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NITDA Seeks Collaboration With UNECA On ICT

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has called for the collaboration of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on development of information technology in the country.

The Director General of the NITDA, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, made the call at the official stakeholders validation workshop recently in Abuja.

“ I wish to state categorically that this is the pilot phase and we seek the collaboration of UNECA and other major stakeholders in the ICT sector to proceed to a more detailed comprehensive and elaborate in the country wide survey thereafter.

“This effort will provide authentic data and information on ICT development and deployment.’’

Angaye said it was critical in planning and providing decision making process and that the Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) plan was the road map for IT development in the country.

He said the scan ICT Nigeria was a major follow-up which was aimed at measuring the impact of ICT on the socio- economic development in the country.

He also said it was an attempt to support Africa’s transition to an information society by building the capacity to collect the kind of information and data that supports and engineered ICT growth and investment.

According to him, Nigeria hopes to benefit more from the wealth of experience in the development of ICT across the African continent.

Angaye said the Scan ICT project comprised a broad-based national task force for Scan ICT and a major component of the methodology of achieving successful measurement of specific ICT indexes.

He said that it was relevant to the socio-economic development through the collaboration of the representatives of major sub-sectors in the ICT industry.

The DG said the Scan ICT activities had been coordinated in two phases by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UNECA.

He said that Nigeria was the first to carry out the scan ICT under the third phase of the project.

“This is I believe will go a long way for Nigeria’s inclusion in the trend and impact of ICT initiatives in Africa.’’

Our correspondent reports that the countries in which the project was conducted in Africa were Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique, among others.

Scan-ICT was a global initiative launched by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Finland to make available quality data on ICT activities in Africa.

Angaye said the objective was to support the transition to an information society by building the capacity to collect and manage the kind of information and data that supports the development and collection of data, IT growth and investments.

The Representative of UNECA, Mr Makin Faye, in his speech, said his office in collaboration with NITDA would ensure that activities would be hastened up to speed up Nigeria entering the technology economy.

He said the UNECA was committed to the promotion of the Scan ICT development as they had been in the fore front of promoting the stakeholders networks in the country like the private sector.

He said the cooperation in the development of IT in Africa and Nigeria at large would continue to receive support from them.

He called on the concerned bodies to ensure that appropriate framework was put in place for faster development of ICT in the country.

He said the UNECA was pleased with the interest shown by the Nigerian government and the people in terms of ICT.

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NCC Assures Safe, Accessible Digital Space

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has assured Nigerians of accessible, resilient and safe digital space in the nation’s digital economy.
The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, NCC, Rimini Makama, gave the assurance at the NCC’s Digital Economy Sensitisation Forum, with the theme, “Leaving No One Behind: Digital Access, Equity and Empowerment” in Abuja.
Makama said that the commission remained committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s national telecommunications infrastructure remained resilient, accessible and secure.
“Digital empoScientists Advocate Shared Responsibility To Boost Food Securitywerment must be inclusive. Without inclusion and equity, the benefits of the digital economy will remain unevenly distributed.
“The commission, through its Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and other initiatives, is actively extending digital opportunities to the unserved, underserved, physically challenged and vulnerable groups through several impactful programmes,” he said.
The Publicity Expert for the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr Nihinlola Fefa, said that the association had been an advocate of cyber security awareness and sensitisation over the years.
“ATCON has been a very key stakeholder in the ICT and telecom industry. We have always advocated for cybersecurity awareness and sensitisation.
“We have been giving our own input over the years. We interface with all the telecom companies. We do a lot of studies, and we also give our contributions in so many ways,” she said.
She commended the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, for deploying technology into rural communities.
According to her, though Nigeria is doing well in the area of cybersecurity, there is room for improvement.
“We are in a good position right now and we can do better from the government side,” she said.
Also speaking, the Head, IT and Cybersecurity, National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Olorunisomo Isola, said that the commission had rolled out the necessary framework.

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Expert Tasks Nigerians On AI

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An economist, Dr Chinedu Amadi, has urged Nigerians to leverage the opportunities inherent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to become competitive in the global business and social spaces.
Amadi, who is also the President, Organisation of Youth in International Trade and Commerce (OY-ITC), gave the urge during an interview with newsmen , in Abuja, Monday.
Amadi noted that humanity has always advanced by expanding its intelligence and capabilities through technology across different eras pointing out that AI now drives economic systems, social interactions and competitive advantage among nations globally.
“The world is entering a phase where humans and intelligent machines will share cognitive functions, so Nigeria should innovate or risk being sidelined in the emerging global digital order.
“The next frontier extends beyond AI tools to a deeper relationship between human consciousness and machine intelligence. This phase has the dawn of shared human machine cognition shaping future innovation and development worldwide,” he said.
Amadi noted that countries like the U.S., Japan and China already integrated AI into national planning, logistics and defence operations.
He warned that a deeper wave of collaboration between humans and intelligent systems is rapidly emerging
urging Nigeria and other African nations not to remain passive observers in this technological transition.
“Nigeria must innovate urgently or risk missing another major industrial revolution. Future global leadership will favour nations that create, regulate and ethically manage advanced technologies,” he added.
He said that the youthful population is viewed as a potential cognitive economy capable of driving digital creativity.
He advised policymakers and institutions to develop indigenous technologies, reflecting national priorities and moral values.
The president, however, noted that energy and agricultural sector can gain efficiency through predictive AI and advanced computation, adding that governance can also benefit from digital systems that strengthen transparency and curb corruption.
While noting that neural interfaces and quantum processing would soon merge human thought with computationAmadi said that the evolution demands ethical guidance, empathy and deeper human conscience in education system.
According to him, nations worldwide are racing to regulate AI and Nigeria also needs to define its strategic position.
“The future beyond AI will favour societies that balance innovation with wisdom and uphold human dignity,” he said.

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NIGCOMSAT Expands Nigeria’s Digital Broadcast Subsector By 35%

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The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited says the country’s digital broadcast subsector  has expanded by 35 per cent to 75 per cent utilisation in two years.
This, it said, represented a milestone in the country’s digital transformation drive.
The Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT, Mrs Jane Egerton-Idehen, made the remark  at a retreat with the theme: ‘Aligning for the Future: Innovation, Collaboration, and Sustainable Growth”, in Abuja, Monday.
According to her the theme reflects NIGCOMSAT’s commitment to driving Nigeria’s digital transformation and positioning itself as a global satellite industry leader.
She said one of the notable achievements in its broadcast segment was the Digital Switch Over (DSO) project, describing it as not just a technical milestone but also a national service.
“This growth is a testament to the organization’s improved service delivery and stronger engagement with partners and clients.
“The DSO project, a collaborative effort with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), is a key milestone in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
“NIGCOMSAT’s contribution to the project is enabling digital broadcasting penetration across the federation, cementing the organisation’s position at the centre of Nigeria’s digital transformation,” she said.
Egerton-Idehen said the achievements were expected to drive revenue growth, with target of three billion naira in annual revenue and eight billion naira in revenue within three years adding that the organisation’s expansion of broadband services and private sector partnership was key to achieving the goals.
“We cannot move boldly into the future without addressing the weight of the past. Our debt profile — both financial and operational — is a reality we must confront with strategy, discipline, and creativity.
“These are our headwinds. We acknowledge them openly because honesty is the first step toward transformation.,” Egerton-Idehen said.
She said in spite of challenges such as economic barriers and competition, the organisation remained optimistic about the future.
“We must out-innovate the market, deepen partnerships, and build a culture of solution-focused, profit-driven, and people-centered excellence.”
“The key initiatives include transitioning to software-defined satellites, expanding broadband services, and the NIGCOMSAT Accelerator for the Space Ecosystem.
“The organisation is prioritising public-private partnerships, branding, and communication, as well as investing in its people,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer, Data Science Nigeria, Olubayo Adekanbi, said satellite-based economy could revolutionise key sectors such as agriculture, health, and education, creating new job opportunities and increasing productivity.
“By providing internet access to remote areas, satellite technology can bridge the digital divide and ensure no one is left behind.

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