News
Disruptive Expo ‘17 Centers On Smart Cities, Citizens’ Participation
Some decades ago, the internet became a world-wide sensation, as people no longer wait for a post office, telegram, fax or physical libraries to send or receive information.
The society has been empowered to do so through the internet by email, social network, however, wow there is a growing need to achieve higher efficiency and productivity at little or no cost.
The concept entails ‘things’ need to connect to internet, to be monitored, controlled and for it to operate with less human interference.
“Anything from your home appliances, clothes, wrist-watch, footwear, office infrastructures, bags etc can be connected to the internet to be track, monitor, and accumulate data for learning or control. A good application of IoT could be in the health sector, where people’s Smart Watches, monitor and report the body vitals like body temperature, heart beats, pulses and feeds it back to your health provider’, said David Alozie, convener and founder of Disruptive Africa Expo/Community, while explaining the concept of Smart Cities during a press conference towards the forthcoming ‘Disruptive Expo’ 2017.
The conference, Alozie said, is conveyed for citizens to appreciate that the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Smart Cities will play a huge role in accelerating achievements of the UN-SDG goals in Lagos/Nigeria.
According to him, it has become imperative for the every citizen become aware of the technology concepts in order to adequately plug into the opportunities that Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Smart Cities might present.
Smart Cities, he said involves, high level of population and urbanization; need for climate change and environmental sustainability and there is need to have more data to help the Government serve the people well, as well as the need to serve citizens better and promote citizen participation in the running of a city – Technology advancement and needs.
“Components of Smart Cities Smart Cities consist of the following Smart Sectors: – Smart Transportation: Optimising traffic, road, vehicular movements – Smart Security: Security camera, facial recognition, phone/citizen detection – Smart Energy, Water and Waste: Enhancing efficiency and management of power, water and waste. – Smart Government (e-Government): Enabling platform for better Government citizen interaction and services. – Smart Manufacturing – Smart Education – Smart Tourism and Leisure – Smart Buildings, Homes and Estates – Smart Retails and Logistics – Smart Finance and Banking Requirements for Smart Cities – Smart Citizens: Citizenship awareness of opportunities and participation – Revamping of Sectors to become smart: Homes, waste management, security water management, power management and efficiency.”
He further advised that States need blueprints, holistically led and implemented for Public and Private sector partnership and promotion of a data driven culture across the public and private sectors.
He said that benefits of Smart City are evident in cutting cost for the citizens and the Government, as it encourages better interaction and personalized interaction with the Government.
However, Alozie said there are inherent challenges of smart cities that concern the citizens, particularly “A shift in the labour market – Security and privacy concerns, scalability of crime – Building talents, skills and advanced knowledge to fuel up innovations and Smart Technology Solutions (STS). – Possible lack of even access to benefits of Smart Cities – Building reliable smart cities systems to reduce economic effects”.
On the opportunities, he said, “Looking at foreign exchange rate (forex), it’s an opportunity to promote home-grown knowledge and skills which will power the growth and development of Smart Cities from a technology point of view and thereby create jobs, more businesses and services.
“There is an opportunity for the Telecom industry, just like some Telecom companies in other countries are working with the government to run Smart Cities – Insurance companies to leverage the real time data to verify and validate claims – Access to open data to support your business product and services, predict and manage risk.
Also speaking, Mr. Reuben Kalu, head, Marketing and Key Leads, Syscomptech Communications Limited, said the Conference was designed to show that Smart cities concepts are not designed to be used and accessed by technology gurus only but everyday people.
He further cautioned that Smart Cities projects should not be seen as tools to take away people’s paid employment, rather a dawn of new business and job opportunities.
“Smart Cities are not ready made but it’s a journey and process that takes years. Just like we participate in politics voting for our leaders, so it is required that everyone participate in the building of Smart Cities in Lagos and Nigeria because Smart Cities will generate great volume and now the world is moving from seeing wealth as Oil or cash. In the Digital Economy, data have become the new wealth, it could be Personal Asset, Corporate Assets or National Asset,” he said.
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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