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FG Assures On Infrastrusture Initiative

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13 years ago

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The Federal Government on Thursday said it would put in place structures to ensure the implementation of the Presidential Infrastructure Championship Initiative (PICI) for economic development.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, said this in Abuja at the opening of a two-day technical workshop on PICI.

The programme was organised by the New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), with the theme: “PICI as Panacea for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa’’.

“The government is fully on course toward achieving its responsibilities; Nigeria is also fully in support of this initiative, accordingly it champions the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline Project (TSGP).

“The government has put in place structures to ensure the implementation of this project according to the timelines with the support of our partners, especially Niger Republic and Algeria,’’ Anyim said. The Tide source reports that PICI was a project initiative to act as a catalyst for sustainable development of regional and continental infrastructure development on the continent.

PICI was initiated in 2011 and the AU Assembly endorsed and approved the programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

However, the entire PICI projects are included in PIDA and are part of the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PAP); PICI was coherent and aligned with all previous continental infrastructure initiatives and frameworks.

According to Anyim, “our responsibilities is to provide visibility to the projects, unblock any bottlenecks, coordinate resource mobilisation and ensure that the projects are implemented in an effective and efficient manner.’’

Anyim said that the execution of the PICI projects, especially the TSGP would model best practice and create capacity for better infrastructure project planning and implementation in the country.

He said that as the population of the continent increases, pressure on existing limited infrastructure increases.

He added that existing gaps got worse as demand for rapid infrastructure development became more urgent.

The SGF noted that the lack of modern infrastructure was a major challenge to the economic development of the continent. He said that the challenge constituted a major impediment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Anyim was represented by Mr Sunday Jegede, the Permenent Secretary, Political Economic Affairs in his office. Amb. Tunji Olagunju, the Special Adviser to the President on NEPAD in an address said that the challenge affecting the pace of infrastructure implementation in Africa was the lack of effective coordination.

“The stakeholders are prevented from knowing the true status of projects implementation, secondly the inability to perform monitoring role,’’ he said.

Olagunju stressed the need for greater transparency and accountability in the implementation of such projects.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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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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