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Motorists Protest Police Clampdown On Black Marketers

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Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu,  his wife, Hauwa and Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed,  at a reception dinner organised by Association of Consulting Engineers in Nigeria (Acen)  for its President, Engr. Suleiman Adamu,  on his appointment as the Minister of Water Resources in Abuja last Friday

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, his wife, Hauwa and Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, at a reception dinner organised by Association of Consulting Engineers in Nigeria (Acen) for its President, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, on his appointment as the Minister of Water Resources in Abuja last Friday

Motorists in Rivers State
have expressed displeasure on the order issued by the police high command in the country to arrest persons engaged in black market sale of petroleum products.
Recently, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Aranse, charged the police to arrest those involved in the trade.
However, a cross section of motorists, especially commercial bus and taxi drivers who spoke to The Tide described the development as counterproductive on their business operations.
A taxi driver, Mr Paul Uche, who plys the Rumuokoro/Rumuola axis, while speaking to The Tide,described the clampdown on the black marketers as unreasonable.
According to him, it amounts to chasing shadows instead of substance.
For Juliet Nwafor, a female taxi driver who services the Aba road axis, the black marketers should not be treated as criminals.
She said that government should rather be blamed for not being able to make fuel available to Nigerians.
On the contrary, according to her, the black  marketers should even be commended for making the products available to motorists.
On the accusations that the black marketers were making matters worse, one of the dealers who spoke to The Tide said the traders were only cashing in on government’s ineptitude to make a living for themselves.
She said the high rate of unemployment has made Nigerians to seize any opportunity to make  a living.
However, following the development, The Tide gathered, that the operators of the black market business were not relenting as they now sell the products from their homes.
Further investigations by The Tide indicated that the few filling station that were dispensing the products were not selling at the approved price of N86.50
However, another dimension to the problem is that those with jerry cans are not allowed to buy the products.
But a source at Mobil filling station at Garison Bus stop said those with 10 litre jerry cans are sold the products to enable them power their generators.

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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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