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UNICEM Invests N249m On Projects, Aid

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12 years ago

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The United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM) in Calabar says it has invested about N249m in the execution of projects and giving of financial aids to indigent students of its host community at the Greenland field Mfamosing Akamkpa Local Government of the State  to fulfill its corporate social responsibility.
Managing Director of the company, Mr. Olivier Lenior, disclosed this at a town hall meeting with stakeholders where 25 indigent students of tertiary institutions got N3.5m from UNICEM as an aids to enable them pursue various academic programmes.
The MD pointed out that in the secondary school category N3.2m has been disbursed to cater for 150 beneficiaries while N1.5m has been spent on mentorship/teaching support, stressing that N6.8m has been invested so far to take care of adult literacy with over 300 persons as beneficiaries while School Base Management Committee (SBMC) got N300,000.
The economic empowerment micro credit and enterprise got N2.7m to train 300 persons to acquire skill in micro enterprise adding that N1.5m was spent on business development while N2.5m is spent to cater for corporative societies development.
According to him, seven million naira was invested to grand micro credit to 15 cooperatives and 135 persons have so far benefited from the scheme stressing that compensation and re-settlement got N112m which was paid to take care of that aspect between 2006 and 2012.
The UNICEM boss maintained that job search / placement training got N1.8m with N2m spent to train local contractors, skill acquisition received N8.4m, five boreholes gulped N17m, eye-care programme N1.9m, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition hypertension and other health related programmes got N10m.
He said infrastructural development like markets stalls got a boost with N45 million, community road rehabilitation received N12.4 million and community social center N74 million with over 60 local women benefitting from the programme with 300 youths engaged. N1.5m was spent on classroom block renovation while communitydirect infrastructural development support got N45 million.
On employment  the MD averred that UNICEM has employed 475 direct staff with 244 Cross Riverians,  of which, 32 hail from Akamkpa, 31 Akpabuyo and Calabar Municipality Local Government area 38 indigenes stressing that the company has over 1300 causal staff who were locally sourced.
Mr. Lenior said that Cross River State got N304m as PAYE tax from the company and had spent N375m on Rovers, noting that N10 million went on the sponsorship of Cross River State unity cup competition while Road maintenance gulped N19 million and evacuation                        of roads N5 billion.
He said that N61m was spent on levies for local tenements rate in Akamkpa  while lease payment in Akpabuyo  up to N26m.  Abi-Mfam N41m and Ekong Anaku gulped N20 million.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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6 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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6 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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6 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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