E-Business
FG Inaugurates Nigeria’s First Education Research Network

Federal Government has commissioned the first Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Education, The World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who commissioned the NgREN disclosed that the NgREN is a World Bank-assisted project that will create an effective infrastructural backbone to interconnect all research and education institutions in the country and link them with other Research and Education Networks worldwide.
He stressed that the NgREN is aimed at ensuring a seamless knowledge flow between Nigerian Educational institutions and their counterparts around the world. President Jonathan who was represented by Barrister Eyesom Wike, minister of State for Education-also emphasized that the project is expected to drive down the exorbitant costs of bandwidth while at the same time increasing the capacity of the network members to deliver world class teaching and research services.
President Jonathan stressed that the FG is committed to fully revamping the educational sector to make Nigeria a reference point globally. He added that in line with FG’s transformational agenda, the educational system is being transformed through effective partnerships for maximum impact.
President Jonathan stressed the importance of ICT for enabling transformational development and disclosed that the ICT sector in Nigeria now contributes almost 9% to Nigeria’s GDP.
Dr Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology, in her remarks described the commissioning of the NgREN as a ‘’significant milestone’’.
She said that that 27 Federal Universities have been connected to the NgREN through the World Bank STEP B fund.
Johnson emphasized that the expected outcome of the NgREN is the facilitation of bi-directional communication for the purpose of sharing resources and content and the facilitation of research amongst benefitting institutions.
Reiterating that in the world of ICT content is king-Johnson urged the NUC, CVC and other stakeholders in the NgREN to ensure that the NgREN has quality content.
‘’I am encouraging the NUC, CVC and other stakeholders in the NgREN to ensure that we have quality content on the NgREN that will be the envy of other nations. If we do not it will be like building a power station, evacuating power to the grid but not bothering to turn on the light switch’’.
Johnson also disclosed that the Universal Services Provision Fund through the University Inter Campus Connectivity Project (UnICC) is now working to expand the NgREN.
The first phase of the UNICC project involves the deployment of approximately 290 km of fibre optic cable to connect 16 of the Federal Universities with their corresponding Medical College/Teaching Hospitals. This phase will be commissioned before the end of this year.
The second phase of the UnICC project, involves the deployment of relevant electronic components and end user devices in each of the benefitting universities to enable voice, data, video, and other multimedia services to be achieved both intra-university and inter-universities.
Dr Johnson disclosed that the Ministry is also collaborating with the Nigerian Universities Commission NUC on the Student Computer Ownership Scheme.
The scheme is also a collaboration between commercial banks, indigenous equipment manufacturers and the NUC to ensure that every Nigerian student in a tertiary institution owns a computer in addition to having access to computing facilities in a shared computer labs.
The commissioning of the NgREN was graced by members of the members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, Board members and CEOs of Parastatals and extra ministerial departments, members of the diplomatic corps, captains of Industry, vice chancellors of Nigerian universities and other stakeholders in the ICT and education sector.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
E-Business
Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
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