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MD Laments Fate Of River Basin Authorities

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Managing Director of Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, Prof. Paul Marley, yesterday said Nigeria’s river basins had become shadows of their old selves due to poor funding.
Marley made the remark when members of the authority’s board of directors met with the staff in Kaduna.
He said there was urgent need to revive the river basins infrastructure, for best agricultural practices.
“Most river basin instruments that would have improved our economy were abandoned while some were sold to interested private individuals.
“There cannot be agricultural development without water. We take water for granted in Nigeria and this is contributing to poor agricultural production,” Marley said.
He urged the Federal Government to improve the funding of river basins across the country, to engender growth in the agriculture sector.
On the activities of the body in Kaduna State, Marley said it was handling “eight small dams, one medium hard dam, two constituency projects for provision of water and the Galma multipurpose dam”.
“Kaduna State has an opportunity to lead the river basin projects in Nigeria but insufficient funding was a major bottleneck,” he said.
Marley called for partnership with the private sector in developing river basin infrastructure, as “the nature of the national budget cannot move the authorities forward”.
In his response, Chairman of the board, Dr Sam Ode assured the staff that the new board would move the authority forward.
He, therefore, urged them to give their maximum cooperation to make things work.
“We are a two-way communication board, we will embrace communication as long as it goes through appropriate channel”, he told the staff.
Ode stressed that agriculture must take the front line in Nigeria’s economy, adding that “this is going to be our policy mandate”.

L-R: Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Permanent Secretary, Amb. Godknows Igali and  Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Shola Enikanolaiye, at the 7th Annual Conference of the Nigerian-German Energy Partnership in Abuja, yesterday.Photo: NAN

L-R: Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Permanent Secretary, Amb. Godknows Igali and Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Shola Enikanolaiye, at the 7th Annual Conference of the Nigerian-German Energy Partnership in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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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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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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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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