Telecom
FG Applauds NCC’s Commitment to Enhancing Digital Skill in Youths
The Federal Government has applauded the commitment and dedication of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) towards enhancing digital skills development among youths, through implementation of various Information and Communication Technology skill acquisition programmes.
L-R: Iyabode Solanke, Director, Projects, NCC; Prof. Adeolu Akande, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, NCC; Hon. Rauf Aregbesola, Minister for Interior, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, minister of Interior, and Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, gave the commendation during the inauguration of a Digital Nigeria Centre (DNC), a project executed by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an arm of NCC, at the Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State recently.
Representing President Muhamadu Buhari at the event, Aregbesola commended the NCC for timely and thorough implementation of the project, saying he was confident that the project will promote the connection of public secondary schools to broadband internet in Ilesa community and ultimately equip beneficiaries with 21st century skills.
“I would like to thank my very good friend and brother, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, for assenting to our request to have the first of this remodeled project in Osun State sited in Ilesa.
“I will also like to thank the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta and the entire Management and staff of NCC and the USPF, as well as their technical partners for a timely and successful completion of this laudable project,” he said.
On the sideline of the commissioning, Aregbesola also announced the establishment of President Muhammadu Buhari N100 million Technology Fund for Youth Empowerment, to nudge the emergence of world class technology experts.
The Minister of Interior stated that the Fund targets 2,000 youths in the next two years, who will be provided with devices for training in different areas such as software development and design, amongst others.
Adegboyega Oyetola, Governor of Osun State, who was represented by the State’s Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Babatunde Olawale, expressed the gratitude of the State Government to the Federal Government, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission, for initiative and particularly for inaugurating the pioneer remodeled DNC project in Osun State.
Oyetola also informed the enthusiastic gathering that Osun State Government was willing and ready to collaborate with NCC to replicate the project in other parts of the State.
Speaking in the same vein, Pantami, who was represented at the event by the Chairman, Board of Commissioners of NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, also commended the NCC and USPF on the delivery of the DNC project on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He declared that the project and similarly instituted ones were initiated by government to give expression to its vision to effectively digitise the nation’s economy for increased prosperity for all Nigerians.
Pantami stated that the Federal Government is focused on promoting digital economy across the country and that this had informed the renaming of the Ministry of Communications to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
On the heels of the re-christening, Pantami recalled that the Federal Government emplaced Digital Nigeria-oriented policies to reinforce the focus of existing policies in order to accelerate the delivery of derivable benefits of digital economy to Nigerians, regardless of their locations and circumstances.
Very central among the policies is the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, a 10-year, eight-pillar focused blueprint for actualising Federal Government’s digital economy agenda unveiled in November, 2019.
Pantami asserted that the DNC inaugurated at Ilesa was a concrete implementation of the Digital Literacy and Skills, the second pillar of NDEPS.
According to Pantami, the overarching objective of the DNC project is to facilitate adoption of digital lifestyle in the schools as well as in the school communities.
The Minister averred that the project’s significance cannot be under-estimated, considering its ability to improve digital skill for the youths and subsequently make them globally competitive.
Pantami said the Nigerian government is determined to arm the youths with digital skills, strong literacy and numeracy skills, critical and innovative thinking skills, complex problem solving aptitude, the ability to collaborate, and deploy socio-emotional skills, which they require to transform their lives and build the economy.
“We have already made a number of giant strides in the development of our digital economy culture and the deployment of initiatives such as the Digital Nigeria Centre eloquently demonstrates the current administration’s commitment to connecting all Nigerians,” Pantami said as he equally expressed Federal Government’s commitment to its tripartite agenda of improving the economy, curbing corruption and enhancing national security through effective deployment of ICT in all nooks and crannies of the country.
In his remark, Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Commission’s Director of Projects, Iyabode Solanke, said all the regulatory activities, initiatives and programmes that the Commission had undertaken since 2019, in collaboration with its critical stakeholders, including its arm, the USPF, have been targeted at giving concrete expression to Nigeria’s deliberate policy to migrate to a full digital economy.
He said the Commission achieves this by consistently committing itself to expansion of appropriate infrastructure to enhance digital literacy and skills in view of the economic and social impact of digitization on all sectors.
The NCC Chief Executive restated the Commission’s commitment to the overall objective of bridging the digital divide through the provision of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as broadband access to the unserved and underserved institutions and communities in the country.
Earlier, the Principal of Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ramota Ilesanmi, thanked the President Buhari-led Federal Government for the project, saying that it will go a long way in meeting the ICT needs of students and residents of the city.
The DNC, formerly known as School Knowledge Centre (SKC), is one of the projects in the Access Programme framework of the USPF, conceptualized to promote the availability and utilisation of ICT and resources of the Internet in teaching and learning in public schools in underserved, unserved and rural areas.
Specific objectives of DNC are to increase ICT literacy among school teachers and students; provide a platform for accessing online educational resources; equip students with ICT skills; facilitate ICT adoption in teaching and learning; as well as increase pass rate in Mathematics, English language and other science subjects.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Enugu State Government have signed an agreement for the operational lease of the NCC Digital Industrial Park and NCC Learning Centre in Enugu.
The agreement was witnessed by Dr Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, alongside members of the Commission’s Board and Management.
The development is expected to strengthen digital innovation, skills development and technology-driven opportunities in the state.
As part of the engagement, the NCC delegation also visited the Enugu Smart School Initiative, where technology is being integrated into teaching and learning.
The initiative is aimed at equipping young Nigerians with relevant digital skills and preparing them for future opportunities in an increasingly technology-driven economy.
The NCC said it remained committed to supporting initiatives that expand digital inclusion, strengthen innovation and develop the talent required to drive Nigeria’s digital transformation.
The Commission said partnerships with state governments and other stakeholders were critical to creating an enabling environment for digital skills development and technology adoption across the country.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunications operators to make dedicated budgetary provisions for cybersecurity as part of efforts to strengthen the resilience of Nigeria’s communications infrastructure against the growing wave of cyber threats.
The directive forms part of the Commission’s Cyber Resilience Framework for the Nigerian Communications Sector (CRF-NCS), which introduces new governance, risk management and operational requirements aimed at safeguarding the country’s critical telecommunications infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Under the framework, all licensed telecom operators are expected to establish formal cybersecurity governance structures, dedicate adequate financial resources to cyber resilience programmes, and integrate cybersecurity into their enterprise-wide risk management processes.
The Commission said operators must ensure cybersecurity investments are no longer treated as optional operational expenses but as strategic business priorities necessary to protect network infrastructure, customer information and the country’s digital economy.
According to the NCC, licensees are expected to allocate sufficient budgets to support cyber risk assessments, security technologies, staff training, incident response capabilities, continuous monitoring and compliance with regulatory requirements.
The framework also requires operators to designate senior executives responsible for cybersecurity oversight.
At the same time, boards of directors are expected to provide strategic direction and ensure adequate funding for cyber resilience initiatives.
Speaking on the need for a stronger cybersecurity regime during the unveiling of the framework, Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, said, “Given the increasing digitalisation of services, the rapid growth of data exchange, and the sophisticated nature of modern cyber threats, the need for a robust, adaptive and inclusive cybersecurity framework has become more urgent.”
He added, “Both state and non-state actors are targeting essential sectors—including ours—through coordinated cyber and physical attacks. These attacks frequently target control systems and data integrity, underscoring the critical risks posed to operational technology (OT), especially in our sector.”
“As cyber threats evolve, they endanger not only system performance but also human safety, amplifying the severity and consequences of disruptions to vital communications infrastructure. Cybersecurity now encompasses human safety and must address the real risk to people’s lives when a system is attacked or compromised.”
The Commission further stated that operators are required to develop comprehensive cybersecurity implementation plans, conduct periodic risk assessments, establish business continuity and disaster recovery procedures, and regularly test their cyber defence capabilities.
In addition, the framework makes cyber incident reporting compulsory. Licensees must inform the NCC’s CSIRT of any major cybersecurity breach within four hours of discovery, and provide a thorough post-incident analysis after mitigation is complete.
Digital solution provider, Globacom has recorded the highest Internet subscriber growth among Nigeria’s major telecom companies for the month of May.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria’s total Internet users increased to 157 million in May, up from 154.3 million in April. That is a growth of 2.67 million users in one month.
Globacom led the market by adding about 1.2 million new Internet subscribers. This means Glo was responsible for almost half of all new Internet users in May.
The company’s subscriber base grew from 15.5 million in April to 16.8 million in May. Airtel came second with 1.07 million new users, moving from 54.8 million to 55.8 million. MTN added 382,894 users to reach 83.5 million.
T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, recorded no growth for the second month in a row. Its subscriber base remained at 802,534. This is despite its roaming agreement with MTN, which was approved almost a year ago to help T2 customers use MTN’s network in areas with poor coverage.
Industry experts say Glo’s strong growth is due to its ongoing network upgrade. Since last year, the company has been building new base stations, expanding its fibre network, and adding thousands of new 4G sites across cities and rural areas.
The upgrades have improved voice and data quality for customers, while Globacom remain committed to providing better network experience and affordable Internet services to more Nigerians.
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