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Etche Community Protests Against PHED

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9 years ago

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No fewer than 126 residents of Umuebulu and Ikwerre ngwo communities in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the Moscow Road office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) over epileptic power supply and outrageous billing.
They wielded placards that read: “Billing Without Services is Corruption”, Give Us Prepaid Meter or Flat Rate Of N2,000″, “Mr. President Proscribe PHED”, “We Will Not Pay For Darkness”, and “PHED 5 Minutes On, One Week Off Not Acceptable”, amongst others.
The Tide reports that following the protest, business activities were obstructed for about three hours as both the entrance and exist gates of the company were locked and customers were turned back.
One of the protesters, Gift Uzoma said, in a month, residents only have light for few days but that at the end of the month, each one-bedroom flat is asked to pay N15,000.00 and above.
Uzoma also stated that they provided transformers, cables, ladders and bought over 200 poles yet hardly get supply.
Chairman of the group, Bright Jeremiah,  who later addressed the press, said a meeting arranged by management of the company and representatives of the protesters that lasted for over two and half hours ended inconclusively as both parties could not reach an agreement.
“The meeting is inconclusive because our demands were not carefully looked into. We want our bills to be slashed to N2,000 per month, release of transformers to us and provision of prepaid meters to address the issue of outrageous bills, but the management said we should pay 50 per cent while they look into the extra”, he said.
The Manager, Corporate Communications of PHED, Mr. Jonah Iboma, confirmed that the management met with the protesting residents and looked into their complaints of exorbitant bills.
“We told them that billing is based on meter reading on our transformers. They are not estimated arbitrarily.
“The reason why they said the discussion didn’t go down well with them is because they want stay of action on the current bill, but we asked them to pay 50 per cent slash or reduction. We are surprised”, said Iboma.

 

Chris Oluoh

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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3 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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3 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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3 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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