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FG Licenses 158 New Seed Firms

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7 years ago

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To boost agricultural activities, the Federal Government has licenced 158 new seed companies to commence production of quality seeds.
The Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, Wednesday.
The Tide source reports that the new approvals were given in addition to the 156 already existing licences.
Ojo said that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, gave the approval in order to address the problem of inaccessibility and lack of quality seedling.
He said that the approvals were made up of 16 new small-scale companies, 133 producer and seller entrepreneurs and nine seed dealers.
According to him, the approval also became necessary in order to allow more players in the seed industry to produce and distribute quality seeds to farmers.
He added that out of the 158 new seed entrepreneurs, 10 were foreign companies while the rest 148 were Nigerian outfits.
Ojo admitted that though a deficit in seed availability still exists, this would be bridged to a large extent with the new approvals.
“The Governing Board of NASC under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,  Chief Audu Ogbeh,  has ratified and approved the licensing of 158 new seed entrepreneurs of different categories to add to the existing 156 already operating.
“I want to assure you that this is borne out of the determination to allow many qualified entrepreneurs to explore the bidding liberalised landscape of the seed industry.
“I wish to allay your fears that most of these newly licenced companies are greenhorns in the business, but are mostly out-growers with long years of experience.
“They have acquired necessary facilities in relevant categories they have been classified into after due assessment by NASC.
“We all know that presently,  the seed supply-demand gap is still wide and there are more calls from our neighbouring countries that look up to us for their seed supply,’’ he said.
According to him, Nigeria now has 314 seed entrepreneurs, 223 produce sellers and 20 seed dealers.
He clarified that NASC was not interested in the number of seed entrepreneurs but the quality of seeds being supplied to farmers.

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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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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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