Connect with us

Business

Fuel Scarcity: Dealer Accuses Marketers Of Hoarding

Published

on

The South-East Zonal Supervisor, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, Mrs Amaka Okonkwo has criticised some petroleum product marketers for hoarding and unfair profiteering of the products leading to the current scarcity.
Okonkwo said this while speaking to newsmen in Enugu yesterday on the ongoing artificial scarcity of fuel (PMS) in the country.
She condemned the act of sabotage by some marketers who created the artificial scarcity that shot up pump prices of fuel to between N250 and N300 per litre in and around Enugu State.
The dealer, who recently took delivery of five trucks of petrol at her New Haven station, said the company was poised to help ease the artificial fuel scarcity.
“It is all about greed; the Federal Government has tried its best by injecting sufficient amount of products into the country.
“It is now some of the marketers that are hoarding the products and selling above pump price thereby making things very difficult for the masses.
“In support of the Federal Government; the Chief Executive of Pinnacle Oil and Gas, Chief Peter Mba, has said that it is wrong to create artificial scarcity because it behooves on us as marketers to support the government and ensure that products get to the end users at the approved price.
“So, we are here trying to ensure that we are in tune with what the government is doing, making sure that the situation is brought under control,’’ she stated.
The supervisor assured residents of Enugu State that the company would continue to ensure that “there is inflow of PMS, AGO and other products during this season into the state.
“We have five trucks standing and we hope to keep selling morning, afternoon and night to ease the scarcity and then bring in more trucks and saturate the state with the products.
“This, I believe will force prices down,’’ she said.
The Tide source reports that the scarcity of fuel had led to increase in prices of goods and services in the country.
Our source also reports that the increase had impacted negatively on economic activities and caused untold hardship to Nigerians even beyond the Yuletide and New Year celebrations.

Continue Reading

Business

Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

Business

NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Business

FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Trending