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Osun Workers Shun Resumption Order

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14 years ago

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Civil servants in Osun on Monday refused to call off their four-week old industrial action over the N18,000 minimum wage, in spite of  a directive given by the state’s Head of Service (HOS) for them to resume.

Reports said that government’s offices in the state’s capital were under lock.

The entrance gate to the state’s secretariat at  Abere, was  opened in anticipation that workers would obey the order but no public servant reported for duty.

We recall that the HOS on September 4 in a broadcast, ordered the striking workers to resume work on September 5.

Reacting to the directive, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), in the state, Mr Francis Adetunji, said that the HOS had no justification to direct the workers to resume work.

“HOS was not the one that directed workers to embark on strike, government is trying to cause division among the union members and it would not work,“ Adetunji stated.

He vowed that workers would not resume work if the State Government failed to implement the minimum wage across board as demanded by the two unions,  the NLC and TUC.

Meanwhile the Osun Deputy Governor, Mrs Titilayo Tomori, and the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Salam, have appealed to the striking workers to stop the strike in the interest of the state. Tomori made the appeal at the 20th Anniversary Lecture marking the creation of  the state.

She said the present administration was friendly to workers and ready to cater for their welfare, adding that the workers should join forces with the governor to develop the state.

In a release signed by his Press Secretary, Goke Butika, the speaker urged  the workers to call off the strike and resume negotiation with the government for the  resolution of the crisis.

He said that  Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, had placed before the House programmes  for approval to bring development to all the nooks and crannies of the state.

He further implored the workers to  consider the plea of well-meaning indigenes of the state who had intervened in the matter and return to work.

The State Government had promised to pay N19,001 as minimum wage to its workers on grade levels 01 to 07 while N7,429,  N6,611, and  N5,096 are to be paid to workers on grade levels 08 to 10,  12 to 14 and 15 to 17, respectively.

The leadership of the NLC and TUC, are demanding the payment of the minimum wage to all grade levels.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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3 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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3 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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3 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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