Telecom
Anambra State ICT Agency, Others host One-day Technology Appreciation Workshop for Media Professionals in the State
Anambra State ICT Agency on Friday, took select media professionals in the State on a technology appreciation workshop at the Agency’s conference hall, Government House, Awka.
The training was organized in conjunction with the State Ministry of Information, PA-CENT Technologies and Bonitas Technologies.
A brainchild of a media parley the practitioners had earlier last month with Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, the MD/CEO Anambra State ICT Agency, the train aligns with the ‘Everything Technology And Everywhere Technology’ vision of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
It featured explosive sessions on Use Modern Media And Productivity Tools, Use of Artificial Intelligence for Content Creation and Personal Digital Assistance.
In an opening remark, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, CFA, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Anambra State ICT Agency, explained that the training became important to scale up the knowledge base of the journalists to be better equipped in the area of technology and be able to deploy the knowledge to improve their work.
Agbata, who spoke through his Technical Assistant, Mr. Sunday Folayan, reminded the journalists that the difference between successful and unsuccessful practitioners is the quality of knowledge, saying the State ICT Agency is poised to avail them every required assistance they need to leverage technology to develop themselves.
“Training is passed from generation to generation but as it makes you better, it makes your competitors better too. The question is who gets better.
“I encourage journalists to maximize the use of training to increase their knowledge of ICT so as to improve their works.
“The MD/CEO, Anambra ICT Agency, who believes so much in the vision of Mr. Governor that everything in the state must have a touch of technology and technology must be seen in everything, will ensure that the ICT agency will be available to follow up the trainees and that the knowledge garnered is well internalized and deployed to make their works better,” Folayan said on behalf of CFA.
The State Commissioner for Information, Sir Paul Nwosu who was represented by the Director for Information, Mr. Emma Ikegwuani, in his remarks hailed Governor Soludo for his technological strides in the state.
In his words; “We appreciate Governor Soludo because prior to his administration, we have not seen this kind of digital revolution.
“Our job as the State Ministry of Information is to reach Ndi Anambra and let them know what the government is doing. It takes time to review news same day and forward it to sources we feed because of the number but with the new ideas exposed to us in this workshop, leveraging technology, we can better deliver on our mandate and reach Ndi Anambra timely too.”
The CEO of PA-CENT Technologies, Dr. Ikechukwu Umeh in his remarks, said the training brings to the fore, the need for participants to understand that times have changed and it has become imperative to stay updated and be ready to adapt to merging technological trends that will make their work seamless.
Mr. Somto Mezie-Okoye, of the Bonitas Technologies, in his goodwill message, stressed as an outstanding collaborator with ICT Agency, they are supporting the initiative, in engendering an upscale on the journalists’ skills.
“We are committed to helping the ICT Agency and the state government achieve its mantra of technology everywhere and everything technology across sectors in the state like we are doing today with the media
“Knowledge is not a one-off thing. It is a process so be sure to own what you learned today,” he said.
In his contribution, the Personal Assistant and Media Head for Nnewi South LGA, Dr. Orji Chukwudalu commended Governor Soludo, the Anambra ICT Agency and their partners for opening their eyes to some of the best ways to work especially when deadlines need to be met.
“I am particularly grateful for the knowledge garnered on Artificial intelligence and proof reading. I will be able to handle deliverables on prompt,” he added.
For Mr. Okechukwu Nwachinemelu, who also spoke on behalf of the participants from the Ministry of Information, they are appreciative to Mr. Governor for underscoring the need to digitize the state workforce and for the kind of work they do at the state ministry, they can now deliver faster.
The governor he said has given them computers and the knowledge will further expand their horizon on the deployment of digital tools.
In a vote of thanks on behalf of the Agency, the Tech Partnership and Digital Investment Lead, Mr. Jude Emesim praised Governor Soludo for his visionary leadership towards ensuring that the state is up-to-date with global trends, as technology is the new order.
“Many thanks to the solution Governor for not only providing the civil servants with digital tools but allowing them access more trending ways for doing their job especially leveraging AI technology.
“AI will not take people’s jobs from them; what will take their jobs from them is if they do not leverage AI to do their jobs more effectively,” he concluded.
The training which is the first batch in the series, also featured practical session where the media professionals worked with some modern media tools, as well as provided opportunity for them to ask questions and get responses on grey areas of such digital tools.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
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