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Stakeholders, FG, Meet Over Fuel Scarcity

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16 years ago

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Stakeholders in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry are to meet with the Federal Government in an effort to address the lingering fuel crisis in the country.

 The meeting, which was scheduled at the instance of the Federal Government will have in attendance importers and bankers and would discuss modalities on how to bridge the distribution gap created by the inability of banks to finance the importation of premium motor spirit on the one hand and importers’ refusal to supply products to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on account of huge debt owed the importers.

This has resulted to endless queues at the filling stations across the country as marketers who mostly depend on NNPC for their supplies have depleted their stocks.

The meeting will also fashion out ways through which banks can provide credit for oil marketers and how NNPC’s suppliers can also extend credit facilities in order to give the corporation enough time to pay the debt.

The NNPC has not recovered from the recent fire outbreak that affected its depot at Mosimi in addition to pipeline vandalisation and tanker drivers’ strike which have disrupted flow of products to the depots.

 Speaking during a facility tour of a tank farm operated by Integrated Oil and Gas Limited in Lagos, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, said government is aware of the distribution gap and is working towards bringing an end to the recurring fuel crisis.

 He explained that he was embarking on the facility tour to see how government would utilise the existing capacities in the country to ensure that the queues disappear at the filling stations.

According to Ajumogobia, government would exhaust every available opportunity to bring sanity to the petroleum industry.

Meanwhile, in its bid to ease the distribution challenges, the NNPC says about 18 million litres of premium motor spirit otherwise know as petrol, are currently being distributed to fuel marketers from its depot at Ore, Ondo State.

According to NNPC’s  Group General Manager, Public Affairs division, Levi Ajuonuma, the corporation has a robust stock of petroleum products that, could serve the nation for the next 24 days, adding that cargo ships have been scheduled to supply the country with enough products all through the year.

 Also, the NNPC said it expects to take delivery of 13 ship loads of refined products this month to tackle scarcity that hit the West Africa nation three mouths ago.

“We have nine ship loads that arrived last month and we are expecting 13 more to arrive this month” Ajuonuma said.

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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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