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TUC Seeks Enactment Of Laws To Protect Women

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As Nigerian women joined the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day on Saturday the organised labour in Rivers State has urged the federal and state governments to enact laws that would protect women in the society.
In an exclusive interview with The Tide, the chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State congress, Comrade Chika Onuegbu said the International Women’s Day is a day set out to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide.
Onuegbu said the theme of this year’s celebration tagged, “Inspiring Change” was particularly apt for the womenfolk.
The union boss called on Nigerians to be advocates inspiring change for women advancement in the society.
He said TUC Rivers State salutes the courage, tenacity and contributions of women to the development of the state and country generally.
Onuegbu said the organised labour uses the opportunity of this year’s celebration to enjoin governments at all levels to abolish all laws, customs and traditions that deny women their rights.
He said discrimination against women which subjects them to indecent treatments should be discouraged, stressing that women’s right to inheritance should be given full legal backing while abuse of women, particularly widows, under any guise should be severely criminalised.
Also speaking, secretary-general of the women commission of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Comrade Funmilayo Salami called for laws to be put in place that would help reduce violence against women or totally eradicate such violence.
Salami said women have continued to suffer both in peace times and war times stressing that this comes in the form of beating in their homes, rape and incest.
She lamented that there were other obstacles to women development such as traditional practices and gender inequality.
She said, “in this day and age, traditional vices such as genital mutilation, boy child preference and early marriage still exist.”
Salami further said, “sexual abuse, trafficking and forced prostitution continue to thrive, in spite of efforts to fight them.”
The TUC women leader commended the government for increasing maternity leave from three months to four months, stressing that most establishments have complied and it has helped women to have additional days to breast feed.
She said the wants organised labour however, government to make it compulsory for every establishment to create a crèche to enable mothers to breast-feed up to six months as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

 

Philip Okparaji

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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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