News
Global Internet Stakeholders Convene in Abu Dhabi for ICANN60
By peter oluka
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has kicked off its 60th Public Meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
From 28 October to 3 November, more than 2,500 regional and global participants are gathering for discussions about the policies regarding the Internet’s system of unique identifiers. One of the key topics at ICANN60 is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
The meeting is also an important forum for cross-community discussions on a number of ongoing projects in ICANN. The host of the meeting is the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE.
ICANN’s mission is to help ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number.
That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world.
ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world. ICANN and its community help keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It also promotes competition and develops policy for the top-level of the Internet’s naming system and facilitates the use of other unique Internet identifiers.
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE, spoke at the ICANN60 Opening Ceremony.
Al Mansoori remarked, “The significance of this event stems from the fact that ICANN has always been the safety valve for the Internet world. With a four-billion internet penetration worldwide, we can touch the unique role of this organization in maintaining the momentum of the Internet”. He added, “ICANN’s functions, from registration management to dispute resolution and new top-level domains, have become so important that they cannot be missed.”
Al Mansoori presented Dr. Stephen Crocker, ICANN Board Chair, with a gift in recognition of his lifelong efforts toward the development of the global Internet. Dr. Crocker, who is retiring right after ICANN60, reflected on ICANN’s journey during his tenure. “My greatest source of pride when it comes to this organization is quite simply – that it works,” said Crocker.
“Furthermore, it works better and more inclusively than many ever thought possible. The security, stability and resiliency of the Domain Name System are in good hands. In the early days, it was called the ‘ICANN experiment.’ We don’t hear that anymore, because the experiment has proven successful.”
Göran Marby, ICANN president and CEO, named Crocker the recipient of 2017 Leadership Award in tribute to his tireless dedication to both ICANN and the wider Internet community. “Every year, the ICANN Leadership Award is given to outstanding individuals in our community who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to ICANN. It is an award for people who remain true to the community’s core values, chosen by the ICANN org’s Executive Team” said Marby.
Dr. Crocker has been involved in the Internet since its inception. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, while he was a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he was part of the team that developed the protocols for the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) and laid the foundation for today’s Internet.
He added, “This year, there is no other choice, and I think you all will agree.”
ICANN Public Meetings are held three times a year in different regions around the globe, enabling community members from around the globe to participate in person.
These meetings offer sessions such as workshops, forums, and meetings on the development and implementation of policies related to the Internet’s system of unique identifiers.
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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