The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has boosted its daily passport production capacity from about three hundred to five thousand, following the launch of a new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre in Abuja.

The Minister of Interior, Doctor Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who disclosed this during an inspection of the facility at the NIS Headquarters, described the move as a major milestone in Nigeria’s sixty-two-year history of passport issuance.

According to him, the old decentralised system relied on outdated machines that could only produce between two hundred and fifty and three hundred passports daily. The new centralised system, however, now enables NIS to process four thousand five hundred to five thousand passports daily within just four to five hours of operation.

The Rivers State House of Assembly has resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu had elapsed.

President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties.

The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Nigeria and Benin reprieve as FIFA opens case against SA for fielding ineligible Mokoena

Nigeria and Benin have been handed a major boost in their World Cup qualification hopes after FIFA confirmed it has opened disciplinary proceedings against South Africa for fielding an ineligible player, according to GOAL.

The case centres around Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who featured for Bafana Bafana against Lesotho in March despite already having accumulated two yellow cards earlier in the campaign. According to FIFA rules, he should have been suspended, but South Africa fielded him regardless, sparking protests from rival nations.

Although Lesotho did not immediately lodge an official complaint, both Nigeria and Benin have since pressed FIFA to take action, arguing that docking points from South Africa is the only fair resolution. For months, there was silence from world football’s governing body, leading many South African fans to believe they were in the clear. However, a recent letter from FIFA to the South African Football Association (SAFA) confirmed that disciplinary proceedings are underway.

“The player and the association face charges of breaching several disciplinary regulations, including the fielding of an ineligible player,” South Africa’s national broadcaster SABC reported. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has now given SAFA and Mokoena six days to respond.

The implications could be decisive. South Africa currently sit top of Group C with 17 points, but a three-point deduction would leave them on 14, level with Benin. Nigeria and Rwanda would then be just three points adrift with two matches remaining, keeping qualification hopes alive for all four nations.

While the situation leaves South African supporters anxiously awaiting FIFA’s verdict, Nigeria and Benin now have renewed belief in their chances of securing a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

President Tinubu Support Group has dismissed recent remarks by Professor Udenta concerning the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, stating that his views do not reflect the opinion of most Nigerians.

Speaking in an interview, the Director General of the group, Doctor Umar Yakasai, said that while Professor Udenta is entitled to his opinion, it does not represent the broader sentiments of the Nigerian populace or the position of the Tinubu Support Group.

He added that the impact of that period remains fresh in the minds of many citizens, and any attempt to revise the public’s perception of that era would not resonate with the realities Nigerians experienced