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Minister Inaugurates N300m Nscdc Housing Estate In Abuja

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The Minister of Interior,
Mr Abba Moro, on Thursday, inaugurated a N300-million housing estate built by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for its officers.
The minister, who commended the leadership of the NSCDC for the laudable achievement, urged other parastatals and government agencies to emulate the NSCDC in order to boost the morale of personnel.
The Tide gathered that the 30-units, two-bedroom estate built by the Cooperative Society of the NSCDC is located in Kubwa in Abuja.
Moro said “I want to commend the leadership of the NSCDC for this laudable housing project for its personnel.
“It is really heart-warming for me that the Ministry of Interior, through this parastatal, is demonstrating its commitment to the Federal Government’s determination to address the housing deficit in Nigeria.’’
According to him, the housing estate will go a long way in ensuring efficient service delivery on the part of the officers of the NSCDC.
He described housing as a major problem in Nigeria and stressed the need for all stakeholders to key into government’s effort to ensure affordable housing.
Moro urged real estate managers and financial institutions to show more commitment in developing the ministry’s para-military housing scheme located in Sauka, Abuja, meant to provide decent accommodation for officers.
Earlier, the NSCDC Commandant-General, Dr Ade Abolurin, said the housing estate was part of efforts to ensure better welfare for its personnel, especially those at the junior cadre.
Abolurin said that the leadership of the NSCDC decided to start the housing scheme with junior and middle cadre officers as a way of re-dedicating their efforts to work and building a virile nation.
He said similar projects were on-going across the federation in a bid to ensure that officers continued to be honest and professional in their duty and shun all acts of corruption.
The commandant-general added that the leadership of the NSCDC would not hesitate to deal with anyone caught in any act of corruption to serve as deterrent to others.
The Tide learnt that each of the houses costs about N10 million and each personnel would be required to pay 10 per cent equity before given the keys to the houses.
The housing estate was built in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank and Platinum Mortgage Bank.
The event was attended by heads of immigration, prisons, officials of the Ministry of Interior, real estate managers and heads of financial institutions.

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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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