Telecom
NITDA Empowers PLWD in Kano with Digital Skill
As part of effort to make digital literacy all inclusive, the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA on Friday completed the training for 30 persons living with various forms of disabilities,PLWD in Kano, Kano State.
The closing ceremony of the five-day training on Office Automation and Technoprenuership was virtually attended by the Executive Governor of Kano State, His Excellency, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who was represented by Mallam Salihu Tanko Yakasai, senior special assistance on Media, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and the NITDA Director General, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.
The Minister, in his remarks as the Chief Host advised the trainees to be ambitious and not to see their disabilities as challenges that would not make them achieve success in their chosen endeavours.
“You have to build on the skills you have acquired, challenge your previous successes,” he advised.
He said that, “as entrepreneurs, you will face a lot of challenges so encouraged to be focused and chase your passion diligently”, adding that no deformity can limit the level of achievements except the one set for yourselves.
Citing example of some renowned tech guru in the world, the minister explained that most of them turn their challenges to strength so they could become what they are today.
He said, “Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in his garage in the year 1994 without making a profit for years. So you don’t have to be discouraged but keep your eyes on the ball”
Dr Pantami informed the beneficiaries to count themselves lucky for being selected out of many people that applied for the training advising them to make judiciously used of the working tools provided for them and not to be tempted to sale it.
The minister while commending the NITDA boss and the entire management of the Agency for strategically implementing the policy of the ministry stated that the ministry would continuously coming up with strategies that will support the digital economy mandate of the ministry.
He directed NITDA to continue giving high premium to developing the capacity of the people. “I want you to keep this training going so our people can be empowered. You are also advised to have data base of the beneficiaries in order to keep monitoring their achievements.
In his remarks, the representative of the governor, Mallam Yakasai commended NITDA for choosing Kano state for the training, noting that the acquired skills by the trainees would assist them to be self-reliant.
He said the state government would remain grateful for the opportunity. While maintaining that the state government is also striving to ensure that the lives of the physically challenged are supported with initiatives that would make things easier for them.
Earlier in his speech, the NITDA boss said that the programme is targeted at promoting inclusiveness in the nation’s journey to digital economy.
He added that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has made digital skills imperative.
He said, “never before was digital skills more critical as it is today. As we move from pandemic emergence response phase to recovery phase, the unprecedented disruption of this pandemic is accelerating the urgency of digital transformation and it has forced us to embrace new practices such as social distancing, remote working and virtual events.”
He reiterated that the training is aimed at ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind in the journey to digital Nigeria.
“The Honourable Minister has enjoined us to embark on massive training and re-skilling for all Nigerians including more than the 25 million people living with disabilities”.
He added that this year training is focused on upskill and empowerment of the people living with disabilities with digital skills on Office Automation and Technoprenuership.
He said special attention is being paid to entrepreneurship because Small and Medium Enterprise and tech startups are the backbone of any nation.
Ado Sanusi Sabongida, one of the beneficiaries of the training who is living with Cerebral Palsy, delivered vote of thanks on behalf of the others. He thanked the management of the NITDA for not forgetting special people in their programmes.
He equally advised other agencies of government to emulate NITDA at empowering the special people adding that they should be looking inward to see abilities in their disabilities.
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of working tools to the trainees.
Users of satellite internet service provider Starlink in Nigeria are being required to complete a biometric Know Your Customer (KYC) process as a precondition to continue enjoying their services, according to .biometricupdate.
According to local reports, more than 66,000 Starlink subscribers in the country had a December 31 ultimatum from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to complete the biometric verification or have their connection discontinued.
The process essentially entails linking a Starlkink account with the subscriber’s national digital ID.
The NCC, which is Nigeria’s telecoms industry regulator, is said to have first issued the directive in August last year, setting a three-month deadline which was to elapse on November 19, TechCabal reports.
The body however later extended it to December 31 after consultations with industry stakeholders. The internet account-NIN linkage, the NCC said, is to enhance identity verification and strengthen security within the country’s telecoms space.
Just a few days to the December 31 deadline, Starlink’s Nigeria office sent an email to its subscribers reminding them of the KYC requirement, and warned that all those who fail to comply would be disconnected.
And that once disconnected, reconnection would depend on network capacity in the concerned area.
The service provider said in its email that the process takes less than two minutes and users can complete it by logging in to their account via an app.
One user, quoted by TechCabal, said one needs to upload their selfie biometrics, provide their national identification number (NIN) and then give their consent for the account to be linked to their ID information.
Starlink’s internet service is present in about 155 countries with nine million users, as of 2025. Its growth in Nigeria is said to be rapid, making it the second largest internet service provider in the country, according to The Traffic.
Biometric identification for Starlink subscribers could become a continent-wide trend given that some countries have expressed reservations in opening up their internet space to the company over security concerns.
There’ve been fears that jihadists in countries like Mali and Nigeria may have exploited Starlink terminals to coordinate terror operations, and cybersecurity experts have also warned of risks related to weak regulation, digital sovereignty and data breaches.
The requirement for Starlink internet users to have their accounts linked with the NIN is similar to the SIM-NIN linkage policy which the Nigerian government battled to implement for many years, with many deadline extensions.
In October last year, the NCC, which is was at the forefront of the policy implementation, announced that all active SIM cards across all network providers had complied with the directive which was issued in 2020.
The idea, the federal government argued, was to strengthen security and curb criminality such as kidnappings which are aided and abetted by improperly identified mobile phone numbers.
Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has urged Northern Nigeria to pivot urgently from traditional commerce to an innovation-driven digital economy for sustainable growth.
NITDA
Inuwa issued the call at the Future Map Foundation Roundtable 1.0 (North-West Edition) in Kano, attributing the region’s sluggish digital adoption not to talent deficits but to the lack of deliberate, coordinated strategies.
He stressed deeper collaboration across academia, private sector players, entrepreneurs, and government, positioning the private sector as the primary innovation engine while government supplies robust policies and an enabling ecosystem.
Inuwa advocated for people-focused, locally tailored innovations that tackle regional challenges head-on, enabling global competitiveness by transitioning from mere technology users to creators of homegrown solutions.
The roundtable convened policymakers, tech founders, and ecosystem stakeholders to forge a comprehensive roadmap for North-West digital transformation, yielding firm commitments to bolster regional innovation policies and public-private synergies.
Inuwa’s push dovetails seamlessly with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which sets an ambitious target of 95 per cent nationwide digital literacy by 2030, fostering inclusive economic empowerment.
Participants hailed the forum as a pivotal step toward unlocking Northern Nigeria’s tech potential, with NITDA poised to lead implementation through strategic interventions and partnerships.
Samsung Electronics plans to double this year the number of its mobile devices with “Galaxy AI” features largely powered by Google’s Gemini, its co-CEO said, which would give the U.S. firm an edge over rivals as the global race in artificial intelligence heats up.
The South Korean company, which had rolled out Gemini-backed AI features to about 400 million mobile products, including smartphones and tablets, by last year, plans to boost that figure to 800 million in 2026.
“We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” T M Roh told Reuters in his first interview since becoming Samsung Electronics co-CEO in November.
The plan by the world’s largest backer of Google’s Android mobile platform is set to give a major boost to its developer Google, which is locked in a race with OpenAI and others to attract more consumer users to their AI model.
Samsung seeks to reclaim its lost crown from Apple in the smartphone market and fend off competition from Chinese rivals not only in mobile telephones, but televisions and home appliances, all overseen by Roh.
It will offer integrated AI services across consumer products to widen its lead over Apple in such features, though the latter was set to be the top smartphone maker last year, according to market researcher Counterpoint.
AI Race
Alphabet’s Google launched the latest version of Gemini in November, highlighting Gemini 3’s lead on several popular industry measures of AI model performance.
In response to Gemini 3, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly issued an internal “code red,” pausing non-core projects and redirecting teams to accelerate development. The ChatGPT maker launched its GPT-5.2 AI model a few weeks later.
Roh expects the adoption of AI to accelerate, as Samsung’s surveys on awareness of its Galaxy AI brand jumped to a level of 80% from about 30% in just one year.
“Even though the AI technology might seem a bit doubtful right now, within six months to a year, these technologies will become more widespread,” he said.
NAHCO Signs New Ground Handling Deals
Firm Identifies Global Scam Activity Linked to the Release of Avatar 3
Showmax Unlocks Easier Payments for Nigerian Subscribers via Baxi
Mandatory Biometric Verification for Starlink Users in Nigeria Begins
Ecobank Offsets Repayment of $300m Eurobond Notes
Banks quietly move to enforce new ₦50 transfer levy from Jan. 1
FIRS says NIN, CAC Numbers to Serve as Tax IDs from 2026
Financial Sector Faced AI, Blockchain and Organised Crime Threats in 2025 – Report
PalmPay Launches N400 Million World Travel Carnival, Rewarding Users with Free Global Trips
Minister Claims Bandits Exploit Poor Network, Bounce Calls Off Multiple Towers
News2 days agoCourt Sends Faleti, Ex-Lagos Director to Jail for Stealing ₦48.9m from Access Bank
E-Financial2 days agoRemita Powers over ₦100 Trillion in Payments as Nigeria’s Digital Economy Expands
News3 days ago974 Nigerians Face Imminent Deportation from Canada Amid Enforcement Surge
General News3 days agoHouse of Reps Releases Certified Copies of Tax Reform Acts amid Gazette Discrepancy Claims
E-Financial2 days agoWhy 2026 Must Be the Year Nigeria’s Economy Works for All
E-Financial2 days agoFlutterwave Acquires Nigeria’s Mono in $25m-$40m All-Stock Deal
E-Financial2 days ago2026: SEC to Review Rules to Incentivise SME Listings
General News2 days agoNigeria Targets Satellite-to-Mobile Services in Draft Spectrum Roadmap