Business
Shippers Council Urges FG To Link Rails To Seaports
Following the errors made by the Federal Government, by failing to link the rails to the seaports, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), has given a warning that such mistakes should not be repeated, but to rather link the rails to the Inland Dry Ports (IDPs).
The Executive Secretary, NSC, Barr Hassan Bello, gave this warning during a two-day workshop for validation of draft operational manual for Inland Dry Ports in Nigeria.
He noted that the dry ports must be of international standard, adding that if the dry ports were slow and manually driven, they would not serve the purpose of establishing them.
He said, “The Inland Dry Port projects were conceived as part of Federal Government’s reform programme in the transport sector to decongest the seaports and bring shipping and port services closer to importers and exporters in the hinterland.
“Consequently, the Federal Executive Council granted approval for the establishment of Inland Dry Ports in March 2006 at six locations across the country namely, Isiala-Ngwa in Abia State, Erunmu Ibadan in Oyo State, Heipang, Jos in Plateau”.
Others he said, included, Kano in Kano State, Funtua in Katsina State and Maiduguri in Borno State,
Bello stated that the projects were to be developed on Public Private Partnership, using the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model”.
The Secretary pointed out that Messers CPCS Transcom Nigeria Ltd., was also engaged by the council to draft an Operational Manual to guide the implementation and operation of the IDPs in line with international best practice.
He added that the operational manual would provide detailed processes, general outlook and those that were involved in the operation of a dry port.
Earlier, Director, Maritime Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation (FM-OT), Mr Dauda Suleiman, said that the project would greatly provide stimulus to the economy of the State and country at large.
“The dry ports are part of the solution to alleviate the problems of hinterland shipper’s inadequate access to the seaports and to remove frequent congestion, which result in the loss of cargo in transit, carnage and accident on our roads.
“It is pertinent to state that, for these projects to succeed there must be support and collaboration with the stakeholders.
“I am happy to observe that the Ministry and Shippers’ Council is already collaborating with Nigerian Railway Corporation, Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Customs Service and other stakeholders to ensure its implementation,” he said.
Suleiman urged the participants to take full advantage of the workshop to address all grey areas in the draft operational manual and to come up with workable policy that would drive the operations of the inland dry ports.
By: Chinedu Wosu
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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.
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.
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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