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‘New Inflation Rate Shows Reduction In Hardship’

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8 years ago

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An economist, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, says the latest 17.24 per cent inflation figures indicated a marginal reduction in prices of goods and services.
Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of CBN, told newsmen last Thursday in Abuja that the figures indicated that the rate of inflation was gradually coming down.
He said the figures showed that inflation had reduced marginally from 17.26 per cent in March to 17. 24 per cent in April, saying that”it a marginal decrease of 0.02 per cent’’.
Mailafia, however, expressed concern over the inflation rate, which he said, was still high as double digit.
“I will like to see the inflation coming to single digit because there were years between 2003 and 2013 when we were able to bring down inflation to single digit.
“I don’t see why we cannot go to that period; inflation is way too high now.
“In advanced industrialised countries, the average rate of inflation is 3.5 per cent, anything higher than that will make people to begin to scream and here we are at 17.24 per cent.
“We would say things are slightly picking up, but it is not yet time to celebrate because inflation generally is too high’’.
Mailafia said the country should be worried about the high inflation, adding that inflation distorted the growth of the economy as well as hampered the welfare of the workers.
The expert said that inflation would hamper the welfare of workers who depended solely on their salaries and it would make them to be poorer, while the rich would gain more.
“The very rich people can translate their assets or property to cash, once inflation comes. In fact, they gain more.
“The workers have fixed income and if inflation wipes it out, it has no recourse; you can see his welfare being reduced to nothing.’’
Mailafia said that the second bad aspect of inflation was that it discouraged savings.
He said people got discouraged to save during inflation because the situation would not help them to justify the act of saving.
“Why do I continue to save while I know that inflation will wipe all my savings and investment; so people begin to speculate, to take more and put it into dollars.
“The more they do it, the more the naira deteriorates and the more inflation you have and people don’t invest and if people don’t invest, growth does not take place.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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9 hours 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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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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