E-Business
CommunicationsWeek Taps Willie Obiano as Digital Governor of the Year

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has been listed to be honoured as the Most Outstanding Governor in usage of ICT ‘4’ Development, especially for using Drone Technology for Mapping Purposes; Crime Fighting; and use of ICT in education at this year’s Beacon of ICT (BoICT) Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series.
Ken Nwogbo, CEO/MD, Communication Week Media organisers of the event said that the lectures and awards series is widely regarded as the most prestigious annual event available in the ICT industry in Nigeria.
The award will be conferred on the governor at this year’s Beacon of ICT lecture and award ceremony slated for Saturday, April 25, 2015, at the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.
According to Mr. Nwogbo, the governor was adjudged the best after polling 50,327 votes out of the 109,000 votes cast in Most Outstanding Governor in usage of ICT ‘4’ Development, category.
The votes cast from December 1, 2014 to March 15, 2015 is a testament to the governor’s talents, innovations, contributions and commitments to the growth of the state.
“We are very happy that Nigerians have recognized Governor Obiano’s hard work, sincerity and dedication towards the development of Anambra state” Mr. Nwogbo said.
Governor Obiano is being honoured for making Anambra State First Choice Investment Destination and a hub for industrialisation and commercial activities.
The governor who marked a year in office recently has used ICT to make the state socially stable, business-friendly environment that now attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities.
Now in its sixth year, the event is also the largest gathering of ICT practitioner; regulators; financial sector under one roof.
This year’s event is shaping up to be an event as star-studded as any red carpet, with dozens of industry weights agreeing to attend.
The keynote of the award will be delivered by Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications.
He will be speaking on the theme “What Next for Nigerian Telecommunications?
At the inaugural edition of the lecture, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) delivered the lecture and gazing into the crystal ball, foretold a broadband revolution.
The following year, it was the turn of Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) who x-rayed the digitization of broadcasting.
In 2012, Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk wowed the crowd with expectations from mobile money.
In 2013, Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom and one of the best brains in integrated transport and automotive systems in world; with works in innovation and enterprise delivered the keynote.
He spoke on the theme: “Technology Adaption; Looking IT Straight In the Eye”.
Last year, Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), shared his wealth of global experience in the financial services sector with ICT industry.
There has never been a dull moment with the event which draws top politicians and government functionaries as well captains in the ICT industry as well financial institutions.
Already, top business leaders and government officials have confirmed attendance.
E-Business
UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.
This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.
Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.
The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.
Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.
The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”
This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.
E-Business
Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.
Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.
Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.
NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.
“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.
“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”
To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.
Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.
“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”
E-Business
IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.
The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.
Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.
“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.
IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.
However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.
In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.
Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.
IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.
- E-Business3 days ago
Firm Discovers New Crypto-stealing Trojan in AppStore, Google Play
- E-Business3 days ago
IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB
- E-Business3 days ago
UK Criminalises AI-Generated Child Abuse Images
- Telecom3 days ago
Reps Begin Probe of Telcos Over Illegal NIN-SIM Linkage
- News2 days ago
NOTAP to Relaunch Fruit Juice Production Initiative
- E-Financial2 days ago
FG Seeks Fresh $580m Loan from World Bank
- Telecom3 days ago
Zoho Corporation Expands AI Capabilities with New Zia Agents and Studio
- E-Financial3 days ago
NAICOM, World Bank Explore Opportunities for Collaboration