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FG Plans Roads To Link Crop Processing Zones

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12 years ago

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The Federal Government has said  that it would construct access roads to all Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZ) across the country.

The policy is to ensure that farm produce are evacuated to the processing centres on time.

It would be recalled  that the Federal Government  established SCPZs in parts of the country in a bid to boost crops production.

The centres are located at Kadawa in Kano State; Badeggi in Niger; Epe in Lagos; Adani in Enugu State and Agbodu in Kogi.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, made the disclosure in Abuja at a joint meeting of the National Development Committee of Fertiliser and Rural Development Departments of the ministry.

Odusote said the access roads would also enable farm produce to reach markets with less difficulty.

She observed that the meeting was to brainstorm and discuss technical papers to be presented at the National Council on Agriculture (NCA) meeting, scheduled for April 22 to April 26 in Abeokuta.

The scribe said that the meeting would also deliberate on the need to up-scale the implementation of the farmers’ registration exercise and the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme.

She said that they would also deliberate on the review of the 2012 GES scheme.

“In order to upscale the GES scheme in 2013, the ministry planned to register and reach five million farmers directly with inputs.

“The farmers are to adopt the improved registration technology innovation of Optical Mark Reading forms.

“The idea is to facilitate quick scanning and migration of information to the ministry’s farmers’ database.’’

Odusote urged the meeting to focus on the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) as a strategy for ensuring good presentation at the NCA meeting, stressing that the ministry was keen on attaining the ATA goal.

Earlier,  Director of Fertiliser at the ministry, Mr Akinbolawa Osho, advised participants to endeavour to replicate decisions and suggestions reached at the meeting in their respective states.

Osho promised that farmers would get inputs before every planting season.

The Acting Director of Rural Development in the ministry, Mr Olumuyiwa Azeez, said that their deliberation would be on issues affecting agriculture in the country.

He noted that the meeting would also afford them the opportunity to discuss some issues that would be considered at the NCA meeting in Abeokuta.

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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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