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1,300 Farmers Apply For Edo’s N1bn Agric Loan

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15 years ago

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More than 1,300 farmers in Edo, have applied for funds from the state’s N1 billion agricultural loan funds, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Tunde Lakoju, has disclosed.

He, however, said that the funds would not meet the needs of the farmers as, according to him, the money needed by the farmers, based on their applications, is N10.9 billion.

Lakoju, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen, said that notwithstanding the demand of the farmers, the applications had been analysed.

He announced that disbursement of the funds to qualified applicants would commence before the end of October and sued for cooperation from the farmers.

Lakoju said that the government was overwhelmed by the number of applications for the loan but emphasised that effort would be made to ensure that only genuine farmers benefitted.

He said: “As you may be aware, the process for the disbursement of the loan is almost concluded.

“The loan committee which is headed by the deputy governor, Dr Pius Odubu, is through with the analysis of the applications and we are going to start disbursement in a couple of days.

“Though the figure being requested by the applicants is higher than what is available, we have worked out a rational way of giving to everybody that is qualified.”

The commissioner disclosed that some application were discovered to have come from fake farmers and were promptly destroyed.

He said that the discovery of the fake applications was made possible by the assistance of officials of the Ministry of Commerce who supplied the list of registered cooperative societies in the state.

“In the loan arrangement, my ministry is working in concert with the Ministry of Commence to have complete and authentic list of registered cooperatives.

“We are going this extra mile because we have only N1 billion to give as loan, but what has been applied for is over N10 billion. So we must find a way of ensuring that only the authentic farmers get this loan,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Edo Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Dr Peter Okpede, has expressed satisfaction with the processing of the loan.

Accroding to him, this is the first time efforts are being made to ensure that only the real farmers get the loan.

Okpede who is a member of the loan committee, blamed the high number of applicants on the extension of deadline given to applicants, saying that the extension created much problems for the committee.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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22 hours 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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22 hours 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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22 hours 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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