Telecom
Blockchain Policy Adoption will Enhance Secured, Transparent Government Processes – DG NITDA
Kashifu Inuwa, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) has stated that with the increased distrust in governance in Nigerian with the manipulation government processes by corrupt persons, it has become “highly imperative that Blockchain policy and technology be adopted and implemented by institutions in the country to enhance effective, secure and transparent government processes in other to earn the trust of Nigerians.
DG NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, delivering a lecture titled “Blockchain Technology for Improved Transparency in Governance: Blockchain-Based Public Procurement in Perspective” to the National Defence College Course 32 participants at the Defence College in Abuja
Inuwa made this known at a seminar organised for Course 32 by the National Defence College, (NDC.) The Participants were drawn from officers in the rank of Colonel and their equivalents from the Nigerian Armed Forces, senior officers from the Nigerian Police Force and public servants from strategic Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Nigeria.
The title of the lecture delivered by the Director General was “Blockchain Technology for Improved Transparency in Governance: Blockchain-Based Public Procurement in Perspective.”
While listing bribery, bid rigging, extortion, coercion and fraudulent bid submissions as major challenges to the traditional procurement process, the DG noted that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is committed to leveraging the use of Blockchain technology in addressing these challenges.
He stated that Blockchain technology enables a secure, transparent and tamper-proof record, adding that, “It is secure because digital files are cryptographically signed by an issuer and registered on the Blockchain; it is transparent because it is broadcast openly, and it is tamper-proof because it is blocked in a distributed manner.”
Highlighting the steps in a Blockchain transaction process, he said that transactions are first initiated on the Blockchain network and then verified using cryptographic technology which has both public and private keys, Inuwa stated that transaction would be added to a block which is a batch of transactions.
He informed the participants that when the block attains a particular specification or size, it is thereafter added to a chain of other blocks through a process called a “consensus,” and distributed to all nodes within the network to achieve a tamper-proof record.
While noting the economic value of Blockchain and its enormous impacts on national development, the NITDA’s boss disclosed that “according to PricewaterCoopers (PwC), Blockchain will add $1.76 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and every country today is trying to position itself on how to benefit from this.”
He added that Nigeria needs to embrace the implementation of Blockchain technology as it can be applied in administrative tracking and tracing; digital identity; smart contracts; supply chains, healthcare systems, electronic voting processes and many more.
“So, looking at these applications, you can easily connect this to public procurement because the essence of public procurement is to ensure that government acquires good services and work in a transparent, efficient and cost-effective manner”, he averred.
Inuwa further asserted that Blockchain technology will play critical roles and improve transparency and openness in the planning, bidding, evaluation, implementation and monitoring stages of a procurement process.
Recognising the importance of this technology, he disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved the National Blockchain Policy on the 5th of May 2023 and it was launched on the 15th of the same month.
The Director General underscored the government’s efforts at implementing the thematic areas of the policy document which are Talent Development, Innovation and Adoption through various collaborations with relevant institutions and initiatives developed to spur the ecosystem.
He said, “We partnered with Dominion to train Nigerians and we have trained 32,000 Nigerians on Blockchain and how to apply the technology in different areas.
He disclosed that the Agency has partnered with the National Youth Service Corps on the issuance of discharge certificates to corps members adding that the technology will put an end to certificate forgery and the implementation would be extended to other institutions.
He stated also that the Agency has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with the ecosystem in conducting an innovation challenge on the use of Blockchain to accelerate the adoption of the e-Naira.
“These are the things the government is doing to accelerate the use of Blockchain and we are also open to working with you and collaborating with your research fellows to see how we can work together in developing your processes,” he concluded.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commandant of the NDC, Rear Admiral Olumuyiwa Olotu, appreciated the NITDA boss for gracing the occasion and stated that the participants were gathered to gain insight into how national unity can be fostered to enhance their respective missions, security, and development through the application of science and technology.
While noting that the government has been investing massively in science and technology as well as innovation programmes to enhance the development and security of the nation, the Commandant revealed that the government in conjunction with Oracle has been developing technology to reform the civil service processes and data management.
“With this initiative, the government aims to promote the ease of real business, digital innovation, effective identity management, efficient payroll administration, and qualitative citizen service delivery in Nigeria,” he added.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has dragged Tunji Bello, executive vice chairman, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), before the Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged disobedience of a subsisting court order in a legal dispute involving telecom-based lending services.
Tunji Bello, EVC, FCCPC
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria initiated this in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/760/2026 pending before the court.
According to court documents, Bello was issued a Form 49 Notice to Show Cause, directing him to appear before the court on 22 May 2026 to explain why an order of committal should not be made against him for allegedly failing to comply with interim orders issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on 15 April 2026.
The court had earlier granted interim injunctions restraining the FCCPC, its officers, agents and privies from enforcing provisions of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 against members of WASPAN, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The restraining orders specifically barred the commission from interfering with services rendered by WASPAN members, including airtime lending, data advances and other mobile value-added services.
The orders also restrained the FCCPC from imposing sanctions, penalties or directives connected to the disputed regulations.
In the Form 49 notice dated 18 May 2026, WASPAN alleged that despite being aware of the court orders and having been served with Form 48 — the statutory notice warning against disobedience of court orders — the FCCPC and its Executive Vice Chairman allegedly continued actions contrary to the directives of the court.
The notice stated that the alleged contemnor refused to comply with the orders and had continued to deliberately defy the orders of the court.
An affidavit of service filed before the court disclosed that Form 48 was served on Bello at the FCCPC headquarters located at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja, on 6 May 2026.
The latest development followed earlier proceedings in which Justice Lewis-Allagoa declined an application by the FCCPC seeking to vacate the interim injunction.
The court instead directed that the substantive suit and the commission’s preliminary objection be heard together.
WASPAN is challenging the FCCPC’s authority to regulate telecom-based lending services, arguing that certain provisions of the DEON Regulations encroach on the statutory powers of the Nigerian Communications Commission to regulate telecommunications services in the country.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria, is the primary self-regulatory body and trade association for licensed Value-Added Service (VAS) providers and aggregators in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector
Lagos State government has raised alarm over the growing misuse of its emergency hotlines, and warned that fake calls are delaying response times and putting lives at risk.
According to the state, fake emergency calls or prank calls, account for a massive majority of distress communications—nearly 70 per cent.
This severe misuse dangerously delays response times for real emergencies like fires, crimes, and medical crises, and wastes critical first-responder resources
Olugbenga Oyerinde, commissioner for Special Duties, called the numbers (nearly seven out of every 10 calls made to Lagos emergency hotlines) deeply troubling.
The scale of the disruption has significantly affected emergency response operations, with the government disclosing that 5.47 million incoming calls went unanswered during the period under review.
The abandoned call rate climbed sharply from 9.3 per cent in January 2025 to 37.6 per cent by April 2026, suggesting worsening pressure on operators handling emergency traffic.
Officials warned that if the current trend continues, more than 7.2 million calls could go unanswered before the end of 2026
The Lagos State Command and Control Centre serves as the central coordination hub for emergency response agencies across the state, including the fire service, ambulance services, traffic management authorities and neighbourhood safety operatives.
According to the report, the sheer volume of fake and misdirected calls has forced the system to devote significant operational resources to filtering non-emergency traffic before genuine distress cases can be handled.
To address the growing burden, the ministry said it plans to introduce artificial intelligence-driven call screening technology designed to detect and filter nuisance calls before they reach human operators.
The proposed system, expected to be introduced before the end of 2026, is projected to reduce operator handling time by 35 per cent.
Other reforms outlined in the ministry’s strategic response plan include expanding agent capacity by 40 per cent, deploying automated callback systems for abandoned calls and establishing a real-time analytics dashboard for emergency response monitoring.
Yet one of the most striking figures in the report was not the 16.39 million nuisance calls, but the fact that only 39 calls were officially categorised as hoax calls requiring legal follow-up during the same period.
Google and Blackstone (BX.N), said they will form an artificial intelligence cloud business venture aimed at capitalising on an insatiable demand for AI computing services.
Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, will invest an initial $5 billion in equity to help bring 500 megawatts of data centre capacity online in 2027, with further expansion planned over time.
The U.S.-based venture will provide data centre capacity along with Google’s custom AI chips, known as Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, through a compute-as-a-service model.
The total investment value could reach $25 billion, including leverage, according to Bloomberg News.
Both companies did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the Bloomberg report. Blackstone has appointed Benjamin Sloss, a long-time Google executive, as CEO of the new venture.
Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud, said the venture would help address growing demand for TPUs by offering organisations additional ways to access computing capacity.
Analysts and investors have said Google is taking a sizeable share of new AI-driven computing demand, supported by its business tools and custom chips that have attracted customers such as Anthropic.
“This isn’t the biggest headline number we’ve seen. But it’s a high-quality bet on sustainable growth in AI infrastructure,” said Brittain Ladd, AI and supply chain consultant at Florida-based Chang Robotics.
Blackstone has stepped up investments in AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, power generation and transmission assets.
Those investments are valuable as the AI boom pushes operators to secure long-term energy supply deals.
The new partnership reflects rising demand for AI infrastructure and the need for large-scale capital deployment, Blackstone President Jon Gray said.
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