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BPP Probes Road Contract Award In Edo

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16 years ago

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The Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP, in the presidency, Abuja may have commenced investigations into the circumstance that led to the award of a multibillion naira road contract in Edo by the NDDC after it refused to grant the commission a valid due process certificate of ‘’No objection’’ in favour of Messrs Caesars Engineering and construction limited for the construction of the Obazogwe Niro-Ikumweke-Idunwebo- Abudu Road in Orihiomnwon Local Council area of Edo State, with the total sum of N2,979,175,643.06.

The BPP decision is sequel to the court order halting further construction work on the road project pending the determination of the matter before the court brought by Messrs. Madona construction limited, Benin. Investigations show that it was the firm of Meaars. Madona construction limited, Benin city, which the BPP granted the NDDC a due process certificate of ‘’No objection’’ for the award of the contract for the construction of the road in the total sum of N2,979,175,643/06, ‘’with a completion period of 18 months, being the lowest evaluated responsive bidder.’’

The BPP also advised the NDDC to ask the contractor to submit a performance bond as a precondition to the contract award, in a decision signed by Messrs. Emeka Ezeh, the Director-general of BPP and five others after sighting such documents as the advertisement for the job, the 2009 appropriation bill, the checklist for project procurement review, bidders bill of quantities, financial bid records, attendance of pre-qualification exercise by contractors, tender evaluation report and drawings.

It was gathered that Messrs. Caesars Engineering and Construction limited tendered sum for construction of the road, was found by the BPP to be wrong and the BPP corrected same bringing the total to N4.7billion.

Source said at the time the NDDC asked the BPP for a due process certificate of ‘’No objection ‘’ for the Obozogwe Niro-Ikumweke-Idunwebo-Iguobodo-Abudu Road in Orhiomnwon Local council area of Edo state, it also did so for such other roads across the state such as the 12.1km Oben-Umogun and the Ulohor/ Ogba link road and bridges.

The BPP denied the NDDC the certificate it asked for in favour of Messrs. A,C, Egbe in the total sum of N3,767, 443,243.80 since its tendered sum of N3,005,182/70 was wrongly computed, it granted the NDDC the certificate for the ward of the contract for their construction of the 122.1km Oben- UMOGUN road with a completion period of 26 months to Messrs Askay construction company limited. In the same vein, the BPP had denied the certificate NDDC asked for in favour of Messrs. Xapon limited in the total sum of N2,191,528,134.14. for the Ulohor/Ogba link road and bridges, as the corrected tendered sum based on the original scope stood at N2,259,683.88. instead it granted the NDDC the certificate in favour Messrs. Jireh Link Nigeria Limited in the total sum of N1,262,915,628.71 with an unspecified completion period for being the lowest evaluation bidders.

 

Ben-ose Ogbemudia, Benin City

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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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