Telecom
DigitalSENSE Africa honours Ekuwem, Odusote, Nwannenna, Adebayo, Uzor, others @NDSF’24

Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Akwa-Ibom State, alongside the chairperson, Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mrs Ibukun Odusote, Managing Director, Condata Systems Limited, Dr. Chris Nwannenna, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Managing Director, Wizzyhub Technologies, Mr. Francis Uzor led awardees at the inaugural DigitalSENSE Africa awards.

From left: Lead Consulting Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa, Sir Remmy Nweke, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, presenting the DigitalSENSE Africa IG4D Ambassador of the decade award to the Managing Director, Wizzyhub Technologies Limited, Mr. Francis Uzor; accompanied by Business Development Consultant, Mrs. Uzor, President/Founder, DNS Women Nigeria, Mrs Nkem Nweke, at the 2024 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF24) on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) powered by ITREALMS Media group at esteemed Welcome Centre Hotels, Lagos, last weekend.
Other awardees included the Managing Director, Digital Realty Nigeria, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Mr. Gbenga Sesan, and Managing Director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Mr. Muhammed Rudman, among others.
Confirming these at the weekend, the Lead Consulting Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa and Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media group, Sir Remmy Nweke, said that recognition in the corporate category included Upland College, Digital Realty Nigeria, Welcome Centre Hotels and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
As said by him, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem emerged the DigitalSENSE Africa Broadband Advocate of the decade; Mrs. Ibukun Odusote was acknowledged as DigitalSENSE Africa Empowerment Advocate of the decade; Dr. Chris Nwannenna as DigitalSENSE Africa IG4D Advocate of the decade; Engr. Gbenga Adebayo was honoured as DigitalSENSE Africa Telecoms Advocate of the decade; and Mr. Muhammed Rudman was named the DigitalSENSE Africa Internet Personality of the decade.
Also, Engr. Ike Nnamani emerged as the DigitalSENSE Africa Connectivity Enabler of the decade; Mr. Francis Uzor was honoured as DigitalSENSE Africa IG4D Ambassador of the decade; Mr. Gbenga Sesan came top as DigitalSENSE Africa IG4D Influencer of the decade, while honour was bestowed on chairman, NDSF@15, Mr. Edetaen Ojo as the DigitalSENSE Africa Freedom of Information (FoI) Champion of the decade.
Dr. Ekuwem, he said, was represented at NDSF@15 by the Chief Technical Officer, Teledom Group, Engr. Joseph Enyia, and Mrs. Odusote likewise Mr. Rudman were represented by President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) Mr. Sola Akinsanya, while the legal adviser to DNS WomenNG, Barr. Mrs. Amaka Onumonu and Ms Peculiar Showale stood in for Engr. Ike Nnamani and Mr. Gbenga Sesan, respectively.
In the corporate category, he said that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) emerged DigitalSENSE Africa Telecoms Regulator of the Decade; Digital Realty Nigeria (formerly Medallion) was named the DigitalSENSE Africa Data Centre of the decade; Upland College come-forth as DigitalSENSE Africa Most Supporting School of the Decade; and Welcome Center Hotels went home with the DigitalSENSE Africa Valuable Partner of the Decade.
He also said that the recognition were part of the agenda to mark the 15th years of hosting the Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum on Internet Governance for Development presided over by the award-winning Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda, Mr. Edetaen Ojo with the theme: “IG4D: Innovative Digital Economy & Safer Civic Space in Nigeria.”
According to Nweke, NDSF@15, held at the prestigious Welcome Center Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos, attracted civil societies, non-st actors, community based organisations, youth, students, media, men and women as well as internet and telecommunications enthusiasts in the country.
A panel session anchored by Nweke had speakers made up of seasoned industry experts including the NDSF@15 chairman, Mr. Ojo, Engr. Adebayo; Executive Director, Mr. Sesan, who was represented by Ms Peculiar Showale and Data Protection Officer, Upperlink Limited, Ms Francisca Iloezumma, whereas the open mic session was sponsored by the Domain Name System Women Foundation in Nigeria (DNS WomenNG).
Nweke recalled that in 2009, the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF) series on Internet Governance for Development made a debut at the Golden Gate Restaurant Ikoyi-Lagos and ever since, has remained firm in rallying stakeholders to take discourse on Internet access, openness, affordability, connectivity and ICT infrastructure among others.
“These awards are our own ways of appreciating both individual and corporate support over the years. It has not been easy but with God by our side and support of most of these persons and organisations in deepening and sustaining our contribution on Internet penetration, improving access, affordability, technological adaptation that bring forth digital sense in Nigeria. So, here we are today,” Nweke declared.
NDSF series on IG4D powered by ITREALMS Media group is hosted by DigitalSENSE Africa, an At-Large Structure (ALS) certified by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in collaboration with relevant stakeholders not limited to Internet Society (ISOC), Nigeria chapter, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Digital Realty Nigeria, NNPC Limited, NLNG, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) among others.
Telecom
Gombe Commissioner of Police Visits GBB Command Centre, Strengthens Collaboration on ICT-Driven Security Solutions

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited welcomed the newly appointed Commissioner of Police for Gombe State, CP Bello Yahaya, on a courtesy visit to its North East Regional Office and Safe City Emergency Command Centre.
This visit underscored the growing synergy between law enforcement and technology-driven solutions in strengthening security operations and fostering digital transformation in the region.
During the visit, CP Bello Yahaya was received by Mr. Ibrahim Bello, Regional Coordinator of GBB North East Regional Office, alongside key members of the GBB team.
The engagement provided a platform to explore strategic collaborations aimed at enhancing security infrastructure, digital transformation, and capacity-building initiatives for the Gombe State Police Command.
The Commissioner was taken on a guided tour of the Safe City Emergency Command Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that forms a critical part of the National Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) project.
The centre plays a pivotal role in improving security architecture across Gombe State and the North East region, leveraging cutting-edge surveillance systems, real-time monitoring tools, and integrated emergency response mechanisms.
With its advanced Unified Communications System, security analytics, and digital emergency response coordination, the Safe City Command Centre provides law enforcement with real-time intelligence, proactive threat detection, and seamless inter-agency collaboration, enabling a more effective and responsive approach to public safety.
CP Bello Yahaya expressed keen interest in leveraging ICT solutions to strengthen policing efforts, emphasizing the importance of technology in modern crime prevention, data-driven policing, and crisis management.
He highlighted the need for enhanced digital transformation, improved connectivity, and expanded training programs to equip officers with the necessary skills to operate effectively in a digitally evolving security landscape.
Galaxy Backbone reaffirmed its commitment to supporting law enforcement agencies, government institutions, and critical stakeholders through innovative ICT solutions, secure cloud infrastructure, and digital training programs.
By providing access to high-speed connectivity, cybersecurity frameworks, and cloud-powered command centres, GBB continues to drive the adoption of smart policing solutions and enhanced security management across Nigeria.
The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepening engagement between Galaxy Backbone and the Gombe State Police Command, focusing on optimizing digital transformation initiatives for law enforcement efficiency, expanding the scope of ICT-driven surveillance and emergency response systems and strengthening training programs for officers to enhance digital skills and operational effectiveness.
As Nigeria’s leading digital infrastructure provider, Galaxy Backbone continues to shape the future of public safety, digital governance, and cybersecurity, ensuring that law enforcement agencies have access to the best tools to protect lives and property.
Telecom
Salesforce Collaborates with Tech Leaders to Launch AI Energy Score for Model Efficiency

Salesforce, in collaboration with Hugging Face, Cohere, and Carnegie Mellon University, announced the release of the AI Energy Score, a first-of-its-kind benchmarking tool that lets AI developers and users evaluate, identify, and compare the energy consumption of AI models.
Salesforce also announced it will be the first AI model developer to disclose the energy efficiency data of its proprietary models under the new framework.
The AI Energy Score aims to address the lack of transparency about the environmental impact of AI models. Similar to how ENERGY STAR transformed energy efficiency standards for appliances and electronics, this initiative establishes a clear, trusted benchmark for AI model sustainability.
“Reducing AI energy consumption lowers operational costs, optimises infrastructure, and enhances long-term sustainability and profitability. We are proud to work with industry leaders to build a more transparent AI ecosystem,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce Country Manager and Senior Director of Solution Engineering for Africa.
The AI Energy Score will debut at the AI Action Summit, where leaders from over 100 countries, the private sector, and civil society will convene to harness AI for good. By enhancing transparency, the score can drive market preference for efficient models and incentivise sustainable AI development. Recognised by the French Government and the Paris Peace Forum for its transformative potential, the AI Energy Score features:
Standardised Energy Ratings: A standardised framework for measuring and comparing AI model energy efficiency.
Public Leaderboard: A comprehensive leaderboard that features scores for 10 common AI tasks — such as text generation, image generation, and summarisation — performed by 166 models, including Salesforce’s SFR-Embedding, xLAM, and SF-TextBase.
Benchmarking Portal: A platform where AI developers can submit their open or proprietary AI models to be evaluated and added to the leaderboard. Open models can be automatically tested, while closed models can be evaluated through a secured testing sandbox.
Recognisable Energy Use Label: A new 1- to 5-star label that rates AI model energy use, with five stars indicating the highest efficiency. This helps developers and users easily identify and choose more sustainable models. Once rated, AI developers can generate standardised labels to share their models’ energy score, with built-in guidance on the proper label display for visibility and impact.
Last year, the company introduced Agentforce, the agentic layer of the Salesforce Platform for deploying autonomous AI agents across any business function. Agentforce offers tools to build and customise agents, as well as a library of ready-to-use skills for sales, service, marketing, commerce, Tableau, Slack, and more.
Telecom
Breaking….Tariff Hike: MTN Apologizes to Nigerians but Silent on Reversal

MTN Nigeria Communication Plc has apologised to customers for the 200 per cent tariff hike.
MTN’s apology came in the wake of public outcry for raising tariff above the 50 per cent upward review approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The network provider urged netizens to ‘forgive and forget’.
Recall that MTN surprised its customers by raising its 15GB data bundle from N2,000 to N6,000, reflecting 200 per cent hike.
MTN also reviewed the 1.5TB plan from N150,000 to N240,000, which represents a 60 per cent hike.
Before, a 100GB bundle cost N20,000 but the network reviewed a 90GB bundle to N25,000.
The 600GB bundle has been raised from N75,000 to N120,000 for 480GB, representing 60 per cent surge.
The operator has apologized for the increase but no mention was made on whether the data price would be reviewed.
MTN said in a message:
“To our 15G digital bundle lovers,
You dey vex. We know.
We know how upsetting it must have been to suddenly wake up to a 200% increase on your favourite digital bundle.
We could share several reasons, and provide explanahions, bur omo, all that One na story.
We don cast. We get it and admit it. Let’s just say na mistake.
In this love season, don’t stay angry with us. Please Forgive and forget. You matter die and we will never stop showing you how much.
Let’s continue our relationship.
Thank you for your understanding.
Yours Truly,
MTN Nigeria”
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