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RIMA To Empower 100,000 Rivers Entrepreneurs

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12 years ago

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The Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State Micro Finance Agency (RIMA), Mr Innocent Iyalla Harry, has disclosed the projection of empowering 100,000 Rivers State entrepreneurs by 2015.
Harry, who made this known in an exclusive interview with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt, said the projected empowerment of 100,000 economic active poor citizens which is done in phases will be concluded by 2015.
He said that in 2013 RIMA will empower 1,120 persons in Port Harcourt and Obio / Akpor LGAs in addition to the Rural Finance Institute (RFIs) expanded empowerment programme that cuts across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state. The RIMA boss said that the 1,120 economically active poor persons from Port Harcourt and Obio / Akpor is made up of 80 co-operative groups each of which has 14 persons.
He noted that the plan to increase the loan from N50,000 to N100,000 in the urban area is to cater for the high economic activities that take place in the cosmopolitan area of the state, which requires higher initial capital outlay.
On the fund available to RIMA for the huge empowerment programme, he said the agency is still operating with the initial N2 billion made available to her by the government.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to increase our capital base apart from the initial N2 billion given to us from the inception of the agency. By the law that sets up RIMA, we are expected to get I per cent of the capital budget every year which should amount to N15 billion, but it has not gotten to us.
We have areas of expectation from 200 to 2013. We have made our presentation, so we are not going to fold our hands waiting for the fund to come but we will use the recovered loans to continue the empowerment programme, he said.
He called on the rermaining 20 percent of the past phase to return the loans to enable others benefit from the empowerment programme that is aimed at poverty alleviation and the reduction of criminal activities in the state.
On why RIMA is not using the micro finance bnaks, he said the micro finance banks failed in meeting RIMA’s expectation which formed the idea of using co-operatives and RFIs, adding that this has paid off over the years.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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3 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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3 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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3 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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