Telecom
NASENI and BPP Forge Nigeria First Alliance to Champion Local Goods and Services
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on Monday, 28th July 2025, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the implementation of “Nigeria First” Policy on Procurement, projects and other related matters.
The Nigeria First Policy is an initiative of the Federal Government, aimed at promoting Nigerian-made goods, services and utilization of Local content, infrastructures and other value chain.
As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda initiative of the Government, the policy seeks to encourage local production and consumption of Nigerian goods or services, also to support Nigerian business and entrepreneurs, foster economic growth and development, reduce dependency on imported goods and to promote Nigerian culture and identity. Also, by prioritizing local content, the policy aimed to create jobs, stimulate economic activity, and increase Nigeria’s global competitiveness.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony which took place at the Headquarters of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) office in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said, with the signing of MoU and implementation of the Nigeria First Policy, 80% of challenges faced while trying to convince investors and foreign partners would have been solved, as Nigeria will cease to be dumping ground for foreign goods, while focusing on promotion of Nigerian products, goods and services.
Halilu said that with support now coming from BPP, the over 50 market ready NASENI products will be off the shelves and gain patronage of Nigerians, adding that NASENI has gained for the country over 2 billion dollars from its recent partnership activities with China alone.
“One thing that is clear when I took over the leadership of NASENI was the determination to move the Agency from just producing prototypes to commercialization of its technologies and products, this was complemented by the turn around which we did in rebranding the Agency.
“We have 50 market-ready Nigeria branded products. NASENI is building the biggest renewable energy park in Nasarawa and has entered into partnership with Abuja Technology Village to boost Technology Transfer and innovation, enhance local manufacturing capacity, transform NASENI’s research-focused installation into full production facilities, promote national brands and local production”, he further explained.
Buttressing the partnership between NASENI and BPP, he said that it is expected that the policy would have transformative impacts on Nigeria’s economy and human capital development, aligning with national goals for industrialization, youth employment, and economic diversification. “This also shows that our efforts are not in vain:”
Earlier in his speech, the Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun said that the MoU between BPP and NASENI offers a structured bridge between production and procurement and how to take locally made solutions off the shelves and to place them at the center of public service delivery, which aimed at aligning Government policies with national priorities as well as giving practical force to the Nigeria First Policy.
According to him, “NASENI’s innovations, from tractors to tablets, from surveillance drones to solar backup systems, will now be actively prioritized in the procurement plans by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. We are institutionalizing a framework that makes local options not just preferable, but the default option before all others.
Specifically, he said further that with the signing of the MoU, the “BPP will now integrate NASENI’s Product catalogue into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, NOCOPO, and therefore encouraging other MDAs to follow suit”
He noted that the “Nigeria First Policy is not an act of protectionism, but an act of patriotism grounded in performance, and it is targeted at fastracking Nigeria’s industrial revolution”. He remarked that “NASENI has invested in quality assurance. Its products are certified by national institutions such as SON and NAFDAC. This means NASENI’s offerings will now be visible, verifiable, and measurable across all MDAs. First, we are integrating NASENI’s catalogue into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, NOCOPO. Between January and June this year alone, NOCOPO’s enhanced price intelligence has helped Nigeria save over 173 billion naira, 155 million dollars, and 1.7 million euros.”
While calling on all MDAs to follow NASEN’s footprint in promoting Made in Nigeria products, he said that the BPP’s revised threshold is now five billion naira for goods and ten billion for works, meaning that MDAs can act faster, while they continue to strengthen post-review and audit mechanisms.
He emphasized that the role of BPP is to ensure that these standards are rewarded with access, and that MDAs no longer look outside when the best is being made inside. “For the avoidance of doubt, let me say here that we will be backing this commitment with reform actions”.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
Telecom
MUSON Graduates Shine at 2026 Concert as MTN Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Music Scholarships
Emeka Nwodike, acting director of the MUSON School of Music, conducted the institution’s graduating class in a grand finale performance, bringing the 2026 graduation concert to a memorable close. The concert took place on July 7 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
The event celebrated students who successfully completed the MUSON Diploma Programme through the MTN Foundation Scholarship Programme.
The graduating students delivered a rich choral repertoire that reflected the breadth of their musical training, performing Italian Salad by Richard Genee, My Song by Eriks Esenvalds, Obi Dimkpa by Laz Ekwueme, and an ABBA Medley arranged by Goran Bejstam. Under the Acting Director’s baton, the choir demonstrated technical precision, vocal maturity and artistic expression before an audience of family members, music enthusiasts and industry stakeholders.
The concert formed part of the long-running partnership between the MTN Foundation and the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), which has, since 2006, provided scholarships for hundreds of talented young Nigerians to receive formal music education through the MUSON Diploma School. The programme continues to serve as one of the country’s foremost platforms for developing professional musicians and strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy.
Speaking at the close of the concert, Nwodike expressed appreciation to the MTN Foundation for its sustained support of the scholarship programme over the past two decades. He also thanked the Director of the MUSON Centre, faculty members, mentors and other stakeholders whose dedication has contributed to the school’s continued success.
“For nearly 20 years, the MTN Foundation has remained a steadfast partner in our mission to nurture young musical talent. We are deeply grateful for that commitment. I also want to thank the Director of the MUSON Centre, our faculty, mentors and everyone whose dedication has helped the MUSON School of Music continue to grow and thrive. Their support has made this programme what it is today, and our graduates are a testament to that collective effort,” he said.
Meta is rolling out Muse Image, the companyʼs first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, now available in Meta AI . Muse Spark made Meta AI a smarter assistant; now, Muse Image acts as the creative partner that knows your world, making it easy to turn your ideas into high-quality visuals that you can download and share anywhere, including directly to your feed, story, or chat.
The model also powers new creative tools across Metaʼs apps. You can use more than 30 new AI-powered effects for Instagram Stories and generate images in your direct chats with Meta AI on WhatsApp — starting in limited countries with more locations on the way.
Simple Prompts, High-Quality Outputs
Whether you’re starting from scratch or working with an existing photo, you can describe what you want in simple, conversational language, and Meta AI handles the rest thanks to Muse Image. Ask it to mock up an image of you in front of a historical landmark, cleanly erase a photobomber from the background of a shot, or write a custom prompt to build a functional QR code. It will also render text cleanly inside your visuals, meaning you can ask for a how-to guide or a detailed infographic on a specific subject, and the text comes out legible and styled to match.
Suggested Presets to Help You Get Started
Sometimes the hardest part of creating is getting started. Meta AI now includes a presets panel with suggested prompts to help inspire you. One tap restores an old family photo, lets you see yourself with trending hairstyles, or reimagines you as a claymation character or a 16-bit video game hero. Whatever you create, itʼs easy to share with friends across Metaʼs apps so they can try the same preset on their own photos.
Shop Your Room Redesigns
You can also snap a photo of your room and ask Meta AI to redesign it with real products from the web or Facebook Marketplace. Suggest a style you love or ask Meta AI to pull from whatʼs trending to see what your space looks like with a full makeover.
An Intelligent Creative Partner
Muse Image doesn’t just build an image; it thinks through your prompt first. By pairing up with Muse Spark, the model takes multiple steps behind the scenes — planning its layout, looking up real-time web context, and intelligently blending multiple visual references at once. Whether you want to place your pet in a famous painting or combine a selfie with a vacation photo to create a custom postcard, Meta AI handles the complex reasoning for you so the final visual matches your vision perfectly.
Rooted in Your World
You can also @-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images. Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual thatʼs ready to post. You have control over how your content can be tagged for AI creation with an easy setting to turn this feature off at any time.
Edit Directly on the Photo
To make a change, just tap the markup icon on your creation to circle, sketch, or annotate edits right on top of the photo. Since Meta AI remembers the full context of your conversation, you can keep refining by swapping styles, adding elements, or tweaking details — all without starting from scratch.
Whatʼs Next
Soon, Meta will bring Muse Image to more countries and the places where people use Meta AI, including Facebook and Messenger, and additional surfaces on Instagram and WhatsApp. In the coming weeks, advertisers and agencies will be able to tap into Muse Image through Advantage+ creative.
Using Meta AI with Muse Image is free for everyday creation. For people who want to create even more, itʼs available as part of Metaʼs subscription plans.
Images are just the beginning. With Muse Video already in development, Meta is building entirely new ways for you to bring your ideas to life, getting one step closer to personal superintelligence.
CAC to Sanction Companies with Incomplete Business Letters From August 1
BVN Enrollments Hit 69.55m- NIBSS
CBN Warns against Rejection of N100 Banknotes
Data Protection Industry Hits N16.3Bn in 3 Years- NDPC
NCC Seeks Cost-Based Pricing Framework for Ducts
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
Mobile Internet Gender Gap Widest in Africa – GSMA
Nigeria Launches FreeTV Nationwide
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
Lebara Nigeria Launches Lebara Play, Africa’s First Telecom-Owned Micro-Drama Platform
News2 days agoNRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
General News3 days agoIHS Nigeria, FCT-HSES Concludes Clean Cooking Energy Campaign “Project Breathe Clean Air” in Abuja
E-Business3 days agoKaspersky Transforms Threat Intelligence Reporting into an Interactive Content Hub
News3 days agoMicrosoft to Lay Off 4,800 Workers
Broadcasting3 days agoNELFUND Investigates 34 Universities Over Students’ Missing Tuition Refunds
Telecom3 days agoAirtel Africa Cuts Diesel Dependence by 9.1m Litres
Telecom3 days agoA New Blueprint – How Strategic Collaboration is Rewriting the Narrative on Youth Drug Abuse
News3 days agoAccess Bank, Fifth Chukker and UNICEF Renew Commitment to Expanding Educational Opportunities for Nigeria’s Most Vulnerable Children