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Nation-Building: CIBN Seeks Collaboration With Stakeholders

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The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Lagos branch has called on all stakeholders, government agencies and the media to collaborate in building the Nigeria economy, especially at this period of global financial meltdown.

Speaking recently in Lagos, to formally announce the institute’s up-coming Bankers Night at July 30, 2009, Herbert Okumagba President of the organising committee for the Bankers Night and executive director of Oceanic Bank said the country is endowed with raw materials that could be transformed into finished products if probably harnessed.

He said that the Nigeria economy is very fragile, especially the financial industry, and that it is only a joint venture in building the economy that could enable Nigeria realise its vision of 2020.

According to him, Nigeria has never experienced some natural disaster or toxic assets which most countries in the world could not find solution to. “The problem that Nigeria has is mainly with the media. It is what you call yourself that people calls you. Our media industry has not played their role in projecting the image of the country positively. Most advanced countries of the world experienced worst things that we could record here, but our press tends to blow things out of proportion. There is need however to collaborate with all other stakeholders to build this economy”, he said.

Okumagba therefore explained that the topic chosen Global Financial Meltdown in Africa, asking players in the financial industry, have been assembled as key speakers at the event.

Explaining dignitaries at the occasion, Okumagba said the guest speakers are two erudite Nigerian, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, former Nigeria Minister of Education and the present Vice President with World Bank in charge of Africa and Asia and Bode Agusto, former director general and special adviser to the president on Budget Matters, government agencies and other stakeholders in the country.

Analysing why the choice of the topic for the Bankers Night, he said the current global financial crisis is a clarions call to all nations, particularly developing and emerging economies like Nigeria to address urgently fundamentals socio-political issues, adding also that if the developed and advanced economies think they can survive all alone without due consideration for the state of health of the emerging developing and weak economies of the world is a fallacy which realities are already impacting on everybody.

At a recent workshop organised by CIBN Lagos branch on risk management, Mr. Stephen Onasanya, Group managing director and chief executive of First Bank Plc has called for the implementation of sound risk management practices approached from a global, integrated perspective in order to tackle the deepening and emerging risk issues in the Nigerian environment.

Onasanya said cautious optimism in new credit creation is advised Sound Corporate Governance practices must be entrenched to support risk management structures of the banking industry is to successfully wade through these difficult times.

According to him, the global economic meltdown has become a major topical issue in recent times, in view of its impact on existing businesses, government policies, new development initiatives, rate of employment, standard of living, credit creation and recovering efforts.

He noted that its impact has, however, varied for countries and business sectors, adding that the genesis of the economic crisis could be traced to the “sub-prime, Mortgage crisis” which brought about the collapse of major financial institutions, and the take-over of others, in the United States.

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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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