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EU Donates 14.25m Euros For Water, Sanitation In Nigeria

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12 years ago

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The European Union? (EU) has allocated 14.25 million euros? to the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Nigeria? through UNICEF for the improvement of the sector, a UNICEF official has said.

Mr Kanan Nadar, the UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Chief made this known in an interview with  newsmen recently in Abuja.

Nadar said that the amount was allocated to the sector as part of the EU support to improve sanitation in the country.

He said ?that the money would be used to execute projects in three states — Plateau, Adamawa and Ekiti — because they were rated lower than 30 per cent in sanitation coverage.

“14.25 million euro was the specific allocation for the WASH sector and looking at three states which are Plateau, Ekiti and Adamawa.

“The EU support to the Nigeria WASH sector had always been there for sometime and some of these states like Plateau, Ekiti and Adamawa have been part of the support.

“If you look at Plateau and Ekiti, their coverage for water and sanitation together is less than 20 per cent; for Adamawa it’s about 27.2 per cent.

“If you look at sanitation, except for Adamawa which is 36 per cent, others are less hitting 26.9 per cent, which is less than the average of 31 per cent.’’

According to him, the project is at the inception stage currently, which is establishing baseline and assisting local government areas in the states to double their investment plan.

He noted that the present stage would take about one year, adding that the project would run for five years for the desired goal to be achieved.

Nadar told reporters that the aim of the project was to achieve complete Open Defecation Free status in these states and to provide adequate access to water supply.

He said that the EU was also supporting 14 other states in the country through UNICEF, to ensure total sanitation coverage and adequate access to good water supply.

The WASH chief noted that Nigeria accounted for a significant portion the high mortality rate of children under the age of five in Africa.

He identified the major cause of the high mortality rate as inadequate hygiene management and the lack of access to potable water, resulting to water-borne diseases.

“In Africa, mortality rate of children under the age of five is significantly high unlike in Asia, where it has drastically reduced since 1990.

“And Nigeria is a big contributor to this burden; So for us at UNICEF, it is a burden because WASH is one of the underlining causes for this high under five mortality rate.’’

He added that the absence of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Departments in many local government areas in the country constituted a major challenge to UNICEF’s work.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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5 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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5 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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5 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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