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ADfB Tasks FG On Regional Trade

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12 years ago

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The President, African
Development Bank Group, Mr Donald Kaberuka, has urged the Federal Government to help boost regional trade through its Agricultural Transformation Agenda.
Kaberuka said this at the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja recently with the theme “Growing Agriculture as a Business to Diversify Nigeria’s economy”.
He said that if Nigeria was to succeed in its transformation agenda, especially in agriculture, it must start doing serious trade with its neighbours and Africa as a whole.
“Sometimes, we think that the global market is somewhere else; but it is next door, in Benin, Togo, Cameroon and across all African countries.
“Within Africa, we have the solution to our problems. Nigeria alone has 20 per cent of the population in Africa.
“By the year 2050, Africa will represent 20 per cent of the population of the world.
“The markets are here.  By 2050, there will be two billion persons on the continent, more than China, more than India.
“And we would want them to be consumers of our products.
“For this to become a reality, non-tariff restrictions within Africa should be removed. At present, people are not moving freely like they should, movement of goods is a problem. And that requires policy makers to make a decision.”
Kaberuka noted that ECOWAS was working to address the non-tariff restriction issue at present, with the help of the bank.
He said that in terms of infrastructure, the bank was working to ensure the completion of the Nigeria-Cameroon Highway, which would boost trade between the two countries.
“With the rate at which most African economies are growing, at six per cent GDP, my conviction is that we shall not be able to sustain this growth until we solve the issue of infrastructure.
“From power to connectivity, to other systems and so on. It is shedding off two per cent of our GDP every year.
“For business like the ones by these farmers, if they do not have good infrastructure, probably that would add about 40 per cent to their farming cost.
“And so what we are doing at the bank is that we are concentrating 60 per cent of our funds to financing infrastructure projects, including cross border infrastructure.”
The president said that the bank was also working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to build agricultural infrastructure that would cut across all regions of the country.
He called on all stakeholders to work together, to ensure that Africa captured its own market.

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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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