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London Summit: Sanusi Tasks Delegates On Investors’ Commitment

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Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has urged Nigerian delegates to the Trade and Investment summit in London to honour their commitments to investors.

Sanusi said this when he gave an overview on the just conclude three-day summit organised by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee(NOC).on the sideline of the 2012 London Olympics.

“If we give commitments it is our abilities to meet those commitments that will translate to deals; It is for us to make sure we deliver on those commitments to investors.

“When you have road shows like this it is about telling the Nigerian stories and a lot now depends on the follow ups.

Earlier, the Ekiti state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi told the investors that the state had predictable investment environment, competitive incentives, joint venture opportunities and skills/ affordable labour.

“There is high return on investment in infrastructure development that will have fewer constraints on economic activities,’’ Fayemi assured investors.

His Oyo counterpart, Sen. Abiola Ajumobi said the state was one of the most peaceful with 27,000 hectares of able land.

“We are repositioning the state in the area of good governance, agro-based economy and making it a prime-centre for critical technology skilled citizens,’’ Ajumobi said.

Meanwhile, some of the participants at the summit  commended the initiative describing it as very strategic.

Ms Robin Sanders, Former U.S Ambassador to Nigeria said the country was doing the right thing by marketing itself.

“Nigeria is very much on the right track; I have always been a supporter of Nigeria particularly on business and

investment opportunities.

Organisers should make all information on the summit available on the web and other communication entities,’’ Sanders said.

According to her the summit is about making deals with business people and so hopefully those in the audience and those that made presentations will connect so that they can assess the business deals and focus on them.

She explained further that the essence was about business people coming together to identify opportunities, identify investments and moving forward about a particular idea.

Contributing, Mr Lembit Opik , Registrar of the London Academy Business School described the conference as the right way to go about things to achieve results.

“It is exactly the right way the right way to go,” he said .Opik however noted that, “ too much attention is given to paper qualification (certificates, degrees) rather than skills education.

“From our work in Nigeria, we have realised that a lot of work in the Nigerian system is more about qualification, a piece of paper rather than what you can do with acquired skills .

“If you educate people, they become confident, they begin to realise what they can do for the nation and speak for themselves and they do not get pushed around by others,” he said.

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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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