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RIMA Moves To Improve Service Delivery

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8 years ago

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The Rivers State Micro Finance Agency (RIMA) concluded a strategy workshop in Port Harcourt yesterday with a resolve to improve its service delivery, especially in the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) development in the state.
The workshop which was held under the theme; ‘New Horizon’ provided a platform for the management and staff of the agency to review its performance in the year 2017 and made projections for 2018.
In his executive appraisal of the activities of the agency for the year 2017, the Managing Director and CEO of the Agency, Dr Ipalibo Sogules said the agency recorded a lot of achievements in 2017, inspite of glaring challenges.
He said the workshop was to develop a strategy of consistent appraisal of the agency for optimal performance and called on the participants to make judicious use of the platform.
The Managing Director, emphasised the need for building of team cohesion to break barriers and achieve set objectives.
He said the agency had a budget of N1.2 billion in 2017, but has made a requisition of N1.66 billion for 2018.
Sogules said some of the challenges faced by the Agency in 2017 included, “loan documentation issues, logistic problems, inefficient loan reporting because of ICT issues liqudity constraints on loan disbursement, poor loan monitoring, among others”.
He assured on the commitment of the agency toward promoting enterprise development in the State.
In his remarks the chairman of the Board of Directors of RIMA, Chief Austin Okpara, expressed satisfaction with the performance of RIMA in 2017. Okpara who was represented by a Board member and Director in the agency, Hon Nancy Nwankwo said on assumption of office in 2015, the RIMA board was faced with teething challenges such as administrative contraints, loan retrival and poor attendance to work, but said some of the challenges had been properly addressed.
He urged staff of the agency to be committed to duty and assured that the board would provide the right incentives for the management of the agency to achieve set goals and objectives.
Some of the participants at the workshop thanked the management of RIMA for organising the workshop and pledged their commitment to wards achieving the goals of the agency.
The participants also called for consistent training and retraining of staff of the agency to enhance their performance.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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5 days 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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5 days ago

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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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5 days ago

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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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