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Expert Assures On Marine Pollution Management

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The Chairman, Ports Con
sultative Council, Chief Kunle Folarin, on Thursday, promised that marine pollution management in Nigeria would be sustained through effective stakeholders’ collaboration.
Folarin made the promise in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He advised the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to collaborate with NIMASA to sustain the pollution management.
“The NPA and NESREA should work with NIMASA which has the responsibility for wreck removal and control in the maritime environment.
“By this, efforts to control and manage pollution in the marine environment will be sustained,” he said.
Folarin commended maritime stakeholders in Nigeria for their commitment in marine pollution control and waste management in spite of its limited reflection in the concluded port reforms.
According to him, as subscribers to the International Maritime Organisation Maritime Pollution (IMO MARPOL) Convention, Nigeria must sustain the best and acceptable international practises in the marine environment.
“Specifically, Nigeria has subscribed to the IMO MARPOL Convention, therefore, compliance and management towards regulation with regards to the provisions of MARPOL is mandatory.
“The IMO MARPOL Convention is very specific in the provisions, codes and recommendation on the processes and issues that should be tackled,” he said.
Folarin said also that the acceptance of IMO MARPOL Convention by Nigeria led to the establishment of NESREA to manage and regulate pollution within the Nigerian maritime domain.
He said the NPA took the responsibility for pollution control and waste management within the port environment and ensured compliance by ships that called at the ports.
“In this context, there are provisions for compliance for ship owners in disposal of ballast wastes and bilge wastes and a regime of charges is applied by the authority against ship calls.
“It is aimed at ensuring that the Nigerian port environment is clean and does not endanger marine and human lives,” he said.
Folarin said the effect of the agencies’ efforts could be assessed from the fact that Nigeria had not experienced a major oil spill disaster in spite of exploration activities.
“The agencies have been effective given the fact that the country exploits crude oil and transports petroleum products within the territorial waters.”
He said that although there had been issues of attempted dumping of toxic wastes in Nigeria, NESREA and the NPA had been alert in receiving appropriate intelligence and able to check the attempts.
He urged these agencies to keep up with the surveillance and intelligence gathering to protect Nigeria’s territorial and economic areas susceptible to abuse.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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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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