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Transport Co-operative Appeals To RSG …Over Touting, Multiple Road Tax

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15 years ago

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Following the earlier ban on all forms of taskforce and touting on the road transport, by the Rivers State governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and the recent resurgence of pocket taskforce and touting on the road which is almost paralysing its operations, the Rivers Transport and investment cooperative Union Limited (RTICUL) has appealed to the state government to wade into the matter.

Speaking to The Tide on the turn out of events in its operations, the Director of Administration of RTICUL Mr. Nimi Tamuno said that touts who claim to be agents of the State Environmental Sanitation Authority have in recent times been forcefully impounding their vehicles in the name of enforcing the purchase of basket and sticker without following due process.

According to Tamuno “There is a law that guides transport business operations and there is a laid down process of payment of all forms of approved taxes and levies, and not to use touting in disguise of agents to disrupt business activities of others, because we don’t know who is who on the street, but we have the police and other agencies that enforce law.”

For this reason, he said that RTICUL through its counsel has written to the chairman of the sanitation Authority Chief Nnamdi Wokekoro over alleged imposition of N3,000 on each cooperative vehicle by the said agent/contractor to the Sanitation Authority.

The letter dated 25th February 2010, urged the chairman of RSESA to call the agents to order, and that the said levies usually go to individual pockets, rather than going to government coffers.

It was gathered that some groups of people kidnapped the president of RTCUL, Mr. Tubonimi Wokoma and took him to RSESA office, as at the time of writing this report and he was allegedly manhandled in the process, but that the chairman of RSESA, Chief Nnamdi Wokekoro drove in at the time and asked them to stop every action against Mr. Wokoma and let him go.

The transport cooperative has insisted that every demand should be made in accordance with the statutes, giving example of how the transport ministry had officially written to them on the existence of Traffic Management Board, and called on state government to regulate activities of touts/task-force.

 

Corlins Walter

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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3 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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3 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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3 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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