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FG Poised To Address Civil Servants’ Housing Needs

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Acting Head of the Civil
Service of the Federal (HOS), Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita,  says Federal Government is poised to address the housing needs of civil servants in the country.
She stated this while inaugurating an 11-Man Committee of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme in Abuja.
“Civil servants deserve quality housing estates like their counterparts in the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police’’, she said.
She explained that government’s decision to address workers housing challenge was premised on the fact that housing was a basic need/necessity in every society and a prerequisite for motivating workers.
She noted that civil servants were motivated by the provision of staff quarters in the past, “and this accounted for their diligence, professionalism and high level of productivity.
“The fortune of civil servants in terms of decent accommodation is dwindling, following the abolition of such programme by government.
“Effort by previous administration to engage private developers to address the housing needs of civil servants did not yield positive result.
“This is especially so as civil servants could not afford modest accommodation at the market price charged by developers.’’
Oyo-Ita explained that the FISH programme had been designed to provide cost-effective and affordable houses for various categories of federal civil servants as a means of improving their moral and commitment.
The acting HOS also said that the programme was designed to improve civil servants’ productivity and their quality of life during and after service.
The programme, she added, would motivate and equip civil servants to become efficient, productive, incorruptible and citizen-centred.
She asked members of the committee to deliver on their mandate, adding that the expectations of Nigerians and government on them were high.
“Mr President is watching and I have great expectations as civil servants look up to you to deliver affordable houses for them with your track records’’, she said.
She expressed confidence that the members would deliver, adding that they were nominated because of their track records.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Yemi Adelakun, promised that they would deliver on the mandate of ensuring affordable and decent houses for civil servants.
The Tide gathered that the committee is expected to secure group land and title documents and coordinate the participation of relevant agencies in the programme.
It is also expected to enlist the support of proven dealers of building materials in the programme and come up with modalities on how civil servants could access the houses on completion and mode of payment.

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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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