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Nigeria Hands Over World Customs Organisation Vice-Chair To Mali

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Nigeria handed over the Vice-Chairmanship seat of the World Customs Organisation for the West Africa and Central Region to Mali.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ceremony, held at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja, saw Nigeria’s NCS boss, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, handing over to his Malian counterpart, Amadou Konate.
In his remarks, Adeniyi thanked his counterparts in the region for their cooperation during his tenure, which commenced in May 2022.
He stated that the WCO is an umbrella body that brings together more than 184 customs administrations, noting that the West and Central Africa region comprises 24 administrations working in unison to achieve their mandates..00 /”We also have the obligation to implement measures that improve the trade environment through freight facilitation.
“From experiences worldwide, we are living in an era of economic integrations, with customs administrations charged with administering and implementing these integration measures.
“All our customs administrations are challenged by issues of fragile borders and insecurity,” he noted.
Adeniyi added that the WCO in the region holds regular meetings and activities where members share experiences, exchange ideas, discuss their challenges, and propose solutions.
He further explained that they examine best practices available in different customs administrations and make efforts to learn from them.
“We also engage in capacity building among ourselves to train our officers and provide them with the best opportunities and environments to learn.
“We are not all at the same level of development, so we should also seek opportunities to provide mentorship to each other in different aspects of customs operations,” he said.
He urged the new Vice-Chair to take measures that would bring the region’s customs administrations together, emphasising that they could draw strength from one another to address their challenges.
“The handover document has identified some immediate challenges that the Vice-Chair will confront in the months ahead.
“The most important of these is the need to mobilise funds and resources to support our activities in the region.
“We are in the process of organising another conference, so I want to urge the Vice-Chair to prioritise this programme,” he said.
Adeniyi also stressed that the office requires the support of the host government and expressed hope that the Malian government would provide the necessary backing to ensure the success of the country’s tenure.
In his response, Konate assured the outgoing Vice-Chair that he would build on his achievements to enhance customs administration in the region.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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24 hours 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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