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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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“TETFund Approves N2.5b Intervention For Daura Varsity 

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September 22, 2025

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The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has approved over N2.5 billion for the Federal University of Transportation Daura (FUTD) in Katsina State.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Umar Adam-Katsayal, who revealed this in an interview with Journalists, at the Weekend, said out of the allocation, N1.3 billion would go into physical infrastructure and programme upgrades, while N240 million has been set aside for academic staff training and development.
Another N150 million is earmarked for ICT support, N185 million for library development, and N170 million for staff conference attendance.
Adam -Katsayal said that N1.3 billion from the approved 2025 intervention would be channelled to physical infrastructure and programme upgrade. He added that about N240 million is meant for academic staff training and development, N150 million for ICT support, N185 million for Library development, and N170 million for conference attendance”.
Giving further breakdown, the Vice Chancellor disclosed that the university’s research activities would receive N100 million, project maintenance N180 million, and entrepreneurship centres N85.5 million.
Career centres and units will get N100 million, while publication of journals and manuscript development were allocated N25 million each.
Beyond academic funding, Adam-Katsayal revealed that the institution has introduced a cooperative society to help staff acquire homes within the next five to ten years.
He urged investors to partner with the university in developing residential housing around the campus, stressing that the initiative aims to prevent staff from facing retirement without personal housing.
The Federal University of Transportation Daura, established to support Nigeria’s growing transportation sector, is one of the newest higher institutions benefiting from TETFund’s 2025 intervention cycle.
Recall that in August, it was reported that TETFund received a record N1.6 trillion for nationwide tertiary education interventions—the highest in its history.
The fund, generated from the 3% education tax on company profits, is being deployed to support infrastructure, healthcare training, energy projects, and student support.
Of the total, N460 billion (40%) is allocated directly to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across all states. Another N225 billion was released to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to back the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
To address power challenges, N70 billion is earmarked for solar and gas-powered facilities in tertiary institutions, while over N100 billion is directed toward medical sciences training. Additionally, N25 billion has been set aside for campus security upgrades nationwide.
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