News
Nigeria, Namibia push for deeper bilateral cooperation
Namibia is itching to deepen bilateral relations with Nigeria by understudying the operations of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), Mr Humphrey Geiseb, its envoy to Nigeria, has said.
Geiseb stated this during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of NTAC, Dr Yusuf Yakub, in Abuja, last Friday.
The envoy said that understudying NTAC‘s operations was necessary to recommit to the ideals of the Nigeria-Namibia Joint Commission of Co-operation.
Geiseb lauded the impact of the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Scheme over the past years in his country, noting that it had left no one in doubt about its desirability.
He added that Nigeria remained Namibia’s ‘big brother,’ having contributed immensely to Namibia’s independence struggles and its development in diverse sectors.
The envoy said that Nigeria’s contributions to the country preceded Namibia’s independence.
He listed the benefiting sectors as health, agriculture, education, as well as oil and gas.
Geiseb recalled that some of the best crops of civil and public service professionals later grew to become permanent secretaries, directors, medical professionals and teachers in Namibia.
According to him, such professionals were trained by Nigerians and their availability ensured a smooth transition from their colonial masters in a newly independent Namibia.
He also lauded the TAC scheme for being the means through which Namibia achieved an abundance of medical professionals and teachers, who were prepared to export their skills to other countries.
Part of the reasons for his visit, he said, was to learn best practices from NTAC with regards to its operations, and seek future ways to address some identified capacities that might still be lacking in Namibia.
The envoy also solicited for greater efforts between Nigeria and Namibia at the ministerial level to re-energise the noble objectives of the Nigeria-Namibia Joint Commission.
He stressed that hosting a new session of the joint commission, which was established in 2000, and met last 14 years ago, would make for deeper ties and advance the identified interests of both countries.
Responding, Yakub, expressed gratitude to the high commissioner for the visit.
He reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to providing technical assistance to brother nations across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific countries.
He also lauded the vision of the founding fathers of the TAC scheme, which he pointed out, had in the past 37 years, broken foisted geographic barriers among brothers.
Yakub reiterated that the TAC scheme served to ensure the transfer of technical skills and cultural exchanges to the benefiting countries, among other benefits.
He added that a lot had changed with changing times between both countries in the area of receiving the TAC Volunteers
“However, we will not hesitate to answer the requests of Namibia in whatever areas of technical need or tutelage whenever such requests came,” he said.
The TAC boss also assured his visitor that he would in the coming days, seek audience with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, to communicate Namibia’s interest in holding a new session of the Joint Commission.
The Tide source reports that also present at the meeting were the Director of Administration of NTAC, Amb.Yakubu Ahmed, and the Director of Programmes, Amb. Zakari Usman.
NTAC’s Deputy Director and Head of Accounts, Mrs Meimunat Mustapha, Under Secretary, Namibian High Commission, Abuja, Mr Morris Sisinzi, also attended the meeting.
The Nigeria Immigration Service 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, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
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.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
-
Sports3 days ago
CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
-
Sports3 days ago
FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
-
Sports3 days ago
NPFL club name Iorfa new GM
-
Sports3 days ago
NNL abolishes playoffs for NPFL promotion
-
Sports3 days ago
NSF: Early preparations begin for 2026 National Sports Festival
-
Sports3 days ago
Kwara Hopeful To Host Confed Cup in Ilorin
-
Sports3 days ago
RSG Award Renovation Work At Yakubu Gowon Stadium
-
Politics3 days agoRivers Assembly Resumes Sitting After Six-Month Suspension