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FG Plans Tax Incentives to Boost Jobs in ICT Industry

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(L-r): Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications; Jide Odekunle, director general, Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA), and Afolabi Imoukhuede, SSA to the President on Job Creation/Youth Employment, during the visit of Minister of Communications to the Co-Creations Hub in Yaba, Lagos during the week.
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Federal Government is set to introduce incentive packages for start-up companies in the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Industry so that they can help Government to realize the three million jobs target by 2018.

The incentives range from tax holidays to ICT Innovation fund and ICT Incubation Scheme to drive the sectors growth.

Mr. Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communication, and Afolabi Imoukhuede, senior special assistant to the President on Job Creation/Youth Employment; Office of the Vice President, disclosed this during the visit of the Minister to the Yaba Technology Ecosystem Hubs in Lagos, recently.

Speaking after accessing the facility like the Co-Creation Hub, iDea Hub, among others, the Minister, expressed satisfaction at the infrastructures on the ground and said; “We want to replicate what is happening here in other parts of the country in partnership with key stakeholders. We are going to start in Ibadan and Katsina state in the next three months as both the Governors have agreed to provide facilities for the establishment of these hubs“.

He disclosed the present administration plans on focusing on the ICT sector of the economy to drive an encompassing economy growth.

“As you all know, the ICT innovations is powering economies across the globe, creating employments and wealth. It is impacting on the way we live and the way we do businesses; the Buhari administration is at the forefront of diversifying our economy, Government is resolved to develop the ICT sector through Local Content initiative.  Government will continually support Yaba and all ICT hubs across the country because it is a veritable platform to achieve our ICT objectives,” he said.

The minister further noted that countries like Singapore, India, have set up special interventions to support the high growth ICT industry; “so, we will be supportive of whatever initiative that you have. Through NIITDA Agency, we are going to introduce ICT Innovation Fund to cater for early startups and ICT Incubation Scheme to support establishment of more high growth incubators across the country.

“We believe with these incentives, the sector will witness tremendous growth and generating employment and massive wealth for our people.  We are also going to monitor the hubs across Nigeria in order to ensure standards and to mold them for global competitiveness. Our aim is to make Nigeria the ICT hub for Africa.”

He charged entrepreneurs in the sector to articulate some of the challenges they are facing and the sorts of intervention they want from Government to in order sustain the existing hubs and more importantly to recognize the Government will always been the driving catalyst for funding startups.

Afolabi Imoukhuede, senior special assistant to the President on Job Creation/Youth Employment, added that the Government will consider tax holidays and rebates for qualifying tech start-ups so that they can employ more people and grow the entrepreneurial sector of the economy.

“We are working on the details to ensure that we get it right. We have a million jobs to be created this year and we have a target to create three million jobs over the next three years-2016-19. What is keen for me as the SSA on Job Creation is for us to be able to look at which sectors we can create jobs, and ICT, for us is a key area for job creations.

“For two reasons- you can create jobs within the sector, and you can use ICT as an enabler to also create a lot of jobs. That is why we are focusing on ICT and the digital world for jobs creation; it is therefore important that we visit places like Co-Creation, where you can achieve an organic growth.”

Bosun Tijani, CEO, Co-Creation Hub, in his presentation on ‘The Yaba Technology Ecosystem –How we got here and where we ‘d like to go,’ noted that there is no nation on earth today that can prosper without using technology. According to him, beyond the incentives, government should patronize the companies in the sector by giving them business.

“For instance in the last election, we built a website  that  was used to encourage people on how to vote, when to vote ; we also built another site for ID cards registration- it was so good that INEC adopted it. Somebody paid for that work; that is the kind of collaborations we want. 60 percent of what we do here is building other peoples businesses by using our creativity and knowhow to make society better” he said.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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EFCC Seals Anti-Corruption Alliance with Anambra Security Chiefs, Traditional Rulers

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In a strategic drive to bolster inter-agency and institutional synergy against economic and financial crimes, the Anambra Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched courtesy visits and awareness campaigns targeting key law enforcement agencies, judicial bodies, and traditional institutions in Anambra State.

EFCC Seals Anti-Corruption Alliance with Anambra Security Chiefs, Traditional Rulers

On March 5, 2026, Acting Zonal Director ACE I Ofen-Imu Atiba Sunday led a delegation to: State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), C. Anukposi; State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Akachia Godwin; State Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Umerah Timothy Nwanegbo; State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bridget Asekhauno; State Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Onubogu Charles Orakwue; and His Majesty, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, Eze Iweka III (Eze Ogalagidi), Eze Obosi and Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Council, along with his cabinet.

The Acting Zonal Director stressed that combating corruption demands sustained cooperation among institutions and community leaders to boost intelligence gathering, prevention strategies, and enforcement. “Collaborative efforts among stakeholders, including community leaders, are essential to safeguarding Nigeria’s economic stability and future,” he declared.

Highlighting crime trends in the Directorate’s jurisdiction—covering Anambra and Imo States—Sunday noted that public sector corruption, land and property fraud, tax fraud, advance fee fraud, cybercrime, bank fraud, and open market abuses dominate.

Responses were uniformly positive. DSS State Director Anukposi pledged robust support, underscoring intelligence sharing and joint operations to counter threats to national security and economic stability.

NSCDC Commandant Godwin lauded the EFCC’s proactive stance, citing ongoing collaboration on illegal bunkering, vandalism of public assets, and oil theft.

NIS Comptroller Nwanegbo affirmed readiness to partner on border control, migration monitoring, and intelligence against transnational financial crimes.

FRSC Sector Commander Asekhauno hailed the EFCC’s push for accountability, urging use of the Corps’ database and sustained rule-of-law partnerships for national development.

NDLEA Commandant Orakwue committed to tackling criminal networks linking drug trafficking, money laundering, and economic crimes.

At the Eze Obosi’s palace, the monarch welcomed the EFCC’s outreach, decried corruption’s toll on communities, and vowed Traditional Council backing to instill ethics and integrity. He promised to rally other leaders for grassroots anti-corruption sensitization.


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NCDC Issues Public Advisory on Cerebrospinal Meningitis

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Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has issued a Public Health advisory on the spread of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM).

NCDC Issues Public Advisory on Cerebrospinal Meningitis

It said that the caution is particularly for states within the African Meningitis belt.

In a statement by the Corporate Communications Division of NCDC urged all Nigerians to remain vigilant and adopt preventive measures.

The statement said: “As Nigeria continues through the peak dry season months, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) alerts the public to the ongoing risk of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), particularly in states within the African meningitis belt.

“Cerebrospinal meningitis occurs more frequently between December and April, when dry, dusty conditions, overcrowding, and poor ventilation increase the risk of transmission.

“The NCDC urges all Nigerians to remain vigilant and adopt preventive measures. Surveillance and response activities remain ongoing nationwide, and laboratory testing is being conducted at the state level while national laboratory capacity is being strengthened.

It explained that Cerebrospinal meningitis is a serious infection of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

According to NCDC the affliction is most commonly caused by bacteria, particularly Neisseria meningitidis.

“Bacterial meningitis can progress rapidly and may be fatal within hours if untreated.

“However, early diagnosis and prompt antibiotic treatment significantly improve survival and reduce complications. CSM spreads through respiratory droplets during close contact, especially in overcrowded or poorly ventilated environments.”

It said that symptoms to watch out for include sudden high fever, severe headache, and neck stiffness.

It said other symptoms may include: nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light, confusion or altered consciousness and seizures.

For In infants and young children, NCDC said the symptoms could bulging soft spot on the head.

The Centre said that early recognition and treatment can save lives.


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Report finds the Number of Trojan Banker Attacks on Smartphones Increased by 56% in 2025

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According to a Kaspersky report “Mobile malware evolution,” the number of Trojan banker attacks on Android smartphones increased by 56% in 2025 compared to the previous year*.

This type of malware is designed to steal user credentials for online banking, e-payment services and credit card systems. Cybercriminals commonly distribute Trojan bankers through messaging apps, as well as through malicious webpages.

The number of new Trojan banker installation packages for Android (unique APK files) also increased sharply, reaching 255,090 packages – a 271% increase over 2024. This may indicate that these tools generate substantial profit for cybercriminals.

Kaspersky experts believe threat actors will continue both to expand delivery channels and develop new Trojan variants trying to evade detection by security solutions. Among all detected Trojan bankers, the leading families were Mamont and Creduz.

“Although Trojan bankers for smartphones are the fastest-growing type of malware, we also observed another important trend: preinstalled backdoors such as Triada and Keenadu appeared more frequently compared to previous years. People purchase completely new, but infected, Android devices and may be unaware of the threat.

Once integrated into the firmware fully functional preinstalled backdoors provide attackers with unlimited control over the victims’ smartphones and tablets. As a result, all information on infected devices can be compromised.

It’s quite difficult to remove such malware. If the device is infected, we recommend users check for firmware updates. After the update, run a scan of the device with a security solution again to make sure newly installed firmware is not infected,” comments Anton Kivva, malware analyst team lead at Kaspersky.

 


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