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Senate Lauds Total’s $16bn Investment In Nigeria

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The Chairman, Senate Ad hoc Committee on Local Content, Mr Solomon Adeola has commended the management of Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) on its 16 billion dollars (N5.76 trillion) Egina project in Nigeria.
Adeola, who gave the commendation during the committee’s oversight function in Lagos last Friday, promised total support for the local content development initiative.
The committee inspected the 3.3 billion dollar Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
The storage facility is for 200,000 barrels per day Egina deep-water oilfield, which is expected from South Korea on January 23.
Adeola said the essence of the visit was to see and have first-hand information on the Egina FPSO and to also commend Total for making the huge investment a reality.
According to him, the 330-metre long Egina FPSO, the largest FPSO ever installed in Nigeria, by private investors and the Nigerian government was commendable.
“If Nigeria can attract such huge project estimated at 16.3 billion dollars, it shows we are moving in the right direction and growing our economy,” he said.
Adeola said this was the first project executed after the passage of the Nigerian Local Content Act, an indication that local content development has come to stay in Nigeria.
He promised that the committee would ensure full implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGIC) passed by the national assembly.
The Managing Director of TUPNI, Mr Nicolas Terraz, appreciated the committee’s support and encouragements toward ensuring that the projected was completed on schedule.
He said work had commenced on the FPSO and would undergo the integration of six locally fabricated modules within the next six months.
According to him, the integration of the six locally fabricated topside modules before its final sail-away to the Egina field is a remarkable achievement in local content development in Nigeria.
The Total upstream boss said several technological feats had been recorded by the various entities involved in the project.
“Egina is the deepest offshore development carried out so far in Nigeria, with water depths over 1,500 meters,’’ he said.
Terraz explained that the EGINA FPSO was designed to operate for 25 years and produce about 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
He said the Egina operations would generate significant activities for local contractors in various sectors and would continue to provide avenues for the training and development of Nigerians in various domains.

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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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