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ECA Drops To $2.45bn As FG, States Share N580bn

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The Excess Crude Ac
count (ECA) has been further depleted by about $650 million from the $3.1 billion in December to $2.45  billion as at January 16, figures obtained from the Federation Account Allocation Committee by our correspondent has revealed.
According to the documents, the Minister of State for Finance, Amb Bashir Yuguda, while addressing journalists at the end of last month’s FAAC meeting in Abuja said the figures were reliable.
Also at the meeting, the committee shared the sum of N580.37 billion among the three tiers of government as allocation for the month of December.
The allocation of December of N580.37 billion is N108.56 billion lower than the budgeted amount less than the N628.77 billion shared in November.
Yuguda said that the shared amount comprised statutory revenue of N474.4 billion and N6.3billion being debt payment made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Other components of the allocation according to him, are Value Added Tax (VAT) of N73.5 billion and an additional N15.6 billion from the ECA was released to augment the shortfall in revenue generated during the period.
Giving a breakdown of revenue among the three tiers of government, Yuguda said the federal government received N220.5 billion representing 52.68 per cent, states, N111.8 billion, representing 26.72 per cent while the local governments got N86.2 billion or 20.60 per cent of the amount distributed.
He also disclosed that N47.2 billion representing 13 per cent derivation revenue was shared among the oil producing states.
The minister put the gross revenue received for the month of December at 490.03 billion, noting that the amount was lower than the N500.07 billion received in the previous month by N10.04 billion.
Yuguda said a 12 per cent drop in crude oil prices between the months of October and November last year had a negative effect on revenue accruing to the federal government.
The Chairman, FAAC Finance Commissioners Forum, Mr Timothy Odah, who also spoke at the end of the meeting expressed concern over the continued decline in revenue to the federation account.
He called for a more diversification effort by all levels of government to ensure that the drop in oil price does not affect government programmes.

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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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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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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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