Telecom
Ihedioha Solicits NCC Partnership for ICT Innovation in Imo
Emeka Ihedioha, governor of Imo State has solicited the partnership of the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, in his administration’s effort to embrace and deepen digital culture in Imo State.
Governor Ihedioha stated this recently in an address presented on his behalf by Gerald Irona, his deputy, at the opening of a 2-Day Research and Innovation Forum organised by the NCC for tech entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the South East geopolitical zone.
The governor recalled that in its first 100 days, his administration has recorded strides through the creation of the Ministry of Technology Development, funding ICT training programmes for different categories of persons, and instituting the digitisation of the State’s tax and revenue collection processes.
The governor then solicited the support and partnership of NCC to enable Imo State government to expand its vision for ICT innovation and technological development.
In a keynote paper by Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, who was represented by Haru Alhassan, director, New Media and Information Security, NCC affirmed the Commission’s commitment to collaborate with stakeholders in the country to deepen the impact of ICT research, innovation and utilisation.
Danbatta noted that the Commission “in its effort to encourage tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the ICT sector, has embarked on visitation to various tech startups across the six geopolitical zones to assess their development and challenges.”
The EVC said NCC is ready to assist the various innovation hubs with the appropriate interventions to ease their operations, stressing that the deliberations at the Forum will improve collaborative efforts and actions designed by governments and the NCC to accelerate innovation and accentuate digital economy in Nigeria.
Ephraim Nwokonneya, director, Research and Development DRD, at NCC underscored Danbatta’s remark that the Forum theme, “Developing Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem: The Imperatives for Improving Local Content” was selected to emphasise the commitment of NCC to leverage local content in the nation’s effort to achieve concrete digital transformation.
Nwokonneya also said NCC’s initiatives in this regard will unlock the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the young people, boost local content in the ICT sector and enhance wealth creation, facilitate the introduction of new value added services that will improve quality of consumer experience, and support President Buhari’s agenda to reduce poverty in Nigeria.
In a presentation by Dr. Chris Uwaje, a leading light of ICT research and innovations, Nigeria will concretely harness opportunities lurking in ICT and digital economy by improving local content participation, see innovation hubs as fulcrum of local content, ensure legislative and government support for tech initiatives, and nudge young people to be globally competitive.
Dr. Fidelis Onah, a former Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at NCC and now a tech entrepreneur, who made a presentation on the “Imperatives of e-governance in the Emerging Digital Economy”, allayed the fears of the public about people losing jobs as a result of tech innovations.
He said while some job losses may be recorded, much more jobs will be created in the increasingly digital economy.
He advised that stakeholders need to be ready by designing and reviewing existing policies to design strategies that will enable Nigeria to take advantage of the opportunities that abound within the digital culture.
He also warned that any society that refuse to embrace the digital culture will have to do so later at higher costs.
In a panel session on Legislative and Government Support for Enhancing Tech Ecosystem in Nigeria, chaired by Tony Ojobo, former Director Public Affairs at NCC, Founder of Tech X Innovation Hub and President of African ICT Foundation, discussants agreed on the need for state governments to designate a Commissioner for ICT Development.
The panelists reasoned that it is also important for all stakeholders to demonstrate the awareness of the capacity of ICT to galvanise growth so that such knowledge can trigger more concrete action to provide access, adoption and application of ICTs in all facets of life.
In another panel discussion focused on Innovation Hubs as Fulcrum of Local Content, chaired by Hanson Johnson, Founder of Nextdeegit Hub, panelists were on accord that innovation hubs hold the promise of harnessing the energy of the youths for creativity and measurable outcomes.
Overall, all panel sessions emphasised the need for clear and harmonised policies and strategies, more collaboration of stakeholders and particularly advocated for a new approach by government that shows the government appreciate the value of ICT, innovation and the treasures lurked in the digital culture.
Participants welcomed enthusiastically the NCC’s vision of Silicon WAZOBIA, a replication of the Silicon Valley Model, but discussants and other participants urged government to get more intimately involved in mobilising the innovation hubs, the academia and other strategic actors in the emerging revolution driven by ICT.
The Forum is being attended by many stakeholders including Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), tech economy enthusiasts, entrepreneurs of tech innovation hubs, as well as captains of other capacity-building and startup businesses, Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), banks, Zinox Technologies and other players in the telecom ecosystem.
MTN Nigeria has announced the temporary suspension of its airtime and data advance service, Xtratime, following new regulatory requirements introduced by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The telecom giant disclosed the development in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday, stating that the move is necessary to comply with the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025.
Xtratime, widely used by prepaid subscribers, allows customers to borrow airtime or data and repay on their next recharge.
In the disclosure signed by Uto Ukpanah, company secretary, the firm confirmed the halt, noting, “MTN Nigeria Communications PLC hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public that the company has temporarily suspended its airtime and data credit advance service (‘Xtratime’).”
The company explained that the service now falls within the scope of the FCCPC’s expanded regulatory framework, which mandates fresh licensing and stricter compliance procedures for digital credit providers.
“The suspension relates to the implementation of processes under the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, which introduced a new compliance and licensing framework for entities providing digital or non-traditional consumer credit services,” the statement added.
Despite the suspension, MTN reassured subscribers that alternative channels for purchasing airtime and data remain fully operational. It also downplayed the financial impact of the move.
“Given the scale within the revenue mix, we do not expect the temporary suspension to have a material impact,” the company said, adding that it is closely monitoring customer behaviour and will provide further updates in its first-quarter 2026 results.
The FCCPC’s 2025 regulations significantly broaden oversight of Nigeria’s digital lending ecosystem, bringing telecom operators and other providers of short-term credit services under stricter scrutiny. Companies offering such services are now required to register and obtain regulatory approval to continue operations.
The Commission had initially introduced a framework for digital lending in 2022, but expanded it in 2025 amid rising concerns over consumer debt, data privacy and lending practices.
Nokia and Orange are co-developing new strategies to maximise spectral efficiency across existing and future mobile bands, including the upper 6 GHz range, as networks transition toward 6G.
This follows an announcement of a partnership with NVIDIA to develop and evaluate Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Network (AI-RAN) technologies.
The initiative will combine the anyRAN 5G software of Nokia with the AI infrastructure of NVIDIA to improve network performance and energy efficiency.
The collaboration aims to transform service delivery for Orange across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, says Nokia.
Under a new structured co-innovation framework, the partners will explore how GPU-based radio processors can boost performance via advanced receivers.
The goal is to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) directly into the RAN to automate environments, support sensing services and drive resource utilisation.
“By collaborating with Nokia and NVIDIA, we can better understand how the AI-native architecture enabled by AI-RAN can improve the efficiency of key radio algorithms such as scheduling, beamforming, and power optimisation — enhancing both spectral efficiency and energy performance, while also enabling advanced capabilities like predictive optimisation and radio sensing. This collaboration is an important step in our long-term network strategy,” says Laurent Leboucher, group chief technology officer at Orange.
Pallavi Mahajan, chief technology and AI officer at Nokia, comments: “AI is reshaping how networks are designed, introducing new levels of intelligence and flexibility across the radio layer.
“Through this collaboration with Orange, we are exploring how Nokia and NVIDIA’s AI-RAN solution brings advanced AI and RAN functions together in a unified architecture. This will be instrumental in enabling the industry’s transition toward cognitive, AI native networks.”
Orange is currently the fourth-largest telecoms operator in Africa with 18 markets on the continent. The partnership marks a significant attempt to leverage AI to accelerate digital transformation as the first wave of 6G approaches.
Zoho Nigeria partnered with Guardian Newspapers for the Guardian Woman Festival, a month-long initiative celebrating women’s contributions to business, governance, and social development while promoting digital empowerment for female entrepreneurs.
Kehinde Ogundare
Held at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, the festival focused on the theme “Reciprocity,” encouraging the exchange of value, networks, and digital innovation to strengthen women-led businesses and foster collaboration.
During the event, Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, delivered a keynote address titled “Give Value, Gain Growth: Women Driving Reciprocal Innovation in the Digital Economy”. In his remarks, he highlighted the urgent need to bridge the digital gap for female entrepreneurs.
While Nigeria has the highest concentration of women-owned businesses in Africa, fewer than 30% currently use digital tools to manage or grow their operations. Ogundare noted that technology does not replace the strengths women already bring to business, such as relationship building and community engagement. Instead, it amplifies them, enabling entrepreneurs to reach wider audiences and scale more efficiently.
“The difference is not talent. Not capital. Not ambition. It is digital adoption,” said Ogundare during his keynote. “Smart tools create smart businesses. Smart businesses create strong economies. When women entrepreneurs and leaders have access to the right tools, the possibilities for growth are limitless.”
Zubaida Aliyu, Sales Manager at Zoho Nigeria, also brought her expertise to the festival’s panel session on ‘Women in the Business of Digital Innovation’. She highlighted how women are uniquely positioned to create shared value in digital spaces by building platforms that encourage knowledge sharing, mentorship, and collaboration.
Aliyu also challenged organisations that continue to view women’s digital inclusion primarily as corporate social responsibility rather than a strategic business priority.
“Tech creates a level playing field,” she said, noting that digital platforms remove limitations related to location and infrastructure size. Addressing organisations that overlook the economic value of inclusive digital strategies, she added, “They are leaving money on the table — they need to think of it as a strategy not charity”.
Through its participation in the Guardian Woman Festival, Zoho reaffirmed its commitment to providing affordable and accessible enterprise-grade technology to businesses of all sizes. By helping women transition from manual effort to digital efficiency, Zoho aims to support entrepreneurs build scalable enterprises and ensure their sustained success in Africa’s digital economy.
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