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FG Records Over 200 Cases Of Pipeline Vandalism – Nebo

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11 years ago

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Rivers State Head of Service, Barr Samuel LongJohn (middle), addressing newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in Port Harcourt, recently . With him are Emmanuel Urang (left) and Mr Lambert Ekwueme.

Rivers State Head of Service, Barr Samuel LongJohn (middle), addressing newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in Port Harcourt, recently . With him are Emmanuel Urang (left) and Mr Lambert Ekwueme.

Prof. Chinedu Nebo, the Minister of Power, has said that over 200 cases of gas pipelines vandalism were recorded in 2014.
Nebo disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a news conference on gas infrastructure vandalism in the country.
He said that in December 2014, the power sector lost 1,000 megawatts to activities of vandals.
The minister said that activities of vandals were aimed at frustrating the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan to provide electricity to Nigerians.
He called on Nigerians to cooperate with government in the fight against vandalism.
“This is a call to all citizens to protect these assets as they belong to all Nigerians.
“Whenever you notice these vandals carrying out their work, please report to the security agents.
“This is something all of us must work together to stop, “he said.
Nebo said that the ministry was working tirelessly with the office of the National Security Adviser and security agencies to check the activities of vandals in the country.
“Mr President has ensured that enough resources were deployed to the fight against pipelines vandalism,“he said.
He noted that vandalism remained a threat to power supply to Nigerians.
Nebo stressed that there was no justifiable individual benefit to gas pipeline vandalism other than sabotage.
He attributed the significant economic loss and insufficient power supply in the country to gas infrastructure vandalism and crude oil theft.
The minister said that 81 per cent of power in the country was generated by thermal plants dependent on gas supply.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Dr Godknows Igali, said that security agents were doing their best to check pipeline vandalism.
He noted that the power sector had recorded successes since the reform began in 2010.
The high point of the occasion was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government and NANS, Youth organisations and some NGOs, to fight pipeline vandalism.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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23 hours 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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24 hours 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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24 hours 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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