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Ministry Plans Training Of 5,000 Youths

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13 years ago

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The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs  has expressed its willingness to collaborate with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to train 5,000 youths in the region annually.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godsday Orubebe, said this during a facility tour of the ITF headquarters in Abuja that the ministry would also inaugurate four out of nine centres currently under construction for the training of the youths.

Orubebe said one of the key mandates of the ministry was to provide skills for youths in the Niger Delta Region and in the country in general.

“We have decided to build nine skill acquisition centres in the Niger Delta Region and in our programme for 2013, we are going to commission not less than four out of the nine.

“Each of the centres will provide boarding facilities for at least 500 students at a time.

“ The centre will be for the training of youths in oil and gas, in the maritime industry, in ICT, entertainment, commerce and constructions.

“We agree to come to the ITF for the practical inspection, we are eager to partner with ITF to train our youths to give them the needed skill to make them to stand on their own,” he said.

He said that President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was poised towards tackling the problem of shortage of manpower, especially in the oil and gas, ICT and other areas.

“Over the years the problem has been that the oil companies want to employ the people but the skills are not there.

“The skill centres we are building are going to be one of the first you can see in the world because it is a combination of what you can see around the world,” he said.

Orubebe, who was accompanied on the visit by the Minister of State, Mrs Zainab Kuchi, commended the Director-General of ITF, Prof. Longmas Wapmuk, for the level of success attained in the centre.

The director-general in his remarks said that ITF would be ready to work in partnership with the ministry to train youths in the Niger Delta area.

Wapmuk said ITF would soon establish 37 industrial skills training centres in all the states in the federation.

He said the centres would promote and encourage the acquisition of skills in industry and commerce.

He said the aim was to create a pool of indigenous manpower to meet the challenges of a modern economy.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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2 days 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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2 days 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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2 days 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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