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PIC says Nigeria’s Youth Population Offers Great Potential for Innovation, Technological Advancement
Mr. Udeme Ufot, Chairman, Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has said that the size and youthfulness of the Nigerian population offers great potential for innovation, technological advancement and economic development of the country.
Ufot stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at the Gender and Inclusion Summit 2023 convened by the Policy Innovation Centre of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
He noted that for this potential to be harnessed, there was need for strategic investment in health, education, infrastructural development and job creation while leveraging technology to deliver sustainable development at scale.
Commenting on the essence of the Summit, Ufot said it was “conceptualised as a platform for dialogue where critical stakeholders from diverse sectors will reflect on new evidence and contextually relevant solutions to disparities in inclusivity in Nigeria.”
He said: “The Gender and Inclusion Summit has a truly inclusive scope encompassing women, men, children, youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable population.
This year, we are dedicating considerable time to discuss issues relating to Nigerian youth for many reasons. Nigeria has the one of the largest population of youth in the world, about seventy percent of the population is under 35 years old.
The median age of youth in Nigeria is 18.1 years and 42% are under the age of 15.”
He commended the efforts of the current government in providing platforms for youth such as the recently launched initiative to train three million tech talents by the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy.
He further underscored the need for “a collective responsibility to develop inclusive approaches to address barriers to quality education, job and internship opportunities and access to health services for Nigeria’s burgeoning youth population.”
Ufot warned that Nigeria cannot afford to have “a large population of poorly educated, poorly skilled, economically unproductive and unhealthy young people.”
He therefore, tasked participants to deliberate on how to lead Nigeria to “a more inclusive nation, where all citizens have equitable access to opportunities and are positioned to realise their God given potentials in a Nigerian economy that is modern and open, private sector-led, and globally competitive.”
In his remarks, former Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, said that following his passion for women development, that he had signed a law making it possible for women to inherit their fathers’ property and own community land.
The law, he explained, allows them to be allocated land as against the customs and tradition which made it difficult for them to own land in their communities.
He said: “Today in Abia State, female children can now inherit their fathers’ property. Now it’s an offence for female children not to be allocated land. The female children can now inherit their fathers’ property.”
Ikpeazu also recalled that he had signed a law against the discrimination of the disabled persons, which made it compulsory for all houses in Abia State to be designed with ramps to enable the disabled easy access.
The theme for the 2023 summit was “Building Bridges: Advancing Gender & Inclusion Through the Intersection of Trade & Health.”
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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