Telecom
Digital Transformation: DT-TWGs Critical to Implementation of NDEPS — Prof. Pantami

Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has said that the Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DT-TWG) is a critical instrument for the implementation of all pillars of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

L-R: Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) during the event in Abuja
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu said this today in Abuja while delivering his remarks as the chief host and special guest of honour, at the opening ceremony of the maiden edition of “Digitalisation Hangout with DT-TWG Chairmen.”
The hangout is aimed at bringing together Members of the DT-TWG and key industry players.
Prof. Pantami quoted a 2020 Report by Deloitte which indicates that digital transformation can help accelerate progress towards enterprise goals such as financial returns, workforce diversity, and environmental targets by 22%.
He said that, “according to Gartner, global IT spending would reach $3.9 trillion in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to act as a catalyst for digital transformation in almost every major industry,” adding that the World Economic Forum has noted that “digital transformation across the globe can benefit the region of $100 trillion between now and 2025.
He gave instances of how DTTWG is instrumental to the implementation of NDEPS, stating that on developmental Regulation, DT-TWG will be required to ensure all ICT and digital technologies-related policies and regulations are adhered to by their organizations in a manner that enables national development.
“Service and Soft Infrastructure are critical to achieving appropriate Government Digital Services (GDS) deployment and strengthening public confidence in the use of digital technologies and services. DT-TWGs are expected to support the Federal Government in developing citizen-friendly digital mechanisms to support service innovations and digital transformation for a Digital Nigeria.
DT-TWGs are required to give preference to indigenous digital solutions while making IT decisions in their respective organisations in line with Executive Orders 003 and 005 of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is also in line with the NDEPS pillar on indigenous content development and adoption, to mention a few,” the minister stated.
Prof Pantami pointed out that at the centre of this transformation is human capital development, which without it, according to him, nothing can be achieved.
While giving his opening remarks, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said, “We expect a drastic surge in digital transformation initiatives within the public sector in the coming years to keep up with the pace of digital shift.”
He estimated as reported by Statista, in 2020, that the global digital transformation spending was $1.31 trillion from $1.18 trillion USD in 2019 which he said is projected that, the spending will reach 1.78 trillion by 2022.
He cited another research by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that predicts the direct digital transformation investments will total $6.8 trillion between 2020 and 2023.
He stated further that, the report confirmed that 65% of the world’s GDP is set to be digitalised by 2022, and 70% of all organisations globally will have accelerated use of digital technologies.
This he said, implies transforming existing business processes and models to drive customer engagement, employee productivity, and business resiliency.
“Today, we have achieved another milestone by creating a platform for bringing together the DT-TWG members and the key players in the technology industry.
“We hope this engagement will foster cooperation between the DTTWGs and technology industry players and provide a platform where experiences, achievements, and challenges will be shared”, the DG said.
“We are optimistic that this will also be a platform for constructive stakeholders’ inputs and buy-in and ultimately a medium for rights decisions and devising feasible strategies towards improving digital transformation maturity in the public sector” he added.
Mallam Abdullahi stated that “we have ensured that the composition of DT-TWG of each Federal Public Institutions (FPIs), consists of 10 members cutting across strategic departments with at least two (2) persons from the IT/ICT/e-Government departments and three other persons from core business departments of the FPIs”.
He explained that this composition is to ensure that the core business and the IT people cooperate and develop the capability to manage digital transformation projects successfully.
According to Mallam Abbdullahi, criteria of membership of the DT-TWG’s mandates that the Group shall be chaired by the Director/Head of ICT/IT/e-Government except where there is no such designation. The Chief Executives are at liberty to choose the leader of the group.
NITDA Boss revealed that the Agency has organised training that lasted for a month in which 442 members were certified. The DT-TWG members were taken through the basic required knowledge to carry out their responsibilities efficiently while leading digital transformation in their organisation.
The Managing Director, Nigeria Communication Satellite, Mrs Abimbola Alale while giving her goodwill message said the hangout is apt as it is coming at the time the Head of Service of the Federation has directed that all government processes should be digitalised.
During a goodwill message delivered by the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MainOne Ms Funke Opeke, mentioned that there is no denying the role that digital technology is playing in transforming the way businesses are carried out.
She affirmed her organisations willingness to continue to partner with the Agency to develop a sustainable digital economy.
Other industry heavy weights in attendance includes Executive Vice Chairman NCC, NIPOST, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Nigeria, Nigeria Computer Society, Delloite Nigeria, Sidmach, Backbone Connectivity limited, Ntel, Cyberspace limited and many more.
Telecom
Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.
The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.
Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.
The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.
However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.
MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.
In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.
Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.
Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.
Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.
“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.
Telecom
Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.
The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”
The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.
A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.
This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.
According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.
However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.
There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.
According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.
“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.
“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”
It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.
“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.
For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.
“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.
It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.
Telecom
Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.
Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.
Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).
Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.
Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.
“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”
Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response
Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.
Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.
The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.
Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.
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