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FG Introduces New Guidelines For Raw Sugar Allocation

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8 years ago

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National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) says the Federal Government has introduced new guidelines and benchmarks for raw sugar allocation for operators in the sector.
Executive Secretary of the council, Dr Latif Busari, made this known in a statement in Abuja last Monday, and said that the measure was to improve performance of operators of Backward Integration Programme (BIP).
In the statement by the council’s Senior Information Officer, Mr Yunusa Abdullahi, Busari said in the guidelines, operators would be required to submit their requests for sugar allocation for any year in December of the preceding year.
He added that 2017 allocation would be the last sugar allocation based on the old criteria, including market and share refinery capacity.
According to him, as from 2018, allocation shall be strictly based on quantitatively verified improvement in performance.
Busari, however, added that Sugar Roadmap Implementation Committee (SURMIC) and Sugar Industry Monitoring Group (SIMG) would be expected to conduct quarterly monitoring of all BIP projects.
He said that outcome of each monitoring would be forwarded to all operators with copies sent to the council and to office of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
According to him, the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for assessing and scoring BIP performance shall be the quantity of land developed and target for the year.
Other indicators, he said, would be mill development and factory operation, sugar produced in tons and jobs created for the year.
Busari said that to ensure compliance, government would put in place sanctions for poor BIP performance.
“Any operator that fails to achieve performance target for the year, based on BIP commitments as released by the Joint Harmonisation meeting, shall be penalised for poor performance, with reduction in quota commensurate with performance scores.
“Scores by operators shall be in percentages and an operator shall be allocated the exact percentage of its score in the year’s projected allocation,’’ he said.
Busari said there would be sanctions for quota infringement by any of the BIP operators.
He explained that any operator who abused allocated quota through excess importation would pay for the excess sugar imported, calculated on the extant tariff indicated in the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
“Erring operator must pay the duty penalty for excess importation before it can be allowed by the Nigerian Customs Service to discharge its raw sugar cargo.
“The council reserves the right to recommend additional sanction if the above appears not effective in ensuring compliance.
“It is hoped that these measures, if adopted and strictly implemented, shall bring some sanity to the implementation of the sugar BIP programme and enhance the performance of operators,’’ Busari said.

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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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