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SMEDAN To Train Students On Entrepreneurship

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8 years ago

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The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) last Monday said 50 students from 108 schools across Nigeria would be selected for the National School Entrepreneurship Programme (N-SEP).
The SMEDAN Director-General, Alhaji Dikko Radda disclosed this in Katsina at the opening ceremony of the training of both primary and secondary school teachers on the programme.
Radda, represented by a SMEDAN Deputy Director, Mr Suleiman Tanimu,                                said the programme was being organised by the agency in collaboration with Students for Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE), U.S.
He said that the schools targeted for the pilot phase of the programme with the theme: “Mind Shift Entrepreneurship” were from Katsina, Bauchi, Kwara, Ondo, Ebonyi and Cross Rivers States.
“Eighteen schools will be selected from each state, nine primary and nine secondary schools. “Among these nine schools, seven will be public schools, while the remaining two will be private.
“Fifty students are expected to benefit from the programme from each school,” the SMEDAN director-general said.
He said that the programme was aimed at providing access to functional entrepreneurship among students to eliminate unemployment among youths in the country.
“We want to involve students at lower levels so that after graduation, they will not only become self-reliant but employers of labour.
“Primary school pupils and secondary schools students are our targets, we want to catch them young,” Radda said.
The director-general disclosed that the students would be taught how to set up businesses of their own after which they would come up with an idea to develop a business of their choice.
He said that there would be a national competition, where the best students would be selected to represent the country at an international competition.
The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Halimatu Idris said that the state govemment had spent a lot of money on skills acquisition programmes to make youths self-reliant.
The commissioner, who was represented by Alhaji Tanimu Zubairu, urged participants to pay attention on the progranm1llle and prepare to teach others what they learned.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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19 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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19 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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19 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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