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Amaechi Meets Bill Gates On Investment, Sept

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14 years ago

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Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is to meet Bill Gates in September, 2011 to discuss possibilities of investment in the Health sector in the state.

Leader of the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) Violaine Mitchell gave the hint yesterday at a courtesy visit to the State Governor at Government House, Port Harcourt.

Mitchell, who briefed Governor Amaechi on the mission of the Global Alliance to the state, said the President of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gates was waiting to hold talks with the Rivers State Governor on strategic issues in the health and development sectors.

She lauded the Rivers State Government for its interest in the education and health sectors as they remain paramount indices in assessing development in any society.

Mitchell explained that eradication of polio in Nigeria rests in the hands of governors and what happens in the country also determines the issues in the world, adding that the key to polio eradication is sustaining immunisation programme.

Responding, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi said the Governors in Nigeria have agreed to take a date for all of them to lead their people out on polio immunisation campaign that would take place simultaneously throughout the country.

According to the governor, “our target is that by the end of this year, we should have some positive result on the elimination of polio in Nigeria”, assuring that he still looks forward to meeting with Mr Bill Gates in September, 2011.

“The state government wants to build a biolavicide manufacturing company valued at 22million dollars and we would be glad if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation can invest in this project,” he said.

The governor said the state government was building a total of 160 Health Centres, out of which 100 of them are functional while the remaining 60 would be completed soon.

Governor Amaechi also hinted that the state government employed 200 Doctors and posted them to the various health centres to enable them attend to patients in all parts of the state as part of moves to reduce child and maternal mortality rates.

He explained that except Degema Local Government, all the other LGAs have between five and seven health centres while Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor have more because of the dense population.

The governor said the state government is spraying biolavicides so as to eradicate the spread of mosquitoes and reduce malaria related sicknesses in the state.

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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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