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FG Invites IAEA to Assess Nigeria’s Nuclear, Radiation Safety Framework

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Federal government, said it has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to conduct an assessment of Nigeria’s nuclear and radiation regulatory framework and also undertake a review of the safety and preparedness of the country as regards such issues and emergencies.

Officials of the IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Services (IRRS) are currently on a mission to Nigeria to undertake a review of the country’s regulatory framework and infrastructure as regards nuclear energy and radiation.

The IRRS team is led by Mr. Lambert Matteochi and the IRRS Coordinator, Mr. Teodros Haliu. In the course of the assessment, the team would visit three facilities of interest in the country; identify best practices that can be shared with other regulators and provide suggestions and recommendations on Nigeria’s nuclear and radiation safety. The team would conclude their assessment July 12, 2017 and is expected to present an exit report to the Federal Government at the end of the programme.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the IRRS Mission to Nigeria, hosted by the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, minister of State for Petroleum Resources disclosed that the IAEA review team’s visit to Nigeria was at the instance of the Federal Government.

Kachikwu, who was represented by his Senior Technical Assistance on Technical Matters, Mr. Adegbite Adeniji, said the IAEA was invited to undertake a peer review evaluation of Nigeria’s regulatory infrastructure and preparedness for nuclear and radiation emergencies.

He explained that as a strong partner of IAEA in implementing its ‘Atoms for Peace and Development’ mandate, Nigeria commitment and efforts towards ensuring greater security of nuclear materials and maintaining a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and balancing nuclear energy and technology for social economic development remains unwavered.

He declared that Nigeria would continue to live up to its responsibility of ensuring nuclear security whilst collaborating with international agencies such as the IAEA for the provision of tactical assistance, expert advice, with active equipments and training.

 He said “As an important and respected member of the IAEA, we have signed and implemented a number of binding international treaties, agreements and conventions. It is worthy of note that specific national regulations have been developed to domesticate these conventions and treaties while existing regulations are been reviewed and benchmarked with international standards.”

Also speaking, Mr. Lawrence Dim, director general/chief executive officer, NNRA, said nuclear regulations international and only international best practices are recognized, hence, the invitation to the IAEA for the assessment.

He said the mission to Nigeria provided an opportunity for peer review, adding that at the end of the review, the outcome, containing identification of best practices, suggestions and recommendations would be forwarded to the Federal Government for implementation.

Also speaking, Mr. Tayo Alasoadura, Senate Committee chairman on Petroleum, Upstream, said the review was timely and important to the country, in view of the need to prevent a recurrence of nuclear and radiation disasters that happened in some countries over the years.

On his own his part, Mr. Victor Nwokolo,  House Committee chairman on Petroleum, Upstream, said the review was apt in the sense that operators should be aware of the latest and best ways of moving these kinds of materials in or out of the country, to ensure they do not fall into wrong hands.

He said, “In a nutshell, we want these materials to be properly secured, especially with the issue of bomb blast in some parts of the country. The same materials used in our mining sector and quarry are still the same materials used by the terrorists in bombing.

“That is why this review is very timely, to ensure they do not go to wrong hands. As the days pass by, the criminals in our society device more sophisticated methods of getting their evil aspirations carried out.

“That is why I said they should also teach our own people here on how to safeguard these things. Particularly, with our porous borders, how do they ensure that anytime these things are coming in, that they have proper census of the number and quantity of the nuclear material, if not, our lives and that of the country would be in danger.”


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Elon Musk to Become First World’s Trillionaire with SpaceX Historic IPO

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Elon Musk is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire after  SpaceX, his company, confirmed plans to go public.

Elon Musk to Become First World’s Trillionaire with SpaceX Historic IPO

Elon Musk

Because Musk owns the majority of the shares, it could push his net worth over the trillion dollar mark.

The entrepreneur is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI.

Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of May 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $788 billion.

SpaceX has filed for a blockbuster public listing in the United States, paving the way for what could become the largest stock market debut in Wall Street history.

The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, announced plans to begin trading under the ticker symbol “SPCX” as early as next month.

The listing values SpaceX at about $1.25 trillion, with Musk’s majority ownership potentially worth more than $600 billion alone.

Combined with his existing holdings in companies including Tesla, the IPO could push Musk’s personal wealth above the $1 trillion mark.

The long-awaited filing also offered investors a rare look into SpaceX’s finances.

The company reported $18.6 billion in revenue last year but recorded a net loss of $4.9 billion. In the first quarter of this year, SpaceX generated $4.7 billion in sales while posting a $4.3 billion net loss.

Financial disclosures showed the company holds $102 billion in assets, including rockets, launch infrastructure and satellite systems, while carrying debts totalling $60.5 billion.

Despite the losses, analysts suggested investors were unlikely to be deterred given SpaceX’s dominance in commercial space launches and satellite internet services.

Ruth Foxe-Blader, managing partner at Citrine Venture Partners, described the planned flotation as “extremely exciting.”

“SpaceX is just an absolutely sprawling, enormous project with so many different selling points, and so many points that really point to the future,” she said.

SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite internet network and also owns Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI.

The IPO filing revealed that xAI recently reached a major commercial agreement with rival AI company Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot.

Under the arrangement, Anthropic will reportedly pay $15 billion annually to access data centre infrastructure linked to xAI operations in the American South.

The filing also disclosed that SpaceX expects to incur more than half a billion dollars in legal costs from multiple ongoing lawsuits and regulatory disputes.

Among the cases listed were claims alleging that xAI’s chatbot Grok had been used to create sexualised deepfakes of women and girls, alongside patent infringement disputes, music copyright claims, data breach allegations and investigations into compliance with European Union content moderation rules.

Musk has previously said he plans to dissolve xAI as a standalone company and pursue his AI ambitions directly under SpaceX.

The filing came shortly after Musk lost a high-profile legal battle against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman.

Musk had accused OpenAI of abandoning its non-profit mission after shifting towards a commercial model, but a jury dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that he had waited too long to bring the claims.


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Moniepoint Boosts UK Payments Security

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African financial services platform Moniepoint has partnered with open banking software-as-a-service provider tell.money to deploy a transaction security system in the UK market.

The companies said the partnership will allow Moniepoint to implement Confirmation of Payee, an account name-checking service designed to verify recipient details before payments are processed.

The integration will be rolled out through Monieworld, Moniepoint’s UK remittance subsidiary, as part of the company’s broader European expansion strategy.

Tell.money will provide the underlying verification technology, which the companies said is intended to reduce misdirected payments and help protect users against cross-border fraud.

Ravi Jakhodia, CEO of Monieworld, said: “Our goal with Monieworld is to build financial services for Africans in the diaspora.”

He added that tell.money was selected because it manages compliance and accreditation requirements, allowing the fintech company to focus on customer service.

Moniepoint is entering a competitive UK-to-Africa remittance market that includes established providers such as Wise, WorldRemit and Remitly, as well as African fintech firms including Flutterwave’s Send App.

According to data from the World Bank’s KNOMAD programme, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are estimated at about $620 billion annually, with digital -first platforms capturing increasing market share through open banking integrations and automated compliance systems.

The rollout reflects a broader trend of African fintech firms expanding into developed markets by adopting local regulatory and open banking standards.

Industry analysts expect diaspora-focused platforms to evolve beyond money transfers into services such as multi-currency banking, credit and investment products.


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Meet the 39-Year-Old Genius Replacing Oloyede at JAMB

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed 39‑year‑old Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), succeeding Professor Is‑haq Oloyede whose two‑term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.

Meet the 39-Year-Old Genius Replacing Oloyede at JAMB

Professor Segun Aina

Aina, who will turn 40 in July, will become the youngest registrar in JAMB’s history, marking a generational shift in the leadership of Nigeria’s premier tertiary‑admissions body.

In a statement issued in Abuja by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the new registrar was described as a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure and public‑sector institutional reform.

A professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile‑Ife, Aina holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, an MSc in Internet Computing and Network Security and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing, both from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He also completed the Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School.

His early career with JAMB began during his National Youth Service Corps scheme, where he gained foundational experience in national admissions and data‑driven institutional processes; those insights have since shaped his contributions to examination reform and systems optimisation.

At 39, Aina became one of Nigeria’s youngest professors of Computer Engineering and has advised federal and state governments on system design, digital transition and operational reform, while also consulting major examination bodies such as NECO and NABTEB on ICT systems and examination integrity.

He is a member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

President Tinubu expects Aina to leverage his experience, knowledge and practical insight to further strengthen JAMB’s operations and to build on the achievements recorded under Professor Oloyede’s leadership.


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