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CBN Tasks Financial Institutions On Technology

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged financial institutions and organi-sations to embrace technology to remain competitive.
Deputy Governor, CBN, Mr Adebisi Shonubi, stated this at Greenwich Registrars and Data Solutions Ltd seminar held in Lagos with the theme: Big Data in Nigeria.
Shonubi represented by Director, Information Technology Department, Hajiya Rakiya Mohammed, said many organisations had gone out of business due to their inability to adapt to current trends in technology.
He stated that organi-sations must harness the power of data and wind of change in their environment to remain competitive in product development and services.
To survive in this age, organisations need to have an idea and data that will enable them to play in their ecosystem,” Shonubi stated.
According to him, organi-sations must have a very clear vision to look at data as an asset to harness its benefits.
He also stressed the need for traditional institutions to seek ways of leveraging technology and provide better services to customers through the deployment of alternative engagement channels and platforms.
Shonubi said companies must redesign and harness data and generate insights that enabled quantifiable difference to customers, revenues and profits in order to remain relevant in the industry.
Also speaking, Acting Managing Director, Greenwich Registrars & Data Solutions, Obiageli Chiki-Ijegbulem, stated that one of the most important developments of the 21st century was the rise of data driven service delivery.
Chiki-Ijegbulem said, “most traditional organi-sations that have not crossed the digital divide are at a disadvantage because they incubate a cohesive ecosystem that inhibits the establishment of a fully integrated digital culture.”
“This conundrum stems from an enshrined mundane work culture, weak disposition to change management and quality of the human capital.

“Factually, the significance of big data does not revolve around the quantity of data you have, but what you do with it.
“You can take data from almost any source, analyse it to generate intelligence that will help your business in areas like customer life cycle management, new product development and smart decision-making.
“Ideally, mature organisations build protocols and employ tools for data security, these tools in themselves depend on big data to track and neutralise evolving threats,” she said.
The Executive Director, IT & Operations, Access Bank Plc, Mr Ade Bajomo said Nigeria had the opportunity to solve Africans problems by leveraging the best technology ecosystem.
According to him, this can be achieved if companies digitalise their strategies in such a way that they become more competitive to serve the customers in the most efficient manner.
“We need to drive and participate in this transformation to boost our organisations.
“Based on this pattern, we want to move into predictive, which is digital transformation.
“The fourth industrial revolution is powered by data and 90 per cent of all the data created in the world was generated in the last two years,” Bajomo said.

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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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