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Tech Expo: Exhibitor Wants Collaboration With Institutes

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The Manager, S. Adiss Agricultural Engineering Ltd., Mr James Adeleye has advocated that government research institutions should partner with the upcoming companies to enhance their productivity.
Adeleye made the call in an interview with newsmen at the ongoing Technology and Innovation Expo 2017 in Abuja, Thursday.
He advised that the government should enact a law to make investors to use 40 to 50 per cent locally made machines and other research products in the country.
Adeleye said that such law would go a long way to help both the government and private sector to improve locally made products.
He explained that his participation in the expo was to create awareness on the capability of the company.
He said that the company designs, fabricates and installs high precision machines for livestock, brewery, flour making, cassava processing and other agro-allied industries.
Adeleye said that the company had been working in partnership with the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan to produce the products. .
“Before we started the partnership with the institution, we were not perfect with the melon shelling machine, we could only achieve 40 per cent of what we needed.
“At times, the machine may not even work but when the institution came, it gave us the materials and ideas and now we can achieve up to 70 per cent for the machine and many others,” he said.
According to him, the bulk of the work is on the government, the private sector can only do little.
He said that the government could patronise the private sector or even fund them.
Mr Nkworka Chuks, the Managing Director, Jacey-jon Engineering Ltd., said the expo was a good concept but might not achieve its objective.
Chuks said that the objective of the expo should be to promote research and development activities and encourage Nigerians to take up science professions.
According to him, others are to encourage and promote creation of innovative enterprises utilising Nigeria’s indigenous knowledge and technology to produce marketable goods and services.
Chuks, however, called on the government to make the process of accessing funds easy to encourage technological innovations by individuals and groups.
He said that at the expo, all government officials did was just to congratulate them without any concrete promise to assist any of them, especially the younger inventors from secondary schools.
He lamented the way governments at all levels paid little or no attention to youthful creations and innovations.
Chucks called on research institutions to identify the youths that are interested in research and innovations.

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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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