TheNewsGuru

Tag: ICT

  • NITDA pioneers ICT consumer protection forum

    NITDA pioneers ICT consumer protection forum

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has initiated a Consumer Protection Forum designed to address consumers’ complaints over poor indigenous IT products and service delivery.

    Mr Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of NITDA disclosed this on Tuesday in a webinar that was monitored in Abuja, with focus on ” Virtual Digital Services Consumer Protection Forum.”

    A draft framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution for the ICT sector of the country was also presented for review at the online meeting.

    Inuwa, represented by Dr Usman Gambo, Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions, said the forum, the first of its kind in the country, would enable the agency settle such complaints in a non-litigious manner.

    The director general said the forum was very critical to the success of NITDA’s strategy, which was aimed at building qualitative indigenous content for consumption in the ICT sector.

    Inuwa said that the multiple complaints and quality of ICT products and services had led to the conceptualisation of the consumer forum as well as drafting the alternative dispute resolution in ICT framework.

    According to him, leaving such issues unattended will lead to lack of confidence in local ICT products and services, which in turn attract very low patronage and cause job loss.

    He reiterated that NITDA was committed to protecting digital products and services for consumers, and encouraged citizens to patronise made in Nigeria ICT products.

    Inuwa said that NITDA had been playing its role in ensuring that it maximised opportunities embedded in the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

    The director emphasised that the Federal Government had prioritised addressing challenges of the information technology sector from a holistic point of view.

    Mr Olayinka Adejube, Director, Standards Guidelines and Frameworks, in his remarks, said the event was for service consumers and digital service providers to interact on possible ways of improving services.

    “This event is to bring consumer and service providers to interact and see areas where there is need to work together to ensure that the essence of all the investment in digital economy is not wasted.”

  • NITDA opens entry for innovation support scheme

    NITDA opens entry for innovation support scheme

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is calling on eligible Nigerians to apply for its technology innovation and entrepreneurship scheme programme.

    NITDA’s Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Mrs Hadiza Umar, made the call on Thursday in a statement issued in Abuja saying that the programme would ensure digital job creation and nation’s economic growth.

    Umar explained that the scheme was a capacity building programme for ICT hub managers, young Nigerians and innovative startups.

    According to her, the capacity building is needed especially with the COVID-19 pandemic period.

    She said it was because ICT hubs and startups in Nigeria suffered from issues of capacity deficiency such as ability to support start-ups, poor infrastructure and high operational costs.

    She also said it would ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda toward creating 100 million jobs in 10 years as well as the digital economy strategy were achieved.

    “There is the need to build support systems that would help in reducing the barriers of entry for startups while increasing the capacity of hubs and startups to create new bankable products and services.

    “NITDA initiated a scheme to provide opportunities for building the capacity of both hub owners and start-ups to ensure massive creation of technology entrepreneurs and jobs within the industry.

    “In line with the Digital Economy policy, the programme is designed to ensure that hub managers have the required skills set to support digital startups and build innovation ecosystems in their localities.

    “It will also build capacity of hubs to support startups and build local innovation ecosystems, encourage innovation, increase technology and entrepreneurship skills among aspiring and existing entrepreneurs.

    “The programme will encourage local content solutions-based products, services, increase the potential for job creation in the innovation and technology sector,” Umar said.

    She added that the programme comprised hub upskilling, technical capacity building, incubation and internship programmes.

    The official said that the prospective hub managers to be selected would be required to sign an agreement with NITDA to train upcoming hub managers within their region.

    She said that the agreement would cover equipping upcoming ones with the skills to run a hub, support innovative startups and build an innovation ecosystem in their localities.

    According to her, this is a programme designed to support the ideas stage to move from ideas to the market.

    “It will be implemented in partnership with the hubs that are part of the programme and the participants will be assigned to hubs where they will get access to infrastructure.

    “Infrastructure such as internet connectivity, power supply and a rich network of other innovators.

    “The participants will also be matched with mentors and guided by coaches as they build out their products and services.

    “At the end of the training period, participants will be required to choose if they would like to begin a startup or to get a job,” she said.

    Umar further said that those interested in beginning a startup would be moved into the incubation programme, while those that needed a job would be moved to the job matching, internship programme.

    “Those that opt for this track will be placed on six months internship opportunities with the startups in the incubation programme or in other organisations to allow them to utilise acquired skills and gain practical work experience in the process.”

    She directed interested and eligible candidates to apply through https://scholarship.nitda.gov.ng/tiess.

    Umar said that the portal was now open and would be closed by 12:00 a.m on July 24.

  • NCC chairs ministerial broadband implementation steering committee

    NCC chairs ministerial broadband implementation steering committee

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been saddled with the responsibility of leading the team that will ensure effective monitoring and steering of the overall implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025.

    This followed the designation of NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Engr. Ubale Maska, as the Chairman of the newly-inaugurated Broadband Implementation Steering Committee (BISC) by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

    While inaugurating the inter-agency and multi-sectoral committee in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister said the central responsibility and mandate of the Committee, which will have its secretariat in NCC, is to ensure “effective monitoring for implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP), 2020- 2025.”

    The Minister said the inauguration of the committee was part of the ongoing journey for a Digital Nigeria, which had received a boost since his assumption of office in August, 2019.

    “The journey started with the approval for the transformation of the ministry and its parastatals in October, 2019 from mere ICT institutions to digital economy institutions by the President. This was followed by the unveiling of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in November, 2019 and the development of a new NBP 2020-2025, which was launched by the President in March 19, 2020,” he said.

    He explained further that all the efforts were meant to put Nigeria on the global digital economy map, supported by robust broadband infrastructure. He noted that under the NDEPS, Solid Infrastructure components which is the 3rd pillar will provide the bedrock for the realization of the country’s digital economy vision.

    “In the new National Broadband Plan, there are many targets. Principal of which are to cover 90 per cent of Nigerian population with broadband access and 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025. We also plan to achieve a broadband speed of 25 megabits per second (mbps) in urban areas and 10 mbps in rural areas by the end of implementation of the new Broadband plan,” Pantami said.

    While noting that the implementation of the new NBP had started fully and is resulting in the increase in broadband penetration currently at 40.14 percent, up from 35.10 per cent in August, 2019, the Minister said the ICT industry contributed 14.07 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020. He noted that increased broadband penetration will help Nigeria to achieve increased GDP growth.

    The Minister, however, explained that problems of Right of Way, protection for telecom infrastructure and multiple taxations, which are critical to fast-track broadband infrastructure deployment and penetration are being addressed from all fronts. He added that the efforts are already yielding positive results with the engagement of relevant stakeholders including state government and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

    Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta commended the Minister for the inauguration of the committee and promised the support of the Commission towards realisation of the mandate of the Committee.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Engr. Maska, also assured the Minister of the Committee members’ readiness to deliver on the assignment.

    Also present at the inauguration are the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi; Managing Director, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Dr. Abimbola Alale and Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Muhammed Abubakar.

    The Committee draws membership from the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and agencies under its supervision, Including the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), World Bank, Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), among others.

  • Nigerians to start enjoying Internet speed of 25 Mbps at N390 per 1GB

    Nigerians to start enjoying Internet speed of 25 Mbps at N390 per 1GB

    The federal government has designed a new broadband plan for Nigerians to start enjoying Internet speed of minimum 25 Mbps in urban areas and 10 Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population at a price not more than N390 per 1 GB of data.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports a committee known as the Broadband Implementation Steering Committee to achieve this aim was inaugurated on Thursday by Dr Isa Ali Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.

    The Internet speed of 25 Mbps in the country means that Nigerians can have Internet fast enough to stream 4k videos without any buffering, about 15 people could happily watch a different Netflix film, and a company employing 40 people would not complain about the internet speed.

    The Broadband Implementation Steering Committee is expected to monitor the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) which was unveiled and launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

    According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, in order to achieve the target, the broadband plan focused on recommendations in 4 critical pillars: infrastructure, policy/spectrum, demand drivers and funding/incentives.

    “The plan targets the deployment of nationwide fibre coverage to reach all State capitals, and a point of presence in at least 90% of Local Government Headquarters. It also targets tertiary educational institutions, major hospitals in each State and 60% of base stations by 2025 at statutory rates of N145/meter for Right of Way (RoW).

    “Our engagement with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum has inspired several state governments to adopt the N145/meter and a few of these States have even waived the fee altogether. His Excellency, President Buhari, GCFR also directed the security agencies to protect all Critical National Infrastructure,” Pantami stated.

    The Minister highlighted a report by Ericsson titled “How Important Are Mobile Broadband Networks for Global Economic Development”, stressing that 10% increase in mobile broadband penetration results in approximately 0.6% to 2.8% rise in gross domestic product (GDP).

    He stated that broadband supports the development of the digital economy and that a focus on growing the national digital economy will also improve the nation’s traditional economy.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the contribution of ICT to the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria was 14.07% in the 1st Quarter of 2020; this Pantami said was unprecedented and that it reflects how much of an impact technology, including broadband, can have on the economy, if channelled properly.

    “The growth that results from affordable and reliable broadband will enable us get a slice of the Global Digital Economy, which Oxford Economics values at $11.5 trillion dollars or approximately 16% of the Global Economy. This value is expected to grow significantly over the coming years.

    “The World Economic Forum predicts that over 60% of global GDP will be digitized by 2022 and that over the next decade, digital platforms will be used to create close to 70% of new value. Most nations are prioritizing the need to develop their digital economies because they realize the multiplier effect that this can have on all other sectors of the economy.

    “For instance, according to a 2018 Report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on “Defining and Measuring the Digital Economy”, the digital economy in the United States contributed 6.9% to the nation’s GDP in 2017. It also contributed 5.1million jobs in that year. The 2019 Digital Trade and U.S. Trade Policy also noted that almost two-thirds of all the jobs created in the United States since 2010 required medium or advanced levels of digital skills. In Nigeria, we are keen to develop a digital economy that will have a great impact on every sector of Nigeria’s economy.

    “The new broadband plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (2% of median income or 1% of minimum wage).

    “In order to achieve these ambitious targets, the plan focused on recommendations in 4 critical pillars, namely: Infrastructure, Policy/Spectrum, Demand Drivers, Funding/Incentives,” Pantami stated.

    Stressing further on the benefits of increased broadband penetration to the economy, the Minister said it impacts positively on jobs creation, sustainable economic growth and higher standard of living.

    He explained: “According to the Fibre to the Home Council Europe a 25 million EUR investment in information and communications technology (including smart grid and broadband) would create or retain 700,000 jobs, of which 360,000 would be small business jobs; Socio-economic development, leading to growth in e-health, e-education, e-government, etc;

    “According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Broadband Series, broadband contributes to economic growth through “(1) more efficiency in business processes, (2) acceleration of innovation by introducing new consumer applications and services (e.g. new forms of commerce and financial intermediation) and (3) more efficient functional deployment of enterprises by maximizing their reach to labour pools, access to raw materials, and consumers (e.g. outsourcing of services, virtual call centres)”.

  • ICT and digital economy trends: Challenges and opportunities in Nigeria

    By Ibrahim Muhammad

    Coronavirus (COVID-19); the deadly virus hit a great number of countries. It proved to be even worse than the crucial economic, strategic, and political battles happening around the world. The coronavirus outbreak has and still is impacting all industries, including the information and communications technology industries.

    With COVID-19, we are already seeing early signs of a shift in how consumers and businesses behave. Remote working is being encouraged by tech and non-tech companies alike. My humble Director-General, Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi said “Coronavirus forced us to change our behavior and adapt to new habits. New trends have emerged, we do everything remotely; working, learning, meeting, workshops, zoom party, e-wedding, and so on.” Airline profitability is getting impacted by low seat occupancy and closure of air spaces in some countries. Supply chains are getting disrupted globally. Retail stores are running out of ordinary items. Some of these changes are direct while others are indirectly impacting. Short-term responses to these crises will revert the present situation to normalcy once COVID-19 is contained. However, some of these shifts will continue, creating a long-term digital disruption that will shape businesses for decades to come. My humble Director-General, Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, once said “In every crisis, there is a hidden opportunity, the most promising silver-lining in this crisis is accelerating trends to shape the future of the digital economy.”

    World Health Organization (WHO) said: “Early cases identified in Wuhan are believed to have acquired infection from a zoonotic source as reported by many people while visiting or working in the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market.” Still, the exact origin of the COVID-19 is uncertain. Scientists are trying hard to unearth the truth. They are determined to find the original cause of the pandemic as this is very vital in finding a lasting solution to future occurrence of such pandemic.

    According to scientists, people aged over 60 years and those with underlying health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are liable to the highest risk for severity of the disease and death.

    Tech giants have suspended operations. They have canceled their participation in very important tech events and activities. Conferences and other programmes are also at a halt. Financial objectives are below expectations.

    Innovation is coming together in the most inspiring ways. Researchers are working closely with policymakers and those at the NCDC, Ministry of Health, and other relevant stakeholders to roll out innovations that will mitigate the spread of the deadly virus. This would curtail any contagious disease and bring to patients Digitally-enabled consultations (e.g., video consultations, online consultations). Already some countries have adopted the use of telemedicine as routine practice for dealing with patients overnight in both acute and primary care. Guidance on how to do them well has been produced in response to the degree of need and urgency that COVID-19 presents.

    On the 1st April 2020 The Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, inaugurated a 10-Member Advisory Committee. This is in line with the Agency’s mandate of developing and regulating Information Technology (IT) for sustainable National Development. The committee is tasked to advise Government on measures to be taken to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, on start-ups, small and medium businesses, and the Technology Ecosystem in Nigeria.

    The MD Galaxy Backbone, Prof. M.B Abubakar discusses a solution that could help restart the Nigerian economy after the lockdown. This will help drive digital/online transactions. Social distancing will be maintained by using video conferencing facilities provided by his organization.

    The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in recent weeks has forced companies and Government offices to transfer their workers to operate remotely from home making use video digital conferencing for meetings.

    On the 13th March 2020, a statement was released by NCC via KanoFocus newspaper which was signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Henry Nkemadu which stated that the commission is embarking on the building of six Information Communication Technology Parks, to promote socio-economic transformation in Nigeria.

    The ICT parks will provide a commercial hub for ICT capacity building and digital skills. It includes Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs). This is meant for ICT innovators and entrepreneurs for the incubation of ideas. The Digital Economy Drive led by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, will surely yield a positive result if all the initiatives by his supervisory bodies are fully utilized.

    In most African countries telcos have announced new data rates to support subscribers that are working from home as the government declares lockdown.

    According to the NCC’s latest industry statistics, in January 2020, MTN, Airtel, and Glo gained a combined 2.7 million internet subscribers.

    It also becomes quite clear that both pandemics and recessions are good accelerators for innovation. However, there is a sharp need for a more distributed, coordinated, and trackable supply of components across multiple geographies and vendors, while maintaining economies of scale. This would require global platforms to be erected that can use sophisticated technologies such as 5G, robotics, IoT, and blockchain. This will help link multiple buyers with multiple vendors reliably across a ‘mesh’ of supply chains. The knock-on impact will necessitate the adoption of self-driving cars and delivery drones. Because the demand for eCommerce logistics will far outstrip the number of drivers needed to fulfill them.

    Moreover, the smart cities project could be of help. As governments learn from the COVID-19 experience, it will shift investment in favor of smart cities. It will be critical to have all this to manage the next anticipating crises, which is inevitable. The Key players to benefit from this shift are smart governments, focused companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens, and digital city startups across the country.

    It is straight forward to predict that the COVID-19 is going to be an accelerator for ICT not only in Nigeria but globally. It promotes remote working as well as online education. What is harder to figure out is what will happen once a majority of the knowledge workforce work together remotely, indefinitely. This shift will likely impact the morale, productivity and mental health of workers throughout the globe and businesses need to prepare for it. This is in line with what the NITDA said “Almost nearly everything we do is powered by digital technologies. Emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, Automation, and Robotic Technology would boost productivities, increase sales, improve efficiency, reduce cost, and keep up with the increasingly sophisticated competition.” For companies looking to add the human touch digitally to their workplace, the choices are limited today, some startups and another handful of tech companies have already swung into leveraging on the opportunities created by the COVID-19. Several mental health startups can double down on solving the problem of isolation. Business networking apps can help solve the mentoring and development challenges that come with being a remote worker.

    COVID-19 has irrevocably changed the way businesses will compete over the next decade. Firms that choose to capitalize on these underlying changes will succeed and the ones that don’t will get disrupted.

    Lastly to me, the total lockdown would be counterproductive. For now, a strategical plan needs to be put in place not only preaching the post-Covid plan. We must learn to live with it all around us and practice the skills of avoiding it. We cannot perfect those skills by locking ourselves up. Same as leaving around with Malaria, cater, and other diseases already accommodated.

    By Muhammad Ibrahim Muhammad

    (Abu Fatima)

  • COVID-19: NITDA academy admits 14,000 learners

    The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has admitted over 14,000 active students into its virtual academy to study 47 courses on emerging technologies.

    The Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this on Thursday in an online meeting organised by the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

    The meeting focused on the Socio-Economic and Political Impact of COVID-19 on Telecom and ICT sector in Nigeria.

    Recall that the NITDA Virtual Academy was launched in May by Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.

    The platform was targeted at helping to engage young citizens to spend their time meaningfully and learn new technologies that will help create and shape the post-COVID era.

    Inuwa said inspite the effect of COVID-19 in all sectors, there was hope because the crisis had forced people to change behaviour and adapt to new habits.

    “Coronavirus has forced us to change our behaviour and adapt to new habits.

    “New trends have emerged, we do everything remotely, working, learning, meeting, workshops, zoom party, e-wedding and so on,” he said.

    He also said that NITDA had successfully organised various programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Innovation Challenge.

    According to him, the innovation challenge is designed to help with ideas that can contain and cushion the effect of the virus as well as keep the economy up.

    “We are working with the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Nigerian Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) to identify some of the ideas they think are relevant for them.

    “The ideas can be used as a testing ground to help the initiatives by the start-ups develop their ideas into products,” he said.

    He added that the challenge had over 2,000 applicants, while five start-ups were selected to pitch at the Open Demo and Prize Giving Day, and three emerged winners.

    Abdullahi stressed that it was part of the agency’s initiatives to identify youths with innovative ideas, take them to innovation hubs, incubate and accelerate their ideas into products or services.

    He said the agency does that through its Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme.

    He added that they were working with relevant stakeholders to identify hubs as well as start-ups that can enjoy the initiative.

    Commenting on using new technologies in farming, the director-general stated that the Nigerian Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) would encourage farmers to focus more on digital platforms and precision smart farming.

    “To ensure significant improvement in crop yield, quality of farm produce, efficiency and productivity, increased profit margin, we need harvest focus, sales of farm produce and eco-friendly agricultural practice.

    “We are working with 150 farmers to start the pilot project, because the agriculture value chain contribute the highest percentage to our Gross Domestic Product.

    “With ICT as an enabler, we can help boost its projection,” he added.

  • Reps set to unravel alleged massive fraud ongoing in NIGCOMSAT

    Reps set to unravel alleged massive fraud ongoing in NIGCOMSAT

    While the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami was holding a virtual meeting with Chief Executive Officers under his Ministry, including with Dr. Abimbola Alale, the Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT, members of the House of Representatives were setting in motion forensic probe of activities of the operators of the Nigerian Communications Satellite systems.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated the Committees on Information Technology (ICT) and Finance to carry out a forensic audit of the activities of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited from inception to date and report back within four (4) weeks for further legislative action.

    The mandate followed a motion moved by Rep. Ndudi Elumelu on the need to investigate the alleged sleaze, misappropriation and non-profitability of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited, which was voted on and adopted, after it was seconded by Rep. Idem Unyime.

    It could be recalled that in 2006 the federal government incorporated the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited with the aim of revolutionizing the information and communications technology system in Nigeria as well as to improve national security, broadcasting, internet access, e-governance, health and the educational sectors of the country.

    Because the vision of NIGCOMSAT was for it to be the leading satellite operator and service provider in Africa, the company in 2007 launched the first geostationary Communications Satellite in Sub-Saharan Africa to exploit the commercial viability of the country’s communications satellite for its socio-economic benefits.

    According to the House, it took the Nigerian government the sum of $340 million of tax payers money to build the NIGCOMSAT-l and a further N43 billion from the federal allocation as running cost and another $127 million as debt servicing to the Chinese Government, but that there is little or nothing to show for these huge investments.

    The House raised concern that while the fixed-satellite service business has proven lucrative in so many countries with a worth estimate of the global space as high as N160.26 trillion and 75% of this coming from commercial revenues, NIGCOMSAT is yet to get a slice of the pie and has generated zero revenue.

    Members of the House were disturbed that even though the company has not been able to make contributions to the nation’s revenue, it has been riddled with series of allegations ranging from contract scam to the tune of N8 billion, to bribery of government agents and withholding of vital documents to ensure the cover-up of the massive irregularities against the management of the company.

    The House was also disturbed that, at a time, a Managing Director of the Company was alleged to have wrongfully declared her assets and signed off the company’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) facility to NIGUS International Investment Ltd (a company owned by the father in law of the Head of DTH) after she acquired shares in NIGUS through proxies.

    The House was worried by the allegations that the management of the company breached government policy on procurement by ensuring that procurement matters are handled strictly between the offices of the Managing Director and that of the Legal Adviser, which is a breach of the country’s financial regulations.

    The House also expressed worry that between September and December 2011, the management of NIGCOMSAT paid Fasaha Intercontinental Insurance Brokers Ltd the sum of N5 billion for insurance premium of the lunch of NIGCOMSAT-1R Satellite which is a non-consultant job that requires the approval of the Federal Executive Council, and according to the House, such unguarded expenditures have made the company unable to meet the financial obligations owed to the nation and if left unchecked, will result in further loss of the nation’s scarce revenue.

    Meanwhile, the House has mandated the Committees on Information Technology (ICT) and Finance to carry out a forensic audit of the activities of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited from inception to date and report back within four (4) weeks for further legislative action.

    However, while the House was setting the mechanism for the probe in motion, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was holding a virtual meeting with Chief Executive Officers under his Ministry, including with Dr. Abimbola Alale, the Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT.

    The meeting discussed the successes recorded so far, which Pantami said have been vindicated by unprecedented contribution of ICT to GDP of 14.07% in the 1st Quarter of 2020; securing telecommunications infrastructure; resolving the challenges of right of way in certain States; free access to certain websites on COVID-19 update; providing digital platforms for MDAs; free text messages on COVID-19 updates to Nigerians.

    Meanwhile, the House Committees on Information Technology (ICT) and Finance were yet to fix a date for the questioning of those involved in the alleged sleaze, misappropriation and non-profitability of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited.

  • COVID-19 shows how critical ICT is to economic growth – Pantami

    COVID-19 shows how critical ICT is to economic growth – Pantami

    Dr Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy has said the emergence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has shown how critical the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector is to economic growth.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Pantami stated this against the backdrop of ICT’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020), the data of which was released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

    According to the NBS, the nation’s GDP grew by 1.87% (year-on-year) in real terms in Q1 2020. While the non-oil sector contributed 90.50% to the nation’s GDP in Q1 2020, the oil sector contributed 9.50% to total real GDP.

    It is noteworthy that the ICT sector contributed 14.07% to the total real GDP in Q1 2020, higher than its contribution a year earlier (13.32%) and in the preceding quarter, in which it accounted for 13.12%.

    Pantami attributed the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to the “direct result of the focused and committed effort of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

    According to him, “the strategic policy directions of the Federal Government include the inclusion of Digital Economy in the mandate of the Ministry, the unveiling and implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and the National Broadband Plan, amongst others.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how critical the ICT sector is to the growth of our country’s digital economy and, by extension, the general economy”.

    He, therefore, called on all sectors to take advantage of the federal government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICTs.

    “This would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP,” Pantami stated.

  • GBB defends controversy surrounding virtual FEC meeting chaired by Buhari

    GBB defends controversy surrounding virtual FEC meeting chaired by Buhari

    Galaxy Backbone (GBB) has come out to defend the controversy surrounding the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    There have been speculations that the virtual FEC meeting, held for the second time on Wednesday, was held on a platform running a deprecated operating system thereby presenting potential security issues.

    The virtual meetings were coordinated by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami.

    The Managing Director of GBB, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said GBB executed the virtual meeting with support of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as the regulator of the sector and Nigerian Communication Satellite (NigComSat) accordingly.

    He said the virtual FEC meeting was held on cutting-edge technology infrastructure with up-to-date computer components, robust network security system and Next Generation Firewalls forming a ring fencing around it.

    Abubakar said the computers, which supported the network monitoring system were 10 and had extended Windows 7 Security Updates uptil 2023.

    “We would not have responded to the write-up, but in the interest of the reading public, we are compelled to provide some clarifications.

    “The photo of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy which precipitated this wrong assertion was taken in the Network Monitoring Centre (NMC), of the Uptime Institute Tier 3 certified National Shared Services Centre, a data centre, operated by Galaxy Backbone Limited.

    “The screen is a display of monitoring activities around our network across the country. The computing systems running this monitoring are offline.

    “There are systems that are specially designed such that absolutely no feature changes can be tolerated for the life of their devices, examples are medical control equipment, PoS systems, ATMs, Digital Signage among others.

    “Such systems typically have a 10-year servicing and support lifecycles. This is where our network monitoring system belongs,” he said.

    Abubakar said that Nigerians should visit https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4527878/faq-about-extended-security-updates-for-windows-7 for further details.

    He said GBB had ISO 20000 and ISO 27001 certifications, and took Information Technology security management very seriously and upgraded its systems based on standards.

    Abubakar also said that GBB was made up of seasoned, well-trained and experienced ICT professionals, determined to continue to provide the best infrastructure to support the Ministry’s initiative.

  • Huawei to make more contribution in 2020 to ICT capacity building in Ethiopia

    China’s tech giant Huawei plans to enhance its contribution to capacity building for Ethiopians in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector this year, targeting increased number of beneficiaries.

    Huawei’s Ethiopia Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zhou Tianbing, told Xinhua on Monday that Huawei would continue its activities helping the East African country improve education development with most advanced technologies, with committed efforts to bridge the digital divide for Ethiopians.

    Huawei has launched and been implementing different initiatives to improve the ICT capacity of young people in Ethiopia, in particular, and Africa in general.

    “With a view of building ICT capacity and further improve ICT development, Huawei has launched three major initiatives dubbed Seeds for the Future, ICT competition, and ICT Talent Ecosystem, and these projects have benefited tens of thousands of students at the levels of elementary, secondary and higher education,” Zhou said.

    Recalling that Huawei commenced its Seeds for Future project in Ethiopia in 2016, whereby 10 most talented students are sent to China every year for short-term training, the CEO said that Huawei, in cooperation with the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE), would continue to select 10 students from top universities across the country.

    Since 2018, Huawei has been undertaking its project of ICT Competition, in which 2,357 students from 22 universities of Ethiopia participated in the year 2019, with increased number of participants, which was a little more than 500 in 2018.

    And one teacher and three students have been qualified for the final competition to be held in China.

    In 2020, Huawei plans to engage more than 3,000 students from 28 universities to show their talents in the ICT competition.

    On the ICT Talent Ecosystem of Ethiopia, Huawei signed an agreement with MoSHE in January 2017 for joint construction of ICT Academies in 37 public higher education institutions.

    The two sides also signed agreement in January 2019 to jointly construct ICT Academies in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the first time in Ethiopia to extend Huawei Academy to TVET.

    Huawei has launched courses in more than 20 universities and TVETs, and has trained more than 1,500 ICT students.

    With the initiative of ICT Academy, Huawei has a plan to open courses this year in nine more universities and three more TVETs in Ethiopia.

    Reiterating that Huawei Ethiopia attaches great importance to helping the country improve education development with more advanced ICT, Zhou said his company would further strengthen its support in the year 2020.

    In 2015, Huawei worked with 65 schools in Ethiopia for the implementation of SchoolNet by deploying 5,200 cloud desktops in the schools.

    In 2017, Huawei SchoolNet Education Cloud deployed 25,000 cloud desktops for a total of 310 schools in 9 regions and 2 cities of the country.

    By now, Huawei’s Education Cloud Solution has covered 365 secondary schools, and 10 universities, with more than 30,000 cloud desktops, which have benefited more than 27,000 teachers and students, according to the CEO.

    Huawei has also worked together with more than 10 top universities in Ethiopia, where it has constructed the most advanced data centres, fixed and wireless school networks and Education Cloud for them.

    He said that so far, more than 300,000 college students had become beneficiaries of digital research and development, digital education and distant education empowered by Huawei.