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FG Adopts New Strategy To Tackle Oil Spillage

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The Federal Government has said it will adopt a new innovation to tackle the menace of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region.
The Environment Minister, Hajia Amina Mohammed, disclosed this at a workshop on Oil Spill Trajectory Modelling in Maritime Environment held yesterday in Abuja.
She said the Federal Government would adopt the technology through the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to aid in quick response to oil spill disaster in the oil producing states.
The minister, who was represented by NOSDRA Director General, Peter Idabor, explained that the trajectory modelling technique would help determine oil spill directions in the maritime environment and devising a quick response.
She said due to increasing level of oil spillage caused by activities of illegal bunkering, artisanal refining, oil theft and armed militancy, the trajectory modelling would as well reduce impact of environmental degradation.
Her words: “The use of oil spill modelling techniques in predicting the direction of movement of spilled oil in the marine environment is quite a laudable innovation, although it is difficult to accurately predict or simulate actual events, this tool presents a very valuable opportunity for both oil spill preparedness and response activities.
“There is a growing level of oil spill incidents caused majorly by activities of illegal bunkering, artisanal refining, oil theft and armed militancy. There is need for development of capacity to deal with the challenges that may be presented by oil spill, this workshop is therefore timely and a welcome development.”
She restated the Federal Government’s commitment to completing the Ogoni land clean-up exercise and extending such to other parts of the country affected by oil spillage.
“As a demonstration of the commitment of this administration to oil spill management in Nigeria, His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari recently kick started the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoni land.
“This gesture will be extended to other parts of Niger Delta that have been devastated as a result of oil spillage and indeed across the country,
“The Federal Government is committed to working with the other stakeholders within the Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) framework to adequately prepare and rapidly respond to any eventual trans-boundary oil spill incident within the region and also to offer support to any of the cooperating countries,” she added.
The Consultant, Oil Spill Response, Mr. Liam Harrington, in his remarks, explained that about two to three dimensional models would be used to check the movement of oil spill on the surface or underneath the water level.
He said with the innovation, NOSDRA can perform its mandate as expected and respond swiftly to oil spill related occurrences.
“We have a number of models ready to be engaged, we can use three and two dimensional models to look at the oil spill movement on the surface or underneath the water surface, as well as model how the oil changes overtime, that has key impact in the response strategies you want to employ.
“Oil spill response is an advocacy role, so we are constantly going out and talking to various organizations. We have agreement with all the response organizations around the world, we communicated constantly about the development in oil spill modelling,” he added.

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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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