Business
Host Community Rights; Finima Vows To Push On
Finima Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State has vowed to continue to push on for their rights as Host community to the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, and other Multinational Oil Companies, until what they deserve is given to them.
They decried the rate of injustice and negligence by the Multinationals and the NLNG over the years, which, they said, was aggravated by inability of the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB) to compel these companies to do the needful.
Speaking to journalists on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport at the weekend, while reacting to the recent judgement given in favour of his community, the Amadabo of Finima, Chief Dagogo Brown, said the judgement was a kind of recompense for injustice to the people of Finima.
He said the people sacrificed their ancestral home for the NLNG to be put in place, but regretted that the community was not fairly treated, starting from their resettlement, to where they are now.
“They have been denying us of the benefits that are acruable to host Community, and even the NCDMB has refused to reach out to these Multinationals.
“The essence of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is to ensure that communities where oil and gas facilities pass through have direct benefits in order to assuag all these restiveness in the Niger Delta.
“It is disappointing to note that NCDMB is not reaching out to these companies to implement all these benefits that host communities, pipeline communities, and impacted communities are supposed to get.
“If you don’t reach out to them, restiveness will continue, because they are the people living with the pipeline facilities.
“You can imagine, Finima Community for the past 30 years has been denied of the benefits of host community, and even our resettlement was not in tandem with the global best practice.
“So we see the recent Federal High Court in Abuja as a recompense for injustice, and we say to God be the glory, and we will continue to push, until what we deserve is given to us.
“We are very happy with the judgement, and a lot of things will come out of it. It is victory not only for Finima, but for entire Bonny kingdom”, the Amadabo said.
By: Corlins Walter
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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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