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‘Nigeria Serviced Debt With N1.47trn In Q1, 2021’ 

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Nigeria spent N1.47 trillion on debt servicing payments in the first half of 2021, data obtained from the Debt Management Office have shown.
In the first quarter of the year, the country spent N1.02 trillion on both domestic and external debt servicing, while a total of N445.45 billion was spent in the second quarter of 2021.
From January to March 2021, Nigeria spent N612.71 billion on domestic debt servicing, while it spent $1 billion (N410.33bn) on external debt servicing.
From April to June 2021, Nigeria spent N322.7 billion on domestic debt servicing and $299m (N122.7 billion) on external debt servicing.
The official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria ($1 is N410.33) as of October 4 was used for the external debt servicing.
For domestic debt, Nigeria spent N219.29 billion in January, N125.09 billion in February, N270.33 billion in March, N258bn in April, N42.4 billion in May, and N22.3 billion in June.
In Q1, the government focused on principal repayments, while in Q2, the government focused on interest payments.
A breakdown of the statistics in Q2 shows that the Federal Government spent a total of N322.7 billion on the payment of interest, with N50.3 billion expended on the redemption of matured Nigeria Treasury Bills.
For external debt servicing in Q1, commercial loans had 76 per cent with a cost of $763.04m (N313.10 billion), multilateral had 13 per cent with a cost of $134.04 million (N55 billion), and bilateral had 11 per cent with a cost of $106.33m (N43.63 billion).
For external debt servicing in Q2, commercial loans had 53 per cent with a cost of $157 million (N64.4 billion), multilateral had 35 per cent with a cost of $103.7m (N42.5 billion), and bilateral had 13 per cent with a cost of $38.2m (N15.7 billion).
Economists have consistently condemned the borrowing rate of the government on the premise that the loans were being spent on consumption rather than capital projects that can generate revenue to service the debts.
A political economist and former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, had explained that the implication of government spending a major amount of its revenue on debt servicing was that the Federal Government borrowed to finance other expenditures that it incurred within the period.
He added that the trend of continuous borrowing would further worsen the economic conditions of the country.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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2 days 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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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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2 days 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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