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Mortgage Housing: World Bank To Offer FG $300m Lifeline

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12 years ago

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Nigeria’s Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala, said the World Bank would support the Federal Government’s mortgage financing with 300 million dollars liquidity.

Okonjo-Iweala disclosed this while briefing the Nigerian media delegation to the Spring Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund last Sunday in Washington.

She said that demand for housing mortgage was high in the country, adding that mortgage financing would help to boost the economy.

“The World Bank has been a strong partner and it’s providing 300 million dollars of liquidity facility at concessional rate.

“That is zero per cent interest, 0.7 per cent commitment charge, 10 years of grace and 40 years repayment period to help us do this.

“This is very propitious and it will need to be coupled with other changes,” she said.

According to her, government has also asked for support of governors, who are ready to lift the constraints in achieving this project.

She said the project would be kicked off in the six states that had accepted to key into the system, adding that most issues that would come out of the project would be ironed out before it is extended to other states.

She said the states included Lagos, the FCT, Bauchi, Niger and Anambra. She expressed the hope that by the end of 2013 the institution would be put in place to enable people have access to mortgage.

Okonjo-Iweala said Nigeria had a deficit of 17 million housing units, but noted that government’s target was to add two million houses every year.

The Governor of Central Bank, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said: “There is work being done on land use, on the cost of titling and on the charges by the banks.

“Work is going on how to reduce the cost of building materials because the issue of housing goes beyond just finance.

“There is the cost of construction, the cost of land, cost of perfection, absence of standardisation, so there is a whole holistic plan to address the housing problem rather than just deal with how do give people loans.”

He noted that the mortgage financing would deal with how to reduce the cost of ownership, increase access, deepen the secondary market and provide liquidity for institutions.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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21 hours 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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21 hours 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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21 hours 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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