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NACCIMA Lauds CBN Over Additional IMTO Licences

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9 years ago

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The Leadership of the Ni
gerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has lauded the nation’s apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its decision and policy to license additional International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to the existing ones.
A statement issued in Lagos on Monday and signed by the NACCIMA National President, Chief Bassey Edem, said the move by the CBN is to liberalise the foreign Exchange Market, ensure liquidity and make foreign exchange easily available to members of the Association and other end users.
Edem stressed that the CBNs decision was a step in the right direction in ensuring that remittances from Nigerians in the diaspora remain a viable source of foreign exchange for the nation’s economy.
He said that the CBN’s policy will put price control and determination in a few hands and create an enabling environment for share practices within the forex parallel market, adding that beneficiaries of foreign currency proceeds be allowed to determine at what rate to sell the currency and when to sell their proceeds.
He added that the situation will create multiple supplier/sellers to meet the existing demand in the parallel market and relieve the pressure on the inter-bank window.
The NACCIMA chairman in the statement further explained that the policy will constitute a disincentive to the inflow beneficiaries of the foreign currency thereby making them to consider other alternative sources that could be counterproductive and divert the inflows to unproductive ventures.
He said that the Chambers would remain committed to providing enabling environment for free enterprise and competitive market to promote mobility of labour , products and capital through uniformly applied regulatory systems.
He urged CBN management to reconsider its earlier principle that operators be required to remit foreign currency to their respective agent banks in the country for disbursement in naira to the beneficiaries while the foreign currency proceeds are to be sold to Bureau De Change Operators for onward retail to end users.
Meanwhile, the management of the nation’s apex bank has recently licensed 11 additional IMTOs to ease the challenges faced by the organized private sector in accessing foreign exchange in the forex market.

 

Philip Okparaji

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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