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Inflation Overshoots World Bank’s Projection In Nigeria 

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In its recent ‘Nigeria Development Update (June 2022): The Continuing Urgency of Business Unusual’, the World Bank’s projection that Nigeria’s inflation rate will be 15.5 percent has been overshot by the latest figure released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest inflation figure from the NBS, released on Friday, showed that the nation’s inflation rose to 18.60 per cent in June, the highest since January 2017 when it was 18.72 per cent.
In June 2022, the inflation rate increased to 18.60 per cent on a year-on-year basis. This is 0.84 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2021, which is 17.75 per cent.
“This means that the headline inflation rate increased in the month of June 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year (i.e., June 2021). Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index.
“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate increased to 1.82 per cent in June 2022, this is 0.03 per cent higher than the rate recorded in May 2022 (1.78 per cent)”, the NBS said.
According to the statistics body, urban inflation rose to 19.09 per cent and rural inflation hit 18.13 per cent in June 2022. This is despite the recent interest rate increase by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In May, the CBN raised the nation’s interest rate from 11.5 per cent to 13 per cent in a bid to address inflation in the nation.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had disclosed that the Monetary Policy Committee had to increase the monetary policy rate by 150 basis points to prevent inflation.
He said: “Six members voted to raise the MPR by 150 basis points, four members’ by 100 basis points and one member, by 50 basis points.
“Members expressed deep concern about the continued uptrend of inflationary pressure in spite of the gradual improvement in output growth.
“Committee notes that the current rise in inflation is inimical to growth and the full recovery of the Nigerian economy.”
According to the World Bank, rising inflation will push millions of Nigerians into poverty in 2022.

 

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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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