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Ethnic Groups Demand New Constitution

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14 years ago

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Leaders of some ethnic nationalities in Nigeria yesterday rose from a meeting in Lagos reiterating calls for a new constitution for Nigeria.

The leaders, under the aegis of Movement for New Nigeria (MNN), noted that nothing worked in Nigeria under the 1999 Constitution.

This, they said, resulted in failed education, health care, power, roads, food scarcity and security.

Our correspondent reports that those at meeting included representatives of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Niger Congress comprising former Eastern and Mid-Western Regions of Nigeria.

Others are the representatives of the Federation of Oodua Peoples, representing former Western, and the Middle Belt Congress, representing some parts of the former Northern Region.

Addressing newsmen, the MNN President, Mr Fred Agbeyegbe, said that  there was a need for a sovereign national conference that would give birth to a new constitution.

“The power required for constitution making resides exclusively in the hands of the people.

“All the woes bedeviling Nigeria, including corruption and instability, flow from the fraud in the nation’s constitution’’ he said.

In his speech, the Secretary of the group, Mr Tony Nnadi, said: “It is fraudulent to try to put the seal of the people‘s authority on a document wholly concocted and imposed via Decree No. 24 of 1999’’.

He said that the fact that the 1999 Constitution was imposed on the people of Nigeria was a breach of their sovereignty which must be rectified for the country to move forward.

He also reiterated the need for such a conference to address the imbalances that existed among the federating states of Nigeria.

Sen. Suleiman Salawu, the Chairman of the Kwara State branch of the Yoruba Council of Elders, said that the group had reached the end of its endurance on the state of the nation.

“We assert that the present state of affairs is totally intolerable to us,’’ he said.

He noted that although the group remained loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan, there was a need for the president to consider the agitations of the generality of Nigerians.

Salawu, however, decried the restiveness in the North by the Boko Haram sect.

He noted that such agitations could be solved through dialogue.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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2 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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2 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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2 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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