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High Rent Leaves Many Shops Vacant At PH Airport 

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5 years ago

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At least, 80 percent of shops and offices at the arrival terminal building of the Port Harcourt International Airport Omagwa are still lying vacant due to high rental cost.
The Tide’s findings have shown that some business operators that wanted to rent shops and offices at the terminal building were discouraged because of the high cost of rent.
Some of the business operators told The Tide that the high cost of rent at the Port Harcourt Airport had scared many of them away from getting a shop at the airport.
An intending shop owner at the airport, Mr Friday Nwanze, said he intended to rent one of the shops at the terminal building to use for snacks bar and books, but that he was discouraged by the price tag.
“How will the airport management insist on N3 million per annum as rent inside the terminal building? How much am I going to sell and make as profit?
“I don’t know why they are making things very difficult here, but if you go to Lagos Airport, there are shops and businesses everywhere, because they don’t charge them that much.
“Look at empty shops everywhere in the terminal. People are discouraged because of high rental charges,  and I don’t know whether they want to kill this airport indirectly”, he said.
Also reacting to alleged high rental charges, Mrs Nkiruka Obilor who operates a POS service, recharge cards, and other personal effects, lamented the inability of FAAN to give them shops to run business.
“The charge is very expensive, and that is indirect way to discourage us from renting. How would I be able to pay three million naira in a year?
“If they reduce the rental charges, many of us can rent. I don’t know why this present airport management has taken everything so high, and this is killing business in this airport”, she said.
Meanwhile, the acting Head of Corporate Affairs Department at the Airport, Mr Kunle Akinbode, in an earlier interview, had said that the airport had relaxed on issues of revenue before now.
He said that the Covid-19 pandemic had left some negatives in the airport’s income generation, adding that the airport management is poised to generate revenue to meet up its demands.
By: Corlins Walter
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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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24 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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24 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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24 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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