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World Bank Loan: FG Targets $500m To Boost Education, Health

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1 year ago

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In order to tackle inadequate human resource issues in Nigeria’s education and healthcare systems, the Federal Government is targeting a $500million loan from the World Bank.
The loan, which is intended to tackle long-standing staffing gaps and enhance the performance management of basic education teachers and primary healthcare workers, is part of the Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity Governance Programme.
The Programme Information Document for the appraisal stage revealed that the international lender, the World Bank, is expected to give its final approval for the loan on September 26, 2024, and have the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health as the implementing organs.
It also showed that the loan is to support, and strengthen financial and human resource management in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
According to the document, the loan will focus on three major result areas, with the improvement of recruitment, deployment, and performance management of sector workers being a key component.
“Nigeria suffers from a shortage of qualified professionals, including teachers and health workers, when compared to the average for low- and middle-income countries. These are also highly unequal across regions/states.
“Frontline workers such as teachers and healthcare workers are technical employees of local governments, but states vary considerably in the extent to which they are managed at a central state level, creating blurred accountabilities.
“Moreover, human resource management suffers from a lack of planning, is often not properly costed and is not always based on merit and transparency”.
“The deployment of these professionals is also suboptimal and not aligned to guarantee learning and basic health care for all,” the document revealed.

“HOPE-GOV covers a subset of actions from the government programme and would run from 2024 to 2028. These actions will mostly be at the state level, but with a few at the federal level.

“The Programme will support Nigeria in addressing underlying governance weaknesses in the systems and procedures of government that constrain outcomes in basic education and primary healthcare service delivery.

“The focus will be on cross-sectoral issues, such as improved financial resource allocation, efficiency of resources, strengthened public financial management, fiscal transparency and accountability, and enhanced human resource management.

“In addition, an IPF component (US$20m) will finance the technical assistance component”, it stated.

Corlins Walter

 

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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4 days ago

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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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4 days ago

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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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4 days 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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