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Kerosene Scarcity Hits Abuja Over Kaduna Curfew

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The Abuja NNPC mega station said it had no kerosene to sell because of the curfew imposed in Kaduna State following the recent attacks on churches and reprisals by Christian youths.

Reports said that the station had had no stock of the product for almost a week now.

The development has led to the absence of long queues of consumers who thronged the station daily to buy the product.

The Operations Supervisor at the filling station, Mr Stephen Yohanna,described the situation as “unfortunate’’ but assured the public that loading of the product would soon resume now that the curfew hours had been extended.

“We have run out of stock of kerosene and that is why we are not dispensing at the moment.

“We get our supply of the product from Kaduna but the crisis there has hampered our operations here,’’ Yohanna said.

He reiterated the commitment of management of the filling station to ensuring the availability of kerosene always.

Sales representative at the station, Mr Baba Shettima, said that they were expecting two trucks of kerosene.

“We are expecting two trucks of kerosene from Kaduna, by God’s grace; we will commence the sale of kerosene to our buyers by tomorrow,’’ Shettima said.

Other filling stations visited by our correspondents did not have the product as well.

Sales Supervisor at AP filling station, Central, Mr Samson Olajumoke, corroborated the fact that the curfew in Kaduna had affected supplies.

“We get our supplies from Lagos, but they have not been able to supply us with the product because they themselves cannot get it due to the crisis situation in Kaduna.

“We are expecting to start getting it by next week; when we get the product, we will start selling immediately,” he said.

The consumers of the product have continued to lament the non availability of the product.

A trader, Mrs Taiwo Ajala, said that the lack of kerosene at the stations was already taking its toll on her catering business.

Ajala said that the NNPC mega station was the only station where she got the product at the official price of N50 per litre.

Meanwhile, black marketers are making brisk business as they are seen displaying the product in front of the various filling stations. They sold a litre for between N180 and N200.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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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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