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World Bank Offers Support For Nigeria’s Economic Growth

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The World Bank last Friday expressed its willingness to provide technical support to Nigeria in critical areas to facilitate the country’s economic growth and development.
The bank’s Vice President for African region, Mr Hafez Ghanem said this in a statement issued by Special Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning in Abuja, Mr James Akpandem.
Ghanem spoke when he visited the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma.
He said the bank would provide technical support for Nigeria in the areas of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Mid-term Review, Power Sector Reform, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), and population management.
According to him, the bank will also provide technical support for ERGP delivery, performance tracking and reporting, capacity building for sector officials and economic modelling for policy analysis and forecasting.
Ghanem also pledged the bank’s commitment to increase its support for Nigeria’s Social Investment Programme.
The World Bank chief reiterated that he was in Nigeria to discuss with relevant Nigerian officials regarding the areas Nigeria would like to receive additional support from the bank.
He acknowledged that the present administration in Nigeria had shown commendable commitment in growing the economy.
Ghanem pledged that he would ensure Nigeria had an opportunity to speak about its economic progress at the annual meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (WB/IMF) scheduled for later in the year in Indonesia.
While receiving Ghanem, the Minister told him that the ERGP was Nigeria’s medium term plan (2017 – 2020) that articulates government’s vision for the country.
Udoma said the plan also layed the foundation for Nigeria’s long term economic growth.
He said the present administration had to set very aggressive targets in order to meet the serious challenges caused principally by the collapse in crude oil prices.
“Indeed, the collapse of crude oil prices exposed how dependent the economy is on commodity exports.
“ The ERGP was therefore developed to reform the economy so as to reduce its reliance on a single commodity and place it on the path of sustained, diversified and inclusive growth.
“With the introduction of the ERGP, the economic decline has been reversed; the economy has emerged from recession and is beginning to grow again,” he said.
The minister said that in spite of the positive economic news, there was much more to be done to achieve the targets set in the ERGP.
He said the government was focused on accelerating the implementation of the various initiatives in the ERGP and would soon commence a mid-term review of the plan.
He said Nigeria would appreciate technical assistance in the areas of Power Sector Reform and PPPs, ERGP as improvements in these areas were critical to achieving the rapid transformation of the economy.
He pointed out that although a large population could be an asset, a high population growth rate could pose a challenge for any country.
According to him, Nigeria’s rate of population growth needs to be moderated as one of the means of ensuring that the benefits of economic growth have the desired impact and improves welfare of all the people.

“In that connection, Nigeria can benefit from the experience of countries that have had success in managing their population growth.”
Udoma asked for assistance from the World Bank in arranging for Nigeria to have access to relevant information on the best and most successful methods of achieving success in this area.
The minister also expressed appreciation for the support the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development partners had been rendering toward development of the ERGP.
He appealed to the IFC to redeem the pledge to provide funding support for some of the projects identified during the ERGP Focus Labs.
‘It will be appreciated if the Vice President of World Bank can help designate a special session during the forthcoming IMF/World Bank meetings in Indonesia to enable Nigerian representatives speak to participants about the ERGP.
“ This will enable us attract more investments into Nigeria to further facilitate the achievements of the objectives and targets of the Plan’
The statement also said the Minister of State, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, appreciated the bank’s assistance in the area of security, social investment and the cash transfer programme.
Ahmed urged for more support , especially in the management of Nigeria’s growing population and inclusive growth.
She said if Nigeria succeeded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme, it would make a major contribution to the continent as it would meet the targets set for Africa.

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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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