General News
Adesina says Technology can Help Boost Food Security, Transparency in Nigeria
Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, has said that technology can be deployed to boost food security and transparency in Nigeria.
He said this while receiving an honorary doctorate, which was conferred on him at the 38th Founders’ Day and 30th convocation ceremony of the Federal University of Technology Minna, in Minna on Wednesday.
This was contained in a press statement published on AfDB’s website, and titled ‘AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina awarded an honorary doctoral degree at the Federal University of Technology Minna: Calls on graduating class to create a new, greater and dynamic Nigeria’.
Adesina was quoted in the statement as saying, “Technology drives the world. As Minister of Agriculture, I turned to the power of technology, mobile phones, to provide 15 million farmers with access to improved seeds and fertilizers, with a view to ending corruption in the sector.”
It was revolutionary – the first, not only in Africa but in the world. It helped Nigeria produce a record additional 21 million metric tons of food. It boosted food security and expanded wealth for farmers, from the northeast, northwest, north-central, southwest, east, and south-south of the country. It brought transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.”
The statement also read, “Several Nigerian Fintech entrepreneurs are already using tech to deliver digital payment systems with three of Nigeria’s fintech (Intersswitch, Pay Pal and Flutterwave) reaching the $1bn mark. Adesina said African Fintechs raised $1.4bn in 2019, three times what was raised in 2019, and in 2021 they raised about $5bn.”
Adesina further emphasised the key roles of technology for enhancing security systems, military reconnaissance and intelligence, satellite imagery, and remote sensing to track the effects of climate change, artificial intelligence, alongside drones to deliver agricultural inputs and medical supplies to remote locations.
Adesina also stressed that cognitive robots would become a part of office and industrial spaces in the future.
He was quoted as saying, “Cognitive robots now power industrial manufacturing. In the very near future, due to machine learning and artificial intelligence, your colleagues in the office or industry will not be just Musa, Emeka, Yetunde, or Ada, but Yekini Jones or Bobo – the robots. They will even wear caps or head ties.
“Through facial recognition, Yekini and Bobo the robots will greet you every morning, saying “Hello Musa, Emeka, Yetunde, and Ada. And you will say, “Hello Yekini, Hello Bobo. Let’s roll.”
It was also stated that the AfDB was preparing the youth of Africa to lead in the new digital economy, as the Bank provided $170m to Nigeria to help drive its I-DICE initiative that will help expand the digital industry and grow jobs in the creative industries.
Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.
Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.
The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.
The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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