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Education Minister Tasks Govs On ETF

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14 years ago

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The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, has emphasised the need for state governors to effectively utilise Education Trust Fund (ETF) to drive education projects in their states.

The minister made the statement at the end of a meeting with the governors, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), which ended yesterday in Abuja.

The minister, who spoke with newsmen at the end of the meeting, said that it was

regrettable that majority of the governors did not know how to access the ETF

facilities open to them.

“Most of the governors appear to be blank on the process of accessing the fund,” the minister said.

She, however, expressed optimism that following her meeting with the governors,

the majority of them would begin to access the funds.

The minister added that beyond briefing the governors on how to access the ETF fund, she also used the opportunity to solicit for their continued support in the area of education development in their states.

She added that the ministry was particularly soliciting the support of the

governors because it was planning to carry out a census of schools across

the country.

That, she noted, would require each governor to support its state Ministry of

Education to aid the conduct of a successful school census for the country.

The minister said that the essence of the school census was to compile a statistics

that would ensure a yearly public statistics for the country.

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa-Ibom State, told newsmen that the minister had

helped to clarify the mode of accessing the ETF funds.

“A lot of clarifications had been made on the modalities of accessing the ETF funds

and particularly on the back log that belongs to secondary and primary schools,

which most of the states were guilty of not accessing.

“For the first time, many of the governors now know that most of these projects

really have to emanate from the states and that due process should have been

followed from the states,” Akpabio said.

He, however, attributed the ignorance of the governors to an alleged lack of transparency in the past in terms of information flow, but added that; “things would now be streamlined after the briefing by the minister”.

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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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