Business
Clergy Harps On Business Diversification … Celebrates 53rd Birthday
The Minister in charge of Assemblies of God (AG), Mgbuosimini 2 Church, Port Harcourt, Rev. Tambari Tiiri, has stated the need for Christians to diversify in their businesses to enable them survive the present economic situation in the country.
Rev. Tiiri said this in a chat with The Tide shortly after the celebration of his 53rd Birthday in the church over the weekend.
The AG clergy reiterated the importance of getting involved in multiple streams of income as a way forward in this hard times trailing the country under the present administration.
“We encourage our members to be involved in multiple streams of income. We teach and also bring business professionals to train some in skill acquisition such as soap making and others.
“If you don’t encourage people to do business and work, how will they survive. It is not biblical for people to be idle and lazy.
Even Adam, who God placed in the garden of Eden, worked so hard to maintain the garden.
“God said that a man who cannot feed his family is worst than an infidel. So, without members having businesses and working, it will be difficult for God to pass through a channel to locate them for blessings”, he said.
The Minister said his 29 years in the ministry has been full of impactful experiences, adding that he has pastored nine different churches.
He noted that his target and strong tool has been service and humility, which has attracted many fans, adding that he still relates with members of all the churches he pastored.
Rev. Tiiri called on Christians to also remain focused, maintain their integrity in both offices and communities where they live, in addition to always being contented with what they have.
He commended all the people that God used to make the programme a success and promised that he would continue to pray till God makes them blessings in the land.
The highlights of the programme was the distribution of rappers to 15 widows, cash donations to 10 retired ministers, and visit to the motherless babies home earlier in the week.
Other highlights include preaching, cutting of the birthday cake, testimonies, citation reading by his children and other ceremonial presentations.
Lilian Peters
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Business
Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons
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.
Business
NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years
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.
Business
FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year
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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