Telecom
Danbatta Commends Adedigba over NIM Fellowship
Professor Umar, Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has commended Ismaila Adedigba, Assistant Director at NCC, over his recent conferment of the Fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM.
Adedigba who is the Director of Research Development at the Commission, has for many years been a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and Fellow of the Association of West African Society for Communications and Administration (FSCA).
Professor Danbatta said the elevation of Adedigba is well deserved, and commended his commitment and dedication to the ideals of his profession as well as a remarkable career progression, exemplified in his pioneering contributions to the growth of the Commission.
“No doubt, this is well-deserved elevation into the prestigious fellowship of the Institute, which obviously, was based on your unbroken antecedents to dedication in public service. Therefore, all of us at the Commission felicitate with you on the attainment of this prestigious status at NIM,” he said.
Adedigba’s conferment among other fellows, took place at the latest Awards of Fellows and Spouses’ Day Luncheon which took place at the Muson Centre, Onika, Lagos, and featured the decoration of distinguished individual members of the institute who have contributed to the development of the Institute, management of the profession and the civil society at large.
With adequate and relevant previous cognate experiences in audit, finance, consultancy and banking inspection, Adedigba joined the services of the Commission on April 3, 1995 as Head of Internal Audit and has risen through the ranks in the departments of Finance; Zonal Administration; Licensing; Business Development; Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF); Corporate Planning, Strategy and Risk Management Department; Consumer Affairs Bureau; and Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis Department for over two decades before his recent promotion as Director of R&D.
Adedigba holds an MSc. in Business Administration, and BSc. in accounting, and he is also an Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACTIN). Adedigba, as a fellow of NIM, will now be required to be involved actively in all programmes of the Institute through the Faculty of Fellows (FoF), where his core competence and the areas of specialization in his profession would be brought to bear and utilised.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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