President of Trade Union Congress in Nigeria (TUC) Peter Isele, in a chat with The Tide, said the problems were innumerable and could not be solved by any one individual, union, group or government, saying, it has to be by collective efforts”.
Speaking on some of the challenges plaguing the sector, Isele stated that, corruption, subsidy payment to marketers, pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, poor state of the refineries and policy abuse, were some of the challenges inhibiting the smooth operation of the sector.
Another respondent, Mr. Denis Tamuno, a retired oil worker identified duplication of roles and interference of supposed regulatory bodies.
According to Tamuno, “the roles of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation are interwoven at some point and seem to raise role conflicts among these groups.”
He noted that government has failed to recognise that these bodies could be merged, so as to give the workers confidence  in the discharge of their duties saying, “as it is, the workers could interpret these functions to suit themselves and come up with resistance if they perceive that their fundamental human rights were being trampled upon.”
Also responding, Mr Barry Gboele, complained that government comes up with all sorts of demands on oil companies without due consultations, which burden falls on the workers.
“Take for instance the restructuring of NNPC, how  can government tell us that we, the workers cannot be involved in the restracturing of  NNPC, but we are expected to be involved in the implementations of their decisions,” he  asked.
He added, that the issues in the oil sector could be resolved if all the stakeholders could  form a common front for the good of all involved.

 

Tonye Nria-Dappa

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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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