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Senate Pledges To Improve NEITI’s Budgetary Provision

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9 years ago

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The Senate Committee on
Petroleum Resources (Upstream) on Monday in Abuja assured that the Senate would continue to support the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) through improved budgetary provision.
This information is contained in a statement issued by NEITI’s Director of Communications, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji.
Orji stated that the Chairman, Senate Committee, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Sen. Omotayo Alasoadura, gave the assurance during an oversight visit to NEITI Secretariat.
According to Alasoadura, NEITI, as a special agency of government deserves special attention by way of adequate funding to ensure effective execution of its mandate of ensuring transparency in the extractive industry.
He said that the issues raised in the NEITI’s audit reports were receiving the attention of the Senate and expressed dismay over poor funding of the agency.
He said that the Senate might need to review the law establishing NEITI to enable the agency retained a percentage of revenues recovered from the extractive companies to address the agency’s funding challenges.
He expressed satisfaction with the contributions of NEITI in the on-going reforms of the nation’s extractive industries.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio informed the committee that NEITI was currently confronted with serious financial challenges.
He said that the financial challenges was capable of hampering NEITI’s core mandate and appealed to the committee members to do everything within their powers to rescue the agency.
Adio stressed the need for a new law for the petroleum sector, noting that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was one priority area the Senate needed to pay immediate attention.
He called for a piece-meal approach to the passage of the PIB, adding that there was need for the law to have robust transparency, accountability and efficiency measures.
According to him, NEITI has a legitimate interest in the bill.
He urged the Senate to work with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that a new petroleum law was enacted and used as one of the strategies for economic recovery.
He thanked the Senate for providing the opportunity for NEITI to brief the Upper House on the findings of its 2013 oil, gas and solid minerals audit reports.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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1 day 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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