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FG to Provide Enabling Environment for Success of Digital Training

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Mr. Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications
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Mr Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communication, yesterday said government would provide an enabling environment for the youths to thrive digitally.

Shittu said this during the media briefing organised by Google to mark the Digital Skills for Africa to reach one million people, tagged: Digital Million Milestone.

The minister was represented by Mrs Monisola Udoh, the Director, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) of the ministry.

According to Shittu, the impact the training will have on the youth will be enormous, therefore there is need for government to key into the Google training.

“There is need for proper policy and guideline that will make way for an enabling environment for the youths to thrive digitally,’’ he said.

Shittu said that government had a major role to develop the human capacity and ICT was a platform that they would leverage upon.

He said that Nigeria had a good productive age group and their energy should be harnessed, which Google could make globally competitive.

Mr Smart Akande, the Legal Adviser, Office of SSA to the President on Sustainable Development Goals said that one of the goals of government was to remove poverty in the country and Google Digital Skills training was an avenue to do so.

“When the economy is not growing, poverty thrives and the bulk of people that will be affected are the youths and our major concern is graduates that do not have access to digital skills.

“Today, we are saying recession is everywhere, it is the aggregate of all efforts will bring the country out of recession,’’ he said.

Akande said that in the nearest future with this kind of skills training, Nigeria would be transformed to be better informed to compete at international level and the economy all to be better.

Mr Tayo Olosunde, the Managing Director, Mindthegap, said that  young people want to be successful as such needed the opportunity to launch out.

Ms. Bunmi Banjo, the Head of Brands and Digital Skills at Google Nigeria, said that the journey to one million was to figure out what could be done to help the economy progress.

According to her, making sure that there is an impact on the trainee was the next thing on the mind of Google.

“Having one million digitally skilled young people in Africa is good for everyone.

“If young people have the right skills, they will build businesses, create jobs and boost economic growth across the continent.

“How to connect the young people in Africa for them to better utilise the internet as a person or as a Small and Medium Enterprises to create jobs and help people in the community is our goal.

“There is need for Africans to also contribute to the digital economy,’’ she said.

Banjo said that the 27 countries participated in the training of which 97 per cent was done offline while three per cent was online and that 53 per cent were men while 47 per cent were women.

She said that out of the one million trained, 500,000 were from Nigeria, attributing that to the support it got from government and the private sector.

Banjo said that going forward Google would develop an offline kit that did not have access to data, adding that local languages would be introduced more to focus on women to bridge gender gap.

She said that an impact accessing programme would also be conducted to make sure that the training they got was better utilised.

Some of the beneficiaries of the Google Digital Skills for Africa One-Million Milestone are Oluwamayowa Oshidero (Ibadan), Vanessa Morris (Lagos), Tele Williams-Aina (Lagos), Vanessa Mbaramah (Coutonu) and Segun Abodunrin (Lagos).

A trainee, Morris said: “I learnt to do things strategically and that came from the tools and skills I got from the training.’’

Another trainee, Abodunrin said that the training provided a platform for him to access businesses that would help him to succeed.

Earlier, the Google Country Manager, Mrs Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, said that the web was a driver of economic growth and was transforming society as a whole.

According to her, people must be equipped through training and re-skilling to make use of the tools and take advantage of it for entrepreneurship, employment and e-inclusion.

The Digital Skills for Africa programme was aimed to help close the digital gap in Africa, improve employability and encourage entrepreneurship among young people.


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NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

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The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.

The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.

In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.

“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.

“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”

Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.

“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.

17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.


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Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

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Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).

Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.

“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.

She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,

Learning through experience

Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.

Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.

Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.

Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.

The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.

The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.


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CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

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Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.

It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.

Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.

He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.

According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.

“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.

“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”

The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.

He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.

Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.

“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.

“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.

“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.

The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.

All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.


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