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Varsity Students Decry High Cost Of Kerosene

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Some students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka have decried the exorbitant price of kerosene as a litre sells for N400 at the filling stations.
The students who spoke to newsmen Monday described the situation as ‘unacceptable’, saying it had made life more unbearable for them given the already existing hardship in the country caused by the economic recession.
Mr Uchenna Ngwu of the Department of Political Sociology said that life had become more unbearable and challenging for students as they spend their feeding money to buy kerosene at N400 per litre to cook their food.
“Students are the worst hit because they cook with stove that is powered with kerosene.
“Government should urgently intervene to ensure it the price kerosene returns to normal before students start dying of hunger as a result of lack of kerosene to cook with.
“Relevant government agencies should ensure that kerosene marketers who sell the product above government price and their filling stations are sealed to serve as deterrent to others”, he said.
Miss Chidera Chime of the Department of Health Education urged government to put measures in place to alleviate the current hardship in the country due to economic recession that had doubled the prices of goods in the market.
“Because of high cost of kerosene which I cannot afford to buy, I now resort to buying cooked food outside. Where I am feeling it much now is that I am being forced to take my bath with cold water which I am not used to.
“I am pleading to government to do something urgent to ensure that kerosene marketers sell the product at government official price considering the hardship Nigerians, especially students are going through”, she said.
Miss Peace Pius of the Department of Nursing Science said it had not been easy for her to buy kerosene at N400 per litre.
“I hardly eat outside; I like to cook for myself because if I eat outside I don’t feel satisfied.
“The two litres I bought on Monday was N800 and I felt bad while paying that money to the station attendant.
“Government should not be allowing marketers of petroleum products in this country to be holding Nigerians to ransom by selling at whatever prices they like”, she said.
The Tide gathered that only few filling stations in the area where selling at N400 while most had no product.

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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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